“Greetings. I am Isabelle Sano, former High Lord of the Medical Branch of the Human Kingdom. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Isabelle said, giving Celestia and Luna a polite bow.

“No, no, the pleasure is ours! We didn’t expect anyone else from Gerhardt’s world to be arriving here, let alone another high lord of his kingdom.” Celestia said. “Though before we continue I have to ask, are you absolutely certain you can save Twilight?”

Isabelle nodded and said, “Prince Shining Armor was kind enough to provide me with Miss Sparkle’s most recent medical files, which Pixel was kind enough to read for me since I am as of yet unfamiliar with your language. So knowing what’s wrong with her I can say with absolute certainty that I have saved patients that were in much worse condition and were in much more immediate danger. So yes, I believe I can save her. That being said, I can see why Gerhardt wasn’t able to do so on his own given the nature of the issues she is experiencing and considering the fact he’s a technomancer rather than a biomancer like me.”

Gerhardt, who was just standing off to the side while the three of them talked nodded his head slightly in agreement. He knew he was only really good for matters relating to technology so he had no reason to contradict her.

“Thank harmony…” Luna muttered. Then a blue aura surrounded her horn for a moment before a piece of paper appeared next to her in a flash of blue light. She then levitated the paper over to Isabelle who grabbed it out of the air and examined it despite the fact she couldn’t read a word of what was written on it. “Then here is your medical permit. You will have to show it to the doctors at the hospital before they will allow you to operate on Twilight.”

“Thank you very much. I shall do that. Though I must ask, will this allow me to find employment at any of the hospitals here in Equestria? I would rather not have to rely on Gerhardt’s hospitality forever so I really must find my own source of income.” Isabelle inquired.

Celestia nodded. “It should. In fact, after you heal Twilight I’m sure the local hospital would be more than willing to hire you. Doctors tend to have rather high salaries here in Equestria, especially when they are particularly skilled and become well known. So once you do find employment it shouldn’t take long before you make enough money to buy your own house and move out. Also, we will be compensating you for your services in healing Twilight.”

Isabelle nodded before folding up the paper and putting it away. “Alright then. Thank you again for the document. I assume you both came here to meet me in person for more than just to give me this piece of paper, so I would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have for me.” She said with a friendly smile.

Celestia returned the smile and said, “I’m glad. You already seem much easier to get along with than Gerhardt. Er… No offense, Gerhardt.”

Gerhardt rolled his eyes, but otherwise didn’t react to the statement.

Isabelle chuckled. “Yeah, having worked with him for almost a century I know he’s not the friendliest person ever but he means well.”

Luna nodded. “Indeed. May I inquire as to why your robes are red while his are black? Is there some meaning behind it?”

“Yes there is. My robes are red because I was in the medical branch. His robes are black because he was in the research and development branch. Every branch has a different color uniform. Other than our two branches there is the army branch whose uniforms are a drab green, the navy branch whose uniforms are navy blue, and the aviation branch whose uniforms are white. Also, there is a more practical reason behind the colors of the robes of the medical and R&D branches. Our uniforms are red so any blood we get on them from working with injured soldiers and civilians isn’t as visible. Similarly the R&D branch’s uniforms are black so any oil they get on them from working with machinery isn’t as visible.” Isabelle explained. “Now I believe it’s my turn to ask a question. Gerhardt has told me the two of you and Princess Cadance are all demigods. Is that true?”

Both Celestia and Luna now looked highly uncomfortable. “Er… Until he arrived we would have said no. However, now all evidence seems to suggest that indeed we are. Given how powerful we are becoming and how fast we are growing in strength after using the magical exercises that Gerhardt wrote us a whole book about, it’s very clear to us that we aren’t like the common pony. Most of the unicorns in the royal guard have started using his exercises and training methods and they aren’t growing in power nearly as much or as rapidly as the three of us. It’s… It’s actually quite stressful, to be honest. None of us want to be worshipped or to be seen as superior to anypony else, and the power that comes with this is quite frightening. I truly wish we were not demigods and were simply mortal like everypony else. So please do not tell anypony that we are demigods. We would prefer to keep that fact a secret.” Luna explained.

Isabelle nodded. “I understand. I will respect your wishes and will not tell anyone. Though I do find it odd that you wouldn’t know that you are demigods if it weren’t for Gerhardt. Back in our world the gods will very frequently interact with us mortals. Mainly the lesser gods but even the average gods will occasionally visit our world. So it is highly uncommon for a demigod to not be at least somewhat familiar with the divine half of their family.”

“We know our parents. They were both mortal. We only became alicorns later in life, we were not born this way. The same could be said for Cadance.” Celestia stated.

This immediately drew Gerhardt’s attention. “You were born mortal but were somehow turned into demigods? How?! If this is true and I can somehow find the mechanism behind this process I could potentially replicate it and turn any mortal being in this world into a demigod! Wait… By the gods… If a mortal can become a demigod then what is to say that a demigod can’t become a lesser god, or a lesser god can’t become a God, or a God can’t become a Greater God?! If this were possible… Gods above, the implications of this are absolutely amazing and could solve everything!”

His mind was absolutely racing with the possibilities and it showed plainly on his face. He might be able to become a God. Not just a demigod or a lesser god, but an actual God! The idea of becoming a Greater God was likely still quite a stretch but if he could become even just a Lesser God then he would be able to return to his own universe to fight and possibly even kill Silvanus! The Human Kingdom would no longer be in any danger! The second War of Survival would be ended in a matter of moments! Everything that Isabelle told him was going on back on Earth would be stopped dead in its tracks and humanity would be safe again! He needed to find out how this process worked as soon as possible!

The Princesses and Isabelle all looked at him in concern. “Gerhardt, while this information is quite amazing, you need to calm down.” Isabelle stated. “Just stop and think for a moment. Even if that was true and it was possible, do you honestly think it would be a good idea to give everyone in the world that kind of power? No. That would be a terrible idea. How many do you think would abuse that power?”

“Fine! Then all I would need to do is restrict the technology! Not everyone needs to have it! But just think about it, Isabelle! Think of the possibilities! If we could actually become Gods then we could go back to Earth! We could kill Silvanus! We wouldn’t have to be trapped here forever!” Gerhardt exclaimed, his eyes glowing brightly. This was by far the most excited about anything he had been in centuries.

Isabelle's eyes widened in realization. "Gods above... You're right... Gerhardt, we need to figure this out!"

“Mr. Mechanica, while my sister and I appreciate everything you’ve done for Equestria and we are sympathetic to the plight of your people, we refuse to be used as lab rats.” Luna stated firmly.

Gerhardt’s eyes dimmed and he looked at her. “But—”

He was cut off as Celestia said, “I’m sorry Gerhardt but I have to agree with my sister. I would rather not be used as a lab rat or a test subject. Besides which, even if you could find the mechanism behind how we became demigods there is no guarantee that you would be able to do anything more. I’m truly sorry but I highly doubt that it is even remotely possible for a mortal or even a demigod to become an actual god under any circumstances. In fact I would even go so far as to say it is truly impossible and your attempts to do so would be nothing but an effort in futility. Furthermore you seem far too excited about this. Coveting that sort of power this much is not a good thing. Because of how you’re acting I’m actually legitimately worried that in the extremely unlikely event that you actually managed to succeed, all that power may go to your head. So no. We will not be assisting you in this endeavor, and I would strongly encourage you not to pursue this matter on your own either.”

Gerhardt’s eyes dimmed significantly and he slumped in disappointment. “But… But…” He sighed and said, “Very well… I understand. I won’t bother you two or Princess Cadance about this matter again… I sincerely apologize if I made you uncomfortable at all. Such was not my intention.” He fully planned to research this matter on his own with or without the Princesses’ help. It was far too important for him to just give up on it now that he knew it may actually be possible. Even here in Equestria all that mattered to him, other than his daughter, was his work and the safety of mankind. And since even a remote possibility to save humanity from Silvanus had just presented itself to him, he was not about to just let it slip through his fingers just because the Princesses asked him to. Though since they refused to aid him they most certainly didn’t need to know that.

Celestia smiled at him and said, “Good. I’m glad you’re willing to see reason. Now… Darn… I had a question but this completely derailed my train of thought…” She then sighed. “You go ahead and ask another question while I try to remember what I wanted to ask you, Isabelle.”

“Alright. Thank you, Princess. Every pony I have seen so far have different symbols on their flanks. Is there any significance to them or are they just decorative?”

“Yes, they do have significance. They’re called cutie marks and they symbolize every individual’s special talent. They usually appear during foalhood after the individual in question discovers their special talent.” Celestia explained. “I got mine for my ability to raise and lower the sun and Luna got hers for her ability to raise and lower the moon.”

Isabelle nodded in understanding until Celestia explained how she and Luna had gotten their cutie marks. At that point she gave the two of them a skeptical look. “Raising and lowering the sun and moon? Gerhardt, what on earth does she mean by that?”

“The princesses appear to be under the illusion they have the ability to control the rotation of the planet and the moon’s orbit. Princess Luna also claims to control the stars. I can say for certainty that I have noticed about half of the stars moving changing position and appearing and disappearing at night in ways that should not be possible based on what stars even are to begin with while the other half always stay completely stationary. I suspect there is a self perpetuating mass illusion in the sky that allows them to simulate this, however I have not had a chance to conduct any proper research to confirm one way or the other. Though according to what Pixel has told me, Princess Luna does in fact have control over the dreams of others.” Gerhardt stated in a matter of fact tone. Both of the princesses shot him annoyed glares, which he ignored.

Isabelle nodded to herself in thought. “Hm… Interesting… Well, I believe it’s your turn to ask a question, princesses.”

Celestia sighed, still irritated by Gerhardt’s insistence that she and Luna couldn’t actually control the sun and moon. “Alright. What are the other three high lords like? We’ve met you and Gerhardt but we know little to nothing about the others.”

Isabelle grimaced. “Er… They’re all dead. Silvanus killed them when he sent me here. He only spared me because I’m a half elf and was the one he found the least annoying.”

Celestia’s expression immediately turned to one of regret. “I’m so sorry… If that’s the case just forget I asked. I won’t try to force you to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

Isabelle shook her head. “No, it’s fine. I’m used to watching my friends die by now so it’s no trouble. Lucian, the high lord of the army, was a very skilled and very powerful war mage. He wasn’t the most pleasant individual ever and he was a bit of an alcoholic but he was absolutely dedicated to the defense of the Human Kingdom and would always do everything within his power to protect it and all of its people. He would often put his life on the line to defend any civilians he could that were in dangerous situations and would always try to save everyone he could. He never once abandoned a civilian that was in danger no matter how difficult it would be for him to save them or how futile the effort seemed. Because of this everything below his chest had to be replaced with augmentations due to the wounds he had accumulated.”

“Morgan, the high lord of the navy, was always the most jovial of us. Up until recently she would always crack jokes and try to keep our spirits up. She also loved the ocean, thus the reason she was in the navy I assume. She wasn’t a mage like me, Gerhardt, or Lucian but she was still one hell of a soldier. Other than Gerhardt she was also the most heavily augmented out of all of us and could have lived forever had Silvanus not killed her. I sort of wish she had died on a ship. I know she would have preferred to die in the ocean rather than on land. Though unlike what Gerhardt was like up until now, she actually chose to look human.”

“Finally there was Alexander, the high lord of aviation. He was the youngest of us and like Morgan he wasn’t a mage but his skills and wisdom more than made up for it. Just like how Morgan always preferred to be out at sea rather than on land, he always preferred to be in a plane flying high in the sky rather than being on the ground. He is actually one of the only individuals in the aviation branch I am aware of that knew his vehicles so well that he could actually assist the R&D branch in repairing and maintaining them. He was even skilled enough of a pilot and had good enough aim to actually hit Silvanus directly in the face with an antimatter bomb not just once but twice in a row. He had been bragging about that quite a bit ever since he did it.”

Isabelle sighed remorsefully and gave the princesses a bitter smile. “I’m going to miss them all quite a bit. I don’t know what the afterlife is like but I certainly hope it’s peaceful. They deserve a rest after everything they’ve done in the defense of humanity… Anyways, enough of that depressing topic. How did you two meet Gerhardt, if I may ask? You seem quite familiar with him and I honestly would have expected him to go into hiding to conduct his research in isolation if given the chance.”

“She’s right. Under most other circumstances I probably would have.” Gerhardt admitted with a shrug.

Celestia gave Gerhardt a disapproving frown before looking back at Isabelle and proceeding to explain the events of Gerhardt’s arrival in Canterlot. Isabelle asked a few questions, mainly for clarification, and both Celestia and Luna did their best to answer those questions. Eventually the conversation shifted away from Gerhardt’s exploits in Canterlot when he first arrived. At that point Isabelle and the Princesses were essentially just chatting rather than asking each other anything of any true significance. This went on for about half an hour.

Finally Celestia said, “Well it has been very nice getting to know you, Isabelle! However, I believe we have kept Twilight waiting long enough. I’m sorry to rush you into healing her so soon after you were sent here, I’m just really concerned for her wellbeing.”

“It’s fine, I understand. Fortunately I only had a few patients to take care of earlier today so I have more than enough energy left over to deal with her. It shouldn’t take more than half an hour. Gerhardt, if you could please lead the way.” She would have just gone on her own but she had no idea where the hospital was, and she didn’t have a universal translator at the moment which would make it impossible for her to communicate with the ponies on her own.

Gerhardt opened a portal to the hospital and said, “It’s a bit dark out at the moment so I’ll show you the way there tomorrow so you can see the path better.”

Isabelle shrugged. “Fair enough.” She then proceeded through the portal. Both Gerhardt and the Princesses followed after her. Pushing the hospital doors open she immediately proceeded to walk up to the receptionist’s desk and said, “Hello, my name is Isabelle Sano. Prince Shining Armor requested that I heal a patient located here in this hospital by the name of Twilight Sparkle. Here is my medical permit.” She took out the document, unfolded it, and handed it to the receptionist.

The receptionist looked surprised when Isabelle walked in but quickly recovered. Taking the permit she quickly looked it over before levitating it back over to Isabelle and saying, “Alright. I’ll have one of the nurses lead you to her room.” She then called one of the Nurses over and had them do just that.

Once they arrived Isabelle cast a sterilization spell on herself, just to be safe, before walking inside. Seeing Twilight Isabelle immediately walked over to the injured unicorn and got to work. As soon as she did she was somewhat surprised to find some strange nerve-like structures running through Twilight’s body which had arcane energy running through them and connected to her horn. She had no idea what these structures did but she assumed they were important, so she was just going to avoid messing with them to the best of her abilities as she went about healing her. As she estimated this took about thirty minutes.

When she was finished the pony groaned and slowly opened her eyes. She then made a few groggy noises that sounded like they were supposed to be words but were completely and utterly incomprehensible to Isabelle. After a moment she regained her barings enough to look around the room and a look of realization crossed her face. Finally she noticed Isabelle and jerked in surprise.

Isabelle gave her a friendly smile. Unfortunately she couldn’t say anything to the pony since Gerhardt wasn’t present and she didn’t have a universal translator, so instead she just waved before turning and leaving the room. She then walked back to the lobby where Gerhardt, all three Princesses, and Prince Shining Armor were waiting. Standing with them was a unicorn in a white coat, presumably one of this hospital’s doctors. Walking over to them she said, “I’ve healed Miss Sparkle. She’s already awake and should be ready to go home any time. She will be a bit tired and hungry but that will be about it. After having a large dinner and getting a good night’s sleep she should be back in perfect health.”

Shining Armor’s exhausted eyes lit up immediately upon hearing that. “R-really?!” He then looked at the doctor and asked, “Would it be alright if I went to see her?!”

The doctor nodded. “Well, assuming what Miss Sano says is true then I suppose there would be no harm in it. However we would like to keep her here for another day or two just to be sure.”

“Thank you so much! And thank you especially, Isabelle!” Shining Armor exclaimed before rushing down the hall to Twilight’s room.

Cadance chuckled and said, “I’d better go with him but thank you so much, Isabelle!” With that she disappeared in a flash of light as she teleported after her husband.

“So, Mr. Mechanica and the Princesses have informed me that you’re searching for employment.” The doctor stated looking at Isabelle.

“Oh, yes. Indeed I am. I was a high ranking medical mage back in the Human Kingdom, which Gerhardt can attest to, meaning I was one of the best doctors in my country. So would you be willing to allow me to work here in this hospital?” Isabelle inquired.

“Well, assuming you really did just save Miss Sparkle in a matter of thirty minutes despite the condition she was in when nopony currently employed here could do so despite our best efforts, I would say that’s pretty much guaranteed. Plus you have received recommendations from both the Princesses and Mr. Mechanica who is already well known in the medical field in his own right for his augmentations. So yes. We would be more than happy to employ you. When can you start working here?” The doctor inquired.

Isabelle looked at Gerhardt. “Gerhardt, when can you have a universal translator ready for me?”

“In about four hours. But considering how late it is I would have to give it to you tomorrow morning since you require sleep. So by tomorrow morning. I’ll also have a flash drive that will teach you the Equestrian language, both written and spoken, along with all the other general information you will need to know ready for you by that time. Though your vocal cords are incapable of speaking the Equestrian language so you will still need the universal translator so the ponies can understand you.” Gerhardt informed her.

After his invention of brain augmentations it had become a standard requirement for everyone in the human military to receive a brain augmentation that allowed information to be downloaded directly into their brain via a port in the back of their skull. The port only allowed information to be put into their brains, it could not be extracted that way. It was designed this way so that if a human soldier was ever captured their enemies couldn’t just steal all the information the soldier knew that way. That port was the only augmentation that Isabelle truly had. So that flash drive would make it much easier for her to learn everything she needed to know. She wouldn’t have to spend years trying to learn an entirely new language just so she could be literate, or spend weeks trying to memorize an entirely new set of laws, or anything else to that effect.

“Good, then I can start working tomorrow morning.” Isabelle said with a smile.

The doctor looked somewhat surprised but said, “Alright. Then I suppose I will see you in the morning. Your shift will start at around seven o’clock. Though since you’re new tomorrow you’ll mainly be learning how everything works here.”

Isabelle nodded. “Alright, that sounds reasonable. I’ll see you in the morning.”

With that the doctor turned and walked away, leaving her with Gerhardt and the princesses.

“Isabelle, I can never thank you enough for saving Twilight.” Celestia stated.

Isabelle shook her head, “There’s really no need to begin with. It’s my job to heal people.”

“That may be, but your efforts are still very much appreciated.” Said Luna.

Celestia nodded in agreement. “Indeed… Earlier you said you don’t want to have to rely on Gerhardt’s hospitality forever, right? Well, in that case I believe there is another vacant house here in Ponyville. It will take about a week to finish the paperwork but we would be more than happy to give it to you as your reward for saving Twilight.”

“Really? Then, thank you very much, Princesses! I had assumed that I would need to buy a house on my own after I earned enough of a budget.”

“Of course, it’s the least we could do.” Celestia said with a friendly smile. “Now, please excuse us. We should also go check on Twilight” She and Luna then proceeded to head down the hall after Shining Armor and Cadance.

Saying nothing Gerhardt opened a portal back to his lab and stepped through it. Isabelle followed after him. Once she was through, he closed the portal behind her. “Well, I should get to work on the universal translator and flash drive. Your room is upstairs. It’s the first door on the right. The restroom and shower is in the room directly next to it. There is some food in a small box next to the stove, along with some dishes and cooking implements. Unfortunately the ponies are herbivores so all of it is plant based since they don’t sell any meat anywhere in Equestria. I’ll have to build a device to clone some for you. I’ve already had Pixel wipe down the stove to get rid of any leftover chemicals from my alchemy projects so it should be perfectly safe for you to use it to cook your dinner.”

“Alright. Thank you Gerhardt.” Isabelle stated. "Oh and before you go and get back to work, you're not actually planning to just let this go just because the princesses asked you to, right? Please tell me you're actually planning on researching how to become a demigod and potentially even a lesser god even without their help. Gerhardt, humanity is dying. We need you to do this! I almost feel like we should have pushed them a bit harder to help us. Well, it's too late now. Regardless, I will do whatever I can to assist you even if they won't."

"Of course I'm going to research it. I would be a gods damned fool not to! As you said, this is far too important for us to just let this opportunity slip through our fingers, the princesses be damned. Also if we tried to push the matter it could have potentially backfired and ended very poorly for us. I need to figure out how the process works. Studying the end product could have made it easier to find out how the process works by giving me clues as to how the process functions and thus at least pointing me in the right direction, but it isn't strictly necessary. So ultimately it just wasn't worth it to press the issue any further, otherwise I most definitely would have. Anyways, I appreciate that you are willing to assist me however I'm not entirely sure what you could really do to help. However, if I think of something I will be sure to let you know."

With that he opened a portal to the underground level of his lab and stepped through it. As he got to work building the universal translator and flash drive for Isabelle, millions of thoughts raced through his mind all at once as he considered how to go about researching how to become a God. As he told Isabelle, it would be a lot harder without the princesses helping him but hopefully it wouldn’t be completely impossible.

[The next morning]

After Isabelle woke up, took a shower, changed back into her uniform since those were the only clothes she had, and ate breakfast Gerhardt gave her both her universal translator in the form of a bracelet and the flash drive containing all the information she would need while living here in Equestria. So she put on the universal translator bracelet and activated it and inserted the flash drive into the port in the back of her head. It only took about five minutes for all the information to be transferred into her brain. Finally Gerhardt showed her the way to the hospital.

Almost as soon as she walked inside she was greeted by one of the nurses. “Hello, Dr. Sano. Before I start teaching you how this hospital operates Miss Twilight Sparkle has requested to speak to you.”

“Oh, alright. Then I suppose I’ll go see her.” Isabelle said before heading back to Twilight’s room with the nurse following close behind.

Walking inside she saw Twilight already awake and waiting for her. Giving the pony a friendly smile she said, “Hello, Miss Sparkle. The nurse tells me you want to speak with me?”

Twilight nodded. “Yeah, I do. You’re the one who saved me, right? I just wanted to thank you. Princess Luna was keeping me updated on my condition in my dreams and I was really scared that I wasn’t going to make it.”

“Of course! I am a medical mage after all, so it’s my job to heal people whenever they’re injured or sick.”

“A mage… So that means you’re from Gerhardt’s kingdom, right? You’re a human?” Twilight inquired.

Isabelle nodded. “Indeed I am. I was actually the high lord of the medical branch. Though, I’m not a full blooded human. I’m actually a half elf. My father was human while my mother was an elf. Thus the reason I am a bit shorter than average and why my ears are slightly pointed rather than being round like a human’s.” She explained.

“Fascinating… Then I assume you ended up here the same way that Gerhardt did?”

Isabelle shrugged. “Presumably, yes.”

“I see… Well, Princess Celestia told me you’ve been employed here at the hospital so I guess I should stop taking up your time and let you get back to work. Though once they finally clear me to go home I would love to get to know you a bit better some time!”

“Very well. The princesses are doing the paperwork to give me my own house but in the meantime I am currently staying with Gerhardt. So you can find me at his house whenever I am off duty. I’ll talk to you later, Miss Sparkle.” With that Isabelle left the room with the nurse who proceeded to teach her how the hospital worked.

[That evening]

When Isabelle finally got off work she ended up running into Pixel on the way back to Gerhardt’s lab. “Hi, Miss Isabelle!” Pixel greeted upon seeing her.

“Hello, Pixel. How are you?” Isabelle greeted back.

“I’m alright I guess. How was your day at the hospital?”

“It was interesting, I suppose. Hospitals here work a bit differently than they do back in the Human Kingdom. At least in the military. I have no idea how civilian hospitals work. And the concept of earning a salary is very new to me. Back in the Human Kingdom mages were never allowed to leave the military or retire so we were never actually paid. We just received a flat budget every month and any money left over that we didn’t spend didn’t accumulate. So it will be fascinating to experience how civilians live for once.”

“Oh. I guess that makes sense. What’s it like being a doctor?” Pixel inquired looking up at Isabelle curiously.

Isabelle sighed. “Hard. I am used to seeing patients in critical condition if not outright dying on a daily basis despite my best efforts to save them. I have lost hundreds of patients in my decades as a medical mage, especially earlier on in my career when I wasn’t as skilled or experienced. It’s rarer for me now but it still happens occasionally. Sometimes their injuries or illnesses are just too severe and not even my biomancy can save them. Miss Sparkle was fortunate. Had Gerhardt not given her those augmentations and had the doctors not done their best to treat her and keep her alive, then her condition may have deteriorated to the point where not even I could have helped her. Not without removing her brain and putting it into an entirely new artificial body at least. Though for that I would need her direct consent so with her unconscious and unable to give that consent there would have been nothing I could do and she would have died.”

“That being said, while it is hard I do feel that it is worth it. While I can’t always save everyone, I can still heal many who are sick or injured and that, to me, makes it worth it. I enjoy being able to help people like this, thus the reason I joined the medical branch in the first place. Helping people is the only reason I was ever able to stomach being a soldier in the first place. I’ve always hated killing since it is the antithesis of what I’ve always wanted to do, however by fighting humanity’s enemies I was able to protect innocent civilians who may have otherwise been killed or worse. And in the medical branch I was able to heal both injured soldiers and injured civilians. So there is no other profession I would rather have.”

Pixel nodded in understanding. “Okay… Would you be willing to teach me how to heal people?”

Isabelle was actually quite surprised by this request. “Of course I would. Though I have to ask, what brought this about? I honestly expected that you would want to be a technomancer like your father.”

Pixel looked at the ground and said, “I do want to be a technomancer like daddy, but I also want to heal people… After killing that manticore I just… I…” Pixel sighed and looked Isabelle directly in the eyes. “I hate hurting things… I want to do the opposite and the opposite of hurting is healing so…”

Isabelle kneeled down and looked at Pixel. “I see… So this is your way of coping with the fact you killed that manticore. I understand. You’ve never killed anything before that, have you?”

Pixel shook her head but otherwise said nothing.

Isabelle took a deep breath and exhaled. She then put a hand on Pixel’s shoulder and said, “Alright. I’ll teach you how to be a medical mage. However we’re going to have to have a talk about what happened with that manticore. I want to help you with what you’re going through at the moment. I almost wish I had been here on the day it had happened, then I could have helped you through it then since I’m sure Gerhardt was pretty much useless in that regard. He’s not the most emotional or empathetic person ever and he knows absolutely fuck all about helping people cope with traumatic events. Otherwise I’m almost positive that we wouldn’t be having this conversation in the first place. So does that sound fair to you?”

Pixel nodded.

Isabelle smiled at her. “Good. If you’re not busy then we could get started on your lessons once we get back to Gerhardt’s lab. Or we could have that talk. Your choice.”

“Okay. School is over for today so I’m not busy… I think I would like to talk first, if that’s okay.”

“Of course it’s okay. I completely understand. Now, I would appreciate it if you could lead me back. I think I know the path since Gerhardt showed it to me this morning but I’m not entirely sure. This is my first time here after all and I’m not exactly familiar with this town just yet.”

Pixel smiled and said, “Alright, just follow me!”

[On Earth]

Silvanus scowled to himself. The war was no longer going the way he wanted, thus the reason he had to get rid of the other high lords. But not only that but apparently there was a chance that Gerhardt would find a method with which to become a demigod if not a fully fledged lesser god or even a God due to the universe he had ended up in. 'Damn it, damn it, damn it! Why is nothing going the way I planned anymore?! Why?!' He thought to himself. He then growled to himself and began pacing back and forth.

'What should I do? I can't allow that son of a bitch to become a god or everything I've done will be ruined! Hm... I need to free that nature spirit sooner rather than later, but I can't rush things or my actions are going to be discovered! Grrrr... This would be so much quicker and easier if I didn't have to hide what I was doing from the Greater Gods or the Gods of the universe he's in. Son of a bitch!' He ranted and raved to himself mentally.

Then he stopped and took a deep breath. 'I need to calm down and think about this rationally. His research will likely take decades if not centuries so I still have plenty of time. I don't need to rush anything. I just have to take my time and slowly help the spirit undo her bindings. Once she's free, she'll take care of the rest and I'll never have to worry about that bastard again. He will never be able to complete his research so there is absolutely no chance that he will ever become a god. Though I find it unlikely he would even be able to do so in the first place. Maybe he could become a demigod but what Greater God in their right mind would ever allow a mortal to ascend to full on god-hood? The concept is absolutely ridiculous. Still the fact that mortals can become demigods in that universe is extremely worrying in its own right. Unfortunately I can't do anything about that since that is entirely up to the Greater Gods that preside over that universe. I have no say in the matter.

He shook his head. 'Whatever. As long as it doesn't affect me, I don't care. Regardless, I'm going to have to update the nature spirit in this development just in case he succeeds in figuring out a method to become a demigod before she is freed. That would make it much more difficult for her to deal with him. Not impossible since Greater Spirits have power equivalent to us Lesser Gods, but not nearly as easy as dealing with a simple mortal. If he could also make Isabelle and that bucket of bolts he calls a daughter into demigods as well then the spirit would have to deal with not just one but six different demigods. The ones Gerhardt would have made and those three worthless equine bitches. Then there would be a chance she may actually lose to them. We have to make plans to combat that advantage in the unlikely event that it does happen. Though even if it doesn't, it's always better to be safe than sorry.

'More importantly, that bastard Lanius has started gathering allies amongst the other gods, I'm absolutely sure of it. Once Erebus learns of it, he's going to start doing the same thing. So That means I'm going to need to gather allies of my own. It seems this is going to become an all out war between the Lesser Gods. That's bad. a war between us will surely attract the attention of the Gods and Greater Gods. Then I'm probably going to be blamed for starting it and the Greater Gods will add new rules like they did when Deimos first tried to destroy the Humans. I don't want to be banned from ever interacting with the mortal world ever again, so I need to find some way to put an end to this war as soon as physically possible before it gets too out of hand and the Greater Gods decide to intervene. Ugh... Why did that son of a bitch have to involve himself in matters that don't concern him?! Oh wait I "violated the spirit of the law by exploiting a loophole" or whatever self righteous bullshit that arrogant bastard spouts. Bah! Who fucking cares?! The letter of the law is all that matters, the intent behind it is completely irrelevant! I didn't break any rules directly so he shouldn't have involved himself to begin with! His intervention is completely ruining my plans!

Author's Note

That's another chapter done! The princesses should never have let Gerhardt know they used to be mortal. He's not going to give up on this until he either finds results or he is killed by something. He's far too dedicated to the defense of humanity for that.

No fun facts this time I'm afraid.

Anyways, as always, constructive criticism is more than welcome. Please, tell me what you guys thought of this chapter and how you think I could improve if at all. I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter as much if not more than I enjoyed writing it!

Stay safe out there everyone!

Edit: ~~GOD FUCKING DAMN IT! I just remembered something important! I really jumped the gun on this chapter. I wanted to add Silvanus' perspective after he heard what Gerhardt said after he learned the princesses used to be mortal. Ugh... I'm such an idiot!~~

~~I'm so sorry guys, I'll write out his perspective and add it to this chapter in an update by this time tomorrow night at the absolute maximum. I'll probably have it done earlier in the day but I'm being a bit generous with the time frame just in case it's longer or harder to write than I expect it will be.~~ (Updated to include Silvanus' perspective)