D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

Chapter 1644 Sleeping Bag Surfing?

--- Kat ---

”… so thatʼs the best idea weʼve come up with,” explained Kat.

Brook and Church glanced at each other and shrugged. They obviously didnʼt mind being in close proximity with each other. It didnʼt exactly sound comfortable… but if thatʼs what it took they could accept it. Craunch was grinning, for some reason he seemed particularly amused by the idea. Strek seemed a but unsure and Sephy… ”What! No, why would you think thatʼs an acceptable idea!”

”Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?” asked Strek.

”Huh?” murmured Sephy confused.

”Well normally youʼd say something like ʼIʼm so ready to get up close and personalʼ or ʼItʼll be like an orgy but with more clothesʼ or something else like that…” explained Strek.

”Yeah, thatʼs all well and good for a joke but I donʼt want old man ass in my face. That or being pressed against the new couple! Sure dirty jokes are fun and all but Iʼm not looking to jump anyone personally. I just like making crass jokes,” explained Sephy.

Strek shrugged, ”Eh… if this is how it has to be I can live with it. I mean, Iʼm guessing weʼll be separated by cloth or something so it wonʼt be too bad,”

”Iʼm pretty sure weʼll still feel everything,” complained Sephy. ”I mean, if Katʼs still getting blown about by the wind then she canʼt make the ball with us in it too big, so itʼs gotta be tight and compact. Which means less layers, and less places for us to all get wrapped up,”

”Look, the ball part was somewhat a joke,” said Kat. ”Though now youʼre bringing up issues my actual plan of putting you all in the tent and then carrying that seems less then ideal as well… so now Iʼm not too sure,”

”Well, before you get too invested, I gotta ask. Where are you planning to head? Cause it seems like fighting against the wind isnʼt getting you far. So… are you going to head straight? Towards wherever the fancy bracelet is directing you? Just go with the wind as far as possible? Funny as your idea is, it can work and itʼs the best weʼve got so far,” laughed Craunch.

Kat frowned at the question and felt the pull on her arm. It was… call directly into the storm 0 degrees, the pull was probably around 75-80 degrees then? Kat allowed her arm to be pulled loosely so that the others could see the direction as well. ”Not the best direction but not the worst either… but itʼs definitely ʼintoʼ the storm. Hmm…”

What do you think?

[I think we need to prioritise leaving the bubble. Back before we entered it wasnʼt such a concern because all of the ones weʼve been in so far, even the glass bubble was ʼfairerʼ then this one. It was scary, and theoretically one misstep meant death… but we knew the rules there. We could still progress. Here weʼre just trapped in some dinky little safe zone. Honestly. A SAFE ZONE. Itʼs like this Bubble KNOWS itʼs bullshit.]

Right. Well, you didnʼt say it but Iʼm getting the sense that you want me to just follow the sandstorm and let it carry me forward, or just avoid going against it at all? How do we know thatʼll even get us out of here?

[We donʼt I guess but Bower has implied that ʼjust go forwardʼ is usually a valid strategy for places like this. If we ʼfollowʼ the storm weʼll either leave the bubble or run into something that can stop the storm like a cliff or something. From there, I trust that we, and by we I mean YOU will be strong enough to bash your way through. That way we can at least rest up. Plus, if we do find a wall and decide to just run along it we can use my shadow shields because weʼll have a safe place to rest whenever we need.]

Kat nodded, liking Lilyʼs idea more and more. ”Right, Lilyʼs just explained to me her idea and the reasoning for it. What do you all think about…” Kat went on to repeat what Lily said in a slightly more concise matter while watching for reactions. In the end everyone seemed on-board… well except for…

Sephy frowned. ”Look, I donʼt hate the plan. In fact it sounds good… but it doesnʼt really address my issues with the original idea,”

”Then you can be carried in a sleeping bag or something if our demonic overlady is willing,” said Craunch dismissively. ”Itʼs not going to be pretty for any of us but this place is shrinking and a decision does need to be reached eventually,”

”It IS shrinking?” asked Kat. ”And yeah sure if you guys donʼt mind someone being in a sleeping bag… though… I could probably carry three sleeping bags? Maybe four? One in each hand and one over each shoulder? Not sure if the sleeping bags in my ring are rated for this sort of weather but I can test that in the moment. Still… itʼd be a much rougher ride if you guys picked more individual stuff… no back to the shrinking thing. You can confirm it Craunch?”

”Yup. It ainʼt fast but Iʼd give it twelve hours before weʼre a bit squished here and twenty four before it gives up completely, maybe a bit less. I can see us having a full day from the get-go but eh thatʼs just an estimate,” answered Craunch.

”Brook and I can share a sleeping bag, if it comes to that,” said Church with a shrug.

”Though honestly I think weʼd rather a smooth ride. Like, I donʼt mind an excuse to be close to Church but if I headbutt her because weʼre getting jostled thatʼs going to be embarrassing… and someone does have to share so itʼs probably going to be us,” added Brook.

”Why would it be rough though?” asked Strek.

Kat gave a confused glance at Strek. ”Well Iʼll be running over sandy ground into the wind. Sandy ground thatʼs pretty constantly shifting. I can easily balance one package and even bend my arms to compensate for the jostling a good deal… but I canʼt do the same for multiple ʼpackagesʼ while also staying upright in wind like this where I canʼt use my wings properly. So… itʼll be a bit rough,”

”Right but why arenʼt you just going to surf down? Even if you donʼt have anything specific to the task, that shield you had out before would probably work. I mean, the sand is all blowing downhill from what I can see and the wind at your back will only help… thatʼs gotta be smooth right?”

Kat scratched at her chin as she considered the idea. ”Hmmm… hmm… I donʼt exactly have practice surfing and Iʼm surprised you know about it…”

”One of my favourite movies involves a surfing tournament,” admitted Strek.

”… right well Iʼve only gone surfing… maybe once? Itʼs really not something that comes up often and while my balance is pretty good part of that is my wings and tail. Though… if weʼre going straight downwards and following the wind maybe my wings can be used. Alright Iʼm willing to give it a go. Itʼll be smoother then running but if I trip over youʼll have to forgive me for the rough landing,”

Sephy sighed, ”Fuck it, I can live with that risk if it gets me my own sleeping bag,”

Craunch grinned, ”Sounds like a good time… I think Iʼd like to risk doing a bit of this surfing on my own actually. The sand isnʼt pleasant but it is quite survivable for me. If I load up on some good clothing I should be fine and itʼll be one less person for you to carry,”

Kat sighed, ”If you keep the rope around us both Iʼll allow it,”

Craunch huffed, ”Fine,”

”Weʼre both on board as well,” announced Brook.

”Right in that case Iʼll just quickly test the durability of these sleeping bags and maybe see if I have anything better then a tower shield for surfing… though Iʼm not sure how Iʼd judge that sort of thing. Craunch, how are you planning to practice?”

”Eh, Iʼll just figure it out in the storm,” said Craunch, waving the concern off.

Kat glared back, having expected that but decided not to say anything. It… it might be for the best to take the risk. She wasnʼt sure how else they were going to go about this and Craunch was fairly tough so it likely wasnʼt going to kill him. Heʼd proved as much by sticking his finger into the sand earlier.

Enjoy exclusive chapters from empire

Kat sighed and pulled out a sleeping bag. She still wasnʼt sure this was the best way to go about it… but they were roughly person shaped and you could zip them up completely to keep the sand out. Holding one out into the storm Kat felt herself sliding along the sand but… the material did hold up under the barrage with just a few scuffs. ”Alright… I think this can work…”