Chapter Twenty-Eight
Meeting of the Minds
Lily began to slowly open her eyes upon feeling a gentle wind brush against her face. Upon opening her eyes, she finds herself in what appears to be a golden field of what she could guess was wheat. She soon looked up at the sky to see the clouds parted in a circular manner as the sun's rays shone down upon her. The pseudo servant was taken by surprise by the scenery she was in. Granted she knows she's in a dream, but this would be a nice place to retire in when she's old and finish with what she has to do.
"Huh...not a bad place to wake up in. Wonder what it would look like during the night?" She asked as the sun quickly vanished and was replaced by the moon, causing the field of gold to vanish and replace with azure blue flowers. "...Okay, I can get used to having dreams like this."
"So you're the grand servant chosen by the planet." said a demonic males voice as Lily quickly turned around and saw a man with dark skin, eyes similar to that of Mina and Chitose, but his pupils were crimson red, clothes similar to that of something you would see in a fantasy style game, and his hair was long and golden standing in front of her. "Young, but full of potential. I can see why the planet would choose you as it's vessel for summoning a divine spirit." He said before noticing Lily quickly backing away from him and summoned a sword into her hand. "No need to be on the defense. I'm only here to talk."
"Given how I'm getting goosebumps from you and how you know I'm a Grand Servant. I think I'm inclined to be on the defense with you, Beast." Lily said as a smirk appeared on the beast's face.
"That is far." He said before bowing to the pseudo servant. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Goetia, the king of demons and the beast that pities humanity itself."
"...Forgive me if I'm a bit on edge, but why be so formal in front of me. Surely you plan on killing me, so why not take the opportunity to kill me now?"
"I may be a threat to humanity, but I do have manners unlike the humans of this world." Goetia said as pulls himself up from his bow with a disgusted expression on his face. "To think I would end up in a world like this. The term heroes as they claim should be about honor, righteousness, and never to kill your enemies. It makes me sick to think there are humans that would sully the name of old."
"While I do agree with you about that, not every human is like that. You know that...right?"
"I do, but that doesn't change the way that I feel about the human race in this world." The beast said before pulling up a finger as seven balls of magic appeared circling around it. "Favoritism, Greed, Idology, Corruption, Sloth, Vanity, and Cowardness. These are the seven things these humans have become over the years I have watched them turn into. It makes me annoyed...no, not annoyed. Furious as to how weak these humans have become."
"Is that the reason why you want to wipe out humanity?"
"Wipe them out and replace them with humans that are better than this. Humans that actually care for one another. Humans that won't corrupt others with their philosophy of heros. Humans that are perfect with no imperfections." Goetia said as he opened his hand causing the balls of magic to form onto the palm of his hand and formed his version of a human. "A world where no one will be casted out by the false light of justice because of their appearance or personality. A world where peace will finally be obtained. Perfection. Wouldn't you agree, Lily Lilac? You who were cast aside and forgotten by not only your parents, but the hero society itself. Wouldn't you and your friend enjoy living in a world like that?"
"...You know, you had me until you brought up the whole creating the world to be nothing but perfection." Lily said as she let out a small chuckle in humoring the beast's opinion about humans. "And if I'm being honest, that idea of creating a perfect world of perfection doesn't sit well in my gut."
"Care to explain your opinion on the matter?"
"No matter how hard you want to ignore this fact, there is no such thing as perfection. In this world at least, I don't know about any other world besides this one. It may sound cliché coming from me and I'm pretty sure you heard this from other people given how long you've been around, but it's the way things are. People always strive for the concept of perfection, but that kind of idea is what leads to a dead end state. No progression, no room for imagination, no will to push yourself even further beyond your normal limit, not being able to improve yourself, nothing."
"And you think that a world of imperfection is better than a world of perfection?"
"I do. Mainly because perfection is a dead end road of hopelessness. Humanity may not be perfect, but even I wouldn't go as far as to wipe out humanity just because I'm so focused on the bad parts of humanity. What pisses me off is the fact that you just sit there and watch us humans as if you're some all and mighty god or something." She said which caused Goetia to deadpan her. "...Okay yeah you're a demon god, but you get what I mean by that"
"...You do know who you're talking to right? You should be scared of the fact that I will bring about the end of humanity and you."
"Oh I am scared. I'm scared as hell that even though I have all these amazing powers that were given to me by some kind of divine alien god I might end up failing and this world would be screwed over if that were to happen. I'm not doing this just because I was told to do it...well I was, but that's besides the point. I'm doing this so I can survive. And I'll do whatever it takes to make sure I take you down. Even if it means I have to kick people's asses that get in my way." She said before aiming her sword at Goetia. There was a moment of silence between the two for a good ten seconds as the demon king busted out laughing.
"You're an interesting human. Admitting that you're scared, but still willing to fight against someone like me. Especially in your current state."
"I wouldn't underestimate someone like me. With so much pride in oneself, the fall will be twice as hard. If not painful."
"We shall see." He said snapping. The moment he did that, the golden field of wheat that she was on burst into violet-red colored flames and the sky darken as if it was night time. "This is the one and only word of advice you will receive from me, little girl. If you wish to live, you will abandon your role as the grand servant and submit to me." The beast said before turning his head over towards Lily from behind. "Should you submit to me, I will spare you and anyone you bring along with you as my pets to live out your days in peace in the new world I create. But if not."
The flames that were covering the area quickly headed towards Lily as she quickly brought her arms up to block the flood of flames. The moment she felt the flames wash over her, her eyes widened upon seeing dead bodies on the ground around her as it caused her to fall backwards onto her butt. The pseudo servant soon heard the sound of screaming as she looked over to her right to see a group of demonic beasts running and eating a group of people that were a mix of kids, teenagers, and adults. She soon notices a head tumbling over to her feet. She soon looked down and saw Mina's decapitated head next to her causing her to hyperventilate and clench her chest from the pain she felt.
"I will kill everyone you know in front of you. Every man, woman, and child on the face of the earth. I will bring them in front of her so they can curse you, defile you, and kill you." Goetia said before appearing in front of her. "You think you know true despair, true pain, and suffering? You may have had a small fraction of it, but I'll make sure you remember it." He said before grabbing Lily by the throat and lifted her up into the air as she struggled within his grip. "I will make you wish you were never born into this world. And I think now will be a perfect time to show you what I mean-" Before he could finish, he quickly teleported out of the way of an oncoming beam of magic as it caused the demon king to release his hold on Lily as she fell to the ground.
"That's enough, king of demons." Artoria said as Lily looked over to her left to see the divine spirit walking over and stood in between her and the beast. "You may have the body of the king of mages, but even that has it's limit when you're inside the mind." She said before summoning the holy spear into her hand and aimed it at Goetia. "I advise you to leave, less you want to die here."
"Fine, I'll leave." He said before turning back around and began to walk away. "It's up to you what you want to do about it. I'll wait for you at the Sports Festival for your answer." Goetia said before continuing to walk off and into the flames he made within the dream. "Do try not to make me wait long. Less you want people in the stadium to die."
"Wait!" Lily yelled as she quickly pulled herself up. "Get back here dammit! I'm not done talking to you!" She yelled and was about to chase after him, only for Artoria to stop her as they soon found themselves in the throne room from the first time they met.
"You okay?" Artoria asked as she placed a hand on Lily's shoulder. The pseudo servant blinked upon finding herself in the throne room where she first met Artoria as she looked over at the divine spirit with a stoic expression on her having her hand on the bunny girl's shoulder, she could feel a sense of anger and fear coming off from Lily.
"Other than seeing my best friend's head rolling over next to me, getting somewhat strangled by Goetia, and pretty much getting mind fucked by what he did slightly...Y-Yeah...I-I'm okay." Lily said as she before her grip on her chest increased more along with her hyperventilate even more.
"You're lying."
"I'm not." Lily replied as Artoria deadpans at her. "Seriously, I'm fine."
"You do know we share the same body, right?"
"I told you I'm not scared, alright!" Lily yelled as she knocked the divine spirit's hand away. "I was just taken off guard is all. I just need some time to relax a bit."
"...Understandable. Should you want to talk to me, just call upon me when you do. I'll be waiting and watching from inside you."
"...You really need to work on your phrasing."
"And you need to wake up."
"What do you-" Before Lily could finish her question, she felt herself vanishing from the throne room, as Artoria watched her leave. The moment she left, Morgan appeared off to the side of the divine spirit with a displeased expression on her face.
"You do know that she's scared, right?"
"You're saying like I can fix it?"
"Don't act like you haven't. The moment you called me here, I can tell that you've been blocking off sections of her brain that would cause her problems later on in life. Her doubts, second guessing herself, her fears, and anxiety. It's only in the presence of either the Demon god pillar or Goetia It's when you lose your control over those sections of the brain, and focus more on helping her survive."
"It's not like you wouldn't do the same. Given how she's still a child, it's only natural that I would do what I did."
"Perhaps, but you know she's not going to win this fight. And I don't mean because of what you did."
"I know, but even if I told her not to go. She would've just ignored me and went on to fight him."
"If she was smart, she should stay in hiding until she can fully recover from yesterday's fight. This Grand Servant is an idiot." Morgan said as Artoria shook her head.
"She may not be the smartest, but you can't deny her willingness to help out others...even though they'll possibly see her as an enemy."
"We'll see how long that will last. If things end up like how they did with me, then she'll have to give up her not killing heroes morale." Morgan said before vanishing into bits of magical dust. "Because that will lead her to her own downfall."
The moment the dream ended, Lily's eyes shot open as she fumbled from off the couch and onto the floor. She was expected to hit the floor hard, but it was surprisingly soft...and soft...and smelled like strawberries. The pseudo servant pulled herself up from what she landed as she looked into the eyes of Mina who was on the floor next to the couch.
"Um...hey...Morning sleepy head." Mina said as a blush appeared on her face. "Could you...um get off me please?" She asked only to notice tears welling up in the pseudo servant's eyes. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Yes...I-I'm fine." She said before pulling herself up from Mina and back onto the couch as she wipes the tears from her eyes. "J-Just a slight n-nightmare is all. What time is it?"
"It's eight in the morning. You kind of passed out yesterday after what happened at the mall."
"You informed the other about what's going to happen?"
"I did...They want to have a world with you. Mainly because they're having a hard time believing what's going to happen at the sports festival."
"I figured as much...where are they?"
"They went out to find Gawain. Apparently he's being chased by the police for multiple assaults on a lot of heroes that tried to stop him, Illegal use of his quirk, and hero work without a license." At least that's what I saw on the news this morning."
"It would make sense that he would do something...mainly because we didn't really give him the location of where we are...This is going to be a pain to get around the city if we have to sneak out during the day."
"I'm sure we'll be able to manage. But onto a different subject, what was that nightmare that you had?" Mina asked as it caused Lily to flinch a bit.
"I-It's nothing for you to worry about." Lily said as she looked away while clenching her chest.
"...You're lying."
"What makes you say that?"
"Simple." The pink girl said as she stood up. "For the two weeks I've known you, you never cried like that before." She said before pointing at Lily's eyes. "You look away as the glow in your eyes becomes a pale shade of purple, you clench your chest like you've been stabbed, and you fidget a bit."
"...It's scary how you can figure me out like that to some degree."
"Best friends have to know each other." Mina said as she took a seat next to the pseudo servant. "Now talk, what was this nightmare that you had?"
"I...wouldn't say it was a nightmare...more like a warning."
"Warning? What do you mean by that?"
"...Goetia….The beast that controlled the demon god pillar at the USJ." She said which took Mina by surprise. "Don't worry, he didn't try to kill me or anything. Just a warning of what he's going to do to me...or humanity if I were to fight him."
"Wait, how was he able to talk to you within your mind? I mean you have Artroia inside you, so shouldn't you be able to prevent him from entering your mind?"
"You would think that, but this guy has the body of King Solomon, a very powerful mage with years of knowledge in the field of magic. Compared to how I do magic, he makes it look so easy." Lily said as she noticed the confused expression on her face. "Harry Potter vs Voldemort."
"Oh! Okay. So you're Harry Potter and Goetia is Voldemort."
"I hate using that analogy, but yeah." Lily said before clearing her throat. "So pretty much he got into my mind, fucked it up a bit with...horrific images of him killing our former classmates from class 1-A, and threatened to kill every human on earth and have me watch as he does this….I think the worst parts of it all was having your decapitated head rolling over to me, and the fact that this is the third time I've felt this scared before in my life."
"Third time?"
"First was the orphanage after getting beat up by the owner for calling him out on his unfairness, second was the fight with the demon god pillar, and third...fear of losing you because of me." She said as Mina blinked in surprise. "You're the first best friend I ever had growing up...mainly because...well I couldn't trust anyone. No one came to my aid, helped me when I was in trouble, or stuck by my side when I was in trouble. I...Don't want to lose you."
"Aw, Lily~" Mina said as Lily felt the pink girl pull her into a hug, "Underneath that strong demeanor, hides a soft-hearted innocent girl."
"Okay just because I'm in an emotional state, doesn't mean I can't kick your ass for that." She said before trying to pull away from Mina, only for the pink girl to grab her face and make her look into her eyes. "Listen, you're not alone in this fight. We do have your friends on our side to help. Or did you not remember that?"
"...Y-Yeah...but-"
"No butts! Butts are for sitting and staring at. And there is no buts in this argument. We are friends and friends stick together no matter what. And as your friend, we are going to save this planet from Goetia, the demon pillars, and whatever eldritch cosmic abomination that might come to this planet."
"...I suppose…Can you let go of my face please?" She asked as Mina started to play with her ears. "...You did that just so you can touch my ears."
"I'm sorry, but you're just so soft and fluffy that would snuggle with as a stuff animal~"
"...I hate you right now."
"Love you too, best friend~" Mina said before hearing the door to the hideout open. She along with Lily looked over at the door to see Chitose and Hinako enter into the room. Though they paused upon seeing the two in the position they're in.
"Um...Are we interrupting something?" Hinako asked as Mina released her hold on Lily's face.
"Other than being labeled as a plushie, no. You're not interrupting us." Lily said before noticing Gawain and Barghest entering the room...along with two unconscious girls that she would remember the one in the red dress. "...Oh god what the hell did you do?"
"Forgive me my king, but I couldn't leave them on the ground after defeating them. I was planning on taking them to the hospital, but I was being chased by heroes." Gawain said as he walked over to the couch and placed Mirko and Ryukyu next to Lily.
"And you thought bringing them here was a good idea?" Mina asked as she quickly hid behind Lily and used her as a shield. "That Mirko and Ryukyu! Two well known heroes that can kick our butts if they wake up."
"Not unless they can break through quirk canceling cuffs." Hinako said before pointing to the pro heroes' wrists. "You can thank Chitose for that."
"Personally I would rather kill them than keep them as prisoners. But Gawain insisted that we keep them alive under your orders." Chitose said as Lily nodded.
"I don't kill heroes unless they're corrupted by power. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth if I just kill them without a reason." She said before looking over at the group. "So I take it Mina told you what's going to happen at the sports festival?"
"She did...If I'm being honest, I'm having a hard time believing what she said. Specifically how you're some kind of hero created by the planet to kill a beast?" Chitose said as Lily looked over at Mina with a raised eyebrow.
"It's kind of hard to go into detail without someone to show them what I mean by that...sorry." The pink girl said with a sheepish smile on her face. Lily simply rolled her eyes as she looked over at Hinako.
"I'm also confused about what Mina said. So I hope you can do a better job than pinky over there." Hinako said as it caused Mina to huff and glare at the pigtailed girl. "What? You're so pink that it's very blinding to some degree."
"I guess it would make sense without giving you two proofs." Lily said as she motions for them to walk over to her. "Give me your hands and I'll show you what I mean."
"Um...is there a reason behind that?" Chitose asked as she and Hinako made their way over to the pseudo servant.
"You'll understand once you give me your hands. Now please, let me have them." Both Chitose and Hinako looked at each other for a moment before extending their hands towards Lily. Upon doing so, the magic circuits in her arms lit up as she grabbed both their hands. "Now, let go meet a friend of mind shall we~"