Hi to everyone, I hope you like this chapter. We still have a good way to go together and
I'd like to hear your opinion, as an author lives thanks to the comments of his readers.
I really would love to hear your opinion of the story.

Elnauhual

The order of the Mortal Knights.

By Elnauhual

Fan fiction, inspired by "Oh My Goddess" by Kosuke Fujishima.

Chapter XXVIII

Loyalties

Takashi Yoshida was standing at the top of a hill; a light wind moved his clothes and this made him feel light almost as if he were ready to fly. The sky was a pure blue, almost to the point of looking artificial and floating as if was painted. Dominating the sky there was a giant red sun that illuminated the scene. He started walking on a thick lawn that kept him from hearing his footsteps. This spread like a green and immaculate carpet interrupted by some islands of vegetation. He walked for a few hundred meters and then saw a cobblestone path, he approached it and noticed that the stones had been carved in a way that enhanced their mineral veins so they combined to produce a visual effect of harmony.

He walked around, and noticed that surrounding the lane there were mineral streaks that surfaced from the floor, showing beautiful crystalline growths that sparkled like jewels. He walked until he saw a group of flowers and approachedthem full of curiosity, they were unlike anything he had seen before and then he realized that they could not be natural. Everything was organized as a beautiful set. The flowers grew following an intricate and familiar pattern, but at first he could not identify it. Suddenly he recognized it and his heart leap with excitement: - The Fibonacci series! - His mathematical mind rejoiced at the discovery, but what seemed even more extraordinary was that it was not that the plants had been planted in a certain order, but that the same plants seemed to grow following this pattern by themselves.

Then he looked around and began to understand; crystals, flowers, the stones of the road, all had a defined mathematically harmonious order. His mathematical sense was enraptured with that discovery, he observed more carefully and soon began to discover correlations even more subtle and profound, almost without realizing it, in his mind he began to explore abstract geometric concepts and so his vision of this world changed, but something was not right and he was not sure what it was, so he took a small mineral crystal that was on the floor and examined it´s planes of symmetry. He watched entranced, there was something very special but somehow it was eluding him, until in a flash he came to understand and a single word burst into his mind: - "hyper geometry" - The crystal had impossible geometric combinations so he realized he was watching a world with more than three dimensions and yet, at first he had not realized it and had perceived it as something natural. There could be only one explanation: He was looking this world through the mind of a being of this universe, and not through his own mind. At the understanding of this fact, he felt his eyes were fill with tears, he was ecstatic to see a higher multidimensional world that he had so often tried to visualize and always had failed.

Then he caught a faint scent and heard a soft song, just a whisper, it was a voice that made him shiver with its familiarity, then the landscape slowly began to dissolve. Yoshida sighed and said a name that was already sacred to him: "Ghadril".

He did not need to open his eyes, already knew she was there, on his bed and that what he had seen was part of a dream. He could feel the warmth of her body, and at his chest, he felt that strange power that arose between the two when they touched each other. He smiled and said ecstatically.

- That's your world? Its beautiful, thanks for showing it to me.

Slowly, as if he could work back to his own world, he opened his eyes and turned his head to see the beautiful woman lying next to him on the bed in his apartment, she smiled and said.

- You have taught me the beauty of your world, it seemed fair for me to show you something of mine, when I came in and saw you sleeping and dreaming, I thought it was a good opportunity to show you that image.

Yoshida looked ecstaticly at the face of the goddess, and he knew she had something more to say, but he did not need not ask. Ghadril could understand his unspoken question.

- I have to go for a time, I have no idea for how long, but do not fear, I am not returning to my world, it's a mission that the judges have instructed me to do.

Yoshida looked puzzled at her; he sensed there was something more. In some mysterious way he was now able to perceive the feelings of the goddess as his own.

- Something is bothering you, I feel anxiety and doubt. What is the problem?

- Yoshida, there is something I need to understand. Why do mortals kill each other using our name? ...

He shuddered at the implications of that question, how to explain to this goddess, that some of the most sublime actions of humanity were united with the more destructive? He was neither a historian nor a humanist, but knew something of the heart of man.

- Ghadril, in our quest to transcend ourselves, to overcome our fear of death, we have created many noble things, but we have also committed the worst atrocities. I am not sure where to start.

The goddess looked at him and saw his embarrassment, and knew it would be hard for him to put it into words, so she said.

- Let me get in your mind then, words would be unnecessary.

Yoshida looked still more embarrassed, he would have to open up and also reveal his own humanity, with all his achievements and shortcomings, yet he said:

- I fear that if you know too much about humans you may despise us, but I cannot deny you anything, my mind is yours. Come and see the heart of man...

And so Ghadril began to examine the hearts of mortals.

Four powerful demons from Hild's Elite guard came through the shattered door. Their face, usually expressionless, was full of hatred and their eyes shone showing the madness that had infected many demons in this world. But the guards had made a tactical mistake, this was not the room of a common demon, rather it was the room of the goddess-demon Urd. Instead of a frightened creature they faced two violet eyes that sparkled with fury, a fury that had also had been given time to grow.

The flash of those terrible violet eyes was soon overshadowed by a ball of plasma formed between the hands of the goddess, as she spread her arms while invoking a powerful spell. Urd smiled, it was same smile that Hild used to terrorize her enemies, the plasma floated gently toward the guards, then separated into individual fields. The guards for a moment stood mesmerized watching those seemly innocuous lights and before they had time to react, they were hit along the rest of the group coming from behind them. A blinding flash surrounded the guards and they fell unconscious to the floor, their skin and their clothes had been burned by an energy that for a split second had competed with the solar fires, but had been coldly calculated to not go deeper into them.

Urd laughed satisfied, but stopped immediately, it was not the time to lose control. For a few seconds she had taken the luxury of letting her feelings free. The tension of the last few days, the excitement of the old memories, the anger of seeing her potions damaged and the destruction of her rooms door, all had built into her an emotional paroxysm that she had finally unleashed, yet despite how powerful had been her attack, nothing of her room had been damaged.

She breathed deeply, relaxed and appreciated her work with curiosity. Lind would have been proud; her lessons about handling plasma in that parallel universe had been successful, so she laughed softly at the thought that now the session on the guards shooting range would be unnecessary.

Then she saw a figure move with a blinding speed. It was Bragg, who seemly appeared from nowhere, hastened to examine the fallen guards and looked stunned at her with a smile, not unlike that of a proud father, he commented:

- The little Princess has grown! In Hell, only Hild has the power to beat an elite guard and you have defeated six.

Bragg proceeded to seal the demons, Urd I watched with curiosity and then she asked

- Bragg, what's happening? Why they attacked me? I thought the guards were immune to the madness.

Without interrupting his work, Bragg said:

- Seems most of Hild's guards have been infected, whatever it is that is causing the madness, found a way to infect them, Walharen sent a warning a few minutes ago explaining everything and barely had time to react, but it seems my little princes did not notice. Fortunately, for some reason I was not affected.

Bragg pointed to an information screen floating behind Urd, where a blinking warning indicating the arrival of an urgent message. Urd looked at it with surprise, and she realized it must have come several minutes ago, so she immediately displayed the information and her face filled with disbelief at its contents.

- This means that all guards must be infected by now. - Then an idea crossed her mind - Bragg! We must protect the scholars; there is a guard with each one of them! We must protect them, I brought them to the palace thinking that here would be protected. We have advanced so much.

- At this moment they're safe. I apologize for not being here before, but I know the importance my little princess puts on them, so I took them to the throne room under Hild´s protection. They were not happy for being interrupted and Hild was extremely upset at my arrival, but I did not wait for her reaction.

Urd looked astonished at her bodyguard. How was it that a demon so capable had accepted being reduced to a hypertrophic brute? But this was no time to stop to think about it.

- What do you know of Marler? Is she safe?

- I do not know, I looked for her in her room but she was not there. She may be at the healer's guild due to her wounds. That is a protected place so I gave priority to save the scholars. But we cannot wait for too long. The palace has 3,000 active guards and 2,000 suspended. My Princess could defeat six of them, but even Hild would not be able to defeat them all if they attacked at the same time.

- Then we must find Marler and go to my mother. Is it safe to go through the main corridors? The throne room is protected against teleportation and I do not think my mom would remove the blockages at this moment.

- The main corridors are not safe, so we will use the guard's secret passages, maybe we can find some guards there, but most will be in the main corridors because personnel do not know about those passages.

Bragg made a secret sign to toward a wall and the entrance to a passage appeared.

-We must leave immediately.

But Urd stopped him with a sign.

- Bragg!, wait a moment, I have something to tell you. - Urd smiled to the burly demon- You have done an excellent job

- I just fulfilled my duty.

- You have done much more. We owe you much. Now we must go with my mother, maybe we will have to leave the palace. I think Walharen was fortifying Nieghood control center and that may be a good alternative. - Urd then changed her expression and looked irritated. - Now, Bragg, just one more thing, and this is very important- Bragg stopped surprised her seriousness - Never, and I repeat NEVER do you dare you call me "Little Princess" in my mother's presence. Got it?

Urd disappeared into the tunnel, Bragg gaped for a moment, laughed merrily and proudly, and then jumped behind her. Immediately the entry disappeared without trace.

Herja cried in pain, and so realized she was still alive. Her body was convulsing out of control, she felt several hands imprisoning her arms and legs trying to hold them, then felt a pressure on her chest and then a surge of magic rushing into her body, followed by a voice singing a healing spell. It was Lind's voice! She tried to speak but still could not control her body, however it quickly stopped convulsing. This was a kind of healing magic she had never felt, slowly the pain began to leave her but her arm still hurt ... - Her arm?-

She recalled that her arm had been devoured by the blue flog, so she wondered why it hurt so much. At that thought, she forced her eyes to open.

She saw blurry faces above her. Slowly, she began to recognize them: Lind, Oth, Rota, and Eir. Where was Alruna? With pain, she remembered that Alruna had been devoured by the blue fog. She closed her eyes for a moment and allowed herself to feel pain for her missing companion, but she knew could not spare much time. With great effort she added her own voice to Lind´s song, and heard her companions as they did the same, she needed to recover as soon as possible. She soon entered a healing trance.

Thanks to all that magic, in a few minutes Herja´s body began to recover, yet she felt insecure and reluctantly accepted help from her friends to stand up, then asked Lind.

- What kind of magic did you use? Healing magic has never been your specialty, and yet that was very powerful magic.

- It was not my magic; it was one of Urd's potions.

- Indeed? Potions? - Herja could not help laughing- who would say it, I always thought potions were a waste of time. Then she raised her arm and looked with disgust at the stump. Too bad it is not enough to recover my arm, but we have no time for that. We are still alive and that's the most important thing. What happened? I thought we would not be able to seal Belldandy, she is too powerful.

- Belldandy attempted to fight whatever possesses her; at the end she helped us.

- Then she was invaded by the madness? If even Kamisama cannot be safe from the madness, how can we fight it?

Lind stared at her and said...

- This is not the madness! At least not exactly. When the madness invades a god, his mind is transformed, but with Belldandy it seems like a separate mind which is fighting against her, I think Belldandy´s conscience is still intact. Struggling against the invader.

- But if this is not the madness, what is this?

- I'm trying to figure it out- Lind pointed toward the center of the shattered hall. A great crystal was there, inside it was possible to see Belldandy's body, twisted and charred. A pained expression was frozen on her face. - That is Why I need further help from you. I will try to enter into her mind and find out.

Herja looked at her in amazement, then shrugged and laughed. Her companions were surprised and incredulous at her laughter, wondering if she had really recovered. Realizing this she replied.

- We dared to attack Kamisama, now we are pariahs in the world of the gods, whether it was for better or worse, our days are numbered and soon we will disappear, so what can we lose?. Lind, tell us what to do. We know about your loyalty and love for Belldandy, and I respect you for that, otherwise we would have never helped you. If you think there is any way to cure her, we will do it; we have absolutely nothing to lose, at least the wait until our end will not be boring.

The CERN complex is big enough to look like a small town, several streets and avenues go through it. Still there are few cars since most of the staff uses bicycles, so it was highly unusual to have a real traffic jam on Route Meyrin, the main avenue of the CERN, just in front of Galileo Galilei square.

There was a heavy black car, with thick armored windows, and an escort of several vehicles. The sight was so unusual that soon there was a large group of spectators guessing and talking about what was going on.

Then from the lounge of the Microcosm building across the square, a large group came out: In the center there it was a petite young girl accompanied by a burly guard. Around them were the CERN director, some senior scientists and still another group of armed guards surrounding them. As result soon there was an animated buzz from the spectators at the silhouette from the couple. The two of them had become a familiar sight within the center. They had to be Jenny Rosenthal and her bodyguard, but the group of guards kept people from getting close. The murmurs intensified since no one understood what was happening or why there were so many guards. The group moved to the big black car, where the girl and the man entered. The guards escorting them went to the other cars and soon the group left the place in a caravan. The car went off along Route Meyrin, heading east toward the Geneva International Airport.

As the cars disappeared, spectators began to disperse to continue their usual occupations, but one man stood watching. He seemed to be a gardener, one of many workers who guarded the great outdoors at CERN. He looked around, and suddenly ran away, taking a nearby bicycle, then disappeared into the streets.

Meanwhile, a couple entered the CERN computer center. This is basically a large warehouse which housed the computer equipment. Not only the great supercomputer, but also several hundred servers and conventional desktops. Sergeant Philippe Jean Valois looked very different in civilian clothes; but they could not hide his athletic physique. The man advanced without hesitation. He had thoroughly studied the building plans and knew where to go. The building had very little staff because most operations were done remotely. There were just had some maintenance and repair technicians who ignored them. It was not uncommon to see visitors out there, wandering confused by the noise.

Valois opened a door and entered directly into the great warehouse. For a moment he was startled by the noise. Knowing that this was one of the most powerful computer centers in the world, he had expected a quiet place, with some "beeps" and a sterile environment; instead the place was very noisy, hundreds of fans and air extraction systems kept the site at an acceptable temperature for the machines. Valois smiled to think that one of the most high-tech sites, sounded like a conventional cooling storehouse. After a brief pause, Valois waved toward the girl who was with him, and went to the back door.

They went to a parking lot where a compact car was already waiting. It was a small car that no one would have bothered to turn to see. Valois with kindness opened the door´s car to the girl and then took his place at the wheel; he started the car and took Route Routerford towards route Gregory, exactly in the opposite direction to the airport. But they had not gone unnoticed. A man riding his bike was watching them and followed them for a while. As he was lost behind, the man took his cell phone, and spoke.

- The birds have left the nest. They are going to Route Gregory, it's a compact red car with plates 1-ARG-234, do not lose them. Dr. Hervieux says they plan to go to a hideout in the "Reserve Naturelle de la Haute Chaine du Jura". The roads are so narrow that it will be easy to ambush them.

Sentaro-kun was fascinated watching everything around him. It was the first time he had boarded a plane and everything was new. Doctor Shugahara was smiling while he watched the child. He had given him the seat next to the window and now the child did not know where to put his attention: if on the spectacular scenery of Japan that was moving under their feet, or the film in the seat screen before him, or the food they had just been served. For Shugahara it was strange to travel with a child. Several of his colleagues of his same age were already parents, and for a moment he wondered what it would feel to be one, but he knew that was something he had never seriously contemplated. He had been so passionate about his work that had never considered parenting as a part of his life plan, and yet...

Sentaro's voice interrupted his toughs ... and he could not understand a word about what said! Dr. Shugahara, grinning, pointed him to the headphones he was using and to the food was still chewing. Sentaro-kun blushed slightly, took out the headphones, and swallowed whatever was eating before he was able to talk properly, then said:

- There's the coast, we will soon leave Japan. It is the first time that I left the country.

- So how is that you have a passport?

- My parents were planning to take me with them on a trip this summer, so they had everything ready.

- Then keep enjoying this journey, there still many hours of flight left. About 12 hours. If you get bored...

- There is so much to see, I will not get bored...

Shugahara laughed at his enthusiasm, but he had more experience in those long trips.

- If you get bored, - he continued talking - there's something I want you to read. It will be my next book, and I would like the opinion of someone who knows nothing about the theme.

- Sensei! Do you want my opinion about your book?, I could not do it.

- Yes you can, you should not be afraid to express yourself, besides it's also very important that you read it. It will help you to understand many things.

Sentaro smiled, nodded and replied with a firm - "Hai", I will read it. - Shugahara also smiled. He knew Ghadril was right, this young boy had a lot to offer, but again Sentaro distracted him from his thoughts.

- Skuld told me that you have traveled a lot and that you know many countries and strange places.

-Well. Yes, I had the opportunity to travel.

- Oh, and you were also looking for treasures, gold, jewelry, strange idols...

Shugahara could not help laughing. In the eyes of the child, his travels might seem worthy of a movie.

-No, I'm looking for something more valuable, medicinal plants, new medicines and sometimes even a little magic.

The boy opened his mouth in amazement at the mention of magic.

- Please tell about one of your trips. One that has something to do with a jungle.

- A history of the jungle? - Shugahara scratched his chin, and smiled as the memories came to him- I have a story that may interest you. Is about a shaman in the Amazon and a cooking recipe...

Shugahara could not help smiling at the rapt gaze from the child and soon both were in a trip, thousands of miles from there...

The small car progressed along a narrow dirt road that went amidst a beautiful green meadow. After they crossed the prairie the road led them through a dense forest. It had to go slowly because the road was seldom used and had sections needing repair. The road lead to an old shelter for tourists, abandoned when the area was declared a protected natural area.

The car stopped suddenly and Valois left the car. He walked a few meters in front of the car, and examined the ground carefully. Clearly visible, he found recent tire marks. No one was supposed to visit the site so he instinctively put his hand to his waist, but he was not armed. He held his breath for a moment, he could hear something; it was the sound of moving vehicles. He rushed to the car, turned it around and speed back on the road, he accelerated as much as the dirt road allowed. Valois turned to look at the girl who was with him, but said nothing. He now could overhear the sound of a car that was chasing them. It came from a four wheel drive vehicle that could move better than their small car in that dirt road.

Then before them he saw a group of cars that were blocking the road. He slammed on the brakes to avoid crashing into them. He put the car in reverse and tried to back away, but behind them appeared a truck that blocked his path, so he had to brake and stop.

From the cars a dozen armed men emerged, with their guns pointed toward them. They made signs to both to get out of the car. Valois face reflected his fury, but there was no way to resist. He told the girl not to leave the car. He slowly raised his hands indicating that he was not armed and stood in front of the car, with a challenging look at the armed group.

The men wore masks so he could not see their faces, they did not talk either so it was impossible to identify they nationality. Suddenly the group spread and between them appeared one man without a mask. Valois recognized him, so he spit out with hate.

- Hervieux, your betrayal has come this far? Have you not caused enough deaths already? This will not save your family.

Dr Adlene Hervieux was carrying a gun, and moved slowly as if sleepwalking, he stood in front of the group of men and with a faint voice said.

- I do not expect you could understand me, but it's my only option. I never meant to hurt anyone, but fate puts us in inevitable situations. I cannot do anything for you, but I will try to prevent Jenny from being hurt, I'm sorry.

Without saying another word, he raised his gun and shot the sergeant. Valois gasped and clutched his chest with a surprised look, then slowly slumped and fell to the ground.

The girl in the car looked stunned as he fell; she gasped and covered her face, trying to hide the scene before her.

Hervieux stood motionless, looking at the outstretched body, and then one of the men spoke.

- Was it necessary to kill him? He may have been useful as hostage.

-I must return to CERN and later he could identify me. I can still be useful to our cause. Now I need you to give me all the contacts to our agents in CERN, there are still secrets we can get from there and I will need them. - The man stared at him, looked at the corpse, and then took a small notebook that offered to Hervieux. He read it and continued- Now take the woman, but do not do harm her in any way, if anything happens, you will pay with your life. Now leave, you know what do.

One man flung open the door of the car and dragged the girl outside. She seemed unable to react. The he threw her into one of the cars, Hervieux gave an order and all returned to the cars while he went to the small car. He took one of the suitcases from the car and opened it; inside was a sealed metal container. He took it very carefully and took it to them man that seemed to be the leader of the group.

- Take this along with her, it is very dangerous, so be very careful. Under no circumstances try to open it, she is the only one who can control its power. Take care of it with your life.

Hervieux gave a signal and two of the cars left. He waited a moment and got into the third car. They left immediately and soon the place was silent, the shooting had frightened the birds so the place was left in near silence, but little by little, the sounds of the forest came back as if they tried to bring peace back to the scene. Only an abandoned car and a figure prostrate on the ground floor was left.

A couple of men were walking in the night, along a path through a desert plain; they wore advanced night vision goggles that allowed a smooth movement under the moonless night. The night sky was so clear that it seemed artificial and the stars shone with purity that city dwellers can no longer even imagine. Under the faint light of stars it was possible to see their sunburned faces, their resistant and worn clothing and their heavy canvas backpacks. All this showed those men were no novice to that environment. The path led to a hill almost devoid of vegetation. One of them took a moment to orient them, took a sip out his canteen and licked his lips, then put it back, he knew he would need that water in the day. Then they began to climb the hill.

Gradually the slope began to increase, and the trail disappeared, eventually they had to use their hands and feet to climb the steep hill.

An hour later they reached the top. One of them cautiously peered to the other side. From there they could see a small village in the middle of a scorched plain. Despite being night, they took care not to be seen, so they squatted down and began to take out the contents of their backpacks. One of them was carrying a small shovel and began to dig a long and shallow ditch, while the other built a small roof with a heavy gray canvas. Finally he put the roof above the trench. The space was enough to hide a person, and from there one could have a good view of the town. One took several shrubs to cover the canvas and he also emptied some dirt until it was almost indistinguishable from its surroundings, while the other opened a battered box, pulled out a modern looking camera with a powerful tele-photo lens. Unlike the rest of his belongings, this was completely new. His partner also had taken a laptop and a small satellite dish. He turned it on and checked connectivity. He smiled; it seemed there would no problems to submit their work.

Then he got into the shelter and began to explore the village with the tele-photo lens, taking some long exposure, his companion said.

I will return to the car for the supplies, the wait may be long, but if my contacts are right, there will be some action soon. We will be well paid for those photos and videos. Not every day you can document the beginning of a revolution. Years later he could not help but remember those words without feeling a shiver.

For the umpteenth time, Marler cursed her luck, while trying to maintain intact her physical barrier, but she knew it would not last long. She knew Hild´s guards capacities, and knew she would not last long. Marler looked around for a solution, if she were alone, she would have easily escaped, but behind her was the healers, and several wounded demons, none of them had combat experience. She could not leave them behind.

She had been unconscious while receiving treatment, when the healer in chief had suddenly awakened her presenting an urgent message from Walharen. Due the time she took to recover, she had barely managed to mount a defense. She looked around but found nothing that could serve as a weapon.

Outside her physical barrier, she saw a group of six guards, but only two were attacking, the rest of them watched the scene waiting for their turn.

Marler swore one more time, and turned to see the wounded, some of them could barely move, they were victims of this insane conflict. They were from the Administrative staff and were inexperienced in combat, also there were several healers. She hastily gulped and told to the highest ranking one.

-I cannot hold them too long, but there is an alternative, I will try to distract and delay them, you should try to escape and go to Hild, she may protect you.

The head of healers, a tall, frail-looking demon interrupted her angrily.

-That not acceptable, Milady Marler. - he said with dignity - you are Hild´s Druhting, your life is more valuable than ours. I will not tolerate losing my more valuable patient, especially after seeing all the lives you have saved in the last days. We will protect you with our own lives. That is our duty. I may be just a healer, but I have some magic tricks that I can use.

The man looked at his staff and patients, all agreed supporting his words. The demons bore a proud look with fire in their eyes. Marler felt a lump in her throat, she had been subject to ridicule and put down for so many years, and now these demons offered to sacrifice their lives for her, but that was another reason she would not let them do it. She had to think of something, after all, she was once called the cunning Marler...

But her thoughts were interrupted by a bright light that lit up the room and the guards attack stopped. Everyone turned to see what had happened and there, amid the prostrate bodies of the guards, the frightening (at least for a demon) figure of a magnificent goddess emerged, She had knocked down all the guard herself, then said with a chilling voice.

Nobody is going to sacrifice themselves without my permission.

- Urd! - Cried Marler- how come you're here?

- Did you think I would leave alone the most faithful and valuable demon my mother has? Besides, you know you should not disobey your healer. But there's no time to explain more, we have to go before they wake up. I have no time to seal them. The throne room is still safe, but maybe it will not last long so we must hurry. We can go through the guards secret corridors.

Then the head of healers, said sarcastically.

- Nonsense, I will not put my patient through dirty corridors, now I can concentrate into transport directly to the throne room.

Urd began to say - But teleportation within the palace is not a...

She could not finish, she felt the impact of powerful magic and before she understood what was happening, they were materializing in the throne room, under the Hild´s irritated eyes.

How is this possible? -Urd exclaim in surprise- teleportation is blocked inside the palace.

Hild's voice interrupted her...

- Except in case of a medical emergency and the head of healers has access to all restricted sites. It amazes me that you two can ignore so much about the inner workings of the palace.

That mocking voice irritated Urd, but at looking into her mother eyes, she realized something ... It was only part of her old mask to hide her feelings, a wet shine in her eyes betrayed that she was happy to see her safe. Slowly she was becoming more adept to read her mother's feelings. Maybe at another time she would have started arguing with his mother, but she realized this was no time for childish games. Si she just nodded accepting her mother's words, and was rewarded by a subtle smile, then began to examine what her mother was doing.

Hild was in the center of the room, making what seemed a slow and elegant dance. Around her scraps of magic and magical symbols fly around, from time to time, some of them headed to the doors and walls, feeding a powerful magical barrier. Urd had used many times her physical barrier, but this was far beyond that, so she appreciated her mother´s complex magic, who could cover such large space and at the same time to be selective and create openings on demand. It was an impressive display, not only power but mastering magical knowledge.

But equally impressive was that this powerful magic was slowly consumed by the attack, so Hild could not stop her slow dance. It was an equilibrium that may be fatal. As soon as a section of the barrier was dissolved by the external attack, it was immediately replaced with another. It was a careful balance that showed Hild´s true power, the precise control of advanced magic.

Urd could not help but reminisce for a moment about the admiration she had felt as a child to her mother. Her heart trembled with that old feeling, and realized that now it was deeper. As an adult she realized that her admiration was justified.

She let sank that idea, and then began to analyze the situation. She examined the throne room; it was completely different from the last time she had been there. The place was overrun with demons; apparently most of the palace´s staff had been rescued. Hild looked at her daughter and in words almost inaudible to others she commented.

- That's guard of yours have been rescuing and bringing them over here. I think he managed to rescue most of them, I'm sure he will return soon with more.

At that moment, despite Hild´s magic, Urd could felt vibrations in the floor that reminded them that they were being attacked with incredibly powerful magic. Maybe even Hild´s magic could not resist forever especially if the safety of the palace had been compromised. Even Hild, who had plans for contingencies for contingencies, had not planned something like this: To be attacked by her own powerful guards.

Then they heard an alarm, and a tunnel appeared in one of the walls, it was Bragg and was followed by another group of staff demons who had been just rescued. They were battered, seemed they just had a big fight but fortunately they did not seem wounded. Hild did not remove the barrier that blocked the tunnel, instead examined carefully the guard.

Urd understood her mother and came near the entrance, where Bragg responded with a nod and a smile. Urd smiled, none of the infected guards would be able to that, so she told her mother.

- Okay, you can let them in, I recognize Bragg.

Hild raised her eyebrows with resignation that was almost comical and commented:

- Unfortunately, he is identical to the other guards, and at this time we should be very careful, I still cannot sense the difference, except for some reason he is still loyal. I was tempted to turn him into something else, but maybe his identity can be used to our advantage.

Then with an elegant and energetic gesture she removed the barrier. The group of demons came in; there was a mix of fear and relief on them. The presence of other demons was reassuring, but some of them could not help to notice Urd´s Valkyrie marks and spare her an accusing look. As soon as the group was inside, Hild rose the barrier again. Though some demons from the group felt nervous at being so near Hild and so near that strange being that held demon and Valkyrie marks. To know she was Hild's daughter did not help.

Meanwhile Bragg came before Hild, knelt and said in his deep voice.

- Milady Hild, this was the last group, I do not think anyone else is alive. Unfortunately I had no time before to introduce myself. I'm Bragg, third seat of the second cohort of the palace guard, currently assigned to the care of my litl... err, I mean, to Princess Urd and I remain faithful to you. Now I am ready to present my full report:

Hild interrupted him with an energetic gesture and examined him with curiously, then realized something, looked at Urd and asked.

-Urd did you give him one of your potions?

Urd nodded, had hoped to keep this as her secret, but there was now something more important to think about:

-Yes, apparently it was a side effect of my potion that prevented him from being infected.

Without interrupting her slow dance, Hild continued examining him, then asked Urd:

- So you removed the mental block. Those potions of yours seemed to be more powerful that I have given credit for. What else have you altered?

-The loyalty lock. - At Urd´s words, Hild raised an eyebrow as her only expression of surprise and wondered:

-But without that spell, how is it that he obeys you?, I would have changed the loyalty lock to be loyal only to you instead of me – Said Hild with and accusing tone.

Urd could not help laughing.

- Mother, there are things more powerful than spells to make them obey you. Loyalty must be earned, not imposed.

A flash of anger at that claim crossed Hild's eyes, but did not answered. Instead, she put her hand on Bragg, who was still kneeling and proceeded to examine his with his magic. The powerful demon could not help but shudder, he knew that he was an anomaly at the eyes of Hild and as such he could be trashed with a simple gesture. Hild closed her eyes to read his mind and then a mischievous smile appeared on her face...

-At least in this case you are right, he is completely true to: "His little Princess"...

Urd clenched her teeth at her mother's mocking tone but did not counter, by now she was used to that game, so only answered with a reproachful look. But this battle of wills was interrupted by another deep voice; it was Wotan, who had been examining a data screen while ignoring the conflict in front of him. He had cried triumphantly;

- I got it! I think I can understand what happened, it was a happy accident. As reported by Walharen, the infection came through the encrypted energy channels and that encryption is part of the loyalty lock. By eliminating this, Bragg cannot use that energy and so he has been using the same sources of power as us. It's like a gamble. Instead of being surely infected as the rest of the guards, he now has the same chance of infection of all of us.

Urd turned to the sage and commented...

- Interesting, maybe we can use it to our advantage- then she asked the guard- Bragg, you told me that there are 2000 guards suspended. How and where are they?

- They are in suspended animation at the lowest level of the palace, just in case fresh troops are required.

Urd digested the information, and then looked at her mother. She had an idea, but she would need her mother´s help.

- If they are suspended, it´s unlikely they are infected, if we remove the loyalty lock, they will be in our favor.

- Remove the seal of loyalty? - Hild exclaimed angered- I will not let you do that to my bodyguards. How will you guarantee their loyalty? We must use a different spell for blocking the infection.

Marler, who had been silent suddenly, spoke with emotion:

- Milady Hild, I humbly offer my opinion. Those demons voluntarily chose to serve for you, to be an elite guard, they are the highest ranking position and have the utmost prestige in our world. They and their families are proud of belonging to your guard. Forcing their loyalty with magic is really unnecessary.

Hild did not answer immediately. Hild had never cared if people respect her as long as they fear her, and not to trust anyone had been the key for surviving for so many millenniums, but in the recent days, she found there were people loyal to her not by fear, but by respect of her actions. That was something totally unexpected, yet she owed her life to that loyalty, still this was a step she was not ready to take. To remove the loyalty lock! But somehow Marler words had impressed her. Meanwhile Marler had been immersed in her own train of thought to the point she forgot Hild´s presence, then spoke aloud without realizing it.

- If we use Urd´s potion and wake those guards... still they are 2,000 against 3,000 infected, but maybe with the right strategy we can account for the numerical difference...

Urd put a fierce smile on at Marler´s words. A wild and risky plan was her style, and then looked at her mother who bore a similar smile, Hild laughed and caused Marler to jump at realizing what she had said, and then Hild commented in a sly tone:

- Apparently Marler sees no problem in going across 17 security levels before reaching the suspended guards. If that's the case, I approve your plan but you may need a little help from my part, so first we must take these people to safety. - Marler felt stunned at realizing Urd and Hild had approved her plan. Hild addressed Urd:

- Urd, can you take my place for a moment? Even I find it difficult to maintain the shield while transporting them with Walharen, he also has a transport block that I must deal before.

Urd opened her mouth to protest, then said nothing, she realized that it was up to her before they were able to continue with the plan. But she was not sure she could manage that magic level. She realized many lives depend on her capabilities, that was something to take into account, so she answered

- Mother, I will do it, but I must warn you, I am not sure how much time I can keep it up. - Urd had realized that she had to be frank at her abilities; she would not put lives in danger just because she was boasting. Instead of the rebuke she expected, her mother made a bow to her and said.

I'm sure that will be enough. - Then raised her voice that came rumbling as a thunder in the room - All must be prepared to be transport to safety. My daughter and my Druhting will help to get my palace back. Everyone go to the front door, I will open a portal.

Most of the group went obediently to the door, but a small group remained that included the old healer, Wotan and a strange assortment of demons. They went in front of her and put one knee on the floor. The old healer spoke for all of them.

- Great Daimakaicho, we are not soldiers, but we cannot let you fight alone. None of you should put your lives at risk, instead use our lives as you need.

This time it was Hild who felt a lump in her throat. Again, a group of demons were offering to risk their lives for her. Maybe Urd and Marler were right and loyalty was something that should not be imposed but earned. In the world of Hell a silent revolution was starting.

Again the Valkyries had formed a circle around Belldandy, but this time they had also called their angels out, since this time they would not be fighting but using complex and accurate magic. Their torn uniforms contrasted with the purity of the creatures floating over them. There was a dreamlike scene, the rough beauty of the worn out Valkyrie and the sublime beauty of their angels.

Lind was sitting on the floor in front of Belldandy and had already begun chanting softly to enter a trance. She should be able to release her full awareness from her physical body before going into the mind of Belldandy. That would be difficult not only because she was a top notch goddess, but also because when she was raised to the Kamisama dignity, the system had installed a firewall into her mind. That barrier, much more complex and advanced that even the one that protected Yggdrasil should have protected her and that was one of Lind´s worries. The alternative was that the strange entity that seemed to have invaded Belldandy´s mind had been there before they had been declared Kamisama. A suspicion had begun to form in Lind mind, but there was only one way to find out. She interrupted her chant, took a deep breath and finally exclaimed.

- I'm ready!

Herja nodded, but could not prevent to hesitate before going on. They were about to try to do something that nobody had ever dared to try: penetrate the mind of Kamisama, the utmost authority of their universe. That was one of the greatest crimes that might exist in their world, but they had nothing to lose after having not only dared to challenge her authority, but imprisoned her. Yet the weight of millions of years of discipline was heavy on her mind, suddenly Herja had a funny idea that gave her strength to continue:

- Lind, thanks to you our world will never forget us... yet I never expected to be remembered as a criminal.

End of Chapter XXVIII