Warnings: OOCness, semi-OCs, lack of spellcheck, cursing

The Mythical Detective Mayura

XVI: Sloth

The fortuneteller's hut was a marvel, indeed, with its high roof and seemingly endless folds of fabric walls.

Loki had been ordered to stay behind for his safety, but that didn't prevent him from muttering in his position watching the tent from the restaurant across the street.

After all, it was a private event.

Mayura stepped past the red cloth, brushing it aside. The tent went on forever, deeper than it should have been. It was Eris' majesty.

The pink-haired goddess headed towards the center of the tent, only to find the taller goddess of chaos sitting in a chair.

With curled hair in the same shade of pink and round glasses, Eris hardly seemed threatening. Unfortunately, she was.

"Where is Ares?" Mayura asked, knowing that idle banter was useless in this case.

The goddess smirked in reply. "You'll have to defeat my puppets to find out." She waved a hand and an assortment of small creatures appeared, each bearing pointed teeth. They were almost like zombies or stuffed animals, each vaguely resembling one animal with parts of all others in random spots.

Mayura paled just as the fleet of monsters launched themselves at her, gnawing on her hair and skirt. She tried to kick them off but there were too many.

She grabbed a rabbit-like creature by its ears and flung it across the tent but it just rose up again and headed back to her.

"My puppets cannot be killed." Eris explained, twirling the Apple of Discord on her finger much like a basketball. "They can, however, kill you."

Mayura stomped on an aardvark as she summoned her silver staff. One mighty swing ripped a dozen creatures into halves, but they simply reattached themselves and proceeded in their death march.

Mayura slashed through an elephant's trunk as a turtle bit her leg. She shrieked in pain, swatting at a lion.

"There's only one way to stop you..." Mayura whispered, squinting at Eris through the mob of creatures.

Eris' eyes widened. "You wouldn't! You can't!"

Ignoring the pain in her leg, Mayura twirled her staff in the air, slashing through the zombie-like monsters and momentarily gaining a clear shot. "Eris, you only obey the tasks of Ares without any thoughts of your own. Instead of fighting your own battles, you send others, like these creatures and Cerberus, to do your dirty work. I, Athena of Olympus, will free you from your sin. Eris, thy sin's name is sloth!"

An orange monster made of dust emerged from Eris as the goddess fell unconscious. Mayura stared at the one-eyed, droopy creature before striking through it with her staff. It vanished into dust and the plush creatures did not arise again.

Mayura approached the now harmless Eris and reached into her pockets for signs of Ares's location. She discovered a handwritten note:

Ready to learn, Athena?

She clenched the note in her fist, recognizing the handwriting. If Ares wanted a lesson, she would be glad to teach him one.

X X X X

As you probably now, chapters tend to be short because I think each sin deserves to be recovered on its own without having to share the spotlight. Hel was Eris! We're heading towards the fic's end, and I think the next chapter will please you...

There isn't much filler left in the fic, I warn you! Lots of other good stuff is coming.

Next chapter: Mayura fights Ares, but the battle is going badly until a familiar face arrives to help.