{|} Chapter 8: Truth from the Lips of a Goddess {|}

{|} A-Part {|}

Five figures quickly made their exit from the Erisia Cathedral, after making sure the cost was clear. Moving quickly, they made their way onto the roof tops and began to run towards the most lavish and expensive mansion in all of Axel. As they moved, Chris spoke up, saying-

"OK, here's the plan everyone. Once we arrive, I'll confirm where within the mansions walls Cecily is located at and if she's alone. Also, seeing as Aqua should be there as well, according to Clover, we'll need to find her too."

"And once we've done that, boss?"

"Then you and I will need to grab them and get them out of the mansion. Not only the mansion, but also get them both outside the walls of Axel. We'll take them a good way away from Axel before we move onto the next step."

"Question, why the need to take them both outside the city walls. Isn't that a bit of a time waste here?"

asked Anna. Kazuma answers, having already guessed the answer.

"Chris is likely wanted to avoid any back-up showing up to cause trouble. If we do what we're about to do inside Axel, then there's a chance that the choker; more specifically the power up it received, may allow Cecily to call upon anyone she's brainwashed in order to come help her from anywhere within the Axel walls."

"Kazuma's correct. The greater the distance, the less likely she is to be able to summon aid. Even if the distance we'll be covering isn't enough, it'll at least buy us some time to resolve this situation."

Lia and Erika nod in agreement, then Erika asks-

"Lady Eris... I mean, Chris; I get taking Cecily outside the city walls, but why Aqua? Won't having her along for the ride make things more difficult for you and Kazuma?"

"Possibly, but she still needs to come along. Don't forget what I told you all before. Tonight is the night for her big test, according to Clover and what she was told to tell us. While her being there will be a bit more of a potential chore for us, she still needs to be there all the same. Besides, if I can convince her of the truth, then it'll make dealing with Cecily easier too. After all, as a loyal follower of Aqua's, Cecily will do anything and everything Aqua tells her to do, even if her own thoughts and feelings tell her differently."

The outline of Axel's top mansion begins to come into view as Lia asks-

"So, what happens then? What will you and Kazuma do once you reach the spot you're going to be working your magic at? And what about us three. What do you want me, Erika, and Anna to do while you two are doing that?"

"Kazuma, once we reach the spot I choose, I'll need you to keep Cecily occupied while I have a little talk with Aqua. If all goes well, I'll be able to convince Aqua of the full severity of the situation and she'll then get Cecily to remove the choker."

"And if that fails, boss?"

"(sighs) Then WE'LL have to get a little rougher with our own actions. As for you three, I want you to hang back and keep the others busy; make sure the don't follow after us."

(A) "Yeah, making it a three on four showdown. That doesn't sound fair."

"Megumin can't use any kind of magic right now and she's not all that good at anything else ("Accept for bows and arrows, boss!) As for the others, between two Divine Relic holders and your morph power, Anna, I think you three will be just fine."

(A) "Actually, I meant it wouldn't be fair for them!"

(K) "Erika, Lia... listen. While you two, and Anna, are keeping them occupied, try to see if you can create doubt within their minds about this whole thing. Maybe that might make them change their perspectives on everything. Maybe even get them back on our side here."

(E) "Is that even possible, Kazuma. I mean, how do you know that will even work?"

"Simple, because it almost did before. I've come to learn that whatever it was that was used to power up the Charisma Choker seems to have some side effects to it. Back when this all started going down at the mansion, I managed to momentarily get through to them. Without Cecily around to reapply the choker's power on them, it may be possible to free them up which will make things easier for you all."

(L) "Any suggestions on what to do that can help us out there, Kazuma?"

"Hm... well, you and Cielo have history, right Lia. Maybe she'll be willing to give your words some stock in the trust department. Also, have them go grab their diary's or journals. After the last time we had to deal with the Charisma Choker, by way of Cecily's cousin, I told them to start keeping a written record of anything and everything that happens... if they hadn't already been doing so before then. That way, if something like this ever happened again, they would have that as evidence to tell them the truth."

"Everyone, get ready. We're here!"

Chris was the first to come to a stop with Kazuma and the girls just a step or two behind her. They had come to rest on top of a building across from where the top mansion was located. After carefully looking around, making sure the coast was clear, they hop down to street level then over the barrier into the massive front yard within the mansion grounds.

"Say, anyone think there'll be any guards patrolling around this place?"

asked Anna. Chris responds first, saying-

"It's possible, but unlikely. Cecily is most likely convinced of her own safety, now that me and Kazuma are supposed to be behind lock and key. As such, she'll likely be throwing caution to the wind where security is concerned."

Kazuma is quick to add-

"Also, my Enemy Detection skill isn't alerting me to any nearby threats either."

"That doesn't mean much here, Kazuma, as I'm not sure if either of our Enemy Detection skills would be set off by the presence of the Knight Guard on patrol. Don't forget, we don't really see them as enemies, even under these circumstances."

"So, in other words, we're more or less blind on the threat detection level. Greattttt...!"

Luckily for them, it seemed that Chris assumption was correct as they found no sign of security out on patrol. Because of the size of the front yard, it took them a hot minute to cross the whole thing till they were just just a few steps away from being able to touch the mansions walls.

Lia looks at Chris, who was digging through the pouch at her side, and asks-

"OK, we're here. What now, Chris?"

"Give me a moment; I need to see if I can... yes, found them. (pulls out a pair of stylish shades from her pouch) I'm so glad they didn't bother to remove my divine storage pouch off my person when they captured me. Getting this replaced once lost can be a total pain in one's ass."

Chris then slides the shades on as Erika asks-

"And those cool looking pair of sun glasses are...?"

"Divine Relic All-Seeing Shades. As a goddess, I can access ANY DR that exist whenever I need them, so long as they aren't already in use by another, of course. With this baby here, I can see anything and everything I want. I can see through walls, clothing, infer red, night vision, and so on. Not the most powerful of DR's but it does have a large number of uses so long as you have the intellect to think about the possibilities."

"They can see through clothing and such, huh... (turns to look at Lia and Erika, then back to Chris) Mind if I borrow those later, once you're done. For research and... personal curiosity, of course."

"KAZUMA!" (x2)

yell both Lia and Erika, already instinctively covering themselves up with their hands. In response, Kazuma just sends them a sheepish grin.

Chris, meanwhile, began scanning the mansion and quickly finds...

"OK, I can confirm both lady Aqua and Cecily are over there, in that room. As for the others, they are currently in another room. Not sure as to why. No matter as it will make what we're about to do just a tad bit easier. Now, for the next part."

Chris then returns the All-Seeing Shades to her pouch, then pulls out what looked to be some dynamite. She then moves to the outer wall, directly outside the room Aqua and Cecily were in and begins to plant the sticks of dynamite. Kazuma looks at them, then at her and asks-

"Where did you get those, boss?"

"Like I said, more or less, I can summon anything I want from this pouch, seeing as I'm a goddess and all that. For me, I can easily call forth any item that has a physical existence within the mortal plane, on top of any currently unowned and unused DR as well. Anyways, is everyone..."

"Be honest, you two. Neither one of you would mind it if my brother saw you naked, am I right?"

Anna had apparently decided now was the best time to be keeping Kazuma's little joke from before going. Lia immediately blushes, then says-

"Of course I would mind. I mean, it's not that I... but something like that..."

"Actually, I don't think I would mind it all that much."

"Eh?" (x2)

"Well, I mean... if I had made a different choice back then; hadn't pushed Kazuma away like I did, then maybe... who knows. Perhaps me and Kazuma's relationship would have progressed to the two of us doing such things that would require us to see the other naked. Who knows? What about you, Lia. You told me, from what you've learned about your forgotten past, that if you hadn't let yourself be pushed away from talking with Kazuma, from possibly becoming friends with him back then, what do you think your relationship with him would be like today as my... replacement... successor? Whichever way you want to word it."

"I... well, I guess it wouldn't be impossible..."

"Enough, you three. Save this till after we're done here. Now, does everyone remember their roles. (everyone nods) Good; Kazuma, if you will."

Kazuma nods, then uses tinder to lite the fuses on the dynamite. They all then back away and Chris says one final thing to them.

"I'm not sure how loud the bang is going to be but we can assume it might draw some attention from anyone outside these mansion grounds. Kazuma, once we're in, move fast to capture Cecily. After that, follow after me and Aqua as I lead us away. No matter what..."

"I know; don't let her get away and don't allow her the chance to call out for help aloud. I'm ready!"

Chris nods and they all turn their attention to the sticks of dynamite, watching the fuses grow smaller and smaller and...

BOOOOOOOM!

{|} B-Part {|}

(a few minutes earlier)

"Ha-HA, I win AGAIN!"

"Ah, not fair, lady Aqua. Why can't I win a game against you?"

"Don't feel too badly, my poor, devoted faithful. It only makes sense you could never beat me at any game we play together. Don't forget I AM a goddess, Cecily. I have never once lost at playing a game before."

That was a total lie, of course. In fact, this night was the first time Aqua had ever won a game in her entire life; not that she was about to go admit that to anyone. After all, she had to keep up appearances when in the presence of one of her beloved children.

Cecily just slumps down into her chair, sulking like some small child who had just been told no desert.

"This sucks. I don't want to play against you no more, lady Aqua."

"Now-now, don't be like that. How about I let you play me with a little handicap. How about I cast Blessing upon you to boost your luck, then we play another round of Warrior's and Wizard's."

"Hm, getting to experience the Blessing of the goddess Aqua... alright, I'm in."

Aqua smiles happily at her loyal follower, seeing her depression melt away in an instant. This was nice; moments like these. It was something she didn't often get to indulge in, even back up in Heaven. Everyone was always so busy, doing boring stuff like work and stuff.

'Everyone else... always being a bunch of fuddy-duddy kill-joys. They all need to relax and enjoy existence a bit more, like me.'

Aqua then cast Blessing on Cecily, knowing that it wasn't going to make that much of a difference for the next game, or the game after that. That said, maybe she should create the illusion of having a chance for Cecily, let her get close to winning one without letting her win an actual game. It should help her keep interested and allow Aqua to keep up her unheard of winning streak here.

As Cecily worked to reset her side of the board, she turns her head to looking in the direction of the kitchen, then says-

"Geez, what's taking those four so long. With them all working together, surely they would have finished making up some snack food and drink for us all to enjoy here during this special game night."

"They're probably just wanting to prepare something special. Think about it. It's not every day one gets to entertain an actual goddess. I'm sure they're just wanting to be... what's the word; meticulous?"

"Yeah, you're probably right about that, lady Aqua. Still, maybe I should go check on..."

"I said it's fine. Relax; we'll have our munchies to munch on before you know it. Now, how about you regale me with how you managed to get EVERYONE here in Axel to become followers of my faith again."

"... OK, sure. I'd be happy too."

And so, Cecily once more told Aqua how she went around, using her kind and persuasive words to help the misguided masses realize their folly at being led astray by the words and teachings of the dark goddess and offered up her gentle hands to help lead them on the correct path.

By the time Cecily had finished recounting her tale... again, Aqua was crying from the joy she felt inside her heart. She then reaches out, taking Cecily's hands into her own, clasping them together, as Aqua says with words filled with rapturous passion-

"Wonderful... amazing, you truly are an incredible person, my dear Cecily!"

"(tearing up as well) Lady Aqua, I... thank you for your gracious words. Hearing you say all that makes all the blood, sweat, and tears I put into my work each and every day worth it."

Of course, Cecily wasn't being honest as she never once performed a day of hard labor, or even minimum labor, in her life; not that she realized that, of course. After all, in her mind, eating and sleeping, being lazy and harassing the followers of Eris was a hard days work.

Aqua then lets go of Cecily's hands and sits back. Aqua then takes on a thinking expression, making Cecily cock her head to the side in confusion. Aqua then has a eureka moment which is quickly followed by her saying-

"Alright, I've decided. Once I'm back up there in Heaven, I will call upon all my followers and gift them with my holy decree and that decree will be that YOU, Cecily, shall become the next leader of the Axis faith once the current high priest either retires or passes on. What do you think?"

"Me, becoming High Priestess and leader of your church, your faith... (begins bawling her eyes out) Oh, lady Aqua. Thank you... thank you for giving me such a great honor. Though I know I am unworthy of the title, I swear to you I will live up to the lofty ideals you have set for us and I will never let you down."

"Right-right... anyways, let's get back to playing this game, before the Blessing I places upon you wears off."

"OK."

And so they continued with the next round of their game. As they played, Aqua couldn't help but look at the choker around Cecily's neck and was once again reminded of the fact that she couldn't help but feel it looked familiar to her.

"Say, Cecily, about that choker of..."

"Ah, lady Aqua. I just remembered something important. It was something that dark goddess whose been going around corrupting people said to me earlier today."

"What did she say? What words did she use to try to lead you astray, my child?"

"Awful, horrible things, lady Aqua. Truly the kinds of words that would make one feel great disgust from the very implications behind them. I confess, the rage she made me feel with her venomous lies..."

"(becoming angry) WHAT! That damn fiend, what did she tell you. Depending on what it was, I may have to break my own rules, as written in the holy text of the Axis church, and go end her existence tonight."

"It was heresy, lady Aqua. Words that were truly vile to hear spoken. Get this, she actually had the gall to say that you WEREN'T the top deity up there in Heaven."

"She said... the nerve. To actually go and... oh wait, she's completely right about that!"

"Eh?"

"Yeah, as sad as it it to admit, I'm actually not the top dog in the heavenly food chain. There's actually a bunch of gods and goddess' who far surpass me in both power and status."

"(surprised shock) EHHHHHH!"

"(nonchalantly) Honestly, I don't mind not being the one in charge. I mean, those guys never seem to ever have any fun at their jobs. Always busy doing this and that... and all that paperwork they have to deal with too. I don't know who or what causes all that paperwork to be piled on them to begin with, but I can say with all honesty, I'm glad I don't have to deal with it."

Obviously, Aqua was blissfully unaware that it was she herself who was the source of ninety-nine percent of that paperwork.

"Wow, I never... I mean, I, and everyone within the Axis faith, have always believed that YOU were then end all, be all of existence, lady Aqua."

"Don't get me wrong, Cecily. If I wanted to, I COULD be the one in charge up there. After all, I have the power, the intellect, and the popularity to become the number one divine easily. But the kindhearted and gracious me has instead chosen to step aside and let others handle all the big, important work. Also, not being the one in charge allows me way more time to focus on all the really fun aspects in life. After all, as it is written, by my own hands, in the pages of the sacred Axis text..."

"If you're not having any fun, then it's not worth doing! You're right, lady Aqua. That does make more sense now why you aren't the one in charge. It's not that you can't be, but because you choose not to be."

"Exactly!"

Aqua then goes quiet, averting her gaze away from Cecily. In truth, she knew she had just told a lie of epic proportions. She wasn't any of the things she told Cecily, even she wasn't so dumb as to not realize that. But, for the sake of maintaining appearances, she needed to sell that lie so her faithful didn't begin to doubt her or her powers.

Besides, it's not like her little fib was hurting anyone, right?

After a moment, Aqua is finally able to look at her again and ask-

"So, did that dark goddess say anything else to you I should know about."

"Hm... not really, except that her being ended by either you or by me or another one of your followers would have bad consequences brought down upon us all, or something to that effect."

"She said what? Damn that fallen... to have the nerve to go say something like that must mean she's got some brass balls on her to be sure."

"So what she said was a total lie then?"

"Of course it's a lie. There's no way neither I nor any of my followers would ever be punished for ending the existence of a fallen deity. In fact, I have half a mind to storm over to where she's being kept locked away right now and chew her out for making such a claim. Oh, I just realized something."

"What is it, lady Aqua?"

"It just occurred to me that you never told me the name of this dark goddess. I wonder if I may know her from somewhere as it may help explain her hubris and attitude."

"I didn't? Oh right, I guess I didn't. Sorry about that, lady Aqua. I'm sure you may have heard of her, based on all she said and claimed. Her name is Er..."

BOOOOOOOM!

Aqua and Cecily found themselves being knocked back by the sudden force that hit them, the same force that destroyed the wall and window close by. As the two of them cough and try to collect their thoughts over this sudden and unexpected happening, two voices ring out in unison.

"Bind!" (x2)

The next thing either girl knew, they had their arms, hands, and legs, wrapped up tight with a glowing, golden cord that seemed to sap their physical strength, preventing them from using any kind of spell they could think of to break free.

"Lady Aqua, what's..."

"Hey, who dares attack a goddess and her loyal follower within this sacred abode?"

From the dense smoke created by the blast, two figures come rushing into the room, a man and a woman. The man quickly grabs Cecily and throws her over his shoulders while the woman grabs Aqua by the back of her collar.

"Kazuma, we got we came for here. Let's hurry up and get them out of Axel quickly."

"Right boss..."

As Megumin, Yunyun, Darkness, and Cielo come running into the room, Kazuma and Chris had already turned and were running out the hole they had made. As they move, Kazuma says to the three other figures partially hidden within the smoke.

"We'll be off now, Erika... Lia... Anna. Make sure to take care of things here for us while we're away."

"We'll handle it. Kazuma."

"We won't let you down."

"Make sure you end this whole thing, big brother."

Kazuma doesn't respond; there was no need for him to respond. Right now, all he would allow himself to focus on was doing what Anna had said for him to do...

One way or another, he was going to end this!

{|} Intermission {|}

Dark, eerie green flames upon the walls lit the otherwise darkened room Serena was currently standing in. She made her way slowly around the large sarcophagus located at the rooms center, carefully reading the ancient text that had been carved into the stone of the sarcophagus.

She checks the papers in her hands, making sure she had been reading everything correctly before letting out a sigh. She then looks to the surrounding walls, seeing additional writings etched into the stone there too, but there was no reason to take time to translate those writings.

'Just a written history of how lady Regina was tricked and sealed away. All I want, and need, to know here is how to unseal her.'

She then reaches out, placing her hand upon the stone sarcophagus, her touch causing some runic writing that symbolized the power of the seal at work to glow, adding further illumination. She then speaks in a soft tone to the sarcophagus-

"Just bare with your prison for a little longer, lady Regina. I shall see you free here soon."

Serena then returns her notes to the pouch at her side, then turns and exits the room. After passing through several other small rooms and passages, she emerges into an impossibly large cavern located deep beneath the earth, directly under Axel in fact, where she finds Melissa awaiting her return.

Melissa was leaning against a stone wall, unmoving, till Serena clears her throat, making the treasure hunter finally opens her eyes and ask-

"Well?"

"As I feared, our perverted party leader isn't going to cut it as an offering for the release of lady Regina."

"I could have told you that one, Serena. Honestly, I would think it obvious that Dust isn't a worthy anything unless you count unreliable on his list of talents."

"The problem isn't with Dust himself, believe it or not. The issue isn't with the quality, but quantity of the offerings. Dust alone isn't enough, no matter how much he can offer lady Regina. No, in order to release and awaken her successfully, we're going to need at least four offerings to make sacrifices."

"At least four, huh. Is it only four we need here and what about their quality?"

"Yes, we need at least four though having a few extras won't hurt matters. As for the quality goes; the better our offerings, the less time lady Regina will need to recover her full divine might once she has been released and awakened."

"Hm... so, what do we do now?"

"First, have you made any discoveries through your exploration of this ancient place?"

"Nothing of worth... to me or to you. I still have some areas left unchecked though, to say nothing of the inner sanctum..."

"Sorry, old friend. I'm afraid you being allowed into the inner chambers at this time isn't possible. Only the high priest or priestess is allowed inside, you know that."

"Which is a shame as I could have translated any ancient text inside there at a faster rate than it took you."

"Don't remind me. Translations has always been your forte, old friend. If only you had walked the same path as I... never mind that right now. Where is our useless leader at anyways?"

"I have him sleeping his sad little life away inside some storage room, all locked up so as to not cause any trouble. He should remain in dream land for a good few hours, give or take."

"Good, then that means we can still make use of him as an offering. Despite his less than admirable traits, we both need to acknowledge his level of skill and ability. He's a good offering to lady Regina. All we need is to have a few more to join him in the great sacrifice."

"Now, going back to my previous question..."

"Right, what do we do now? I'm going to go ahead and return topside, to get ourselves some additional high-quality offerings for lady Regina's revival. While I'm gone, continue to explore this place. See if you can find anything that may benefit us in the future. Also, keep Dust alive till the ritual can begin again. This way, he can do something useful for once in his sad, pathetic life."

"Understood... so, do you know who's going to be joining Dust in becoming an offering for lady Regina?"

Serena nods, then begins to walk away, heading towards the great stairs that would take her back to the Erisia Cathedral's dark catacombs. As she walks, Serena thinks-

'Yeah, I do have some candidates in mind. I confess I feel bad about my choices though as I had come to really like those poor fools. However, for the revival of lady Regina, I must be willing to make the hard choices here.'

{|} C-Part {|}

(again, a few minutes earlier)

Cielo quietly and carefully poked her head out of the kitchen, looking to make sure Cecily and Aqua were focused on playing their game and the chat they were having with one another. Seeing that they were indeed lost in their own little world, she closes the door to the kitchen, then walks back over to the others who were busy recounting the contents inside their diaries,

"OK, we're good to go ahead with our private talk here. So, what do we all think on what we wrote down?"

Darkness goes first, saying-

"It's like what Yunyun said she wrote down in her diary. There's no mention anywhere in mine about Cecily. But that heretic, Kazuma... he's definitely mentioned a lot."

"So, does that mean we screwed up big time, this time? Letting ourselves get fooled again by the power of the Charisma Choker?"

asked Yunyun. Cielo answers by saying-

"Honestly, I think we did. After going through my diary, I found I had written down how Kazuma had been helping me overcome my androphobia problem, despite my memories telling me that all those moments I wrote down having with Kazuma I had instead had with Cecily, like giving my..."

Cielo goes quiet, her cheeks warming up from the memory. In said memory, she recalled giving her first kiss to Cecily, but according to her diary, it had been Kazuma she kissed. It was that thought, her kissing Kazuma, that made her feel her heartbeat speeding up a little. In comparison, thinking about kissing Cecily didn't trigger such a thing. If anything, it made her feel a little on the icky side.

"The same goes for me. I can easily remember my fourteenth birthday, when me and Cecily fired off a double Explosion together. I still feel so happy at knowing she learned Explosion magic for me, and yet..."

"That's not possible, Megumin. Cecily is an arch priestess; we all know that. And because of that fact, there is NO WAY she could ever learn Explosion magic, even if she were to find and make use of any kind of magic item to would allow someone to utilize the skills connected to a class they can't naturally learn. Even then, something as powerful as Explosion magic can only be used by an arch wizard or a freelancer class adventurer."

Megumin nods, fully agreeing with Yunyun's words. Megumin looks at Cielo and Darkness while saying-

"And that's one of the reasons why I'm really thinking our memories have been messed with; why I'm now confident that Cecily is using the power of Alonzo's choker on us here and now."

They all go quiet, taking a moment to think before Darkness says-

"That then begs some important questions here. One, why is it the four of us are able to recognize that fact when we never once questioned our devotion and memories with Alonzo till after the effects of the choker wore off. Next, when I think about it, I can recall us going to attack Cecily back there at the old mansion while we were fighting against the her... Kazuma and Anna, only to go back to backing her in the attack on Kazuma and Anna. Why did that happen to us also?"

Once again, they go quiet till Megumin offers up her thoughts on all that.

"If I had to take a guess, I would say there's two potential reasons why we can be here talking about this now. One, because of our past experience with the choker, this current run isn't as absolute as that first time, thus giving us periods of sub-freedom from its power. The other possibility could be that this sub-freedom could be a result of Cecily having done something to the choker to have powered up in such a way as to cause these moments of doubt to occur within our minds."

"Megumin's right. I can recall Alonzo's range with the Charisma Choker was really limited. So much so that I think it only had enough range to cover the entire inside of a circus tent. In comparison to the whole of Axel, that is a massive difference in effective range there. For her to be able to use the choker's power on everyone in Axel, assuming she actually has of course, then the choker would need one hell of a serious power boost to make it all possible."

"If only Chris was... wait, that reminds me. Where has Chris been during all of this?"

Darkness sudden question gets everyone thinking about this new little detail. Cielo speaks up, saying-

"That is a good question. She wasn't at the mansion when we all woke up that morning, before Cecily got back... or maybe I should say arrived at our doorstep. You don't think..."

"That maybe she has already been captured by Cecily beforehand. That would explain why she hasn't been around. I swear, if anything has happened to her, I'll..."

(M) "We'll worry about Chris later. For now, let's focus on coming up with a plan to deal with Cecily."

(Y) "And what do we do with her? Should we ask her to prove she isn't controlling us by taking off the choker for a full day?"

Cielo shakes her head, then says-

"That won't work. If Cecily really is wearing the Charisma Choker, then not only won't she remove it, but there's a chance she'll instead us it to bring us back under her full control again, thus making our current mindsets irrelevant."

"... We'll use Aqua to help us!"

said Megumin, getting everyone to look at her. Megumin then explains her thoughts behind her words.

"Think about it. Cecily claims that Aqua is actually THE goddess Aqua. On top of that, Aqua herself isn't shy about proclaiming herself the goddess of water. Assuming it's all true, then we can see if Aqua will be willing to help us with getting Cecily to take that choker off for an entire day."

"Good idea, Megumin. If Cecily truly believes that Aqua is THE goddess Aqua, then she'll do anything Aqua tells her to do without question. We can have Aqua tell Cecily to give us the choker for the day and if it still functions like it's supposed to, we'll regain our proper memories and mindset within a few hours of her taking it off."

said Darkness with Cielo quickly adding-

"The big question to ask now is... how do we get Aqua to help us out here. After all, seeing as the choker could be responsible for all the new additions to the Axis faith over the last few days, would Aqua really be willing to help..."

BOOOOOOOM!

The girls were almost knocked onto the ground by the sudden blast and loud sound that filled the mansion. They managed to stay on their feet though before turning their attentions to the door leading out into the large living room.

"What the hell?"

"Hurry, let's get out there."

The four of them, despite not having their equipment with them, going running out the kitchen door, only to finding the large living room filled with smoke. Within the smoke, they see the shadowy shapes of two figures along with hearing their voices. As the smoke begins to clear, the visages of Kazuma and Chris come into view, with a now captured Cecily and Aqua being picked up by the twosome.

"What... Chris, is that..."

yelled Darkness, but Chris either didn't hear her or had chosen to ignore her as she and Kazuma turn and exit out the large hole in the wall that was coming into view through the smoke. As the four girls try to figure out what had just happened, they feel a sudden surge go racing across their minds.

(zzzzzt)

And then, their thoughts about what they had talked about before were gone, instead they could only think about one thing here now; they needed to go save Cecily and Aqua from the heretics. Ignoring the fact that they still didn't have their gear, they go to follow after their kidnapped friends...

Only for three new figures to come into the mansion via the large hole.

"Sorry, Cielo. I'm afraid we can't let you four go after them."

"Lia...? What's going on. What are you doing; helping those heretics with kidnapping lady Cecily and..."

"Seriously, are we REALLY going to need to do this here?"

complained Anna, rolling her eyes at the idea.

Erika then steps forward, her divine relic in hand and ready to be used if needed.

"Sorry about this, you four. Until things can be resolved with that Cecily person, there's no way I'm going to let anyone stop Kazuma from doing what he needs to do. I owe that to him so be ready... because I won't take it easy on any of you."

Lia also brings her divine relic up. While it may be damaged and unable to use its full power, she was sure it would still be enough as she begins playing it, creating a barrier to seal up the large hole. She then focuses on Cielo, seeing the four girls taking up a battle stance, and says-

"Like I said before; I'm sorry, Cielo. You'll thank me for this later... all of you will!"

And thus, the three allies of Kazuma and Chris began their battle to keep the four allies of Cecily distracted and unable to go back up and save the real enemy here in Axel.

{|} D-Part {|}

The outline of Axel had faded from view as Chris led the way towards a spot that would be best to take care of business. She was thankful that Aqua appeared to be too stunned and to confused as to what was going on to be making any kind of fuss or attempt to escape her hold.

The same couldn't be said for Kazuma who was being forced to fight back against the very aggressive Cecily who was doing everything she could to escape his grip on her. Chris felt bad for leaving him to deal with that problem child, but not so sorry as to offer to make a prisoner trade with him.

Finally, Chris spots an area she feels would make for a good confrontation, complete with enough surrounding coverage to keep them hidden from any prying eyes unless someone was luckily enough to come to the same spot as they would be at.

Chris stops, then looks back and tells Kazuma that here will be good. Kazuma nods as he too comes to a stop, the inertia of his stopping, combined with him letting his hold on Cecily go slack, is enough to send the crazy Axis priestess flying through the air and into making a rather harsh landing against the ground.

"Hey, that hurt like hell, you bastard. How dare you treat a woman like me..."

"SHUT UP!"

said Kazuma to Cecily, his voice low and filled with danger; enough so that Cecily found herself shaking in fear. Not just from the sound of his voice, but also the wild, crazy look in his eyes too. Cecily wanted to call out to Aqua to save her, but her fear made her voice fail her in this moment.

Chris lets Aqua down, the one-time goddess of water still looking confused as to what was going on here exactly. It wasn't until Aqua's eyes finally took notice of Cecily down on the ground, with Kazuma lording over her like some kind of demented psycho, that she finally snapped to her senses.

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing, you damn NEET? If you even think of doing anything to one of my..."

"Aqua..."

said Chris, getting Aqua to look at her and finally recalling what had happened. Chris then undoes the bindings keeping Aqua's arms wrapped up, making Aqua rub her wrist before Aqua says-

"Did... did you just kidnap me and my loyal follower?"

"Yeah, I did do that, with a little help from my bestie there. Sorry about that, Aqua, but I felt this was necessary as we REALLY need to talk here!"

"And what exactly would I have to talk about with some damn kidnapper. In fact, I have half a mind... wait, do I know you from somewhere?"

Aqua then begins to look Chris over, very carefully in fact. Meanwhile, Cecily tries to take the opportunity to slink away from Kazuma, only to be caught right away and as punishment, gets Kazuma stamping his foot down hard against her back, keeping it planted there as Cecily complains.

Aqua continues to look Chris over till the light of recognition shines in her eyes.

"Eris... is that really you? Did you... did you change up your hairstyle since I last saw you because if so, I must say, I don't like it. In fact, it makes you look really weird."

"Maybe to you, it does. Personally, I kind of like it myself though I confess I do prefer my usual look."

"Then you should hurry up and regrow your hair as soon as possible. As flat as you are, anyone will mistake you for a boy while sporting a look like that."

"Wait, you mean I really do look like a boy right now? Tell me she's just joking around here, Kazuma. Please tell me I don't give off a boyish vibe here with my short cut hair."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, that look makes you look like a fem-boy, boss."

Chris deflates at hearing Kazuma's words while Aqua takes on a look of confusion. Aqua then asks-

"By the way, Eris. What are you doing down here, anyways? Did you come down here to check up on me, perhaps you were even a little worried about me."

"Well... actually, Aqua. I..."

"Lady Aqua, don't let your guard down around that monster."

shouted Cecily, finally realizing she hadn't said anything about their kidnappers to Aqua yet. Both Aqua and Chris look at Cecily while Kazuma goes to silence her but decides to wait and see what happens next first.

"Monster? What are you talking..."

"That girl there beside you; that's her. The dark goddess I've been telling you about. The dark goddess Eris!"

Aqua cocks her head to the side, clearly confused as she says-

"Eris... a dark goddess? What are you talking about, Cecily. Eris isn't a dark goddess. She's my subordinate and fellow goddess; Eris the goddess of fortune."

"WHAT?"

"See Cecily, didn't I tell you I wasn't a dark goddess earlier. Nice to see you finally believe me."

"Wait, I don't understand... Lady Aqua, what about the sacred scriptures?"

"Sacred scriptures?"

Once again, Aqua gives Cecily a confused look which only surprises the Axis priestess even more. She quickly recovers though, figuring Aqua had simply forgotten about them, making her begin to explain it all to Aqua.

"Yeah, the sacred scriptures. You wrote them yourself back during the dawn of the Axis faith. Within that holy text, you imparted to all your followers the divine truth and all the treasured life teachings we should all aspire to live by!"

"Huh? Did I... really write something like that?"

asked Aqua, looking at Chris who responds by simply shrugging and saying-

"You probably wrote down something for them to work with when you founded the Axis faith. Are you sure you don't remember, Aqua?"

Aqua thinks about it for a moment, her brow crinkling hard as she tries to think back that far. Finally, she recalls something and says-

"Actually, I think I did write a bunch of stuff down... don't recall ever saying you were a fallen goddess or a dark goddess though."

"Then how did the Axis come to think of me as a..."

"Maybe someone came along after the founding of the Axis cult and made some changes to the holy text. Given how inattentive and detached the Axis seems to be, I can see them not noticing anyone making any kind of change to the holy doctrine that defines their faith."

"Now wait just a minute, you damn heretic..."

"Yeah, like my faithful follower is about to say here. Someone going to do that... that's just impossible."

shouted both Cecily and Aqua, though Chris clears her throat and says-

"I would agree but... Aqua, do you remember how you went about writing down the holy scriptures of your faith? I mean, you did make use of holy materials for that purpose; paper and pen I mean."

Aqua once again takes a moment to think about it, then says with a sheepish look on her face-

"Actually, I think I may have used just some mortal made paper and some ink and a quill. Ah... I recall being quite hammered at the time; celebrating as one does after having succeeded in forming the Axis faith, so..."

"If that's the case, then that would explain how someone could come along and make changes to the original text. And like Kazuma implied, it wouldn't be too hard to fool the Axis faith into believing the changes, so long as any of them weren't paying attention to the sudden changes happening."

"No way, it can't be..."

Cecily was clearly caught off guard by this sudden revelation, her head smacking the ground in her sudden bought of depression she was now feeling.

"Then I guess it's a good thing the truth is known now, otherwise you'd be in serious trouble if Eris was killed by one of your followers, huh Aqua?"

"... What, oh right. Yeah, if any of my followers took out Eris here, then I would be seriously boned for sure. So, now that we've settled that little matter, will you go ahead and get off my darling faithful there and free her while you're at it, Kazutrash."

"Hey, don't go calling me degrading nicknames here, you damn toilet goddess. ("Hey, what did you call me?") Anyways, before I let her go, isn't there another matter we need to address first."

"Is there?"

"Oh right, I almost forgot. Aqua, will you confirm an important truth to your devoted follower for us?"

Aqua was clearly confused by Chris' words, making Chris point at Cecily while saying-

"Take a look at the choker Cecily is wearing around her neck, Aqua. Take a REAL good look at it and tell me if it looks in anyways familiar to you."

"Ah... OK?"

Kazuma picks Cecily up off the ground, getting her up on her feet while keeping a strong grip on her shoulders. While Cecily complains about this, Kazuma ignores her as Aqua reaches Cecily, leaning in close to better examine the choker in detail. It takes her a few moments before she finally realizes what it was she was supposed to be seeing here.

"Hey, isn't this the Charisma Choker? What's it doing down here still? I thought I gave it to some guy a few hundred years ago to end the big war that was going on. Shouldn't it have been returned to the heavens once he died?"

"That's right, Aqua. It is indeed the Charisma Choker and you're right about the fact that it should have been returned once its original owner died. Wanna take a guess behind why it's still down here in the mortal plane."

"Hm... maybe someone got lazy with the whole making sure it's returned home once it had served its purpose?"

Chris wanted to point out that it had been Aqua's job to make sure that happened. She REALLY wanted to remind inform Aqua on how she had failed to do that and just how much trouble her neglect of her duties had been causing Eris and how much time she's had to waste cleaning up that mess.

Instead, Chris lets out a defeated sigh before moving on with all this.

"Yeah, someone has been lazy with doing their job... but we can deal with that later. For now, does seeing that the choker still being down here helps make so much sense with all that's going on back in Axel right now?"

"All the stuff... what do you mean?"

"What she means is seeing everyone, even those who are true devotees of the goddess Eris, suddenly turning into being a follower for you, Aqua. Why there was so much love being sent YOUR way despite it being Eris' holy week. It's all because of that damn choker. It's being used to BRAINWASH everyone into joining the Axis faith, regardless of their personal wants and opinions."

"For the love of... stop saying the Charisma Choker brainwashes people. How many times do I need to repeat myself here, heretic. This choker doesn't brainwash, it liberates... right lady Aqua. Tell them that..."

"Uh... oh, um... actually Cecily, Kazuma's right. The Charisma Choker technically does brainwash anyone it is used on!"

"EH?"

"Yeah, it totally brainwashes people. It charms a person, overrides their thoughts and conscious feelings, even going so far as to replace someone important within anyone's mind to put the choker's owner in that place to better enforce that control and willingness to do what they're told."

"No... no way. It can't be..."

"Aqua, when you've been walking around Axel following the sudden additions to the Axis faith over these last few days, have you noticed anything curious about all these new additions to your faith. What I mean is... have you noticed an actual lack of faith coming from them?"

Aqua thinks about it for a moment, then her eyes go wide as she says-

"Ah, that's right. In fact, you just reminded me of a question that's been on my mind for these last few days."

'It hasn't been that much on your mind if you can so easily forget it!'

thinks Kazuma as a very much confused Cecily says-

"Faith? I don't understand..."

"I'll explain it to her... if that's alright with you, Aqua. (Aqua nods) Cecily... look. The power of the Charisma Choker can be used to alter the thoughts and memories of one's mind, making them think and believe they feel whatever it is the choker's bearer wants them to think and feel. However..."

"What the choker can't do is manipulate and change the truth we hold here inside our hearts. No matter how much you make someone believe they believe in something up here (points at her head), it doesn't change what we truly feel in here (sticks her thumb against her chest)."

Aqua then cuts in, saying-

"Faith is something that can only come from one's heart... from the very soul itself. That there is true Faith; the beautiful light all gods and goddess' draw upon to strengthen our divine power."

Chris cuts back in and adds-

"Without true Faith, Aqua will never feel anymore love and power coming from the forced faithful no matter how much you make them think they're faithful otherwise."

Cecily slumps her shoulders and says with a defeated tone-

"So all this time... everything I've been doing for lady Aqua, for the Axis... it has all been pointless."

Cecily actually begins to cry, making Aqua walk up and hug her.

"It may have been pointless, Cecily. But the fact your faith for me is so strong that you would go that far for my benefit... it really touches me, really. You are a GOOD follower, Cecily."

"Lady Aqua... (sniff, starts bawling as Aqua pats her head lovingly while Kazuma rolls his eyes)."

"You say that now, Aqua. I wonder if that will still be your tune once everyone is released from the choker's power and return to normal."

Chris' words make both Aqua and Cecily freeze, then look back at her with confused and worried expressions.

"What do you mean?" (x2)

"Simple really. Think about it, you two. Cecily's actions have caused a lot of damage, and I do mean A LOT! Not only did she brainwash a crap ton of people who are going to be seriously pissed off with her and the Axis cult as a whole, but her actions have also caused a massive amount of material damage to my faith. Books, tapestries, stained-glass window, statues, and so on... all sacred treasures of my faith now lost forever. Aqua, do you really think that all that happening isn't going to come back to bite the Axis in their uppity little asses?"

Cecily freezes, her face now one of horror as she never considered what could happen once everyone was freed from the chokers power and if they WEREN'T grateful for being "saved". Aqua, for her part, says-

"Wait, hold on. You're not saying that... that everyone is going to want reparations or payback against my darling faithful? They can't... that's not fair. Why should..."

"Aqua, how would you feel if the reverse had happened. If someone from my faith did to the Axis what Cecily here did to my faith, how would you feel about it and how would you want them to react. What do you think would be justified as a response?"

Aqua thinks about it for a second before turning bone white, her voice filled with sheer dread.

"My faith... my faith is so fucked now!"

Aqua then runs up to Chris, grabbing onto her and shaking her while pleading for Eris to not let anything bad happen to her followers or her faith. Chris lets out a sigh then says-

"Fine-fine, I'll do what I can there... but first, there's the matter of the Charisma Choker. Aqua, if you would..."

"What... oh, right. Cecily, I need you to take off the choker and hand it to Eris."

"Huh, but lady Aqua..."

"Is there a problem? That thing is too dangerous to let it remain down here so hurry up and take it off already."

"Alright, I understand... but there is just one problem."

Cecily then reminds them, through her simple motions, that her arms were still trapped in bindings, making Chris tell Kazuma to release her. Kazuma sighs then goes to free Cecily before telling her-

"Listen Cecily, if you try anything, and I do mean ANYTHING, that I don't like once I free your hands, so help me, I will rip your empty little head off your stringy little neck..."

"Hey, I get you're angry with me for what's happened but what right do you have to..."

"... AND I'LL SHOVE IT RIGHT UP YOUR ASS!"

Cecily, as well as Chris and Aqua, all cower in fear. In fact, Aqua quickly hides herself behind Chris while saying just how scary Kazuma was being right now. Chris agreed as well though she kept her thoughts to herself.

Kazuma finishes freeing Cecily who quickly massages her wrist before reaching up to undo the choker. And just as she begins to remove it...

A blast of dark fire erupts from the choker itself, sending Kazuma flying back.

"Damn it... what did I just tell..."

"Wha... what's going on? What is this?"

cried Cecily as the dark fire grows more and more, seemingly consuming her on the spot.

"Wah... Eris, what's happening? Why is my darling faithful..."

"Shit, why didn't I realize it sooner. That dark power I could feel coming from the choker before... there's no doubt about it now."

"It was an Entropy power!"

{|} to be continued... {|}

AN: We have one chapter left in this arc. Originally, I had planned on ending this arc with this chapter, but I decided to give this arc one final concluding chapter. Because of this, I ended up extending certain parts of this chapter so it would have a more agreeable length to it. For example, A-Part and B-Part were originally one part before I broke them into two parts with a few extra paragraphs and lines being added to extend them both while C-Part was originally meant to be just a page and a half long set within D-Part which would have been the original B-Part.

The next chapter will probably be shorter than the other chapters in this arc, consisting of just an A-Part, a B-Part, and the Epilogue. Also, I will be revealing how many arcs are left in this series at the end of the next chapter. Finally, expect the next chapter to release by Thursday of next week, maybe sooner if time permits. Till then...