This Document beta'd and edited by The Evil Within
Chapter 7: Werewolf? There wolf!
Sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science!
-Mei Hatsume, Girl Genius
Hatsume finished adjusting the straps, and stepped back, grinning widely at Izuku. "There you go! How's my super cute baby fit?"
Izuku flexed his arms, but found he could move fairly easily despite being encased in armor plate. He jumped up and down a few times and did some stretches. "It's great, Hatsume! It fits like a glove, and it's really light!"
"That's because that's an ultra-cool aluminum and steel alloy invented by me!" Hatsume bragged. "It's stronger than traditional steel, and lighter too! You just have to thank my super cute babies for creating it!"
"Excuse me?!" Aqua snapped, glaring at Hatsume. "I was the one who blessed the metal and the water you used to quench it to keep those crystal whatever's from making it break!"
Before the two could descend into a cat fight, Izuku bowed to them both. "Thank you so much, both of you for your hard work, Hatsume, Aqua. It's really remarkable what you've managed to do in such a short time."
That seemed to satisfy them both, and Aqua skipped off, heading for the construction of the new shrine that she was "supervising." News had already spread to nearby towns and villages over the past couple of weeks, and large numbers of pilgrims were coming to receive the blessings of the new goddess, especially the healing. Already, Father Henri had a dozen new acolytes of the Axis Cult, and plans for the new shrine were going to turn this tiny village into a major tourist attraction for religious zealots.
Mei had spent her time with Martel, creating a seemingly endless stream of marvelous inventions. She'd moved from the blacksmith's shop to the watermill, which instead of grinding grain, now produced mechanical power for Hatsume to work with. Her steam engine was up and running as well, producing a limited amount of electricity which she was using to fashion aluminum. Already, merchants were clamoring for the wonderous metal, which could be used for a variety of weapons, armor, and other more mundane uses.
As for Megumin, well... Izuku winced as he heard another echoing boom. The Crimson Demon Cult was rapidly gaining new members, despite its bizarre religious practices. Mostly because it was extremely hard to argue with results. Megumin was basking in the glory of being the undisputed strongest magic user in the world and coming up with increasingly bizarre rituals. Her followers were not nearly as numerous as Aqua's, but their strange habits had drawn the attention of a number of eccentrics, and her ability to grant her clergy tremendously destructive power was a marked advantage in a world constantly having to defend itself from dangerous monsters.
As for Izuku, he had spent his time training with Anton, learning how to use a sword, shield, and even bow. He'd also worked hard on continuing to master One For All, though progress there was as slow as it had ever been. Thankfully, Aqua was always willing to heal Izuku if he injured himself, which had him pushing his limits further than ever before.
"An impressive suit," Count Blois said, striding up in his own less brilliant armor. It was well cared for, but had plenty of places where it had been mended and patched by Martel over the years. "Truely, lady Hatsume's creations are wondrous."
"They are super cute, but my cutest ones are just for Midoriya!" Hatsume said, grinning widely.
"Of course, as is only befitting," Blois agreed. But then he grew serious. "Lord Midoriya, I have need to ask for your aid in the field. There have been sightings of fearsome beasts, and travelers have been found slaughtered, even those well armed. In fact, Marquess Renard lost ten men hunting it, including two knights and a Guilded Mage. Sadly, his daughter and heir were among the dead. He himself was grievously wounded, only just now saved from death by Lady Aqua."
Izuku swallowed, but nodded. "Right. That's what I'm here for."
"And me!" Hatsume said eagerly. "I want to test out my Explosion again!"
"Are you sure? You were in the Support Course," Izuku said warily.
"Of course! Now I have a super cute quirk that I want to field test, and vicious monsters are the perfect way to do it! Plus, you'll be there, so I'll be safe!" Hatsume declared.
That made Izuku blush, but he nodded. "Of course. I mean, you came here to help defeat the Lord of the Tomb too, right?"
"Yes, exactly! Now let me get changed," Hatsume said, and pulled off her leather apron. She was, of course, only wearing her bra under it. Blois and Izuku both turned away in embarrassment, walking a short distance away.
"Um, what sort of monster is it?" Izuku asked.
"Lord Renard and his men described a great pack of wolves, larger and more fearsome than what has been seen in this part for some time. From their description, I believe them to be direwolves, but there is something else. A woman was seen running with them. She may be a lycanthrope, or even werewolf. It was she who slaughtered Reynard's Guilded Mage and his heir."
Blois hesitated, then lowered his voice. "She also appears to be a mage of some sort, perhaps even a priestess of a dark god. Survivors report she healed several of those wounded by her wolves, only to brutally slaughter them when they tried to rise."
"That sounds really dangerous," Izuku admitted, glancing back at Hatsume despite himself. Thankfully, she'd already pulled on a shirt, but Izuku knew he would never forgive himself if she were injured. Then again, she did know a powerful magic spell, and he would likely need the back up. "I'll talk to Aqua and Megumin. We'll need their help."
"A werewolf? Please, that is hardly a fitting challenge for my talents," Megumin told Izuku when he approached her. She had set up shop in a cave a short distance from the village, though it was really more of a rocky outcropping. It had various kitschy decorations, from animal skulls and what was supposedly a grimoire of dark magic, to a black banner with glowing red eyes on it that Aqua had painted.
"She's supposed to know magic. You're the strongest mage here, and I don't know much about magic myself. She's already killed a Guilded Mage, and Blois says those are stronger than Freemages like Marie," Izuku told her.
"Hmph." Megumin glanced at her followers, who were gazing at her expectantly. "Is it just this werewolf? I can dispatch a couple of my acolytes, they know enough explosion magic. A simple foe like that would hardly be worth the effort!"
"She also has a whole pack of direwolves with her, I'm worried that if it's one-"
"A whole pack?! Why didn't you say so! Direwolves are worth loads of XP! I'll take them out in one blow!" Megumin declared excitedly.
"Mistress, may we accompany you on this glorious quest?" a boy about Izuku's age asked eagerly.
Megumin hesitated, and for the first time Izuku saw true concern in her eyes. She quickly reverted to her normal manic self, but her words were sensible. "No, this is a trial your mistress must undergo alone! You must stay here, and protect the village! Fear not, for I shall return!"
Next up was Aqua, who was giving an impassioned sermon to her followers while work on her shrine went on in the background.
"-and so, remember, if you fail, it's not really our own fault. Blame society! They're the ones who set you up!" Aqua told her followers.
"Lady Aqua, please, heal my son, his arm was crushed by an ox, and he's been crippled for years!" a man begged, leading forward a teen boy with a twisted arm.
Aqua raised her hands to the sky. "I shall need the prayers of my devoted followers to perform such a miracle! Recite the sacred words!"
"The Axis Church can get things done. And because you can get things done, even if it doesn't go well, it's not your fault!" the faithful cried.
"Amen!" Aqua declared. "Be healed, in my name!"
With a simple touch, the boy's arm was mended, and he and his father knelt at Aqua's feet, weeping in delight and joy.
"There, there," Aqua cooed. "Set aside your heresy, and be united in the love that is I, Aqua."
"Lady Aqua," Izuku called, stepping forward and making his way through the crowd.
The pilgrims gasped and quicky made way, but their whispers made Izuku blush.
"Lord Midoriya!"
"The Champion of the Goddess!"
"A divine hero in our time of need!"
Swallowing, Izuku forced his voice to be steady. "Lady Aqua, a vile werewolf threatens your flock. Please, will you aid us in destroying it?"
"What? A werewolf? Pfff, those aren't dangerous!" Aqua laughed.
"Please, the people are in need of your guidance. Surely such a, um, beautiful, and, er, talented, and intelligent, goddess like yourself can lead us to victory?"
That made Aqua give Izuku a smug look. "Oh, so you need my leadership, do you?" She tossed her hair over her shoulder, smiling confidently. "Well, since I AM the goddess of healing and water, I shall protect my loyal followers. Though it is neither demon nor undead, I bring the righteous judgement of the goddess upon it!"
That made Izuku sigh in relief. "Well, come on then, Count Blois is getting ready to leave soon. He needs our, I mean, your, guidance."
"Wait, is Megumin coming too? She better not steal my kills this time!" Aqua said as they moved away from her worshipers, who continued to cheer and wave even as they went out of sight.
"Um, well, I'll try and save the best one for you?" Izuku managed. "I really do need your healing and help, Aqua, I can control One For All a lot better with your blessing…"
"Fine, fine, since I'm so utterly amazing and you're helpless without me, I suppose I'll come after all," Aqua agreed. "But no horses this time! I'm not riding on one of those nasty creatures!"
Thankfully, Count Blois seemed to have thought ahead, and had a cart ready for Aqua to ride in. Hatsume rode in the cart as well, though Megumin insisted on riding a horse, even after it bucked her off when she tried to get it to rear so she could pose dramatically.
Izuku rode on a horse himself, having been shown the basics by Anton. He'd need to dismount to fight, but even his stamina wasn't endless. He ended up staying beside the cart, as Hatsume eagerly went over some of her ideas and showed off a few of the devices she'd created. One of them was a lever-operated spring-loaded crossbow, which rather interested Count Blois.
"See, this super cute baby can fire off 20 rounds in seconds! Maybe more if you're super fast and strong like Midoriya!" Hatsume declared. "Here, stop the cart, let me show you!"
Not even bothering to wait for that to happen, Hatsume lept off, slapping a rack full of bolts onto her crossbow and raising it to her shoulder. "Behold my super cute baby!"
The crossbow did indeed fire off a stream of bolts, which clattered off a nearby rock or sunk into the ground. One did manage to impact and lodge itself into a small tree trunk as Hatsume cackled delightedly.
"Remarkable," Blois murmured, dismounting and going to retrieve the bolts. "It does not have the range of a bow, or the power of a traditional crossbow, but to fire off so many shots so quickly, even the most proficient of archers can fire only half as many with a wooden bow."
"Well, if I practice more, I think I'll get more accurate, and with a few improvements I can increase the rate and the stopping power!" Hatsume said, hoisting the weapon aloft. "With this, I'll kill all the wolves myself!"
"Not likely," Blois said, shaking his head. He took out a vial and held it out to Hatsume. "This is a distillation of silver. Coat the bolts in this, and it will injure the werewolf. Otherwise, it will merely recover from the wound you inflict as quickly as you make them."
"Werewolves are allergic to silver nitrate?" Hatsume asked, uncorking the vial and sniffing it.
"It prevents their regenerative abilities, if that is what you mean, my lady. Come, we have far to travel yet," Count Blois said.
They camped that night on a hill beside the road that had a low stone wall built around its crest, apparently being a popular spot for travelers to bivouac. Izuku set up a tent with Anton's help; they had not brought any servants with them, this being a dangerous mission, and the nobles and knights were used to caring for themselves in the field. Count Blois ended up being a decent cook, and made a hearty stew for them all to share.
"This reminds me of our last Adventuring party," Megumin said, gazing into her bowl of stew. "With Kazuma, and Darkness. I miss them. What about you, Aqua?"
"Meh, who needs that low level pervert. And Darkness still belongs to the Eris sect, can you even believe it?! We'll be just fine without them," Aqua said dismissively.
Megumin frowned. "Kazuma was very useful on Adventurers. Though he was low level, he had a great many skills. And Darkness was a great Crusader! She selflessly shielded us from all manner of foes!"
"Yeah, I guess," Aqua said with a shrug. Then she grinned at Izuku. "Hey Midoriya, want to see a party trick?"
"Um, no thanks, I need to read up on werewolves on their weaknesses and habits," Izuku said, looking up from a book he'd borrowed from Count Blois. He was studying werewolf anatomy, and the best places to attack them by the light of the campfire.
"What about you, Hatsume? Watch, Nature's Beauty!"
"A most impressive display!" Anton gasped, clapping excitedly along with his father and the knights.
Hatsume frowned, not looking up from her work on her crossbow. "That is dumb. You are just using your magic. I am busy modifying my baby."
Izuku looked up at Aqua, who appeared crushed that her two new companions were uninterested in her tricks, despite the awe of the locals.
"I like your party tricks, Aqua," Megumin said, smiling at the blue haired goddess. "Can you show me the one with the tea cup? It was always my favorite."
"Sure. Maybe you can practice some of your incantations later, I always liked those," Aqua told Megumin, setting up her party trick on a wooden board.
"You know I don't need incantations any more, Aqua," Megumin said.
"Yeah, but I like them. They were always fun," Aqua sighed.
Megumin nodded, sniffing and hugging her legs. "I miss Chomusuke…"
"She...she was a good cat," Aqua agreed, wiping at tears herself. She quickly reverted back to her happy self, showing off her floating cup trick to the applause of her audience.
"It's just dumb magic," Hatsume muttered as she tapped at her contraption. "It's not even a proper trick. I could do that with magnets or some string."
Izuku glanced over at Hatsume, who had moved much closer to him. Admittedly, she was also edging towards the fire and light, but she was also now nearly sitting on top of him. Part of him was nervous and embarrassed, but the other part, well, he was glad to have some company from home, even if it came in an odd package.
"Yeah. That crossbow is really cool though. It'll be really helpful against the wolves."
"Yes, I will have to test to see if they are really allergic to silver. But for this, I am going to have to put in a brace, to help with the recoil, that way…"
When it was time for bed, Izuku drew lots with everyone else for night watch duties, getting the first watch with Megumin. He yawned, sitting in the dark on the fence, looking up at the bright moon overhead. He wondered if werewolves here reacted to the full moon. Either way, this was a waning gibbous, and that was past.
"Hey," Megumin said, coming over to sit by him. "Can you see in the dark?"
"Um, no," Izuku admitted, glancing over at the mage. Her eyes seemed to glow in the dim light, giving off a faint red gleam.
"Crimson Demons can," Megumin said. "It is one of the many ways we are superior to normal humans."
"Well, I mean, isn't that just like a quirk?" Izuku asked, frowning. "Hatsume can see in the dark too, and she's human. You look human to me, too. Um, no offense."
"I don't mind," Megumin said with a shrug. She looked out at the road below them, frowning. "What is your Japan like?"
That made Izuku blink. "Um, I mean, it's...different? There's not really any magic, we use technology for the most part, like what Hatsume makes, only...more?"
"You have video games, and computers, I know about that," Megumin sighed. "I mean...what is it like? The people. What about quirks?"
"Well, I mean, quirks are kinda like magic, I guess," Izuku said, rubbing the back of his head. "Society's changed a lot because of them. They weren't always around, they emerged at the end of the 21st century in the Before Times. But...well, we're still people. There's heroes and villains, but most people want to live normal lives. With families, and friends, and enjoy themselves."
Megumin looked down, kicking her dangling legs against the fence. She was shorter than anyone else in their party, though her giant hat and overbearing personality tended to disguise that fact. Here, in the dark, she looked like just another kid Izuku's age, dressed up in a costume that didn't quite fit her. "I never wanted that. I wanted to be the most powerful mage in my village. Because then, I'd always have enough to eat, and I wouldn't have to hear my sister cry at night because she was hungry."
"Oh." Izuku looked out at the horizon, scanning it for movement, but aside from movement of grass and leaves on the breeze, he saw nothing. "I...I was born quirkless. That's strange, where I'm from. People...people sort of, well, they treated me differently. But, I still wanted to be a hero. I always thought that was impossible, until…"
"Aqua?" Megumin asked, looking over at Izuku. "We've done that a lot. Made ordinary kids into heroes. It made me feel good to do that."
Izuku shook his head and smiled faintly. "Um, no, actually. All Might. He gave me a quirk. A really strong one. He is, well, I guess was, the greatest hero back in Japan. I wanted to be like him so much...I have to get back. To show him that he wasn't wrong to put his faith in me."
"Really? Huh. Your world sounds really different from Kazuma's," Megumin observed. "There was no magic, or quirks, according to him. The games were fun though. I thought I could stay there with him, forever, but...I don't know. When Hatsume told me how excited she was about her babies and what they had done, I just...I remembered. My passion for Explosion magic. What it meant to actually want something in life again."
Izuku studied the strange, overly dramatic girl for a long moment. "Are you really a goddess?"
Megumin smiled at Izuku, her teeth shining white in the darkness. "Of course! I am the greatest of the Crimson Demon Clan! I shall spread my love of explosion magic across the-"
In the distance, a howl echoed. Then another.
Megumin stood up, stretching on her tiptoes and frowning. "I can't see them, but they're out there for sure."
"Hatsume!" Izuku called, running back to the tents. He found her snoring in his own tent, her crossbow clutched in her arms. "Hatsume! I think the wolves are out there!"
"What? Huh? Ah! Field testing time!" Hatsume cackled. She quickly put on her goggles and scrambled out of her tent as around Izuku the rest of the camp was waking up.
"Za? Wazzat?" Aqua mumbled, rubbing at her eyes. "'M sleepy. Go away."
"Wolves," Izuku said. "Hatsume's going to look for them."
That got Aqua to groan and crawl out of her tent, summoning her staff and cracking her knuckles.
"We'll be ready," Count Blois said, throwing wood on the embers of the fire. "Say the word, Lord Midoriya."
Izuku didn't have time to correct him, taking Hatsume over to where Megumin was standing, her staff held out before her.
"There," Megumin said, pointing out towards the distance. "I can see movement, but I don't know what-"
"Wolves! And a girl dressed in funny clothes," Hatsume said, pointing. "They're about two kilometers away, but they're coming in this direction. Moving fast too. Here, Midoriya, you look."
Hastume took off her goggles and passed them to Izuku, who quickly put them on. The night took on a light grey cast. But when he looked where Hatsume pointed, he saw over a dozen white blurs moving towards him, and sure enough, one stood out, looking like a woman running amidst the wolf pack.
"That's them!" Izuku cried, passing the goggles back to Hatsume. "Blois! Get ready! They're coming for us. They'll be here in minutes!"
"Make ready," Blois bellowed, and soon the knights had flaming brands in one hand, swords in the other. They had already anointed their weapons with silver nitrate, as had Izuku.
He had his own torch and sword, which he held in quavering hands.
"Ugh, it's way too dark out," Aqua complained. She raised one hand. "Holy Light!"
A star seemed to shoot up out of her hand, rising into the sky and bathing the forest in stark white light. Shadows stretched away from it, but now even without the goggles Izuku could see the glowing eyes of the wolves running towards them.
"Hmph, they're close enough for me now!" Megumin cackled, and her staff began to glow. "Flames of my soul awaken! Come forth, hidden power locked within me! Manifest thine self in crimson glory! I call thee forth, from the abyss! EXPLOSION!"
A ray of burning scarlet shot forth from Megumin's staff into the oncoming wolves, and suddenly a second sun seemed to rise, Izuku grunted and braced himself as the shockwave impacted him. Megumin herself collapsed atop the wall, slumping to her knees with a look of sudden ecstasy on her face.
"Oh come on!" Aqua complained, going over to help her friend up. "You stole all the kills! Again! How am I supposed to ever catch up to you in levels now!"
"Actually, I didn't get any experience from that," Megumin sighed. "I didn't get any from the undead before either. Maybe there really is no leveling here. That sucks."
"Hey, who's that?" Hatsume asked, pointing up in the sky.
Izuku looked up, frowning. "Who's what?"
"That woman, standing there, in the smoke," Hatsume said. "Right there! Can't you see her?"
Izuku blinked, but he saw nothing amidst the swirling smoke and ash. Wait a second, there. It was like an empty space, where no smoke or dust went.
"Aqua, bless me!" Izuku barked.
"What? Why? Battle's over. Little Miss Kill Steal already-"
"Just do it!" Izuku ordered, gritting his teeth.
"Ugh, fine. Blessing!"
The spell washed over Izuku, and he immediately felt One For All course through his body. He focused the power in his legs, then jumped skyward, shattering the ground beneath his feet. He soared towards the empty space, praying he was wrong. "SMASH!"
Izuku swung his sword with all his might, which to his shock made it snap in half, the blade flying through the air. However, it stopped suddenly, impaling itself in the empty space. There was a gasp of surprise, and a woman, dressed in a black gown appeared. She and Izuku tumbled through the air, the woman crashing to the ground just outside their campside, while Izuku barely managed to land a few meters away, on his feet.
"Well well well," a chipper female voice giggled. "Looks like we've got ourselves a strong one. Quite the impressive move there. But how did you see through my invisibility? Is that your world class item? No, no it must be that girl's. Never mind."
Something darted at Izuku, and he managed to raise his hands in time to block the blow, which sent him sliding back.
By the light of Aqua's star, Izuku saw a dark skinned red headed woman dressed in a black dress and bearing an ornate staff, a maniacal grin on her lips.
"Who are you?" Izuku demanded. "Why did you slaughter those people?"
"Who am I?" the woman asked, grinning at Izuku. "Well, I'm supposed to stay hidden, so for now, just call me the Wolf Queen. I'm upset you killed all my little pets, but it did confirm what I needed to know. Aqua and her little band of trouble makers ARE here. Let me guess, Kazuma Sato? Hmm, no, the hair's all wrong. You must just be a random Adventurer from another world; no one around here has green hair. That girl too, unless I miss my guess."
The woman suddenly gasped in pain, then jumped away from Izuku as a spray of crossbow bolts peppered the ground around them.
"Midoriya!" Hatsume cried. "Don't you dare hurt him!"
"You bitch," the Wolf Queen growled, a bolt sticking out of her left side. "That was silver!"
"Ah ha! You are allergic to silver! Quick, Midoriya, get her while-"
The wolf queen snarled and charged forward. Blois and Anton moved to intercept her, but they were effortlessly batted aside with a single swat from her staff. Armor crunched, as did flesh and bone, and the two nobles went down in a crumpled pile. Anton's chest looked caved in, while half of Blois' head was simply gone. Hatsume gasped and took a step back, shocked at the sudden deaths, barely raising one hand to shield herself.
Cackling, the wolf queen raised her staff again. "No time to play, I'll just have to-
"SMASH!"
Hatsume was blown back, landing in a heap amidst the tents, while Izuku's fist sent the Wolf Queen flying. She bowled through the fire, slamming into the stone wall beyond it and coming to a stop.
"Die, monster!" Sir Jacques cried as he and Sir Lenor raised swords and charged the Wolf Queen.
"Greater Heal! Flame Strike!"
The two knights didn't even have time to scream as a pillar of fire enveloped them both. Their charred bodies and scorched armor fell in an ashen heap at the Wolf Queen's feet as she stood, panting. Her human form was gone, replaced by a sable colored wolf that stood on two feet. Great claws hang from its paw like hands, and its muzzle was filled with wickedly curved teeth.
"Damnable wretches! Look what you made me do! They didn't even suffer much before they died!" the Wolf Queen panted, licking blood from her arm with her long red tongue.
"You bitch!" Out of the smoke and flames strode Aqua, her eyes glowing with a deep blue color. "Those were MY followers! How DARE you!"
"Well, you're technically correct," the Wolf Queen barked, slowly backing away. "At last, we've found you, Aqua. It took a hundred worlds and a billion corpses, but at last you slink out of the shadows. My lord has spent a very long time looking for you. He will be pleased to know you are here."
"I don't care who you are, I'm going to kill you!" Aqua snarled. "Sacred Exorcism!"
A shining star burst forth around the wolf queen, who simply howled with laughter. "Truly, you are a fool! I know not why my lord fears you so. I am no demon! Farewell, Aqua. When we meet again, I shall-"
"C6H2(NO2)3CH3 to 6CO and 2.5H2 plus 1.5N2 plus C! EXPLOSION!"
Aqua was sent flying through the air as yet another detonation burst behind the Wolf Queen. The monster yowled in pain, standing on shaky legs.
Hatsume collapsed, but her surprise attack had done the trick. The werewolf was staggered, and now missing an arm, as Izuku leapt back into the fight. His fistspounding at the monster, bruising muscle and crunching bones as fast as they reknit. She snarled and snapped back, but though her claws made deep gouges in Izuku's plate, Hatsume's alloy did its job protecting him from more than surface level wounds.
"I'll kill you! I'll kill you all! Kill you all myself! Greater h-"
Izuku interrupted the spell chant with a punch straight to the werewolf's muzzle, sending bits of tooth and blood splattered across his face, but he didn't let up. "You killed my friends! You killed people simply for coming across you! You threatened Hatsume! It's over! ONE FOR ALL! 1000%! SMASH!"
Izuku's fist bore through the beast's rib cage, and out the other side, gore flying everywhere. The Wolf Queen looked at him, shocked for a moment, before her eyes glazed over. Not even a werewolf's healing factor could recover from having their entire upper torso pulped and shot through their ribs.
Izuku stepped back, feeling sick at the sheer level of damage he had just caused to another living being, as the former wolf queen slumped to the ground, blood pooling into thick mud around her. Izuku staggered to the side, clutching his stomach, and dropped to his knees, vomiting.
"M-m-midoriya?"
He looked, up, horrified, to see Hatsume dragging herself over to him. "D-dont, don't die, you can't-"
"I'm...I'm okay.," Izuku said hoarsely, stumbling over to cradle Hatsume in his arms, uncaring of the blood both his own or otherwise splattering his form. "A-are You?"
"F-fine. S-sorry, I-I was so slow," Hatsume whispered. "I couldn't...they're dead...I...oh no," Hatsume started to cry, as Izuku picked her up, wrapping her in a tight embrace, his own tears falling on to her shoulder.
"Hey, you OK?"
Izuku blinked away tears, looking up at Aqua's concerned face. "F-fine. I just...I never killed anyone before...And...and they're all dead…"
"Who's dead?" Aqua asked, confused. "What, her? Yeah, she's supposed to be. Don't worry about it, I never liked her anyway. You did good!"
Izuku gritted his teeth. Damn this idiotic, worthless goddess! "No, I mean-"
"My head," Blois groaned, stumbling over to Izuku. "Young lord, are you well?"
Izuku blinked. Hadn't he seen the man's skull shattered?
"There don't appear to be any more of them, my lord," Sir Jaquess said, gingerly nudging the wolf queen's corpse with his boot toe. "What in the name of all the gods did that to her?"
"That was an excellent use of Explosion magic!" Megumin cried as Sir Lenor brought her over, setting the excited proto-goddess down next to Izuku and Hatsume. "I knew you would make an excellent high priestess! We have got to work on your chant though, that one was just weird letters and numbers. You can do better!"
"But...but you were all dead," Izuku whispered, looking around wide eyed and with more than a little hysteria. Anton seemed to be salvaging something from the wreckage of the tents. The only sign of his former injuries was his ruined breast plate, which he'd now taken off and set aside.
"Oh, that? Please," Aqua giggled. "Raising a few dead people is easy for a goddess like me! Don't worry though, I won't raise her. Pffft. Queen of the wolves. More like, queen of the gaping chest wound, right?!"
"You mean, you're all OK?" Hatsume croaked as Izuku held her upright.
"Yes, thanks to this goddess we are. And you, Lady Hatsume, Lord Midoriya," Blois said, bowing his head to them. "Without you, we would have been slaughtered where we stood. Damn me, but we were slaughtered! Thank you, Lady Aqua, thank you!"
"Yeah, I still didn't get any XP," Aqua grumbled. She eyed Izuku. "Did you? She had to be at least a captain of the Lord of the Tombs forces, maybe even a general! She'd be worth loads of experience!"
Izuku could only laugh. It was a bright, horribly broken and relieved. These Goddesses might be crazy, but Izuku couldn't think of a single reason why just then.
Authors Note:
I guess this is a dramedy now, but you still can't take that much seriously in this story. I certainly don't.