Thanks once again to The Grand Cogitator and DR_Feelgood for beta reading.
Aqua had never been very good at hating the undead. Oh, sure, she cleansed them and purged them along with the rest of the other gods and goddesses, but Eris had always been the real crusader between them, her passion burning with holy fervor to wipe out every single one of the unholy abominations and send them back to the afterlife where they belong, their bodies returned to rest.
But Aqua? Well…she'd usually just felt sorry for them. It was fun to kill them and show off how powerful she was, her mere presence hurting the undead and even her tears enough to slay a zombie with a single drop. But Aqua had always felt bad for them. They were ugly, and hurting, and they weren't really in control of themselves most of the time. Most low level undead were basically puppets of whatever power had raised them, and Aqua was personally offended by that. People should be free to make their own choices and have fun!
So she'd cut the strings, put the undead back to rest, but she'd felt sad about it. She'd not really liked the undead, but she'd pitied them.
Now though, now she was riding in the back of a limo with the worst undead abomination of them all…and stealing nervous glances at her.
Wiz the Lich. One of the Seven Generals of the Devil King. The Frost Witch. An immortal force of evil who spread terror and destroyed armies. Though Aqua couldn't remember actually seeing Wiz defeat any gods or divine champions, or actually really do much of anything in combat. She'd run the prisoner camps and farms for the Devil King, which was an important duty to be sure, but she'd had a fearsome reputation as a woman who'd betrayed the Light and the Gods in exchange for power and immortality, going from one of the strongest wizards of the forces of Light to a General for the Devil King in a swift and sudden betrayal.
Aqua scooted closer to Wiz, who smiled at her nervously. The woman paled, though Aqua didn't know if it was fear or just the holy presence of a god weakening the lich. "Yes, Lady Aqua?"
"Why?" Aqua asked.
Wiz was quiet for a moment. "There's a lot of questions you could be asking…I'm honestly not sure which one, or how to answer…"
"Just…start with why you become a lich. Why? You were a powerful adventurer who stopped countless monsters. You were one of my followers! So why…why'd you betray us? Betray me?"
Aqua felt tears welling up in her eyes, and sniffed, wiping at them. She found a lace hankie pushed into her hands, even as Wiz's skin sizzled and hissed from the contact with the holy water, the woman's own eyes filling with tears.
"I never wanted to…It's a long story but…my friends…they were in grave danger. My Adventuring party. They were going to die. I was…I was dying. I'd been cursed by Beldia, trapped in a dungeon chamber, unable to get out, and I knew my friends were in trouble, that they too would die soon," Wiz said quietly, her eyes glazing as she looked into the distant past.
"Then, Vanir came to me. He just appeared. Said he had a way out. A way to save my friends. I wanted to refuse him at first. To say no, to remain true and pure. But my friends were in danger…"
"But you had to sacrifice an innocent life to become a lich! That's how it works!" Aqua protested.
She sensed Megumin stirring, while Komekko was still hungrily eating her way through the snacks they'd been given by Wiz's driver. Yunyun was listening carefully as well, looking nervous and worried as she looked back and forth between Wiz and Aqua both.
"The life I sacrificed…was my own," Wiz said quietly. "Vanir kept me alive as I ate my own heart. He gave me the potion too…I didn't ask what was in it…"
"You seriously ate your own heart?!" Megumin demanded, looking horrified, while Yunyun sniffled and covered her face with her hands.
"I've been hungry before, but not that hungry," Komekko mused. "I like rat hearts though."
Aqua and Wiz both made disgusted faces at that, sharing a look of horror.
"Ah, I'll give you some of my home baked cookies when we get to headquarters. They're much nicer than rat hearts," Wiz said, sounding fairly faint.
"Ok!" Komekko agreed, and began licking the wrappers of the snacks to get any last remaining calories off.
"Did…did you save your friends?" Yunyun asked, looking worried.
A tear trickled down Wiz's face, and she drew out another hankie to blow her nose. She carefully folded it, then rested her hands in her lap. Aqua knew the answer before Wiz could answer. "No. By the time I was revived from the ritual…they were already dead."
Megumin snorted derisively. "That's why you don't bargain with the corporations."
"Or demons," Aqua growled, clenching her fist. She might pity the undead, but she really did hate demons. Aqua adored creating things, especially art. But demons? Demons just destroy what should be beautiful and fun.
"As to the other why.." Wiz sighed, and touched the Axis pendant around her neck. "I never stopped believing. I knew that the war was lost."
"Lost!? But you were winning!" Aqua protested.
Wiz gave her a sad smile. "You ever wonder how Zesta always knew where to fight? When the forces of the Devil King were coming? How Mitsurugi persisted, when so many other champions were assassinated?"
"Duh, because my followers are super awesome and smart!" Aqua said, puffing her chest out.
"Uh, I think Wiz is implying she was a mole," Yunyun offered, giving Aqua a pained smile.
"Huh? No, she's a lich. Not a mole," Aqua said, wrinkling her nose.
Megumin groaned. "She means a spy."
"Oh. Oh! It was YOU?!" Aqua asked, shocked.
Wiz nodded, looking pained. "I should have done more. But…someone had to protect the humans we captured. I…I couldn't let the other generals wipe them all out…I had to save as many as I could…and when it was obvious the Devil King was going to win…I did what I could."
"But…aren't you evil?" Aqua asked, still thoroughly baffled by this. "Is this like…a plot to betray the Devil King and take over? What happened to him, anyway?"
"He is dead," Wiz said quietly. "At least I hope so. For his sake."
"Well that's good, but if he's really dead, why is everything so awful still?" Aqua demanded angrily. "Why haven't things gone back to the way they should be?"
"Because you weren't here," Wiz told Aqua. She looked out of the window of the limousine as it flew through the air, approaching the headquarters building of ShopWiz. "We're nearly there. After all this time…maybe someone actually can heal this dying world."
"But why is it dying?" Aqua demanded. "Why is everything so awful?"
"B-because of the capitalist overlords that have trampled the people under their foot, using t-the means of production to subjugate the working class, a-and exploiting the environment to enrich themselves at the c-cost of the good of all."
Everyone's eyes turned to Yunyun, with Wiz and Aqua both looking baffled, while Komekko nodded seriously and Megumin rolled her eyes.
"You're STILL on about that? Come on, Yunyun. Those were just weird stories from that book my dad had," Megumin huffed.
Stubbornly, Yunyun shook her head. "No! The Red Revolution w-will come, and it will be the Crimson Demons w-who will lead the workers of Belzberg to freedom!"
"And everybody will have lots to eat, and no one will be killed for their eyes!" Komekko agreed happily. She then pressed her nose up to the window, frowning. "But right now I think we're going into the capitalist overlord's fortress. Are we gonna blow it up?"
"Sounds good to me," Megumin said with a cheshire grin as the limousine touched down on a landing pad, which immediately began to seal over them to keep out the acid rain (and sniper fire). Various corporate flunkies rushed over as Wiz stepped out of the limo, all of them immediately babbling.
"My lady, the situation in space has deteriorated further! We need you to-"
"-NiteTech pushing into our territory and building up for an assault-"
"-half our food rations looted by this insane new gang called the Axis Cult-"
"-water supply suddenly contaminated, all our crops are dying again!"
"What's wrong with the water?" Aqua demanded, stepping out of the limo and frowning. Unlike most of the people she'd met so far, these were all clean, in nice clothes, though they were definitely the wrong getup for her fantasy world. Most of them were wearing some form of formal suit or business dress that looked like something out of Japan in the 21st century, with not even the neat sci-fi bits and bobs on them that Aqua liked in the more fun anime.
"Who are you?" one of the flunkies demanded, frowning as they shoved Aqua to the side. "Out of the way, I need to speak to the CEO!"
"Hey! I am the goddess Aqua and I-"
"CRIMSON DEMONS, EVERYONE RUN!" a fat little man with glasses screamed as he saw the three sisters exit the limo. Komekko hadn't put her goggles back on, those having been lost, and she was glaring at the man, who was frantically trying to get away from the little girl.
Megumin instantly drew her sword, while Yunyun raised a hand and a fireball blossomed over her palm. That drew a few screams and cries of panic from the corporate drones.
There was a blinding flash of cold blue light, and frost suddenly covered the landing pad. "SILENCE." Wiz stood tall, holding up a glowing wand of ice, her eyes glowing with the pale light of the long vanished glaciers.
Everyone froze, and not just because a few of them were suddenly rimed with ice. Many of the executives present had never seen Wiz use magic, and those who had were shocked to have her display it so openly.
"The Crimson Demons are my guests, and allies. Some of you have known I long attempted to shelter them, but in the past, they always refused. These have agreed to take sanctuary," Wiz said calmly, lowering her hand, but keeping a grip on the wand. "This is Aqua. Goddess of Water and Healing. She is the last drop of hope for this world. The final dream that our people can once more breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live lives of peace."
Wiz turned to Aqua, then bowed. "Lady Aqua, there is so much for me to do. I will need to brief my people, but first…Rain, you said the water supply is contaminated?"
"Yes! That last bit of clean water we were able to siphon off the south west sewage line has totally vanished! Our crops are going to die without it!" a panicked looking woman who was wearing a lab coat and carrying a clipboard said, shoving her way forward. She looked less like an executive, and more like someone who had an actual job.
"It might have been that line that was connected to Aqua. I never thought.." Wiz sighed and shook her head. "I wouldn't have been able to free you anyway. Once my sealing spell took hold…you were hidden from my sight, so I could never betray you, even accidentally. But please: we need a miracle. Can you go with Dr. Rain? With the situation in space…our food supplies will soon be cut off."
"I'm not a goddess of the harvest," Aqua said, feeling very uncertain. "But…I could make clean water…"
"You have a technique for purifying water? We've tried removing all the chemicals, but most water has been recycled so many times, and there just isn't enough clean water left to sustain large scale agriculture, not to mention the nutrient problem we run into," Rain said, hurrying forward and studying Aqua from head to toe.
"Well, I mean, I can purify it, but I can also just make it," Aqua said.
That earned her a roll of the eyes, even as people muttered and moved away as Megumin and Komekko stepped up to Aqua's side, glaring around at the others. Yunyun nervously trailed after them, adjusting her goggles, pulling them off and on.
"Yes, we can burn hydrogen to get water but there's frankly not enough oxygen as is, so that just creates another issue," Rain said in exasperation.
"Huh? You can't burn stuff to get water, that's just dumb. I just make it," Aqua said, planting her hands on her hips.
"What!? You can't just MAKE something from nothing! How stupid are you?" Rain demanded. "Don't come here and claim you can just-"
Aqua, irritated and confused, and just generally tired with life at this point, pointed a finger at Rain. "Create Water!"
A firehose of water shot out of Aqua's finger, obviously appearing from thin air. Rain was knocked into several corporate suits, who were then bowled over by the pressure of the stream. They skidded across the floor, pushed along by the water until they hit the edge of the security dome.
"I'm not stupid," Aqua huffed, lowering her finger and splashing over to where the dazed Rain was laying in a large puddle of water. "Any low level priest can use a simple Create Water spell. It's not that hard."
"You…you can what?" Rain asked, dazed as she blinked and slowly sat up.
Aqua held out her hand, and a glowing form appeared in her hand, which she proffered to Rain. "Just join the Axis Cult! I grant all my followers loads of useful spells like that! Plus, there's access to Axis Brand Soap, which is guaranteed to clean up all sorts of corruption, and-"
"LADY WIZ!" a panicked voice said, and Aqua turned to see Wiz being supported by several guards. She was breathing hard, and had gone slightly translucent.
"Please…please sign the form," Wiz gasped. "She really is a goddess. She needs your prayers. I'll be fine, I just…can I have some life energy, please? No, yours won't do…I need…"
"Y-you can have mine," Yunyun said, hurrying over. Several people glared at her, but no one was crazy enough to get in the way of a Crimson Demon, especially not one that apparently could light things on fire with a gesture.
"Drain Touch," Wiz croaked, and her color returned quickly even as Yunyun slumped over.
"That's enough, thank you. Your mana is very potent," Wiz sighed, standing up again and gingerly edging away from the massive amount of holy water Aqua had just created.
"What did you do to Yunyun!?" Megumin snarled, stomping over and supporting her sister as she nearly teetered over.
"I-I'm OK. I just…I need some rest," Yunyun whimpered.
Komekko had stolen some snacks from various pockets, and hastily proffered them to Yunyun, who nodded her thanks.
Aqua was distracted from the scene by Rain ripping the parchment out of her hands and signing it. "If you can make me clean water so we don't all starve to death, I'll absolutely worship you or do whatever you want," she said desperately.
"Great! I prefer bubbly as my offerings, but I like art too," Aqua said happily, and produced more fliers. "Who else wants to join the Axis Cult!?"
There were only a few takers, but Rain hastily led Aqua, Megumin, and Komekko to an elevator to the ground level of the ShopWiz complex. Yunyun left to rest, while Wiz hurried off to deal with the mounting crises.
"We keep the plants in greenhouses, well shielded from pollution and radiation. We have an excellent air filtration system, and use only the cleanest water. Sadly, we haven't been able to produce near enough food to feed everyone, and we're still reliant on Discord, which is of course controlled by ChimeraTech," Rain babbled as they rode in the elevator. "But with what's happened, we can't guarantee that we'll have a steady supply of food, and we don't have enough stockpiled. Wiz is always trying to feed more mouths than we really can."
"People shouldn't go hungry, that's not nice," Komekko declared, nodding seriously.
Rain blinked at the little girl, her red eyes glowing softly in the dim light of the elevator. She grinned nervously. "Er, yes. I, ah, I never knew Lady Wiz was friendly with Crimson Demons, but…"
"As long as she stays friendly with us, I promise to kill her last," Megumin said, and gave Rain a dazzling smile.
The scientist tittered nervously, then shuffled her feet. "Ah, how, exactly, um…did you make the water, Miss Aqua?"
"I'm the goddess of water, duh. I made all the water on Belzerg," Aqua said simply.
"That doesn't sound very scientific…" Rain said as the doors to the elevator opened up.
"Science is dumb and boring. Magic is much more interesting, because it's like art, which is pretty and fun!" Aqua declared. She looked around, then gasped in delight, hurrying over to the window, where fields of green plants could be seen below. "Finally, something that's growing!"
Megumin and Kommekko hurried forward as well, with Megumin having to give Komekko a bit of a boost so the shorter girl could see into the fields below. There were rows and rows of carefully cultivated plants, each of them spaced precisely apart, separated by lines of string and flagged markers.. Workers in sterile clothing tread carefully upon the path between the plants, spritzing them with water, gently tending to leaves and sprouts, or placing bits of fertilizer. Others were measuring the soil with various instruments. Light was provided by glowing overhead lamps, and bits of condensation could be seen on the window. Pressing her nose to it, Aqua could feel that it was quite warm.
"Why don't you give them real sunlight?" Aqua asked, not taking her eyes away from the greenery. "And don't those people have to be careful? Won't the tomatoes attack them?"
"Tomatoes…attack?" Rain shook her head. "Er, we can't expose the plants to the open air, and the sky is too polluted for us to get easy access to sunlight at an elevation the plants will easily grow at."
"Are tomatoes dangerous? They taste really good," Komekko asked.
"Yes," Aqua said at the same time as Megumin and Rain said "No."
"What!? Everyone knows that Killer Tomatoes are vicious creatures that will attack anyone on sight once they're ripe!" Aqua argued.
Megumin and Rain exchanged a puzzled look, while Komekko just nodded in acceptance.
"Er, are you thinking of some sort of animal?" Rain asked.
"Hmph. Are you at least growing some mackerel down there?" Aqua asked.
Rain shook her head sadly. "We do have some fish tanks, but we mostly grow catfish."
"Hmph. We'll I'm just going to fix that," Aqua huffed. "I love tasty mackerel, especially freshly picked!"
"Are you really someone that can help grow food?" Rain said in exasperation as Aqua turned and headed towards a security door.
"Hey, open up, I want to check on the plants and show you that tomatoes really are dangerous!" Aqua declared, rapping her knuckles on the door.
"Er, should we let her in, Director Rain?" a voice asked over the intercom.
"Yes, Lady Wiz said to have her help, and she seems to somehow be able to create water. Perhaps it can help us grow the plants," Rain sighed.
"Wait, are those Crimson Demons?! We can't open the door with them there!" the panicked voice said.
Megumin snorted in derision, then walked over and jammed Gram into the door frame. The magical metal easily punctured even the reinforced security door, and with a wrench and squeal of metal Megumin carved a large enough hole for a person to squeeze through. "Just be happy I don't have a breaching charge on me, for this pathetic door is no obstacle to a Crimson Demon!"
"Please don't do that! We have a clean room inside, we can't let any contaminants into the farm!" Rain said, panicked and waving her arms frantically.
After squeezing through the now wrecked door, Aqua found several cowering scientist types, none of which seemed to have any interest in stopping Megumin. Rain hastily keyed them into the next room, which was a decontamination chamber of some sort, where they were supposed to change clothes and shower.
"I can just do this," Aqua said, and raised her hands over the group. "Purification!"
The sparkling blue lights of Aqua's spell made Rain blink in shock. "I…don't think that qualifies as clean room safe…"
"Hmph. Well, let me see the stupid plants already. This isn't a nice bath. I want a proper onsen later!" Aqua declared.
Reluctantly, Rain let them inside, deciding correctly that any damage the contaminants they brought in would be far less than the damage Megumin and Aqua could do if they were argued with.
After a long corridor where large fans blew out a high pressure system to keep any last hazards and pollution out, Rain let them into the farm field. Aqua wandered around for a bit, cringing workers and scientists shying away from Megumin and her giant sword, as well as Komekko and her glowing red eyes.
"I don't get it, these plants feel sick," Aqua said, frowning. "Have you properly infused them with mana?"
"With what?" Rain asked. She glanced at one of the workers, who shrugged in confusion. "Do you mean fertilizer?"
"Well, this fertilizer isn't right. It doesn't have any mana at all," Aqua said, poking at a wheelbarrow of synthetic fertilizer. "It won't make the plants grow well at all."
"Well, maybe you could try doing something useful," Rain said in exasperation.
"Not a harvest goddess," Aqua muttered. Then she brightened. "Will you all promise to worship me if I give you a lot of food right now by making the plants grow?"
"Lady, if you could bring in an extra harvest, I'd fall down and kiss your feet," one of the workers said.
"I already told you I'd worship you if you give us clean water, and I am a woman of my word," Rain said, nervously adjusting her name tag.
"Right. Megumin, get ready! The plants are sure to attack as soon as I make them grow," Aqua said.
"I've heard of mutant plants that feed on human flesh before, especially on Discord," Megumin said, unslinging Gram and raising it.
"Come on out, Hoost! You get ready to fight too!" Komekko declared, saving her hand.
The raven appeared, larger than it had been before, and let out a squawk. "Would it kill you to give a guy some birdseed or something, Mistress? Man's gotta eat, you know."
There were various screams of panic, and someone got a rake to try and shoo the bird away.
"Hey! Be nice to Mister Hoost!" Komekko barked, pulling a gun to emphasize her point.
The farm workers backed off, looking nervously at the large and slightly glowing bird.
"Since when could he talk?" Megumin asked, even as Rain cautiously advanced to study Hoost, who had landed on Komekko's head.
"Boss Lady leveled up and gave me some skill points. So I got stronger," Hoost explained, and flexed a wing. "See? Check out them muscles!"
"Hee hee. He's super smart, like me!" Komekko said. "Miss Rain, do you have any bird seed?"
"Uh, not on me," Rain said, looking rather dazed. "Where did…this is all so strange…"
"Alright, I'm ready!" Aqua said, holding her hands up to the sky. "I've got more followers, so I can do a little weather control." She bit her tongue and squinted, and a moment later, dark clouds billowed out of her hands, rapidly filling the farm, which covered several acres for just this complex. The workers looked on, astonished, and a moment later, it began to rain.
Not a torrential downpour, but a steady drizzle that increased to a fair soaking over a few minutes. Everyone muttered in astonishment, until Rain barked orders, and they began to hurry about with vials and flasks, collecting samples of the water and testing it.
"Zero contaminates?!" a worker gasped. "This stuff is so pure…is it even real!? We can't ever get water this clean, no matter how many cycles we run it through!"
"It's got some sort of weird energy in it," another added, waving an electrical wand over a puddle as it let out a whining sound. "It's not radiation, but…it could be harmful?"
"Only if you're a disgusting undead or a filthy demon," Aqua huffed. She blinked, then blushed. "Um, don't let Wiz in here while I'm making it rain, OK?"
"Director! Director, look!" someone shouted, pointing. "The plants! They're growing!"
"I know that, they're supposed…to…oh my," Rain gasped, and covered her mouth with both hands in shock.
Even as everyone watched, the plants began to grow. The crops here were a mixture of squash, beans, and corn, forming a three sisters diet and a well ordered garden. Soon the plants bore fruit, and continued to increase in size, until the corn stalks were nearly three meters tall and as thick around as a man's chest, while the beans were climbing wildly up to the ceiling, even covering the lights, and the huge squash were swelling to near comical sizes.
"Uh oh," Aqua muttered. "Um, everyone…you might want to leave…they're gonna get ripe soon."
"Why…why would we leave? This is incredible!" Rain laughed, hugging a giant squash and stroking the rough surface. "This is more food than we'd normally harvest in a year! Three cheers for Lady Aqua, our new goddess!"
The farm workers all cheered, but Megumin raised her blade. "This isn't good."
"Corn?" a soft voice said, as one of the ears of corn near Aqua opened up, revealing a small face with buck teeth.
"Um, I, uh, I gotta go," Aqua said, heading for the exit.
"Corn! Corn! Corn!" a chorus of voices called.
"Uh, director…do the vegetables usually talk?" a worker asked.
"QUICK!" Aqua wailed, producing dozens of forms. "Sign them! I'll give you all classes! You'll have to fight for your lives! Megumin, start harvesting, now, before we're overrun!"
"Hoost!" Komekko called, pulling out a knife and stabbing the baby corn in the face. The vegetable screamed, shook, and then went still. But the other ears on the stalk began to shake violently.
"Way *urp* ahead of you *burp* boss," Hoost called, frantically pecking away at the corn. "I'll *burp* handle this bunch."
Snarling, Megumin began to savagely slice and dice, activating her Zephyr step and sprinting around the now overgrown farm, slashing vegetables off their vines, or hacking the rumbling squash as it started to jump up and down.
"Um, everyone, please calmly take a form," Rain said nervously, grabbing several papers and waving them. "I, ah…I think I'll go with Mage…"
There was a scream, as a swarm of little beans flung themselves off the vines and attacked a worker.
"Beeeeeannnnns!" the vicious vegetables screamed as they bit and nipped at the worker.
Aqua hurried over as the worker swatted at them with a trowel. "Quick, join the Axis Cult, it's the only way to survive!"
The worker managed to scrawl their name in blood, then let out a bellow. He ripped off his shirt as his muscles bulged. "TRAVIS SMASH!"
"Oh, berzerker, nice!" Aqua said, nodding as the red faced and frothing man began to punch beans, squash, and even corn into submission. "Good choice for farm work."
Before long, most of the workers had converted to the Axis Cult. A few fled, and others died as the vegetables attacked in waves. Fire balls, hacking shovels, and fists of fury pounded, as the battle was waged for over an hour. Security forces arrived, and were pressed into the harvest, and by extension the Axis Cult.
"No guns or lasers! We can't damage the crops too badly!" Rain ordered, directing the battle in between firing off bolts of lightning. "Quick! Harvest the dead produce and cart it away before it goes to seed in this magic rain!"
In the end, the Battle of Farm 0138 resulted in nearly 58 tons of produce harvested, far more than the small farm was expected to produce in only a few hours. The injured and dead were lined up, with Aqua coming over to inspect them.
"They died heroes," Rain said, weeping over the body of a worker who had half her head bitten off by rampaging corn. "Their efforts will not go to waste! We will feed so many with just this food, and their names will be written in the annals of ShopWiz! They died not just for Science, but for our glorious goddess, Lady Aqua!"
There was a lusty cheer, and Aqua blushed as Megumin elbowed her. "You know, if you'd been smarter about this, those people wouldn't have had to die."
"Yes, but…I have so many followers who are believing in me now, and praying so hard," Aqua said, nodding to a security guard who was hugging a scientist. They were weeping tears of sorrow and joy, and both of them thanking Lady Aqua for the food.
"Well, they were just Outsiders," Komekko pointed out. "So it's OK."
"Yes…but…I can't just let them stay dead," Aqua said, and knelt by the woman Rain was weeping over. She touched the woman's face, and it was instantly restored, causing others to gasp. "I'm sorry, I should have warned you all that corn is so deadly…rise again, and walk among the living, to harvest more vegetables."
"Lady Aqua, Samatha is dead," Rain said gently, putting a hand on Aqua's shoulder.
"Yeah and let me tell you, dying freaking sucks!" Samantha said, sitting up and causing Rain to let out a scream and jump back. "Ugh, that hurt so much! And I was stuck in such a boring place! Apparently, heaven and hell are closed, can you believe that!?"
"Um, there probably aren't any gods working the psychopomp shift," Aqua admitted. "Sorry about that, but I'm busy right now. We'll get to it soon."
"She can bring people back to life?!" someone gasped.
"It's a miracle!"
"PRAISE AQUA!"
"I LOVE YOU LADY AQUA!"
"That's right!" Aqua said, jumping up and producing two fans, which she posed happily with. "No one dies today! We have lots of food, so let's have a party! The Axis Cult knows how to work hard, but we know how to party hard! Nature's Beauty!"
As the water from Aqua's fans sprinkled over the dead, they all began to sit up, exclaiming in shock and surprise. Word soon spread, along with footage, of a blue haired woman raising the dead, and declaring herself god. And, since she clearly had the feats to back it up, no one was arguing with her.
But footage like that gets leaked onto the net. And before long, Belida was at the head of an armored column, watching as Aqua danced and laughed.
"Get me Hans," Beldia snarled to one of his generals. "It seems that damned slime didn't finish the job after all."
Author's Note:
Due to my own severe health issues, and the understanding of the supporting this story, I'll be stepping back from it for a month or two to give myself time to recover. It'll be back eventually, as soon as I am able to fully function again.