A Vulpine Spanner in the Works
Chapter 29: Why Judge Me When You Brought War Crimes?
[Kashia]
Day 22:
I was quite pleased to see how my team was doing in the dungeon today. They were about a six-tenths of the way through the dungeon at this point as they had all become quite adept at avoiding the traps and taking down the undead opposition. Watching them rushing through the hallways of the dungeon with practiced ease was amazing to see.
Like a well-oiled machine, Dyne would take the front of the group with his shield up and his mace held out to make a bridge of roots on command. Lukrut and Ninya remained in the middle and hit any enemies that approached with magic or arrows. Holding up the rear with his shield was Peter who would block any rear projectiles.
All four of them had been making leaps and bounds in their training. Peter was getting faster when loaded with all of his weights. While it wasn't at the point that I'd have him start training against a kitsune, it was getting there bit by bit. In addition to this, Peter was getting very comfortable with that sword known as the Shard of the World Ender. It was acquired after the Surtur boss fight.
Upon his defeat, his sword would shatter into pieces and shards of it would scatter across the realm of Muspelheim. Once a person acquired a shard, they could have it crafted into a powerful blade of fire. I had a blade on hand in my sanctuary after I had Meepo make it for me back in YGGDRASIL. I found it funny that Peter would probably be freaking out if he knew that he was technically carrying a shard of a weapon meant to bring on the apocalypse.
For Dyne, he had been making leaps and bounds in creating the forest I tasked him with. His small copse of trees was growing little by little which just showed the steady progress he was making. In addition to this, Dyne had been getting really good at handling that mace of his. Enough so, that he could change the shape of the roots he made from the mace mid-swing into things like fists, walls, spears, and more with clever applications of druidic magic.
As to the origin of the mace, it was a quest reward from the realm of Vanaheim that was fashioned from a sliver of the World Tree by Nerthus for her questline. With the mace, it acted as a key to unlock certain pathways of the World Tree and allow access to the final boss. Sadly, unless you were in the druid class, it was little better than a normal mace that was really only used for the key feature.
Oddly, while the mace was meant to be a form of trick-weapon that extended basic roots out, Dyne was using it in ways that I didn't expect. Maybe it was due to YGGDRASIL mechanics getting translated strangely in this world?
Moving on with my silly archer, Lukrut. He had upped his root arrow count to seven and was getting a lot better at controlling how his roots interacted with targets that got hit. This also did lead me to wonder if he could do more with his roots besides just forming them into arrows? It was possible for him to make slightly different shapes already, and he was getting more creative with those roots of his.
Maybe if he doesn't think of it himself, I'd throw the idea out to him. It would definitely give him more versatility if he could conjure other weapons besides arrows. Like swords, spears, daggers, etcetera.
Finally, there's my wonderful daughter, Ninya. It's so exciting watching her slowly master the first spell I gave her before my eyes. It only took a few days, but she's mastered getting two orbs of [Foxfire] to float around her. Just one more to go and she'll be onto the next step of animating the orbs to defend herself. At this point, I'd do anything for a camera right now.
Then again, maybe I could use a rapid casting of [Create Greater Item] to simulate taking a photo by just creating a picture or painting of the moment. I'll need to try that.
On the topic of Ninya, we decided to keep the subject of why she had giant golden rings in her eyes quiet. Instead, we went with the story that the blessing she had received earlier had evolved. Thankfully, the others took to that explanation quite easily. Ninya and I didn't exactly know the best way of explaining everything to the others at the moment.
I still hadn't told Peter and Dyne about how I was a kitsune demigoddess yet. And I probably needed to do it sooner rather than later since Ninya and Lukrut were already aware. It wasn't fair to those two to keep them in the dark.
In other news, Haven-Lake got a massive influx of newcomers that my copy was busy sorting through. Cocco had over 67 slaves in his dungeon that were all waiting to be shipped off across the country. After saving them, along with the girls that the dead bastard was in the middle of torturing, I left a small garrison of kitsune at the now-abandoned base to snatch up any further slavers that would likely stop by and release their captives.
Unfortunately, it was after freeing all those people and bringing them to safety that the worst thing came to pass.
People at Haven-Lake were starting to worship me.
I found out real fast yesterday when I started getting prayers coming my way from there. Followed by that divine sense of knowing where my worshippers are, and it was pretty easy to tell that some of the people I rescued a while ago had decided that now, after I freed an entirely new contingent of people, that I truly was a goddess of freedom, healing, and charity.
It didn't help that my kitsune protecting the village didn't refute said claims, and only added to it, by also labeling me as a goddess of magic. Something my copy decided to reinforce to these people. Now, like a plague, I can see it just slowly spreading over there, as one follower begets two, begets four, begets a hell of a lot more!
Now I get to hear, in stereo, chants in my mind from the magical nerds on one side while prayers of thanks came from the grateful people I rescued on the other. I dread to think what kind of horrible unity might occur if those two groups finally met.
Speaking of the magical nerds, I left a kitsune by the name of Yuriko to watch them. She also knew the [Message] spell and would let me know of any situation that occurred which may require my involvement. As it is, the only thing of any real note that happened at the Magician's Guild was them hiring a group of adventurers to protect their guild. I wasn't fully certain as to why they did that, but they weren't hurting anyone so I let it slide.
At the very least, it seemed that they were taking my words to heart since Yuriko has not seen any worrying cultist tendencies. Now, they just had to make sure not to fall back into bad habits.
Hopefully, this religion thing would just be smooth sailing for the rest of it, even with the few bumps in the road that I had to deal with.
Now, I just had to continue working on that journal Momo suggested.
[Temple of the Four Great Gods – E-Rantel]
Kneeling before the feet of her four idols, Verona fervently prayed to her gods with a serene smile. For such a holy woman, most would believe that she prayed for such benevolent and hopeful things. Such as aid to the poor, an end to violence, an ease to the food struggles that were slowly mounting, and so on.
Yet, Verona prayed for none of that. Instead, those prayers were directed at those who hadn't seen the light of her faith due to worshipping another. She wished for them to see the follies of their ways, and for the merciful Four Great Gods to take these lost children under their wing and offer them forgiveness…after they were executed by the holy and righteous Punishment Squad.
Only then could such heretics be saved.
In the midst of this prayer for blessed violence, Verona heard a sound that was like music to her ears as four sets of armored boots echoed throughout the chapel. Her smile grew as she kissed the feet of each statue before standing to turn towards her new visitors.
As she did, Verona looked upon the four armored figures that finished marching before her and knelt down. This was the Punishment Squad. Each member of it was a divine instrument forged and tempered from the strongest and most faithful followers of the church.
All four wore similar sets of armored robes which consisted of black plate and leather covered under sets of hooded robes that, while designed the same as each other, represented each of the Four Great Gods.
In a blue set of robes was the holy paladin, Bernard Vultrek. A hulking man of immense gods-given strength whose blue eyes were lit with that fire of devotion that could never be swayed by doubt. On his left hip was a mace of most holy origin, marking him as the leader of this squad.
The mace was known as the Fist of God, and it was a holy relic that was said to have been gifted from the gods to the hands of men. It stood over four feet in length with a head that bulged out with four bladed edged. It was made from a beautifully worked silver metal but was reinforced along the shaft and the edges of the mace's blades with adamantite.
Fixed to Bernard's right hip was a leather-bound tome of the scriptures of the Four Great Gods. Verona was proud to say that she had helped train him from a lost child to the powerful servant of devotion he was now.
To Bernard's left was a beautiful woman in red robes. Her name was Aria Weaver and she was so personally blessed by the God of Fire to have a talent in enforcing her will upon flames, a talent she put into great effect when she combined it with her fire magics. She required no weapon at her hip, for the gods had already formed her into a weapon entirely.
When Aria had been a little girl, she had been treated as a witch by her peers for her control over flames, yet Verona had seen otherwise. The girl had been immensely blessed to enact the God of Fire's will, and Verona made certain that this talent was put to good use in immolating the enemies of the church.
The next warrior in line was a lithe man that barely reached up to Verona's eyes in green robes. Once, he went by the name of Viper on the streets due to his immense speed. When Verona had found him after he had attempted to swipe donations from the collection plate, she didn't see a thief. She saw a lost and starving child that only needed to be cared for and taught to see the light of the gods.
Since then, under his new name of Benjamin, he had put his incredible speed to the test as he executed heretics and enemies alike with the twin pair of orichalcum daggers at his hips.
Finally, the last in line was a hulking woman, larger than even Bernard, in a brown robe. Even at a young age, Margaret Margrost had been massive, taller than Verona at the age of six. Originally, Verona had been performing charity work in one of the small villages dotting the kingdom, Yusuf's Village. It was there that Verona found Margaret, little more than an attraction in a cage that was wheeled across the kingdom for money.
When Verona had seen her precious Margaret, she didn't know that she'd be adopting a daughter into her life. It was only after Verona had 'shown' Margaret's owners the errors of their ways and freed the large girl, that Verona and Margaret found themselves unable to part from one another.
And so, after taking Margaret in and giving the girl her name, did Verona teach her daughter the truth of the Four Great Gods. From there, she proudly watched as what was once a shy and timid girl grow into the massive, powerful, and confident woman that she was today. And at over nine feet in height, Margaret did well in intimidating heretics and enemies of the church from their flawed mindsets.
Though, if intimidation didn't work, then the pair of adamantite gauntlets with three-inch spikes jutting from the knuckles would. These were another holy relic of the church, said to have been forged by the God of Earth himself. Verona knew that a strong and devout person like her daughter was a perfect fit for them.
"Good afternoon, blessed instruments of the Great Four." Verona said kindly with a beaming smile.
"Good afternoon, High Priestess/Mother." They all said in turn, with Verona catching her daughter's green eyes and the playful smile on her lips.
"My children, I am thankful that you came here on such short notice." Verona said with a slight bow of her head.
"Mother, what has happened to trouble you so? You do not call for the Punishment Squad lightly." Margaret asked with a gentle and sweet voice that seemed so out of place compared to her massive frame.
"There has been a great darkness that has begun tainting this beautiful city. One of a most heretical nature." Verona answered, causing all four of the squad to take on stern, almost hateful, looks.
"What heretical acts have occurred, High Priestess? Who must we show the mercy of the Great Four to?" Bernard asked, his hand already tightening on the pommel of his mace in righteous fury.
"A new heretical religion has begun to take root within the Magician's Guild. Their minds have been beguiled by a witch taking the form of a beautiful woman with nine tails. They must all be cleansed" Verona explained, upsetting the warriors even further.
"Mother, while such heretical worship should be punished, wouldn't it be simpler to execute this witch and any who have led such foul filth while teaching those who are not truly lost the errors of their ways?" Margaret asked, pulling at Verona's heart.
Margaret was always such a kind girl who tried to find redemption within even the greatest of heretics. Verona only wished that this time was the case. Unfortunately, it was impossible.
"I am deeply sorry, my dear daughter, but the taint has spread too far within the ranks of their guild. Even a single member left alive would allow this rot to continue to fester, and for more innocent people to be corrupted with this blasphemy. As it was, these mages were already at the crossroads of straying from the gods, and now they've made their choice and cast them aside." Verona answered as she walked down to her kneeling daughter and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"If that is the case, then I will ensure that their deaths are swift so that they might be brought to the light of the gods all the faster." Margaret said in resolve.
"And I'll offer prayers as we all perform our holy work." When Verona said this, all four members of the squad looked at her in shock.
"Teacher, are you certain of doing such a thing? These heretics would have a high chance of harming you if you were to join us." Aria asked with concern for her mentor.
"I agree with Aria, High Priestess Verona. We all worry for your safety." Bernard added. Benjamin nodded in agreement with his characteristic silence.
"Mother…" Margaret said. Yet, Verona could only look tenderly at the children she had watched grow and thrive. Seeing them care for her like this just warmed her heart.
"Please, my children, I am well aware of the risks. It's exactly for this reason that I must join you. As one of the six 3rd Tier casters in E-Rantel, my power will be needed for the battle against the magician heretics. They have two 3rd Tier casters of their own, and even if Theo Rakheshir is supposedly out of the city, I do not wish to risk it, especially with your lives on the line."
"But, Teacher, we're all just as strong, if not even stronger, than 3rd Tier casters. I'm a 3rd Tier caster myself, so your presence wouldn't be required." Aria reasoned. Verona was certainly proud of her student and the strength her magic had reached.
While officially, there were only five known 3rd Tier casters in the city, with the fourth and fifth being the adamantite-plate adventurers Kashia Blanc and Nabe who were recent arrivals of the city. Yet, in secrecy, Verona had been teaching a sixth, Aria Weaver, as their church's secret weapon.
And what a holy weapon Aria was. Verona even believed that Aria might be on the cusp of reaching the 4th Tier, so good was her pyromancy.
But even so, there was another reason for why she planned to join the squad tonight, "Sadly, my student, I believe that to be wrong. While the witch is a charlatan who has beguiled the mages with her lies, she would still have to be a powerful charlatan, possibly even able to cast spells at the 4th Tier. I do not wish to take any chances."
This made the squad understand their High Priestess' mindset. After all, it certainly would take one who had powerful spells to trick an entire guild into worshipping them.
"We understand, High Priestess/Mother."
"Thank you, my children. Tonight, we go off to save the souls of the corrupted and punish the wicked." Verona declared.
"As the gods will it." The warriors responded.
[Nero]
"Your legwork is sloppy. Keep your knees bent!" Yamato ordered as one of his tails slammed into my chest which launched me off my feet and onto the mossy ground of the forest.
Today, my slave driver of a teacher decided to delay our journey to have an impromptu teaching session. And all of this is due to a giant leech knocking me off my feet after it leapt at me. I managed to kill it, but Yamato was not pleased.
Pushing myself back onto my feet, I found Yamato staring at me with a bored expression. "Are you done resting on the ground? You still have much to learn, and I doubt that either of us wishes to delay our journey any longer than required just because you needed to learn basic sword play."
"Nah, I wasn't resting. Just tripped over something stupid." I fired back.
"I am surprised that you have started insulting yourself. Tripping over one's own feet does not typically earn such self-loathing." Yamato retorted, causing me to pause.
"Was that a joke just now?" I asked while the gray fox looked completely unfazed.
"I have no idea what you are talking about." As he said this, one of his tails launched at me, forcing me to dive to the side to avoid getting hit. Before I could roll back onto my feet, another tail had wrapped itself around my waist, surprising me.
"Hey, I thought you said you'd only use one tail against me!" I shouted at Yamato.
"I could not allow your ludicrous diving to go on. You waste too much movement and energy against such a menial attack. By the time a real opponent were to take a fight with you seriously, you would be too exhausted to do anything else but die." Yamato explained before setting me back onto my feet, his tail still wrapped around my waist.
Then, he pulled back his first tail before saying, "I am going to send my tail at you and guide you through the proper movements. Then, you will do it for yourself." A moment later, Yamato's tail rushed towards my face and was about to hit until his other tail, now moved up to my chest, twisted me out of the way with as little movement as possible. I could see the tail that was aimed at me was only a few inches away from my face.
"Now, retaliate!" As soon as he said that, it shook me out of my daze and I slashed at his tail. Though, like every time I've done so before, it barely depressed his gray fur, let alone draw a drop of blood. "Better."
The tail I had just slashed pulled back, followed by Yamato's other tail unwrapping from my chest before joining the others waving behind him. "Now that you have seen how I wish for you to move, you shall do so yourself. I will attack now."
As soon as he said this, Yamato's tail launched at my face. My heart was thumping as I forced myself to move at the last moment as I shifted to the side and watched with wide eyes as the limb flew past my face, the displaced air lightly blowing against my skin.
"Good. You are learning. Unfortunately, your form is still sloppy. Especially your legs and footwork." Yamato criticized, making me squint my eyes in annoyance at the fox.
"What is with your obsession with my legs? They look perfectly fine when I fight." I asked.
A moment later, and Yamato's tail, still in front of my face, swung towards me. I tried backing away, but ended up tripping and falling onto my backside. "No, they were not. You fight with your legs locked, barely bent. It keeps you unbalanced if an unexpected attack catches you off guard."
"Alright, I get it." I grunted out as I pushed myself back onto my feet. I wish that he didn't have to knock me on my ass whenever he wanted to demonstrate something to me. "Let's go." I said, readying myself for the fox's next attack while trying to keep my legs bent.
"We will see if you can 'get it', Nero." Yamato replied before launching his tail at me once again. Dodging to the side, I saw that same outstretched tail swing towards my face. Ducking under the attack, I straightened up and swung my sword down on the fox's tail. Another moment, Yamato's tail swung towards my feet.
Hopping over the tail, I slashed down upon the limb and scored a hit, making me smirk. My blue eyes met Yamato's green, and for once, the fox didn't show disappointment. "Much better. While not perfect, it is in a good enough spot to start with."
"What is it really that you're trying to do? Like, I get that you're trying to teach me some sword play, but it seems that you're trying to do more than just that." I asked as I readied myself for the fox's next attack.
"Breaking your bad habits." He answered while launching his tail once more. Sliding to the side, I was surprised to see his tail follow my movement, forcing me to put my sword in front of my body to take the hit. At the moment of contact, I found myself pushed back a foot or two.
"And what was this supposed to do?"
"Your enemy will not always make predictable attacks, and neither will I. You have been given new tools with which to fight, so I expect you to use them in the face of the unexpected." Yamato replied as he swung his tail, resuming our spar.
As I continued to avoid his attacks with as minimal movement as possible, all I thought about was how I'd one day knock that fox onto his ass like he's been doing to me.
"Keep your mind on the fight!" As soon as Yamato said this, his tail wrapped around my ankle and pulled me off-balance before I fell onto my back.
Yeah, one of these days…
[Ninya]
Once more, after finishing another dungeon delving attempt, I found myself training my magic outside like the others were training their own abilities. As I was currently working on trying to maintain three spheres of orbiting [Foxfire] around myself. It was steady, but hard, progress. I'm just glad that I was doing better at this than I was a few days ago.
Though, I think a bit of my sudden progress is also due to me having consumed some of mom's blood. Still, gross thoughts aside, I couldn't really deny the power I felt now that I was getting more attuned to it.
"Hey, kiddo. How's the training going?" Mom asked, startling me which broke my concentration and would've cause the spheres to fly off into random directions if mom's tails hadn't caught them. That was another interesting ability I found myself waking up to the day after I told mom everything.
I could 'see' her now. While everyone else currently saw her disguised as a human at this moment, I saw otherwise. From my perspective, she had nine tails of glowing golden energy swaying behind her that almost seemed to be growing as they absorbed tiny golden motes of energy that had been continuously floating towards her since I started seeing mom like this.
In addition to her tails, mom's real ears stood atop her head, much like her tails, though the golden motes weren't as heavily absorbed into her ears as they were her tails. Looking a bit lower to her eyes, I saw them as brilliant suns only slightly eclipsed by vertical black slits. Whereas others might find it intimidating, all I saw was warmth and love as mom continued to gaze at me with her teasing smile.
Mom looked every bit the goddess or demigoddess she was and I found it beautiful. In a way, I kind of wished that I could look as beautiful as mom did right now, but that was just a silly fantasy.
"Did you really have to startle me, m-Kashia?" I asked. Mom and I had agreed to keep our new dynamic from the guys, at least until we eased them into it. Though, I did find it hard at times to keep myself from slipping into referring to her as mom.
"I couldn't resist teasing my adorable little student." She replied while gently ruffling my hair. "Besides, I felt that, while your focus is excellent, you need a bit more practical experience." I gave mom a questioning look.
"What do you mean by practical?" As I said this, I felt something soft, but a little bit weighty, fall onto my head with a hiss like sand. Pulling the object out of my hair, I found myself holding a small squishy sack made of red cloth. Feeling it between my fingers, it seemed like it was stuffed with many small beads.
"What is this?" I asked mom. Her smile grew even wider as I asked this.
"That, my curious apprentice, is called a beanbag." She answered as another one of these 'beanbags' which she tossed between her hands. "For the foreseeable while, your training will be to maintain as many [Foxfire] spheres around yourself as possible. At the same time, you'll be dodging these beanbags which I will drop on you at random."
"And you really think that this is goin-" I found myself cut off when another beanbag fell onto my head. Looking over at mom, she was covering her mouth and holding back her laughter.
"Come on, kiddo. Time's flying by." Mom stifled out. Her merriment was infectious as I did my best to hold back my own grin as I conjured two [Foxfire] spheres and tried my hardest to maintain them. Keeping a glance at the sky, I found another beanbag materializing above my head and jumped aside as it fell down next to me. What I didn't expect was for another beanbag to hit my chest, throwing off my concentration.
Looking over to mom who playfully juggled a bag with one hand, she gave me a raised brow, "You're tossing them at me now?" I asked.
"Never said that I wouldn't, kiddo. Now, go ahead and cast your spell again." Mom replied. Surrounding myself in the orbiting fire once more, I dodged out of the way as mom lightly tossed the beanbag in her hand at me. Glancing upwards, I spotted another beanbag and jumped aside.
Peeking over to mom once more, she had thrown another beanbag which I ducked under before glancing upwards again, except no beanbag fell. Instead, a beanbag smacked me in the face. Yet, even with the hit, I focused even harder to maintain the fiery spheres. Thankfully, that worked as the spheres continued to circle me.
"At least you kept them intact after taking a hit. You're getting better at maintaining your concentration. We'll just have to work on your skill at dodging after this." Mom teased as I dodged another beanbag above me. This went on a bit more until I had a funny idea.
When I saw mom toss another beanbag at me, instead of dodging, I caught it in the air before I threw it back at her. She stepped aside with a look of surprise that quickly shifted into amusement.
"Oh, throwing my things back at me now, kiddo?" She questioned. Picking up another two beanbags from the ground, I gave her a large grin.
"I can't just let you have all the fun." I replied before tossing another bag at her face. She ducked under it and conjured a new beanbag in her hand.
"Well, if it's a war you want, then it's a war you'll get." Mom playfully warned as she tossed a bag at me. Dipping aside, I threw another bag at her, scoring a hit on her right shoulder.
"Ready when you are!" And with that declaration made, we engaged in our mock battle and spent what felt like hours, though it was likely a lot less, playing this game with each other. Mom and I were laughing the entire time as we scored hits on one another. Eventually, mom raised her hands in defeat, all the while, both of us were still giggling.
"I give. I give. Ninya Veyron, the Emerald Mage, has managed to defeat Kashia Blanc, the Adamantite-plate Adventurer." I let the beanbag in my hand fall to the ground before I joined it and sat down.
"That was an interesting method of training." I said after holding back another giggling fit.
"It seems to have worked. Your two [Foxfire] spheres are still spinning around you." Mom pointed out, making me realize that she was correct. I had almost completely forgotten about them. With a thought, I dispelled the magically conjured fire and mom took a seat next to me.
"Seems that you're right. Who would've expected that playing our game would help me out?" I thought aloud with a grin.
"I can't let all of your training be so boring and serious. You've got to have fun every once in a while." Mom answered. And she's right, I had a lot of fun with this lesson today.
I gave her a hug at her side in gratitude before whispering, "Thanks for helping me today, mom." She responded with a warm one-armed hug of her own.
"You're welcome, kiddo."
[Hours Later]
[Yuriko, the Guardian Shadow]
Seeing these humans run about like a disjointed hive of ants was a mixture of entertaining and extremely boring. Of course, I would still perform my duty to the Princess, regardless of my feelings about the matter. But it didn't help how dull my mission could be at times.
Unlike Saizo, an immature member of our species who spent his time feasting on any meal he could shove in his face or, very obviously, flirting with the Princess' eldest daughter, I had to continually keep an eye on this entire guild and ensure that they wouldn't perform any upsetting actions to her Highness. After learning of what they had done to the Princess' younger daughter, I was amazed that their building was still standing with all of its members still among the living. While I wasn't as fully opposed to the end result, the methods taken to get there left a lot to be desired.
But that did make me wonder when the Princess would give her blood to her eldest daughter to drink? I'd been in discussion with a few of my fellow guardians of both E-Rantel and Tuare, and we were in the opinion that the best method of increasing the protection of the elder daughter in matching with the protection of the younger daughter was by having her imbibe her mother's blood. It was actually part of the reason that I had obtained a small vial of diluted blood that the Princess' worshippers had been consuming.
While us guardians did wish to offer Tuare the choice of if she wished to imbibe the Princess' blood, I had already resolved my mind on a decision that I would be the first to admit tore me up inside if Tuare was to decline. It was absolutely treasonous, and when I was discovered I would not hide what I had done. I would either slip the blood into Tuare's food or feed it to her while she slept. My only reason for taking such a shameful action is due to my duty to protect her Highness and her daughters. Especially now that enemies have already tried to capture Tuare, and likely would have if not for the intervention of Saizo.
The fact that Tuare was so defenseless meant that such a precaution was necessary. I hope that the elder daughter can see reason. Else, I'll accept my execution without hesitation after performing my duty in service to both Tuare and the Princess.
Taking my mind off of such dour thoughts, I refocused on the humans scurrying below me from my resting place on the rafters. While I highly doubted that these humans would be anything else but thrilled to see another kitsune, considering what I heard about how they treated Puraimu, it was best to maintain a low profile so that I could get a better vantage of their activities. I did find it both amusing and astounding how little these humans ever looked up to see if there were any potential enemies above them.
Aside from maintaining a vigil from the rafters, I also took time to invisibly walk amongst them and watch what they did with some measure of interest. To be quite honest, I can easily say that most of these mages, if they hadn't imbibed the Princess' blood, would be average magic casters at best. With it, they were brought to an above-average level of skill, while those that learned the Princess' knowledge in addition to this were brought to a decent level.
Then, there were those unique humans that resonated highly enough with the Princess' blood to form a stronger bond with her power. They amusingly called themselves the Maidens of the Fox Princess. As of this moment, there were seven of these women. I didn't count the younger daughter, Ninya, among them since she was much more than that.
Still, the talents of these seven woman had certainly skyrocketed after forming their connections. And of them, the most fervent and zealous of them, Evelyn, was on the way of reaching the ability to cast 3rd Tier spells if she hasn't already done so.
Yet, of the seven Maidens, I only really felt my interest being drawn to Mercia. What likely helped in this was that I could relate to this withdrawn woman. Being in the thick of a crowd with attention brought down upon me was something I found unpleasant. Perhaps I might decide to introduce myself to her. She looked like she could use a friend.
The only thing that was truly out of place in the guildhall were the adventurers that moved about the place as hired guards. I didn't like what that might imply, since it told me that the Magician's Guild was expecting some kind of danger that I was unaware of.
Even listening into their conversations did little to inform me of what I suspected, since even these adventurers had little idea of what they might be protecting these mages from.
Deciding to change my vantage on the rafters, I leapt across a few of the beams, using my four tails to hold me steady as I did so, until I had reached the other side of the guildhall, on a few rafters right above the entrance.
From there, I settled once more into place and resumed my silent vigil. I'd likely have to move in a short while to follow these humans as they all went to their little shrine of worship to the Princess.
[Verona Margrost]
It was when the sky had begun to darken that I and my entourage of holy warriors made our way onto the streets and towards the den of corruption that was the Magician's Guild. There was a palpable tension in the air as we made our journey to cleanse the growing darkness that would risk taking our city from the order of the Four Great Gods and throwing it into the chaos that was the charlatan witch.
While my kind daughter said prayers of mercy for the souls that were to be purged, I prayed for the opposite. I wished for all of them to be punished for their transgressions to the gods. Their decision to follow such a wicked witch while pretending as if their very magic wasn't gifted to them by the gods themselves was intolerable. There are only two types of magic in this world.
The diluted and paltry magic which the gods have graciously allowed the unfaithful to practice in the hopes that they might one day see the truth. And the true, holy magic that the gods would give directly to their most faithful. Even Aria, with her practice in the first magic, more than made up for that with her immense faith and devotion to the true gods of this world.
Yet, these mages have shown little faith, if any. I know of only a few mages within that guild which allowed some light to shine through the mire of darkness that the guild smothered them in. And yet, none of these few have tried to denounce the falsehoods which the guild has spread. They remained silent.
And that was just as bad as if they worshipped this false faith themselves.
They all needed to be purged, to have the slate wiped clean and rebuilt anew. With the political weight that my servitude to the gods has given me, I would be able to replace the heretic, Theo Rakheshir, with someone who understood the truth of the world. From there, the new members that would join the reformed guild would be more easily swayed to join the flock of true believers in this city.
Once enough believers resided within E-Rantel, it would be a simple takeover to reform this city into a paradise for the Four Great Gods. I could see this beautiful place even become the first true holy city to the Four Great Gods within this kingdom! It was a dream that I have aspired to, even when I was still but a mere acolyte within the church.
Sadly, the road to said dream had bumps that needed to be overcome to allow my dream to prosper. This was just another of those bumps that needed to be removed, and with the righteous might that we were bringing to these nonbelievers, the road would once more be made smooth to traverse.
As our group strode down the road, none who saw us dared to interrupt our sacred duty, just as the gods intended. But as we drew closer to the den of corruption, it felt like a mental weight was being pressed down upon me, a phenomenon that was not only restricted to me. Creased brows and heavier breathing told me exactly what was occurring.
"This witch must know that we're approaching, my children. She would seek to ward us off with paltry tricks." I remarked to the others.
"I am glad that it is not just me who notices this 'pressure' being put upon us." Bernard agreed as he looked to us, "We must harden our wills for the task ahead."
"Of course, Bernard. Only a coward who fears their righteous judgement would try something so low." Margaret said as she stood taller with increased resolve.
Aria smirked as she said, "This only serves to make the moment when I cover these heretics in holy fire all the sweeter."
Benjamin simply twirled one of his daggers in his hand, displaying the confidence he felt. Even after all these years, Benjamin was such a quiet boy. Though, knowing him for so many years let me understand what he was thinking with those gestures of his.
With only a block left until we reached the guild, I called for the others to stop. "What is it, High Priestess?" Bernard asked.
"I wish to give you all some protections before we arrive. It will only take a moment." Saying this, I said the holy hymns as I cast [Bless], [Fortify Body], [Enhance Strength], and [Enhance Speed] upon my holy warriors. "With this, may you all fulfill the will of the gods."
"Thank you for this gift." My warriors chanted together. With this completed, it took less than a minute for us to arrive in front of the Magician's Guild where we spotted a group of five adventurers standing around. Four were gold-plates while one was a platinum-plate. Why were they here?
The moment that these adventurers noticed our group, they all became wary as they stood at attention and observed us. Though, it was a reasonable response to be wary around my powerful daughter. Her size and strength were both extremely formidable.
"Nice night to be out this late. Can we help you with anything?" The platinum-plate, a woman, likely in her late 20's, asked. Along her shoulders rested a short spear with a green head of mithril. She wore a set of mostly leather armor whose color was only offset by green cloth tied to her hip.
While her tone seemed calm, she looked anything but. Her single green eye glanced at all of us inquisitively, the other was fully shut with a ragged scar going over it. It matched two other similar scars that trailed to the side of her head, mostly covered by her green hair.
"We have church business within the guild, miss. Would you and your friends allow us passage?" Bernard answered, his hand calmly resting on the pommel of his mace.
"Strange church business to come to a place so armed. I was under the impression that it didn't take a force that looks ready for war to ask for donations." The woman remarked dryly. As she did so, her comrades slowly began to handle their weapons.
"Sadly, this is not that kind of business. Now, could you please stand aside and let us through?" Bernard asked once more. I gave a simple prayer for these innocent souls who knew no better and had been tricked by the vile darkness of the heretics. Hopefully, the gods would treat them kindly for not knowing any better.
At this point, the woman slung her spear from her shoulders and buried the tip of the mithril edge into the ground. Then, she rested both of her hands on the pommel of her weapon and gave Bernard a sly grin.
"Normally, for a polite guy like yourself, I'd be inclined to allow your request. Unfortunately, my friends and I are being paid to make sure this building is protected from any dangers. And considering the way you and yours seem about ready for a fight, I'm afraid that we'll have to decline your request."
Bernard gave a soft prayer before he looked over to Benjamin and nodded, "Go." As the word left his mouth, Benjamin unsheathed both of his daggers with a twirl and activated a martial art. A moment later, he was gone, the only sign of his presence being the wind his rapid movement kicked up.
Yet, looking at the adventurers, almost all of them had been ended with a swift slice to their throat. The only one to have survived his assault was the platinum-plate who had lifted the shaft of her spear up in time before Benjamin's blade could reach her throat.
But while this did prevent her death, it was by no means an easy feat. The woman had been launched back by the force of the attack, her boots skidding across the ground until her back slammed into the door of the guild with a thud.
Her one eye widened and gaze upon the sad, but necessary, carnage of her fellow adventurers. Then, her eye became a glare as a snarl grew across her face.
"YOU BASTARD!" Her body lit blue as she held her spear at Benjamin. "[[Air Clap]]!" She shouted before her body seemed to vanish, a loud crack of air followed this before she reappeared in front of Benjamin with her spear aimed at his heart.
Benjamin's body glowed green as he didn't move and the adventurer's spear, along with the rest of her body, went through Benjamin's like a mirage. Another second and Benjamin appeared behind the adventurer, slashing her back with both of his daggers, eliciting a cry of pain.
The adventurer quickly spun in place and tried to slash the quick warrior, but he was prepared with his daggers crossed against one another, catching the green blade in the crook of their union with a small bursting of sparks. Benjamin showed no visible strain or effort as he held this lock of blades.
Then, in the span of three seconds, Benjamin angled the woman's spear upwards before slashing it away into the air, breaking their blade lock. Just as the woman was about to respond with a pommel strike, Benjamin had already struck with both blades above and below her heart.
The woman's eye widened in a mixture of shock and pain as Benjamin kicked her off of the blades and onto the ground. As she hit the ground with a weak gasp, her spear rolled out of her hand and down the steps of the guild until it reached the feet of Bernard who kicked it aside.
This wasn't the end to the battle as the doors to the Magician's Guild slammed open and more adventurers poured outside. All in all, there were 11 adventurers in total.
Just as Benjamin was about to quickly end the lives of these misled souls, Aria spoke up. "Benny, you've had your turn. Now, it's mine." Ah, yes. Aria was always so eager to prove her strength and devotion to the others.
Benjamin gave a simple shrug before disappearing and reappearing next to us in another burst of speed. The only sign of movement being the settling of his fluttered green robes.
"Thank you, Benny!" Aria said, patting Benjamin on the back as she strode forwards towards the, now fearful, adventurers with her hands held out. In both of Aria's hands, flames started taking shape which slowly swelled with power.
"In the name of the God of Fire, I show my devotion to him through the act of annihilating his enemies. Burn before his might! [Flame Wave]!" Aria chanted with a shout before throwing her hands before herself as the flames in both her hands converged before expanding outwards towards the group of terrified adventurers in a wave of burning death.
What should have been an immolating execution that should've elicited screams of pain before its targets were mercifully sent to the Four, instead received silence. We were all puzzled as Aria extinguished most of the flames and had three balls of fire orbit her body.
Standing before the adventurers with a shield of conjured water was an odd creature, yet one I could already tell was of the blasphemous witch's conjuring. It appeared like a large fox with four tails and fur a mixture of black mottled with blue.
Not even the adventurers seemed to expect this creature to arrive before them, meaning it was either hidden or, even better, conjured by the witch who resided within that building.
"What dares interrupt the judgement of the God of Fire?" Aria asked in justified anger. And strangely enough, though fitting for such an unnatural beast, it responded in a feminine voice.
"Someone whose job it is to protect this place. I will not abide with senseless killing."
"This is not senseless; it's divinely mandated by the Four Great Gods!" Aria answered with flames growing in her hands. Behind the fox, I could already see the guildhall filling up with mages, with one mage dressed in white that especially bothered me for some unknown reason.
"That's just senseless killing with extra steps." The fox answered as the shield of water fell away, soaking the stone ground and extinguishing the remaining scattered flames. "I will only warn you once, go back to where you came from or I will ensure that there will be nothing left for anyone to send back."
Aria laughed as her squadmates and I joined her side, "It's hilarious that a heretical furball would dare to try and command a warrior of the holy Four."
That was when the mage in white, wearing a strange matching hat and veil, stopped next to the fox. I took note that she had blue eyes ringed in a glowing gold. Likely more heretical magic.
"A warrior, you say?" The woman spoke in a commanding voice, "All I see is a couple of butchers before me." In both of her hands, golden spell arrays lit up in preparation for potential attacks.
Bernard unholstered his mace and multiple glowing blue runes lit up along the weapon's bladed head. These runes, to this day, had been impossible for even the church's greatest scholars to translate. It was the language of the gods, and not meant for the minds of mortals to understand. These same runes trailed along the shaft of the mace in beautiful patterns.
"All I see," Bernard began as the mace, the Fist of God, thrummed with a growing power. "Is an abomination and a heretic of the worst degree. Submit to the kiss of the Fist of God and you may meet redemption upon meeting the Four Great Gods."
The woman laughed, "It's astounding how you seem to expect a person to commit suicide by allowing you to bash their skull in. Has anyone ever bothered to take you up on your offer or do you say it to make yourself seem better than the butcher that you actually are, executioner?" The woman taunted.
"I offered you mercy. Now, you've chosen pain. [[Ability Boost]]!" Upon activating his martial art, Bernard swiftly charged the woman and the fox, covering the 24 feet between them in an instant. Just before Bernard's mace could impact either of the two enemies, the woman cast her spell, causing a golden barrier of mana to take the hit instead, spreading a massive web of cracks across the structure.
"[Mana Barrier]!" She shouted. At the same time, Benjamin swiftly appeared to the woman's side and was about to slit her throat until two of the fox's tails got in the way of the daggers, taking the hit. Astonishingly, the tails weren't cut in half, and at most, the daggers made slight nicks into either limb.
Two more tails stabbed at Benjamin, causing him to flip away and reposition himself. At the same time, Bernard slammed his mace once more into the barrier, shattering it into pieces as the shining head of the mace was on a path to crush the woman's head. Unfortunately, the fox wrapped a tail around the woman's waist and pulled her out of the way. Turning to Margaret, I gave my daughter a nod.
She quickly charged the heretical pair as earth pulled itself from the ground to form around Margaret's gauntlet like a spiked fist. Yet, the woman, while still being held in the fox's tail, cast another of her wretched spells, causing another golden barrier to appear in front of the attack. I couldn't help but smirk since even with this attempt to save themselves, Margaret's attack still crashed through the barrier and broke it apart.
The fox jumped away, but it was forced to block another smash of Bernard's mace as one of the bladed sides bit into the fox's tail, drawing further blood. Unfortunately, the fox retaliated with a slash of its tail, catching Bernard in the chest and launching him back. Yet, the moment he hit the ground, Bernard rolled to his feet and slammed the Fist of God into the ground, making the righteous weapon glow brighter.
It was an amazing creation from the gods. With every attack a warrior wielding it made, the Fist of God would become stronger and stronger until any who opposed it would be crushed under its inevitable might! Yet, with such an awesome power, its wielder took a strain upon themselves to maintain it. Bernard had tempered his body through physical and mental training for years to be able to wield it as he does now. And wield it, he did marvelously.
Focusing back upon the fox, it cast a heretical spell, "[Foxfire]!" As azure flames sped towards my daughter until they stopped and reversed back upon the fox, surprising it as the flames quickly approached. I smiled at the skill Aria displayed with her gift. All flames were hers to command with the talent given to her by the gods.
But frustratingly, the woman conjured another golden barrier before herself and the fox, stopping the attack in its place. She quickly followed this up with another golden construct in the form of a spear that fired out towards Aria. "[Mana Spear]!"
Thankfully, Benjamin appeared before Aria and deflected the construct away.
Just as the barrier of gold was broken apart by a mighty punch from Margaret, multiple cries of "[Magic Arrow]!" came from the entrance of the guild, all aimed at my daughter!
Without a moment to waste, I cast one of my spells, "[Summon Angel: 3rd Tier]!" Creating a burst of holy light before me as the gods answered my plea. From that light, the heavenly creation of an angel, completely armored in white plate, with majestic yellow wings, and a halo, charged forwards and got in the way of the attacks which mostly bounced off its armor.
Oddly, some of these attacks managed to dent into the metal.
"Aria, take care of the mages!" I commanded. Aria nodded and aimed her hands at the three women in the doorway, all clothed in that strange white garb like the first.
Frustratingly, another golden barrier appeared before the attack as the fox quickly jumped to the guild entrance and set the woman down next to the others.
"Pull back and get everyone else to safety! I can't fight if I'm concentrating on keeping all of you alive!" The fox commanded, making the women give nods of understanding as they, and the adventurers, pulled back deeper into the guild, shouting for the other corrupted guild members to get to safety.
They couldn't be given to flee. The beast was wasting our time.
"For an abomination, it is honorable of you to stay behind and die to give more time for the rest of the heretics to run. I'll make certain to remember that after you've died." Margaret remarked to the creature.
"Being remembered by butchers like yourself is only an insult." The fox retorted.
"Bernard, make another entrance for Benjamin! Benjamin, purge any heretic you see!" I commanded to the pair. Within moments, the fox tried to stop Bernard, but Margaret intercepted and held it off long enough for Bernard's mace to break open a massive section of wall which Benjamin quickly rushed through. With Benjamin on his way to slaughter those corrupted mages, it gave Bernard, Margaret, Aria, and myself the chance to handle the distracted fox.
While it may be a difficult opponent, our faith would allow us to bring it down.
Then, without warning, a blue flash appeared inside the guildhall and a green blur flew out and skipped against the ground a few times until it slid to a halt in front of me.
It was…
"Benjamin!" I shouted as I ran over to the young man. Yet looking upon him, I saw that he was horrifically injured with each of his limbs broken in odd angles while the entire front of his body was scorched. He drew quick ragged breaths filled with awful pain. I cast [Heavy Recover] upon him, watching some of the terrible burns slowly heal.
While my magic went to work restoring Benjamin's body, I, along with everyone else of the Punishment Squad, looked towards the makeshift entrance where a blonde woman in an odd black dress strode out. Her eyes were a blazing gold with inhuman slits.
But, as I looked upon her, I noticed something that confused and terrified me. She wore an adamantite-plate upon her sizable chest…
There was only supposed to be three in this city. The dark armored knight, Momon, his constant traveling companion, Nabe, and the adventurer teamed with the silver-plate party, Kashia Blanc. Reports said that Momon and Nabe were still outside the city while it was unknown as to where…Kashia was with her team…
No…
"Good evening, shitheads." She said with a voice that gained an unearthly strength to it. While she approached, we all watched nine golden tails materialize behind her with a pair of golden fox ears. "You dropped your trash in my place."
And then, my darker fears were slowly being realized. The holy warriors of the Punishment Squad were strong, likely at mithril or orichalcum-plate, but someone like this… Even I would say that it was beyond our skills. We'd need to assemble two squads at least to handle an adamantite-plate. And this one especially, for she was the one we were after.
The one that claimed to be a deity…
[Earlier]
[Kashia]
After another long day of training for the others, I was happy to say that they had all made some decent progress. And as we sat together around the campfire, eating fish stew, I got to listen to everyone chat and joke around with each other as things wound down for us.
"You know, after so many days of delving into that dungeon, I really think that the skeletal mages are the worst of the enemies we've encountered." Peter remarked.
"I disagree." Ninya countered as she pointed aa spoon at the blond swordsman, "It's still gotta be the crawling skeletons. They are still the creepiest by a large margin, automatically making them the worst."
"But, Ninya, the worst the crawlers can do is jump at us. The mages throw fireballs at our faces." Peter reasoned which made Ninya shake her head.
"Forgetting the mages as simple monsters is easier enough, but I'm not forgetting those crawlers anytime soon. I don't even know why we had to deal with an entire room full of them today? It was awful." Ninya explained with a shiver.
Dyne decided to put his two cents into the conversation at this point, "I'm partial to finding the undead giants to still be the most annoying. At least with the other undead, it just takes a good hit to finish them off. With the giants, we still have to spend a lot of time and energy in taking them down, and that's if they're alone." Dyne then grinned as he took another bite of his stew.
Lukrut shrugged at this, "By this point, I'm pretty impartial to most of the undead we face. But if I had to decide on which enemy I've found the most annoying, it has to go to the skeletal mages just because of how they can lock me down from hitting them if they focus their fire on me enough."
Peter chuckled at this, "Fair enough. What about you, Kashia? If you had to decide in all of your travels, what undead enemy did you find the worst to deal with?"
"If I had to decide, it'd likely be the Skeletal Wicker Horde." Seeing their questioning gazes, I decided to answer their unspoken question, "Imagine a massive monster that's taller than a house and made up of thousands of bones. It could constantly shift its shape and even reform any damage it took by absorbing any bones laying around it. And since I had to fight it in a massive catacomb, it constantly had fresh material to reform itself with. It was a nightmare to put down."
Yeah, the Skeletal Wicker Horde was a special boss found in Midgard which was part of a quest to allow the souls of the dead to pass onto Helheim. Fighting the boss was a massive slog since it turned the game of YGGDRASIL from an RPG into a survival horror game. Players were forced to constantly keep running through the dungeon as any damage done to the boss would only slow it down before the undead quickly regenerated any health it lost.
The trick to defeating it was to kill the four necromancers scattered throughout the maze-like catacomb so that the Wicker Horde's endless supply of bones would dry up. A nickname the playerbase gave the boss was Bone Ball since one of its annoying attacks as it chased players throughout the catacomb was to form into a ball and try to crush whatever unlucky sap was in its way.
Since the tunnels of the catacomb were narrow, you couldn't jump out of the way of the attack. The only methods to survive was to either deal enough damage quickly enough to break it out of the Bone Ball mode, use a movement skill to escape, or hope to run into a sharp bend or diverging hallway as the damn Calcium Testicle was about to run you down since it lacked a method to quickly break and turn.
"Sounds terrible." Dyne remarked.
"It really was." I said back.
Lukrut playfully bumped my side and said, "At least you managed to beat it. Else we wouldn't be sharing the company of your lovely presence."
I gave my silly archer a bump back with a smirk, "Yeah, that certainly would be the case, flatterer. Seems like things worked out for the best." I said while giving him a kiss on the cheek.
The thing I left out about this was that I died three times to the Calcium Testicle before finally locating where all the necromancers were. Those three deaths were painful since I was only level 56 at the time. It was a pain in the ass to grind my levels back each time.
"Speaking of things that worked out, I noticed that you and Ninya had a very unique training exercise today." Dyne remarked with a chuckle.
"You may think my method was strange, but it was definitely valuable in helping my adorable apprentice!" I replied while tousling said adorable daughter's hair, earning a laugh from her.
"I can't exactly refute the methods the most eccentric one of our group uses if they work."
Raising a brow to Dyne, I asked, "Eccentric?"
Peter was the one to answer this time, "Sorry to say, but I have to agree with Dyne on this one. You tend to come up with some of the weirdest ideas in our group."
Looking to Ninya, I found my daughter nodding in agreement. Turning to Lukrut, I received a guilty-looking smile, "They aren't exactly wrong, my beautiful fox. We all love that part about you, me especially, but it is very much a portion of your personality."
At this point, I had to concede it to them, "Guess the jury's out if the four of you are all in agreem-" I was quickly cut off as two things happened back to back.
Fox Princess, your followers are in danger! Your temple is being assaulted! Please, help us!
As that prayer ripped through my mind, I received a [Message] from Yuriko, 'My Lady, a group of five has come to the Magician's Guild to murder all within! I can't hold them off by myself while trying to protect everyone.'
No! My followers are in danger! I must save them!
'I'll be there immediately.' I mentally replied before I stood up, confusing my team. "I have to head to E-Rantel immediately." When I said this, everyone's faces filled with concern as they began to get on their feet.
"What's going on?" Peter voiced for the group, making me quickly shake my head.
"I have to do this alone. There's no time to explain. I'll be back soon." I didn't even bother to wait and hear their questions or arguments as I teleported into the guildhall of the Magician's Guild where I saw a short man in dark armor covered in a green hooded robe charging at me.
He looked surprised for a single moment at my abrupt appearance before his eyes hardened in resolve and he sped up his charge which just seemed slow in my eyes. I noticed that in both his hands were a pair of orichalcum daggers that were coated in the blood of multiple different people. That same scent led outside where the sounds of battle filled my ears.
Like vipers, my invisible tails darted out and wrapped themselves around all four of the killer's limbs. He silently struggled in my grasp, but he couldn't break free. In an effort to quickly get to the bottom of what was happening, I savagely read his mind, eliciting a hoarse and quiet scream from the…little murderer.
His name was Benjamin; a member of a monstrous task force of the Church of the Four Great Gods called the Punishment Squad. They were used to murder and silence any who the church, or in this case a High Priestess named Verona, deemed as a threat or hinderance to them.
This man's hands were stained in the blood of a lot of innocent people whose only crimes were either in not believing in their religion or because they cut in on the church's bottom line. And the worst part about all of it?
Benjamin felt no guilt whatsoever. His head was stuck far up his own ass in the belief that all of these people needed to die. That it was the will of the gods to see all of those innocent people cut down. Even children weren't exempt.
That made me see red as my tails broke each of his limbs, earning more of the murderer's quiet screams. Putting a hand against his heavily breathing chest, I spoke to him. "You invaded the wrong house, you piece of shit."
His eyes widened against my glowing gold as I cast [Foxfire Repulse] and released his limbs as I let the concussive force of the spell launch the murderer out of the guildhall and through the hole in the wall that he used to enter.
As I followed after him out the same improvised exit, I took note the murderer was still alive, if just barely. His leader was currently trying to heal his wounds as I stepped through the rubble and gazed at all of them.
"Good evening, shitheads." I said, letting my more divine tone come out as I dropped my illusion before these zealots. If they wanted to find me, then here I am! "You dropped your trash in my place."
Looking around, I found Yuriko facing off against the giant bitch of their group, Margaret, as a summoned angel and the mace-wielder, Bernard, had seemed ready to charge her until my unexpected arrival.
Past the pair of melee fighters was the pyromaniac, Aria, while near her was Verona who was desperately trying to heal one of the four monsters she helped train and/or raise. Yet, my ears caught the sounds of struggled breathing and my eyes looked right to see the green-haired adventurer that the murderer, Benjamin, had defeated earlier.
She struggled to cling to life as her damaged heart began giving out. She'd die within a minute if she didn't receive help soon.
Looking back to the other butchers still frozen in place, I cast [Blink] and appeared next to the injured adventurer who gazed at me with shock as her eyes flicked between the adamantite-plate on my chest to the furred ears on top of my head.
"You are going to be alright." I said while casting [Healing of Freyja] to fix the woman's injuries. I watched as her breathing stabilized and the two holes by her heart closed themselves. Even the paled skin of her face changed to a healthier color as she regained the blood she'd lost.
I helped her into a sitting position as she looked at me with a gaze mixed between awe and confusion. "I know you. You're-behind you!" She shouted as her eyes looked behind me. While the warning was appreciated, my ears had picked up the movements of Bernard much earlier.
In an instant, my tails formed a shield that easily blocked the hit. Looking over my shoulder, I noticed the confused look on the paladin's face.
"Die, heretical witch!" Bernard shouted as his mace swung down on my tails again. While I wasn't at all worried, I did take note that his mace had more force in that attack than it did before.
Wracking through the memories I stole from Benjamin, I discovered that the zealous asshole's mace was a holy relic known as the Fist of God. With every hit, it grew stronger as long as the user was able to maintain that power. I'd surmise that it had some form of pseudo-level boosting effect, considering that it was able to hurt Yuriko as it did.
It probably gave a level or two of power to its swings with every hit until the user gave out or its opponent finally died.
Sounds like a cool toy. I think that I want it.
Just as Bernard was about to swing again, one of my tails caught his wrist while the other grabbed the shaft of the mace. This shocked the zealot as he tried to pull his hand away. When that didn't work, he raised a hand above his head and shouted, "[Holy Judgement]!"
That was a cute little spell of the 2nd Tier which brought a lightning bolt down upon a target, dealing them both lightning and holy damage. Time to fuck with his beliefs.
I cast [Counterspell] and watched the zealot's spell fizzle, followed by him becoming shocked at the cancellation of what he likely thought was one of his strongest attacks.
"What trickery is this? [Holy Judgment]!" He shouted once more which I countered. "I can feel the Great Four's power channeling through me, so how are you doing this, witch?!"
Standing up to the man's large form, I gave him a grin. "Oh, little Bernard, haven't you already heard about who I am? Why would you possibly believe that I'd let one of your gods' spells be cast around me?"
This received a lot of struggling from the zealot before he shouted, "You are no goddess! [[Greater Ability Boost]]!" Bernard's body became outlined in a red aura for a moment before he attempted to punch me in the face.
I didn't even blink as another of my tails wrapped around his wrist, stopping the attack a few inches from my head. The only portion of his attack that did hit me was the displaced air that lightly moved my bangs.
"Was that everything you had, little Bernard? Were there any other little tricks you had up your sleeve or did you expect your gods to bail you out if you ever encountered someone who could actually put up a fight?" Pulling both of Bernard's arms until they were outstretched, on the verge of dislocating, I quickly had to use two more of my tails to hold down his legs before they could try and kick me.
"How do you know my name, witch?! What foul sorcery are you using?!" The paladin demanded, a highly amusing demand considering his position right now.
"Little Bernie, I know a lot of things about you and your friends. But why should I tell you anything after you invaded my temple and killed innocent people?"
"There are no innocents, only heretics and enemies of the Great Four. Aria, do it now!" As the suicidal moron grinned while his pyromaniac friend was about to cast her spell, I countered it, making the growing flames in Aria's hands snuff themselves out.
"W-What?" She questioned.
"For such 'powerful' murderers, you're pretty slow on the uptake. You do realize that my followers worship me as a goddess of magic for a reason, right? What makes any of you still believe that I'll allow you to cast magic in my presence?"
As I said this, the summoned angle flew at me which I responded to by announcing my spell, "[Magic Arrow]." I watched the bolt of magic speed through the air and burrow itself through the angel's head until it came out on the other side.
The summoned angel struggled to maintain its flight before crashing to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. It struggled to stand back up until I ended the game with two more bolts, soundly killing it.
At the same time this happened, I saw Yuriko impale the giant woman, Margaret, a few times with her tails. Now that it was a one on one, my servant had the upper hand and could more easily focus down her targets. Considering that Yuriko was level 40, it was a little impressive how much this butcher was holding out. I'd say that she was likely in the high level 20's or low 30's.
High enough to hold out for a while, but too low to do much in the form of damage to my kitsune.
Yuriko dodged a punch from the spiked gauntlet of Margaret before wrapping two of her tails around Margaret's legs like pythons which she anchored by deeply stabbing the tips of her tails into the giant woman's calves, receiving a scream of pain from her.
In an instant, Yuriko raised the woman off of the ground and slammed her back down, cratering Margaret before doing it again and again, drawing more blood from the butcher that painted the deepening crater red.
"MARGARET! NO!" The Head Bitch screamed as Margaret was slammed down once more before Yuriko lifted the woman up once more and drove a tail through the woman's sternum.
Following this, the darkly-colored kitsune threw Margaret's broken body in front of the Head Bitch as some form of curtesy to say farewell. Looking back to Bernie, I gave him a taunting grin.
"Wait here for a bit. I can't waste all my time playing with you at the moment." Just as Bernie was about to bark back, I cast [Permanize: Paralysis] on the zealot and dropped him to the ground while pulling the mace from his grip and putting it into my storage space.
Then, I cast [Blink] and arrived before the terrified pyromaniac. Her eyes fearfully widened as she quickly raised her hands to me and readied a spell.
"[Firew-]" I countered the spell before grabbing her hands with mine and squeezing down. "N-No, this isn't right! None can stop the righteous flames of the God of Fire!"
"Didn't we discuss this before? I'm the one who decides what spells can be cast here. You must still not understand that your magic is useless here, unless you must be willingly gifting your hands to me? I think that's the case, and it would be rude of me to refuse such a generous offer." Saying this, I crushed the pyro's hands to mush, making her scream and cry as she tried to pull away from me.
"Let me go! It hurts, it hurts! God of Fire, please help me!"
All the while, I saw through the memories of Benjamin as she laughed and cheered at burning so many innocent people alive. This punishment was the least of her worries right now.
"There are no gods here but me right now. Your prayers fall upon deaf ears amongst the screams of all the innocent men, women, and children you burned. Now, stay here and ruminate upon the series of terrible choices that led you to this moment." With that said, I paralyzed her before moving over to the Head Bitch herself.
I saw her cradling the giant woman in her arms, or at least as much as she could fit of her giant daughter that is.
"M-Mother, d-did I disappoint you?" Margaret asked weakly.
"No, my silly girl. You could never disappoint me." Even now, I could see her trying in vain to cast healing magic on the butcher, yet she was tapped out. While she likely was a strong caster, either her mana pool was sorely lacking or she had wasted it all prior with the spells she cast earlier combined with stabilizing Benjamin.
Could I heal Margaret from the verge of death right now? Yes. Was I going to? Definitely not. The kindness I was giving Margaret right now was to have some final words with her mother.
That was more than what she or her fellow butchers gave to any of their victims.
"Mo-Mother, I'm th-thankful that y-you took me o-out of that ca-cage and gave me a h-home."
"I'd do it again in heartbeat. You are the greatest gift that the gods have ever given me." Verona warmly answered while sniffling.
"Momma, I'm scar-" Margaret's last word was cut off as her body gave out and I heard her last breath escape her lips.
"M-My little giant?" Verona asked with a gentle shake that received no response, "M-Margaret? Margaret?!" That was the moment Verona realized her daughter had finally died and she broke down sobbing.
And that was when I finally approached her. "If you and your band of killers weren't such wretched monsters, I'd feel sorry for you." I said as Verona's sobs turned to screams of palpable fury as she turned to look at me.
"You monstrous abominable witch! You and your band of fucking heretics should've died, and my little girl should've lived! She was devout, kind, and just while all of-"
"Your 'little girl' was a butcher who killed so many innocent people under orders from you and your church! You used her, and your three other killers, as attack dogs while thinking that there would be no consequences! You're a horrible mother who got her daughter killed over your dogma!" I countered loudly.
"What would a heretic like you know about being a mother?! How could an abomination like you know anything when you push the light and grace of the gods away from yourself?!"
"I know that I wouldn't raise either of my two daughters as weapons, you self-centered bitch. But I know that arguing with someone as self-righteous and deluded as yourself will get us nowhere. So, I think we should move onto your punishment." Verona glared at me with tears still falling from her eyes.
"Just kill me and be done with it. I know that when I die, I'll have done so as a martyr who died fighting against wickedness. The Four Great Gods will be waiting for me with open arms and my daughter in tow. You and your tainted spawn will have nothing but deserved agonies once your time to meet the true gods has come! I will wait for that day with glee, Kashia Blanc!"
My eyes narrowed as the Head Bitch said this. Then I took a deep breath as I figured out exactly what I'd do with her.
"At first, I had a different idea on how to punish you. But then you had to go and insult my daughters. Now, we'll do something much more special for you." This got a little bit of fear from the crazed zealot.
"What?"
"There's probably nothing you'd like more than to die right now. That isn't happening. Instead, you'll act as a permanent message for all to see." Verona moved away from her daughter's corpse and snarled at me.
"Like I would let that happen!" As she said this, I cast [Petrification] on her. And like a switch had been flipped, she began to grow fearful as her body began to turn to stone.
"Like you had a choice in the matter. You picked a fight with a goddess. Now lie in the grave you've dug."
"No, you can't do this! Four Great Gods, please sa-" She became rendered silent as her entire body turned to stone. Her expression permanently frozen in fear as her gaze looked upwards for any signs of divine intervention.
"Princess, there are many witnesses coming who will see you right now." Yuriko said as she padded up next to me.
Shit, I had to change quickly! Reequipping my 'deity robes', I turned to look at the entrance of the guildhall just in time to see Yuriko proven correct. Adventurers and mages, more specifically, my worshippers, were pouring out of the guildhall looking at me with amazement.
At the same time, I could hear the heavy footfalls of armored boots that neared us. Looking over my shoulder, I could see the shining plate of the city's guard. Amazing that they show up after all the fighting has been done.
Okay, minor crisis averted. Unfortunately, I'd need to talk with the green-haired adventurer and ask her to not spill the beans. And that was hopefully the only witness, besides the zealous assholes who I had curb-stomped. Yet, being this out in the open didn't exactly mean that the ones who I had fought and saved were the only people to see me.
There were a lot of buildings with plenty of windows around the Magician's Guild that would give anyone a good view of the fight. But I could worry about that later, I had a few things to take care of now.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw six women dressed in the same clothing as Evelyn and Mercia, approach me. Two of them were said women. "My Goddess, I thank you with all of my heart for protecting us from those executioners." Evelyn praised.
"You are welcome. Was anyone injured in the attack?" I asked, gazing at all six women who shared those golden-ringed eyes. I felt innate concern as I gazed at all of them before my eyes flicked to the growing crowd of mages who gave me prayers of thanks, making me feel extremely good right now.
"Sadly, the adventurers that had been hired to protect our guild were killed by the executioners. None of them deserved such a fate." Evelyn answered sadly, making me nod in agreement.
"You're right. None of them did deserve such a fate. Let's change that." Upon saying this, all six of the women looked at me with some confusion. I simply smiled as I walked over to the group of bodies while my Maidens followed after me. Four men, all gold-plates, whose throats had been slit by Benjamin. Glancing over to said butcher, I saw him still passed out on the ground. His broken limbs seemed to be mostly healed, but the burns I inflicted on him still looked quite raw.
I'd deal with him later.
Holding my hand out over the corpses, I cast [True Resurrection] and watched the spell take hold with interest as their injuries quickly healed and all of them took deep breaths as their eyes opened. One by one, they sat up looking at themselves with amazement.
It was interesting to watch my spell be cast and fully understand the mechanics behind [True Resurrection]. It was similar to [Wish Upon a Star] where it used the accumulated time and power (or XP in simpler terms) of a target to reverse the cause of death and restore them to an earlier form, even if the body was disintegrated. This reversal was in essence, reversing time on both the target's body and soul which allowed the spell to bypass things like [True Death]. Once the body was fixed, the spell would tether onto the disembodied soul of the target and pull them back to the mortal coil if said soul allowed it. It made me wonder if, like [Wish Upon a Star], it was possible to substitute the levels of a target with something else.
Guess I was going to need to perform some experimentation and spellcrafting since, while I had the idea of the change and the knowledge of the original spell, that didn't automatically give me the knowledge of the spell I wanted to create. I was going to need to adjust the spell array of [True Resurrection] at the sacrifice point.
I wasn't going to be killing random people and testing out resurrection attempts on them, but I wouldn't have much of the same issue on a mouse or two. Still, that was an idea for later. I focused back onto the revived adventurers before me.
"I'm fairly certain that I died." A man with shaggy blue hair remarked as he looked at his hands. Even though he was perfectly healthy, the entire front of his leather cuirass was drenched in his blood, probably ruining it along with all the clothes under it if not cleaned up. I did take note that even with his resurrection, he still retained a scar going down the right side of his mouth and one that went from his left eyebrow up into his hairline.
As he continued to examine himself, his inspection was cut short by a green blur. "CHARLES!" The voice of the green-haired woman cried out before she quickly tackled the man in a hug before she started crying as she kissed him. After a few moments, they finally broke apart for breath.
"E-Elia! Are you okay?" The man, who I now knew as Charles, asked while wrapping his arms around the green-haired woman, Elia.
"You're asking if I'm okay, you daft bastard?! You were dead!" Elia replied while punching the man in the arm with a laugh.
"I can see that, El. Though, I'm more confused if anything on how we are alive again?" Charles voiced which was a question that the three other recently-resurrected adventurers shared.
Just before Elia was about to respond, I answered first, "I felt that you and your companions died before your time. Especially when your deaths were in service to protecting my followers. This is my way of righting an injustice."
This drew the attention of Charles and the others as they looked at me with shock, awe…and lust. Just have to roll with it for now.
"W-Wait, are you the-"
"Goddess known as the Fox Princess? Yes, I am." At the same time that I said this, I also sent a mental [Message] to Elia, surprising the warrior, 'And I'd be thankful if that's the only name I'm known by right now, Elia.'
She quickly nodded in agreement, probably due to being both extremely grateful for the resurrection of her lover and their teammates, and because she just saw what happens to those that pissed me off.
"Then the rumors really were true. I don't know how we'll ever repay you, ma'am." I giggled at how all of them thought that I needed payment.
"There's no payment necessary. As I said before, I was righting a wrong done by the group of butchers that I dealt with. One of a horrific number that they have performed over the course of many years. Though, if you still wish to repay me, then let as many people as you can know of what happened here, and how the Church of the Four Great Gods tried to massacre all of the innocent people of the Magician's Guild." I replied with a smile visible through my veil.
"That's something that all of us can definitely do, Fox Princess. Thank you for everything." Elia said while wiping the tears from her eye.
"You are very welcome." I answered with a nod before moving away from the adventurers to let them talk among themselves. Turning back to my Maidens, I saw all of them looking at the (in their eyes) miracle that I performed with amazement and reverence.
"That was a spell that I've only heard stories about. The greatest resurrection spell that has ever been possible for mages to attempt has been [Raise Dead], and even then, the revived would be extremely weak and need a great deal of time to recover." Mercia said in astonishment.
"[True Resurrection] is a 9th Tier spell that bypasses many of the restrictions of [Raise Dead]. It doesn't need a body, gets around effects that would normally deny other resurrection effects, and takes considerably less strength from the target than other spells." I answered to inquisitive woman.
Additionally, I saw the statuette that I gave her was attached to a golden rope that was tied on her waist and allowed the tiny idol to hang against her hip. Seems that she likes it.
Aside from my Maidens who whispered among themselves in reverence at my words, I could hear the gathered mages excitedly discuss a spell from the 9th Tier that actually existed. At the same time, some of the city guard began to approach me hesitantly.
"E-Excuse me, but could anyone explain what is going on?" A bearded guard asked, one I recognized as a guard I had encountered at the entrance to the cemetery. Funny that.
Turning to the guard and his squad, all of who looked worried, I answered, "Five members of the Church of the Four Great Gods; four of which were part of the Punishment Squad, who are the church's executioners, and one was the High Priestess of the temple in the city, came to the Magician's Guild to butcher every innocent inhabitant inside. As they were my worshippers, I arrived to protect them and punish these murderers for their actions. Additionally, I had to resurrect four of their victims."
The guards all looked shocked and frightened as they gazed at the fallen murderers until their eyes landed on the stone statue looking to the sky in fear.
"That's High Priestess Verona Margrost!" A young guard shouted in horror as he pointed to the statue.
"It is. As one who has given the order to kill innocent men, women, and children countless times, Verona Margrost needed a suitable punishment to fit her crime. So, she'll be put on display so that all can know of what she did to deserve this."
Saying this I walked over to the Head Bitch's petrified form and cast [Create Greater Item] to create a large stone foundation in front of the guild and used my tails to lift her form up and deposit it upon her new resting place. Then, I performed some liberal use of the prior spell to cement her in place.
"This just isn't right. High Priestess Verona is a holy woman. She shouldn't be put on display like some trophy." The same guard commented.
"For a holy woman, Verona performed a lot of monstrous actions." I said while turning to the guard and pointing to the statue,"There she will remain, for if her gods will not try to punish one of their own for such travesties in their names, then this goddess will. And as for Verona's band of murderers, they will each meet fates that are well deserved."
For little Bernie, a zealous man like him would probably find it agony to be forced to listen to my followers have sermons in my name while he got to be a frozen decoration. As for Benjamin, a child killer like him would probably enjoy being slowly shredded apart by some enthusiastic kitsune.
And Aria, who so enjoyed burning people to death. I'd set her inside of a permanent hotbox. Constant unbearably hot torment, but never enough to kill her. She'd likely get a real reality-check when experiencing what it was like on the victim's side.
As for Margaret, I could be needlessly cruel and bring her back to life, only to immediately have her suffer torment, but I wasn't going to do that. She wasn't worth the second of my time it would take to bring her back or the pittance of mana needed for the spell. She could rot in whatever afterlife she was currently experiencing.
The bearded guard was the one to speak this time, "So, you truly are the one the rumors around the city spoke of? The goddess known as the Fox Princess?"
"I am. And the Magician's Guild, along with this entire city, is under my protection." I didn't know exactly what came over me to declare this city as my protectorate since I only originally planned it for the Magician's Guild, but I decided to roll with it. I did need to build up my reputation with the people so that I didn't end up with a repeat like tonight.
"While the Four Great Gods may be content to sit around and do nothing, I am not. As their temples rake in coin for their monopolized healing, I will not. I do not care if one worships me, for I will aid them if they deserve it. That is my promise."
Upon saying this, I thought of a great method to fuck over the Church of the Four Great Gods while also endearing me even further to the Magician's Guild. I had the knowledge of healing spells in my mind. Why not give my followers something more to learn?
Casting [Create Greater Item], I crafted a spell tome with a cover of white leather and gold edgings filled with knowledge on healing spells up to the 4th Tier, then I marched over to Evelyn and held out the item to her, which she graciously took with shaking hands.
"My Lady, is this what I think it is?" She asked hesitantly.
"That tome contains knowledge on healing spells up to the 4th Tier. I hope that some of my followers might be able to learn the knowledge and use it altruistically to help others in need." I answered to her. Evelyn quickly hugged the tome to her chest with great care and nodded.
"Of course, my Lady. We will learn from this tome at once, just as we have been with your first gift."
"Thank you for this generous gift." All of my Maidens said together. How dutiful of them. Perhaps I might give them another gift soon enough.
Shaking that random thought away, I addressed Evelyn once more,"I am glad to hear it. But now, I will need to leave after taking the trash with me."
As I began to [Blink] over to each of the downed zealots, including picking up Margaret's body, while also casting [Permanize: Paralysis] on Benjamin upon collecting him, a thought came to my mind.I couldn't help but wonder if the way I was interacting with my Maidens is something that mom would do as well?
I mean, mom would tell me stories when I was a little girl as she tucked me into bed about her life centuries and millennia prior on Earth. She told me about her shrine maidens and how they'd maintain her shrines and spread her name to the masses.
I even had this childish dream of becoming a shrine maiden of mom's who'd bring back wor-
Wait that definitely sounded off. Didn't I want to be an astronaut when I was a kid? I wanted to travel the stars and find a new world that mom, dad, and I could live on together so that we could play outside in sun, just like Meepo Breepo would in the cartoon.
Then it came back to me that the shrine maiden dream was what I had when I was six, the astronaut dream was when I'd been four or five. My shrine maiden dream died when mom couldn't remain in our realm any longer since she didn't have enough worship and strength left to maintain her form, and she'd likely never have the worship required to manifest on Earth again.
I'd been inconsolable for over a week as I holed myself up in my room and spent the time crying and hugging my Meepo fox as I kept watching the door, hoping that mom would just walk through it like everything was fine and give me a hug before telling me a story.
It was hard at first since I'd have these dreams of mom on a hill of silver grass where she'd hug me, tell me how much she loved me, and call me her little fox again. Then I'd wake up, realize that she was still gone, and start crying.
I think I'll have to check my journal that I left in my room at the inn under my bed. I couldn't exactly explain why I left it there instead of within my inventory, but it's not like I have to worry about anyone reading it since it's in English which is a completely different written language then whatever they use here.
But maybe I should look at it much later since the journal isn't going anywhere. I have plenty of time in the future to clear up all these pesky and unfounded worries.
While I debated these subjects in my mind, I teleported myself and the three zealots into an empty prison cell at Haven-Lake to deal with later. Then, I swapped back to my regular outfit. And got ready to teleport back to the campfire where the others were probably extremely worried. I did kind of run off without telling them anything.
At the same time, I idly thought about a hopeful dream of the future. One day, I hoped to see mom again, and if possible, hopefully dad would also be there spending his afterlife with her. Those two were just made for each other.
Teleporting back to the campfire, I wondered what my parents would think of my two daughters, Ninya and Tuare, along with my mate, Lukrut? Mom would be thrilled about meeting all three of them, but I think dad would have a few questions for the guy who is dating his daughter.
"Kashia?! What happened to you?!" Peter asked as he, along with Dyne, Ninya, and Lukrut looked at me with shock.
What's with the loo-
Then I felt the top of my head where my two furry ears still were. I'd forgotten to recast [Kitsune Illusion] with all the thoughts going through my head. All of them were getting a full view of my eyes, tails, and ears.
There were only two words that came to mind at this moment.
"Well, fuck…"
A/N: I'm letting you all know that I'll probably try to get a chapter out next week. After that, expect a 2-3 week hiatus since I'm going out of country to attend a wedding.
Until then, see you next time.
Stay frosty my friends.
