A Vulpine Spanner in the Works
Chapter 54: Fox Around and Find Out
[Tsunami]
"I believe that my mistress and the Fox Princess would find hiring the services of ones who so horrifically experimented on the goddess' followers to be extremely distasteful. Instead," I let my tails wrap around the bodies of these sinners, eliciting the heavy scent of fear from them. "I think that we will need to evaluate our future relationship, don't you think?"
Both humans were likely trying to scream for help, not that it would be of any use. "To start, I think that it would be best to free the Fox Princess' Maiden who you so cruelly shackled." As I said this, my hand was already fishing through the robes of the sinners until I pulled out what I was looking for.
Holding the key to the shackles in front of the eyes of the mages, one of my tails took the key from my hand and went to work unlocking the shackles as another of my tails brought the devices to my awaiting hand.
With a taunting slowness, I brought the shackles to the arms of each human and started to lock them on."With how cruel your treatment of this Maiden was, I feel it is only fair if you experience some of the same treatment. Let's start by putting these pretty bracelets on you."
I ended up locking the pair of mages back to back with one another. Each shackle removed from the Maiden added a rosier hue to her face while her breathing became stronger. At the same time, the two mages became paler as the extreme binds to negate magic went to work.
Removing the rings, amulets, and circlet, I put them onto the sinners until they were fully decorated. "Let's see, there were the potions that you've been force-feeding the poor girl. That's dangerous to do to a normal human, let alone a Maiden." My tails began collecting the bottles filled with the magic-negating substance and I uncorked one.
"I've got an experiment of my own. How many of these potions can either of you consume before your casting ability becomes permanently damaged or you die? Let's begin." With those words, my tails tilted back the sinners' heads and opened their mouths.
Then, I uncorked the bottles and began pouring the contents within, being careful to not drown them as I did. After the third bottle for each of them, I undid the [Paralyze] on them, confident that they would be too weak to make much noise if my tails weren't quick enough to silence them.
The reaction was quite immediate as they began slumping down, almost falling over, until my tails caught their bodies and held them up. Belloc weakly looked to me, fear clearly apparent in his eyes, "Please, no more…" The man wheezed out.
"But we're only at three bottles. I certain that we can reach up to seven." I taunted back. Both sinners didn't have a chance to argue as my tails held their heads back and mouths open, allowing me to pour another bottle of the potion into their mouths to drink. They couldn't even attempt to spit it out with their jaws held open as they were.
When they had finally finished consuming the potion, the woman quickly pled, "I'll do anything. Just stop!"
"Maybe I'll stop if you tell me who was involved in this abominable act?" I playfully offered, wagging another set of bottles in front of their faces.
"Guildmaster Arlan! He discovered the infecti-" A glare from me got the woman to correct herself, "the changes in the mages from E-Rantel. We were to study these mages, learn a way to nullify the changes, but that was all!"
"We were just doing as told." Belloc desperately added, "Guildmaster Arlan said that this was a dangerous infection that would control the minds of any affected. T-That's all we know!"
"What about other researchers?" I asked while sniffing the air and finding exactly what I was looking for from a cabinet filled with potion ingredients.
"F-Fargus and Auren! They are the only other researchers! " The woman admitted easily. Funny to see how willing she was to sell out her colleagues.
I used one of my claws to cut off a long strip of fabric from the robes of Belloc's. "I'm pleased to hear how cooperative the pair of you have been. And since you have kindly told me what you know, allow me to inform you both of something I know about my Fox Princess."
It was quite amazing that both sinners had any hope in their eyes that they would escape their punishment. That was what made it comedic when the pair showed shock and horror at what I did next.
My tails held their mouths open once more and I poured another set of potions in as the sinners croaked out muffled pleas. "My goddess is benevolent and kind. She's also capable of being quite merciful. Sadly; for you, that is, I lack such a quality."
Another set of bottles went down their complaining mouths. "You see, what you've done to my goddess' worshippers is seen by kitsune, like myself, as a horrific act of torture and cardinal sin against all of our kind. Enough so, that Lady Inari, the Fox Princess' mother, likes to personally mete out justice to any criminal caught doing this. We're at six, by the way."
Both sinners looked extremely pale and weak at this point, the effects of the multiple potions taking their toll. "Think that you'll be capable of producing a candle-size flame with magic after this?" The woman was crying at my musing, earning the pair another set of potions.
It was after consuming that potion that the woman vomited up the contents of her stomach. "Aw, I was hoping we'd get to eight before that happened." I mocked as my tails brought up the prize that had been fished from the ingredients cabinet. Two large wads of Mage Bane.
"I plan to deal with both of you a little later since I have so many others to see today. Until then, I need to keep both of you quiet." I shoved the wads of Mage Bane into their mouths and kept it in place by tying the strip of cloth I had between their teeth, which also held their heads against one another's.
I'd be interested to see if they can even survive by the time I came back for them. That would be dependent on if they had a high enough magic ability. Those that were stronger in ability, had a greater innate connection to magic, or versed longer in the mystic arts, tended to have a worse reaction from being cut off of mana.
These two were likely to have permanently diminished ability in magic, if they weren't fully neutered from spell casting already. They'd need a high enough Tier healing spell to restore it, something that this Realm did not have an abundance of.
When I come back, I think I'll edit their memories. Remove much of what they were, but keep the understanding of their punishment at the forefront of their minds. It's no less than what they deserved.
With that done, I let both topple to their side and moved over to the Maiden. While she was looking better than she had minutes prior, it didn't tell me how her body was doing magically. I would have to get my Kashia to examine the girl, alongside the other followers that had undergone this treatment.
For now, though, I wou-
Footfalls filled me ears as I could tell that people were approaching the door. I smirked. Looks like more of my prey approaches. I'm going to enjoy this hunt.
[Guildmaster Arlan]
Looking over the tomes of the Fox Princess, I still found the concepts within to be beyond astounding. And yet, it only served to remind me of where this knowledge came from. The enemy that we were still in the process of understanding.
And part of this understanding revolved around the infected that I've had the research team working to cure. Additionally, I felt a twisting feeling in my gut as Fluder still hadn't responded to my message. He was taking much longer than usual, and it put me on edge.
Each day that the Fox Princess was left alone was another day for her to further cement power within the kingdom. I had to put a stop to this soon.
That was when a banging could be heard on my door. "What the devil?" I muttered, looking up to the door as I did so.
The banging on my door grew frantic before it became silenced. I was already out of my chair and to the door faster than I expected for my old bones. "What is-" My voice left me as I saw no one there. In fact, I didn't see or hear anyone.
My eyes narrowed while my brow furrowed at the observation. Then, I heard a door open and slam from the direction of the research rooms. I had a terrible feeling as I cautiously exited the rest of my office's threshold and closed the door behind myself.
I had the urge to check the research rooms where we stored the infected as something didn't feel right. Upon reaching the first room, filled with the regular infected, I opened the door and entered the room to find everything where it should be.
The petrified infected against the walls of the room, and the comatose infected that had been used for study. Yet, something felt wrong, missing. And as my eyes gazed around, they fell upon the comatose infected who I realized were missing their shackles!
Where were they, and who could have done that?! I gave explicit instructions to keep them continually shackled! That was when a knock came from the door behind me, and I quickly turned around with the spell [Magic Arrow] prepared in hand.
But there was nothing in sight. Activating my Talent, I looked around for any invisible intruders, but found nothing. When I stepped out of the door of the room and into the hallway, the door diagonal from me opened up halfway by itself before stopping.
With gritted teeth, I walked to the door and carefully pushed the door the rest of the way open. I almost wish I hadn't.
Filling the room were subordinates who I recognized as researchers or wardens of the infected. Only two of the four researchers were in the room, and both were hard to look at. Fargus was obviously dead, with his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and his mouth filled with a frothy white.
His death wasn't pleasant as his neck was covered in scratches from his hands clawing at it. Said hands were locked into place, still trying to relieve whatever it was blocking his throat. As for Auren, his eyes were glazed over, though still filled with some life, but that wasn't as worrying as the complete lack of mana found within his body.
It was terrifying to see from a mage that was still alive. And I had no clue as to where Belloc and Cecile were in this mess.
As for the wardens, though appearing untouched by any physical injuries, all had expressions of pure horror on their faces, with the only moving parts of their bodies being their eyes that gazed at me with a desperate pleading.
Some were strewn about the room without thought. But there was a small pile of the rest that were stack atop one another, and sitting at the top of the pile was an inhuman woman with pink hair that was sitting with her legs crossed and both hands resting on her knee.
She wore an extremely revealing short, pink dress while a translucent, pink veil covered the lower half of her grinning face. Slitted eyes, the color of blood, gazed upon me with a mixture of amusement and disdain. But the beautiful appearance did little to distract from the long pair of pink ears sticking from the top of her head in combination with the five matching colored tails poised behind her.
"Hello, Arlan. Good of you to join us." As soon as the words left her lips, I was able to quickly recognize it. The maid from earlier today!
"Suzanne Zorra?!" My voice spoke out, even if my mind was already certain about the woman's identity.
"Actually, my real name is Tsunami. But I think that's a bit insignificant compared to the current situation at hand." As she said this, my eyes glared at her.
"You're one of hers, aren't you?!" A woman with fox-like traits showing up like this was too much of a coincidence to be otherwise. My hand was already subtly moving to the wand in my sleeve.
"All that and more, little wizard. I serve her, I worship her, I love her." A maniacal look grew upon her face as a hint of madness shined in her bloody eyes. "And through that love, I handle tasks and problems so that my mate doesn't have to."
"Your mate?" If this woman truly is what I'm thinking, then capturing her would be of utmost priority. Having a hostage to use against the Fox Princess, one that was mated to her, would give me total control over the bestial woman.
But I have to do this carefully, and when her guard was down.
"Yes, my mate, the most beautiful goddess and kitsune in all the realms! The goddess you spat in the face of and sinned against, just like what all of your little subordinates have done as well."
A quick glance at my people once more, and I found myself asking, "What have you done to them?"
"Well, for all of these mages who dared to put my mate's worshippers into a magically induced sleep, I decided to put them into an eternal waking nightmare. They can't move due to the venom of the Alfheim leaf spider that I pricked them with. It attacks the nerves of its victims, leaving them mostly paralyzed, but still capable of feeling everything. If an anti-venom isn't administered within an hour, then the victim will be trapped in that state until a healing spell of the 4th Tier is used."
The monster then pointed to Auren and Fargus, "As for them? With their utterly despicable actions towards my mate's followers, I gave them a taste of the torments they inflicted. Fargus could only handle six bottles before his body gave out. As for Auren? The little worm lasted nine. I'm quite certain his spellcasting ability is ruined by now."
By the gods! She overdosed them on the mana-inhibiting potions! Fargus had died from it, with Auren barely looking any better. What a monster!
If this woman, Tsunami, was able to take out all of my people without anyone noticing, then it meant she had some skill in stealth and single combat. Potentially, she had knowledge of a strong invisibility spell, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to get past the wards at the front entrance. Unless, did she have some other skill or spell that countered them?
"What about Belloc and Cecile? I don't see them here." I asked, buying more time to plan. I needed to catch her off-guard. [Mana Flare] could work to blind her. Following it up with [Magic Arrow] and a cast of [Petrify] from my wand might be enough to take her down. If not, I could buy myself time to reach the vault and acquire one of the stronger weapons stored within.
After all, even with the spells I did know, I wasn't arrogant enough to believe I could face her in direct magical combat. Her mana was vastly greater than mine, and considering that this was the Fox Princess' mate, I didn't doubt for a moment that she hadn't been taught by the false goddess.
Tsunami giggled and answered, "Those two were the first I caught. I gave the pair the same treatment as the other two." The monster then pouted, like a child whose toy just broke, "The man died when I last checked, which I found disappointing. At least the woman survived, though she was in the same state as Auren."
The monster was treating this like a game, and it sickened me. "And what is it that you plan to do with me? You lured me here for a reason."
"I'm going to rewrite your mind. Making you utterly loyal, but fully aware of the change, for a time. Just long enough to manipulate the guild to a more appropriate mindset and so that I can pick your mind for all its secrets. After I have no further use for you, I'll revert your mind back and fully punish you in ways your feeble little brain couldn't begin to imagine, little wizard."
That explains her connection to Princess Renner! The monster altered her mind, and likely the rest of the Royal Family, to be utterly loyal to the Fox Princess. I had to survive, both to handle the corrupted Royal Family and to let Fluder know about this.
I needed to get her off-balance, and I already had an idea to do so. Tsunami utterly worshipped her mate, so insulting the false goddess would likely distract her long enough to take her down or buy me time to get to the vault. "Your plan to take over the kingdom will not succeed. Your vile and monstrous bitch of a mate will be stopped!"
Those crimson orbs turned into a harsh glare, and the woman opened her mouth, voice full of anger, "HOW DA-" NOW!
"[Mana Flare]!" I closed me eyes as a bright light could be seen, even through my eyelids. A moment later, "[Magic Arrow]!" The spell leapt from my hand towards the bestial woman as I pulled the wand from my sleeve and activated it, shooting the [Petrify] spell at her.
"Oh, little wizard, did you really think that such a trick would work on me?" Tsunami's voice taunted in my ear, making my blood chill. I was about to turn and cast [Air Wave] when she beat me to it, "[Greater Slow]."
My entire body felt like it was moving in molasses, with all my movement, even at the fastest I could force it, turning me mere millimeters per minute. I wanted to scream, but my lips could only slowly open, the beginning of a cry slowly, almost painfully, bubbling up in my throat.
"An amateur attempt to try and emotionally manipulate me. I've centuries of experience in that field, aside from already predicting what you might do." She stepped in front of me with a malicious smirk, "I know when to control my emotions on the battlefield, but that doesn't mean I won't forget what you just said about my beautiful mate."
I felt back of her hand on my cheek, slowly tearing my feet from the ground as the initial sting of the strike slowly grew into a throbbing pain that wouldn't dull. That let me realize the horrifying effect of this spell. It was going to prolong whatever pain I was going to suffer.
"Such a paranoid fool. My mate is trying to save your people and your country. She freely grants gifts that other Realms would be begging for." My feet had finally left the ground as the pain in my face erupted into a new level of agony.
"You threw it all away for nothing. And so, when I finally finish with your use, I will ensure that you become nothing, little wizard." Tsunami's face suddenly appeared before my own as I slowly flew in the air, "But first, I have to make you useable. [Control Amnesia]."
[Teresia]
I felt so weak as my eyes began to open. The last thing I fully recall was Guildmaster Arlan casting a spell on me, then nothing after that. Some sort of sleep spell. After that, I think that there might have been a few points where I saw a few people standing over me, but it felt so difficult to recall.
"-resia, can you hear me?" That voice… It was Guildmaster Theo's.
Opening my eyes fully, I found myself squinting from the brightness of the magically produced lamplight. Almost like I've been sleeping for a long time.
"Guildmaster Theo? Is that you?" I asked with a rasp in my voice. With my eyes beginning to focus, I found Guildmaster Theo giving me a soft smile as he leaned over me beside my… looking around, I was laying in a bed.
"It certainly is, Teresia. How are you feeling?" He asked calmly.
"What happened? How long have I been asleep?" I questioned while weakly pushing myself into a sitting position as Guildmaster Theo aided me.
"About six days. We were betrayed by Arlan." Guildmaster Theo said the name with an audible disgust as he handed me a cup of water that I took with trembling hands and brought to my lips before greedily consuming it.
"Why?" I asked, some of the harshness of my voice being smoothed by the drink.
"Fear and paranoia." Guildmaster Theo then took a seat on the edge of my bed. "After he and I went into the vault together, I told him of our Lady and her gifts. But he thought it dangerous and a threat, labeling the blessing from our Lady's gift as an infection that needed to be cleansed." A slightly growl came to his voice as he continued, "It wasn't until I was given more context after being freed that I found one of the stronger reasons for this betrayal."
What other reason could Guil- Arlan have for doing this? "What did you learn?"
"He was working with the Baharuth Empire the entire time." My eyes widened at trying to process this information. The man assigned to a position of authority meant to protect the kingdom wanted to sell us out instead! "Arlan thought that our Lady would interfere with their takeover. He thought it better for us to ruled by them instead of being protected by our Lady."
"What ended up happening to you, to everyone?"
"He petrified me with one of the items in the vault, and he likely came after the rest of our group soon afterwards. From what our Lady's servant said, he had us either put to sleep for study or petrified."
"A servant of the Fox Princess was here?"
"I still am, Maiden Teresia." A female voice answered, capturing mine and Guildmaster Theo's attention as we looked to the doorway to see a woman with pink hair, matching colored ears and five tails. She also wore clothes similar to what my Lady wore, except colored a pink darker than her hair.
Guildmaster Theo's face brightened at the arrival. "Miss Tsunami, it is good to see you. I was just informing Teresia of the events that transpired."
My Lady's servant, that I now knew as Tsunami, nodded her head at the explanation. Then, she looked to me, "I'm happy to see that you have finally awoken. The rigorous experiments that those…researchers put you through would have been difficult for any human, blessed or not."
Experiments? What did they do to me?! "Miss Tsunami, wh-" My voice caught in my throat as I saw Arlan enter the doorway. As quickly as I could raise my hand, I began casting a spell, "[Lightning B-]" Guildmaster Theo quickly pushed my hand away from Arlan, much to my confusion.
"Teresia, don't!" Theo shouted as I widened my eyes at order.
"Why?! He forcibly put me to sleep! Did an unknown number of things to my body while I was asleep! Attacked our colleagues!" My voice was shouting at this point as I considered everything that could've been done to me.
Guildmaster Theo didn't get the chance to answer my question as Tsunami beat him to it. "It's because I still need him for a bit longer, Maiden Teresia. Isn't that right, Arlan?" The kitsune asked as she turned to look at the man.
Like how I'd imagine a golem might sound if given a voice, Arlan's came out emotionless and direct, "Yes, my Mistress."
"Because of his position, I have to ensure that he reverses whatever stances he's taken so that our goddess' followers aren't labeled as enemies to the guild any longer. Following that, I plan to use his status as a traitor to find out any other spies hiding in the city. Once I am finished using Arlan, I will have him step down from his position and leave."
"A-Are you controlling him?"
Tsunami nodded. "I have currently enthralled him with a spell I know. He will follow any order I give without question. As for the dogs that Arlan had attack you and your colleagues, they have been incapacitated and will be disposed of."
I found it hard to feel any sympathy for what might have happened to the ones that attacked us. Who betrayed us. Perhaps that might change after some time had passed, but right now that thought was raw in my mind.
"I see. And what will happen now?"
The pink kitsune gave me a smile. "For now, your people just need to rest and recover after this ordeal. We can discuss our further course of action after that, and after I take care of a few loose ends."
Tsunami gave one final nod, then left the room with Arlan on her heels. This left Guildmaster Theo and I alone once again as the man poured another cup of water for me that I gratefully took and drank.
"Even if we made it out of this predicament in mostly one piece, I still would ask you to tell me if anything is bothering you. You wouldn't be the only one troubled by the betrayal." Guildmaster Theo reassured me with a warm hand on my shoulder.
I gave an appreciative nod in reply. "Thank you. I'm not certain on what I feel right now. Arlan was supposed to be the leader of the Magician's Guild, yet he decided to betray our country for the enemy that wants to subjugate us. What might that say about other branches of the guild or even our government, if someone of such a status would give up on us?"
"It says that not everyone is perfect, and it's why we must be better for both our people and the Fox Princess. What happened to us is a lesson, not just for you, but also for me, that we need to be cautious as not everyone will be as accepting about our Lady as we are."
Guildmaster Theo gave my shoulder one final reassuring squeeze before standing up from my bed. "I'm going to continue checking on the others. I'll come see you again in a short while with some food and drink since you're likely hungry as everyone else is."
That made me smile and nod. "Thank you, Guildmaster Theo." With that, he left me alone to my thoughts once more. He's right, that not everyone is perfect.
Us mortals are inherently flawed, something that not even our rulers were exempt from. With those flaws, we can cause such evils and pain. Maybe it would be better if we were no longer ruled by mortals?
Perhaps, we should just let a goddess rule over us instead? And as one of her chosen Maidens, it was my duty to ensure that my Lady's will was carried out…
[Tsunami]
After all my other tasks of immediate concern were completed, I looked upon my two new servants with a good deal of satisfaction. Renner and I had been interested in practicing the complete editing of a person's life through their memories. Alfred, while a successful first subject, was still only practice. With the two former mage researchers, whose worthless names were no longer of any value, I had been able to experiment further.
I removed much of the personalities of both of them, keeping only the useful knowledge and the small bit of their old selves to recall that they had been punished, and were atoning for their crimes against my mate and I.
After that, I rebuilt their minds to have a devotion to me, and then my mate. They would be little better than a magic-less priest and priestess, but that could be partially remedied by having the pair consume my Kashia's blood. I doubt it would fully restore their prior levels of mana and magic ability, but I no intention of allowing them to be completely healed.
Servants or not, they were still being punished and needed to suffer for their sins against my Kashia.
The man, who I had named Kiku, was dressed in pink and white robes styled like a priest's of this Realm, though I forwent the hat that they wore. As for the woman, who I had named Sakura, she wore a dress similar to my own, also colored pink and white.
I felt the coloring appropriate for both of my servants as a representation of the union between my Kashia's white and my pink. In the future, I hoped to create more servants under my sway, though I'd prefer to have them serve me of their own free will instead of through magical manipulation.
I couldn't just bring them to the castle, and they wouldn't have any other use for the plans of Renner and I had in the capital. But that didn't mean I couldn't utilize the pair to spread more word of my Kashia to other cities as a traveling priest and priestess. They could also talk to those traveling the roads.
In fact, if I remembered correctly, my Kashia had sent one of the Eight Fingers leaders named Hilma with a pair of kitsune to escort her to the capital. They were probably getting close, if they weren't here already. I'm certain that I could convince the two kitsune to go with my servants, both to protect them on the road, and to help further spread my Kashia's religion.
Until they arrive though, I'd leave my servants here in the interim.
As for Arlan? I picked his mind for any relevant information about his actions against my Kashia. And what I found was a vast and interesting treasure trove of information. For instance, he was actually working with the Baharuth Empire under the assumption that it would lead to a positive outcome of the Magician's Guild.
Then, there were the numerous magical items and books of esoteric magical research that he had locked away in the vault of the guild. My Kashia would possibly find the hidden items to be immensely useful, I know I would. But none of the magical items I had found within the vault held a candle to what I discovered locked within.
The intact flask that Theo had brought along filled with my Kashia's blood.
I had originally thought of consuming the elixir that my mate's worshippers had created, but the thought of drinking a diluted source of my mate's blood was unthinkable. I wanted the connection I made with my Kashia to be from the pure source.
It was why I had taken half of the substance and hid it away before giving Theo the rest of it back. I would consume it and be bound all the closer to my mate!
And pulling it out from the pocket realm I stored it within, I hugged it to my chest and felt the warmth of it from the power stored within that beautiful liquid gold. Feeling her warmth against me was utterly divine.
It astounded me how more of the kitsune that had been summoned to this Realm weren't consuming the elixir to connect themselves to my beautiful Kashia. Some didn't feel worthy of it, others wanted to gather power on their own instead of being gifted it, and then there were some that, while loving and adoring Lady Inari's precious daughter, held a greater allegiance to her than to my Kashia.
They saw consuming her blood as announcing their faith in my Kashia as being stronger than their faith in Lady Inari. I personally doubted that Lady Inari would be that upset about it, if she was at all.
Foolish, but their choices were their own. It didn't matter to me as I could make my choice now!
"My Lady, will you finally consume your mate's blood tonight?" Kiku asked, sounding so excited for me. As part of the mental adjustments I had made upon my servants, I made sure that they knew the status I had with my Kashia.
Though, for the time being, they would never announce such a thing in public as it was too early for that. Only a few knew of my status, with all the mages that I had poisoned soon to meet tragic ends from exposure in their paralyzed bodies. Arlan would never do anything against my will, and would be taken care of when he was of no further value.
The only other that knew was my close ally Renner.
But one day, this Realm, alongside the rest of the other Realms, would know.
"Yes, my servant. Tonight is the night." I answered with a large grin.
Sakura jumped for joy at my answer. "I'm so happy for you, Mistress! It's so romantic to hear you connect yourself to your love in this way. Our goddess is so blessed to have such an intelligent and beautiful mate in her life!"
I may have been a little narcissistic with my rewrites to their minds. But they weren't wrong.
"She most certainly is, Sakura. And now, so too will I be as well." Saying this, I pulled the container from my chest and uncorked it. Without hesitation, I drank my Kashia's blood in an instant before a rush of power and ecstasy filled my body and my vision went dark.
[Team Foresight]
Day 48:
"Do any of you get the feeling that we're being watched?" Arche asked in a low voice as she looked back and forth to the trees and their branches.
"You're not alone in those worries." Hekkeran replied. Since entering the forest, he had always kept a hand on one of his blades' hilts. At first, it was as a precaution against any of the deadly denizens that resided within Tob. But now, it was because of a primal fear in the back of his mind that he couldn't shake.
Some of the other workers seemed to have the same idea, as they remained on edge. That was more than another group that didn't seem to notice anything wrong. "It's not just that," Imina added. "Since going into the forest far enough, have any of you actually heard any noise besides us?"
That observation caused the group to think about it. This only made the current silence deafening. "No." The team leader answered with a tense voice.
"Forests shouldn't be this quiet. Arche, have you noticed anything, magic-wise, with your Talent?" Roberdyck requested, his eyes glancing around.
Arche took in a breath. The closer that the group had been growing to the lake, the harder it had been to utilize her Talent without becoming overwhelmed. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too much for her to handle, but with how close they were to the lake by now, she had low expectations.
Activating the Talent, Arche's sight became awash in golden light. She could already feel the bile building up at the back of her throat as her eyes quickly tried sweeping for any other mana signatures that didn't get outshone by gold.
Just as she was about to reach her limit, her eyes strained to see another outline of a signature, different, but also powerful in its own right that grew closer. That was her limit as a rainbow colored bile, mixed with her lunch, spewed from her mouth to the forest floor.
Arche stopped using her talent as her teammates looked at her with expressions of concern. "S-Something is coming!" The blonde mage warned. But it was too late, as by the time the group looked over to where Arche had been, they, along with all the other teams, found a large silver fox, the size of a horse, and with seven tails approaching the teams from up ahead.
As soon as the workers noticed, they were already drawing out their weapons and readying their spells. Before something further could come of this, the teams all became immensely confused at what they creature did next. It spoke.
"Greetings, visitors. I come in peace." None of the groups knew what to do upon hearing the warm, female and humanlike voice coming from the creature.
Only after what felt like minutes elapsing did a man from the mercenary team called Crimson Bear answer. "What are you?" His name was Tellan, and for how large and muscled he was wielding a large axe, that translated to the immense confidence he gave off, or what he tried to make look like confidence.
"Just a simple guardian." The female fox answered. Team Foresight all had the same thought running through their heads.
'A guardian of what?'
"And what is it that you might be guarding?" Another mercenary of Crimson Bear named Alexios asked. The man had a sly look in his eyes, one that held a large hint of greed.
The fox turned her head towards Alexios, "Something of great importance and value. Might you now tell me why it is that you and the others have come here?" That answer only seemed to excite the mercenary all the more.
"We have been hired by a client to investigate and explore the Lake of Tob before reporting back what we find. We have no urge to start a fight." Alexios explained, giving the fox pause to think about this before nodding.
"Very well. I'm willing to trust that you are being truthful of what you say. As such, I will safely escort you and your friends the rest of the way to the lake. Nothing shall harm you while under my protection." The fox motioned for the group to follow before trotting through the forest.
With a little hesitation, and hushed whispering, Crimson Bear followed first, with the other worker and mercenary groups coming soon after. "The fox definitely did not trust Alexios." Imina pointed out.
"Likely is trying to lead us so that we don't go anywhere she doesn't want. That, or it's a trap." Hekkeran agreed with a wary gaze ahead.
"What should we do, then? I don't exactly find myself enthusiastic about us willingly walking into our potential deaths." The half-elf questioned.
Roberdyck rested his chin in his hand, with a contemplative look in his eyes, "This can be seen as the turn-around point. We can head back and report what we did see, though we'd have to hope the client wouldn't be too upset or we can keep going and try to leave if something else happens. At this point, I'm open to either option."
Before Arche replied, she steeled herself once more and looked away from where the massive source of mana at the lake was, and towards the forest around them. Then, she activated her Talent once more, feeling a building horror in her gut. She hadn't been able to spot it before due to how the mana at the lake greatly overshadowed everything else in front of her, but now when looking behind and away from it?
While not as large as the silver fox's mana signature, Arche could see dozens of smaller mana signatures surrounding all of the groups, just lying in wait. She quickly ended her talent before the bile could build back up in her throat.
"We're surrounded. I don't think we could leave even if we wanted to." The blonde mage alerted her teammates. Silent looks were shared by the group at how dangerous of a situation they were now in. They could only guess that they were the only group aware of this information, meaning that if any group did something stupid right now, they'd likely all die because of it.
"How large were they?" Hekkeran asked, his hand was white-knuckled at how tightly he grasped the hilt of his right sword.
"Smaller than the fox up ahead, larger than any mage in all of our groups." The girl hastily replied, thoughts of what might happen if this mission failed in the worst way possible ran through her mind.
Her sisters would likely be doomed to whatever financial ruin their parents would drag them into. They didn't deserve to suffer like that. Arche desperately swore to return back to them by any means possible.
"Then we bide our time and make an escape if the opportunity provides itself." Roberdyck said while putting a reassuring hand on Arche's shoulder. He could see the stress eating at her as he, along with the rest of the team, knew about how dire her family situation was.
If he could, Roberdyck would like to ensure that his young friend could return back to her sisters.
Each member of Foresight gave their silent agreement to Roberdyck's recommendation. With a new plan in mind, the group trudged forwards, actively looking for that single moment.
It was a stressful hour before the group broke through a final clearing to the Great Lake of Tob. For that single moment, every group temporarily forgot any plans that they had secretly made as they looked at the massive stone tree overshadowing the lake, followed by bridges spanning across the water and leading to the large golden palace at the base of the tree.
"A majestic sight, isn't it?" The silver fox asked with a small hint of amusement.
"That is a bit of an understatement." A woman named Noctsella from a team of workers named Mutt Drake muttered.
Stepping onto the silver bridge, every team took a moment to admire the architecture. Some gazed at the unnatural blue flames that filled the braziers dotting the bridge. All the while, the members of Foresight felt different levels of worry fill their minds.
Yet, they continued walking the length of the bridge and drew near the palace's outer walls with the courtyard that lay within.
Approaching closer to the front courtyard of the palace, the members of Foresight saw an odd display occurring. Two foxes; one was, of all the foxes that they had seen so far, of a normal size that foxes should be with a single tail, brunette fur with a few white lines tracing it, and golden eyes. The brown fox was laughing with the human voice of a girl as she ran around the courtyard, dodging and keeping out of reach of another fox.
This one though, it was unlike every other fox they had seen in the complete opposite way. The fox was massive, the size of a single-story house, with golden fur, glowing golden eyes, the color of molten gold, and ten tails that wagged in amusement as the golden fox playfully chased after the smaller brunette fox.
"Don't slow down on me now, kiddo. Else I'll catch up!" The golden fox teased, her voice filled with a thrum of power.
"Who said I'm slowing?" The brunette fox playfully fired back before making a sharp turn on her paws, running back to the golden fox and diving between her forelegs and running out from between the golden fox's hind-legs.
"Slippery, aren't you?" The golden fox commented as she spun around after the brunette. Before the game could continue on, the silver fox finally spoke up.
"Excuse me, my Lady, but you have a few guests." The golden fox quickly stopped whatever game she was playing and looked over to the silver fox, along with the group following behind her. The brunette fox did the same as she trotted over to the golden fox's side.
"An interesting bunch, you all are." The golden fox commented, slowly approaching the group with a newfound regalness, "It's curious to see so many visitors here at once. Tell me, what brings all of you to my palace?"
Alexios and his group were the first to answer before anyone else. "Well, you see, my team, Crimson Bear, along with the teams of these other groups," Alexios pointed to the other teams of workers and mercenaries like an afterthought, "were hired to explore the lake by our employer. Following that, we were to return and report what we found."
The golden fox weighed Alexios' words and finally gave her thoughts, "And if I were to guess, your groups were also given leave to take any valuables you found here as loot." The summary earned a nervous silence from every team standing before the fox, and surprisingly, it got a warm laugh of amusement from her.
Alexios tried to splutter out excuses, with none of the other teams attempting to help him, for fear that the golden fox's attention would fall upon them. "W-We only-"
"Relax," The golden fox interrupted with an assuring tone. "I don't bite, much. I'm well aware of how the expedition game works. Perhaps, depending on if I feel generous, I might give you all something in consolation. But first, tell me where it is that all of you hail from?"
"Crimson Bear is from the Baharuth Empire, though I'm not sure about the rest of the teams." Alexios replied.
That was when the golden fox turned her gaze to the rest of the teams. "And what of all of you? Are you also from the Baharuth Empire?" Eventually, the different teams began answer, most with the same answer besides one team.
"We of Team Demi-Shield are from the Draconic Kingdom." The armored figure of a the knightly figure named Aden answered. Despite appearances, those of Foresight knew the group to be made up of hardened veteran mercenaries that were likely criminals.
Why else would they be so far from the Draconic Kingdom as mercenaries when they'd otherwise be making a fortune from that kingdom hiring them for their skills? It was too suspicious to not be something of that nature.
"Ah, first time I've met those of your country before." Finally, she turned to the members of Team Foresight. "What about you four?"
Hekkeran took charge and answered, "We are also from the Empire, Miss Fox."
"Since you have so kindly told me about yourselves, I shall do the same. I am known as the Fox Princess, goddess of multiple domains, with my primary one being of magic." Upon saying this, a gasp of shock came from Arche.
And, against her better judgement, the inquisitive aspect of the blonde mage's mind just had to try and confirm that declaration. For only a single moment, she activated her Talent to get a short glimpse of the fox's mana.
It was like staring at the heart of the sun. All-encompassing, utterly blinding, and completely overwhelming. Arche cut off her Talent and felt a massive headache in her mind before she quickly vomited a rainbow of colors onto the ground.
She was shaking at the revelation and looked at the Fox Princess with a primal terror. Even if this being wasn't actually a goddess, something which Arche vehemently found herself disagreeing with, the Fox Princess was so powerful that she could get away with calling herself one.
"Are you alright, little one?" The being beyond mortal comprehension asked her. That made the girl draw further into herself, especially with all the attention being drawn upon her.
"Y-Yes, your H-Highness. Just my-my Talent overwhelming me with w-what I saw." Arche replied as respectfully as she could.
"Oh. And what might your Talent be to cause that?" The young mage was hesitant about so openly explaining her Talent so that the other teams could hear her. But her greater fear of upsetting this entity overrode those doubts.
"I-I can see t-the mana of others, your H-Highness."
A thoughtful hum came from the Fox Princess, "Interesting."But she soon looked back to the rest of the teams and spoke, though Arche felt a sliver of the golden fox's attention still focused upon her. "Please, as a courteous host," What the Fox Princess did next startled the teams as she quickly became consumed in golden light for one moment.
The next, instead of a towering fox, there stood a beautiful woman in a white dress, veil, and conical hat. Sticking from the hat were a pair of golden-furred fox ears while golden hair cascaded down to her lower shins and ten tails of matching color slowly moved behind her.
She slightly stepped aside and motioned to the doors of the palace that opened by themselves, "Allow me to extend to you an invitation to my palace for the night to rest and recover. I've no doubt that all of the traveling you've done to arrive here has been taxing. I'll even have food prepared for you, if that is what you'd like."ha
Many of the male members of the teams found their eyes transfixed upon the woman whose kind smile was visible through her veil. "Well, if you're offering!" Tellan said excitedly as he walked to the entrance. And, like a spell had been broken, people began moving, with the rest of Crimson Bear following after their comrade.
Whatever silent tension there had once been was finally broken as most teams finally made their decision and followed after Crimson Bear. The only stragglers were Teams Azure Bolt and Foresight, yet Azure Bolt soon followed after the rest.
This only left Foresight in soft discussion with one another. "What do you think?" Roberdyck pondered, his gaze flitting from the other teams steadily entering the palace, the foxes which were gathering around the area, and the Fox Princess looking at them patiently.
"Well, for one thing," Imina began, flicking Hekkeran hard on the ear for, in the half-elf's opinion, looking too long at the Fox Princess.
"Ow!" The blond fighter grabbed his ear and complained, "What was that for?" Imina's eyes slightly narrowed, making Hekkeran feel a growing lump in his throat. "You know, I wouldn-"
"Shut up." Hekkeran instantly stopped talking and looked at the purple-haired woman like a whipped dog. "As I was saying, considering that Arche's Talent overwhelmed her with just looking at the Fox Princess, I doubt that fighting her would even matter. If she was hostile, it wouldn't make sense to lead us into a trap when she could just do whatever she wanted right now."
Arche nodded in agreement, "With just a small glimpse of her mana, I now know that we're like ants to the sun in comparison to her. If she truly is a goddess, then nothing we could do to her would actually matter. I say that we follow, since we have nothing to lose at this point, and I have no wish to upset her by refusing her offer."
Arche prayed that she would get out of this alive and whole, that her opinion wouldn't get all of the team killed or worse.
"If you are truly that worried about my intentions, I would be willing to teleport all of you outside of the forest or give you a few supplies and let you walk. I'm not going to hold you here against your wills." Hearing the Fox Princess right next to them caused the group to jump in fright before turning to look at the divine being.
"H-How much did y-you hear?" Arche asked nervously.
"All of it. My ears aren't just for show." The Fox Princess tapped one of her ears to emphasize this, causing the group to pale which got a laugh from the woman. "But regardless, I promise that no harm will come to any of you while under my roof."
Once more, the group looked at one another, coming to a silent conclusion before Hekkeran answered for them. "We'll take up your invitation."
"Good to hear. Come, I'll show you inside." With that, she started to walk towards the palace's entrance, the brunette fox quietly following beside her and Foresight right behind both. "By the way, if you don't mind my prying, are you four adventurers? I just ask because I don't see any plates for your rank."
"No, we are not adventurers. We're workers, which, while similar, are a different style of profession." Roberdyck answered. "Where adventurers have a support system built around them, it can be stifling if one wants higher paying jobs but doesn't have the rank for it."
"I see, and I'd guess that the work is more dangerous because of it?" The group answered with agreements. "I just hope that the money is worth the risk for all of you."
Hekkeran gave an embarrassed chuckle, "What can I say? I'd like to retire comfortably in the future, hopefully sooner rather than later."
"I've got the same reasons as him." Imina added as the two gave one another a knowing look.
"I send much of what I earn back to the temple in my hometown. Their charity has helped more than one person in need, with me being one such example." Roberdyck spoke up with a proud expression on his face.
"You work for the Church?"
Roberdyck replied with a nod. "Is it something that you take issue with?" The woman shook her head with an amused giggle.
"No. It's just that you're the first member of the Church that hasn't tried denouncing, fighting, or arguing with me about my divinity. I find it a little humorous."
"It's not my place to judge as you've made no hostile actions to my friends and I. The world is a large place, so what's to say that other gods don't exist? They might just reside someplace else." While Roberdyck did have some slight hesitancy with outright accepting the Fox Princess to be a goddess, he didn't feel it was worth the time to even voice, but he did find himself adding, "Besides, if you are lying, the Four will judge you better than I ever could."
The Fox Princess looked like she wanted to say something in return, but she looked as if she decided against it and gave a curt nod, "Understandable." The goddess looked back to Arche after that and asked, "What about you? Comfortable living as well or is it some form of altruism?"
A resolve appeared in Arche's eyes as she answered, "For my family." A sympathetic gaze from the goddess followed this answer.
"Is it because your parents are dead or because of some other financial hardship?"
"Probably be better off if they were dead." The words bubbled out the girl's mouth with a mixture of frustration and anger from being reminded of her parents' follies. They were so enslaved to their need of appearances that they kept buying worthless items with money they didn't have, taking out more debts that they would never pay off unless Arche acquired the money for it. "It's for my sisters."
The Fox Princess oddly met gazes with the brunette fox next to her before she looked back to Arche with that same sympathetic expression. "Commendable to risk life and limb for your siblings."
A feeling of vindication thumped in the blonde mage's heart. That someone of power, even though a stranger, willingly acknowledged her efforts. Arche had heard it from her teammates, but never wanted or needed her sisters to understand how much she sacrificed and risked her own life to try and give them more, allow them to be unburdened by hardship a little longer.
Her parents were an entirely different story. They never acknowledged what she has done, how much she was putting her life on hold because of their failures. Both were so self-absorbed that they only noticed the money she gave them to pay their debts, not the hard work that went behind acquiring said money. And then, they'd go waste that money on a worthless fucking lamp!
"Thank you."
And that was all that needed to be said on the subject.
[Hours Later]
[Fluder Paradyne]
Leinas and I waited in one of the tents set up on a hill overlooking the wagons that had carried the workers and mercenaries here a few days ago. We had arrived after the teams had left, setting up our tents and other supplies.
Since arriving here, I had felt a growing excitement in me, akin to the times I had made historical breakthroughs in my magical research. In a way, this was a breakthrough. An actual goddess of magic, one who was metaphorically at the tips of my fingers, almost close enough for me to touch. It was why I had brought more materials here than one would find necessary for such a trip. But for me, I felt like it was still too little.
Decades of magical research copied and loaded for transport. All so that I could present it to her, hopefully falling into the Fox Princess' graces. Were she to see my utter devotion to the craft, she might be willing to take me on as a student. If that didn't impress her, then there were also the numerous magical items I had also brought along.
Some were worth enough to buy a kingdom. But they could never truly match the priceless knowledge she could share.
Looking over to Leinas, I could see how bored and uncertain she looked, guarding my tent as I continued writing in my journal more knowledge I hadn't had the time to copy and add to the hoard that had been brought. It was amid finishing another page that, surprisingly, the normally silent knight spoke up.
"Do you really think that this person at the lake is actually a goddess?"
Ah, yes. One of the reasons that Leinas had been brought as my escorting knight instead of any of the others; her conflicting loyalty. She had likely been pondering the idea of encountering this goddess, a being of immense power, and one that might finally rid her of the curse on her face.
She would switch loyalties in a heartbeat if it meant a cure. In a way, it was more of an aid than a hinderance to me. Leinas would switch loyalty for aid, I would switch my loyalty from the Emperor for knowledge. She was probably contemplating doing just that, with whatever answer I gave helping in that decision.
Setting my pen aside, I gave the knight my full attention. "Officially? I can neither confirm nor deny if there is any truth to the matter, that is what we're here to find out."
"And unofficially?"
"I have multiple spies in Re-Estize. All of the ones from E-Rantel tell me that the Magician's Guild in the city started a religion worshipping this woman for a reason. I used one of the most powerful spells I know to investigate where it was said that she resides. My spell broke when it attempted to look upon the lake. Do you realize the amount of power it would take to do that?"
"No, my Lord. I'm not versed enough in magic to know what it would take, but I'd guess it had to be beyond anything normal." I gave a nod.
"Powerful is understating it." I commented with a small hint of amusement. "My 6th Tier spell was battered away like a man to a cobweb. Something of that nature goes beyond a mere 7th Tier spell and into something of a mythical nature. And that just adds on to the other news I've heard about her blood…"
That was slowly pulling Leinas' attention. "Her blood, my Lord?"
"Yes, her blood. It's been used to enhance mages in a way that shouldn't be possible otherwise. Just one of these traits would be enough to label a being as beyond normal mortals. But all of them? I find myself coming to the only logical conclusion, one that I am honestly beyond excited to believe. The Fox Princess is a goddess of magic."
The wheels of thought turned within the girl's mind, already weighing her options. If it came down to it, she might become my closest ally after visiting this goddess.
And mentally, I found myself praying that she would hear out this humble old man, desperate to continue learning more of the arcane. I would give up everything, my title, my nation, even my Emperor Jircniv just to speak with her to hear my plea.
A blinding golden light filled my tent, causing me to cover my eyes as I cast [Magic Armor] upon myself and prepared [Mana Lance] to attack this likely assassin. That was, until a wondrous voice filled my ears.
"I don't think you need to give up that much just to speak with me…"