Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 263: Cured At Last!

With the deal now made, Raven and his party were finally ready to leave Elenaris, but before heading off Mono instructed them to go to Elenariaʼs church first. The goddess apparently had a small gift prepared for them, but they had no clue what it was yet.

Their last trip to Elenariaʼs church hadnʼt been too friendly, and since most of the civilians thought of them as Monoʼs servants, the party wasnʼt expecting any better treatment. To their surprise, however, the church itself laid empty. Ever since Mono was chosen the servants of Elenaria have taken to a stern reign of labor instead of pure worship.

Only a few days in a week were they seen at the church and that too for a few hours before returning to hunt deviants and criminals throughout the city.

As the party went into the open gates of the church, their eyes laid again on the absurdist nature of her statue. Many hands each holding something different and the crescent moon instead of eyes, they reflected the shimmer of Stellaris, the domain in which she resided, and the arsenal of dead that she carried on her long hanging sleeves.

Parting the lips of her stone idol, the goddess greeted the chosen with a chuckle. She hadnʼt expected much from them, but after seeing what they were capable of so early in their journey, she too had grown keen for domination through them over the land of other gods.

Athenia had already promised her a partition in any faithful that she captured, however, the longer she waited the more gods might join, making her part in it all–split far too much for her to enjoy anything.

”Come, and I shall rid you of that curse…” Like a siren singing to lure in sailors, the goddess lured the party closer to the front.

Watching them like a hawk as they grew closer, she flicked her finger in the air and shattered the poison immunity rings from their fingers. Then with a deep breath, she leaned closer to their body. Blowing a sweet breeze over them, she washed the effects of the curse as well as uprooted its cause from the very souls of their being.

Libyanʼs curse was no more, and although its dazzling effect lingered for a while, it didnʼt last more than a few seconds for the party. However, in that time before Elenaria propped herself back as an idol and let her mind slip back into her body in the heavens for she had yet another promise that needed fulfilling.

”Itʼs gone?” Aria was the first to break the silence, not simply because of her higher immunity being a physical fighter, but the fact that along with the curse, the grip of the blood gauntlet loosened up on her arms as well.

”Yeah…” Muttered Mel, still feeling a bit dizzy.

”To be honest, I had forgotten about that curse completely,” Erika added, feeling as though a massive weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Raven and Amedith felt much the same, although, for Raven, heʼd grown quite an immunity for poison either way by constantly making love with Maine every other night. However, not everyone was quite as happy about the curse being gone, for the daughter of Libyan it was somewhat bittersweet.

ʼI know Iʼm supposed to feel good about this but, somehow I donʼt…ʼ Maine thought, hanging out in the bracelet with the rest of the monster girls. Her mother was a tyrant, and so were her sisters, but she was never a monster that loved to torment others. Even her slave of that time used to be her lover, that is until he died because her sister had lost her damn mind.

ʼMaybe I should just sleep this off?ʼ

Sensitive to not just movement but also a shift in thoughts, Arche rolled on the floor and turned to look at Maine moping around. A mother of thousands of dead children, she felt the slightest sting of sympathy. Although that sympathy was limited to the monster girls, and not to the rest of the party.

”Maine, isnʼt that your name?” She said, abruptly.

Surprised by the sudden grumbling voice beside her, Maine jumped in the air, turned her tail into a pair of legs, and tried to run as if sheʼd been spooked by a ghost. But grabbing the Lamia by her clothes, Arche landed her butt on the floor.

”WH-what?!” Maine stammered, slowly turning to look at the colossal spider.

As her eyes met Archeʼs gaze, however, her heart froze once more for she felt like an ant being peered at by a giant.

”Whatʼs going on in your head?” Lightly tapping Maineʼs horns, Arche heaved a sigh and looked at her once more. Frozen solid like an icicle, she was staring back at her wide-eyed even though her eyelids were fluttering to be closed.

ʼThis girl…How did she survive so far?ʼ She wondered, shaking her head.

”Cheer up girl, youʼre still alive and healthy, there will be enough time for us to miss other monsters in hell,” turning her head to the red rubyʼs surface, Arche decided to make her first demand to get out of the bracelet as well. ”OI! I wanna come out now! Dive into a river or something! Iʼve spent enough days in a hole, Iʼm not gonna spend the rest inside this damned space!”

Looking back down, she turned her attention to Maine for a second before quickly glancing back up.

”And why do you people always wanna fucking work?! What happened to the freedom to enjoy things when youʼre free!” Demanding something interesting, something that would unburden them of the stress theyʼd been carrying, Arche hoped that it would help not just her, but Maine as well as the other monster girls to feel a lot better.

On the surface, Raven was thinking the same, especially since their next destination was Athenia before preparing for the ocean.

”Iʼll have Linkle make one of those shrinking potions for you, but donʼt expect it to last on your body,” Linkle had already told him that no matter what they tried, Archeʼs body was forever altered, which served as a warning to not abuse the potion of gaintness.

Shrugging those thoughts away, however, he turned to his party members with a tired smile.

”One night and weʼll be home for a while,” and the news every single one of them couldnʼt help but smile.