Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 417 Smokes And Mirrors

”Say, witch…” Nudging Linkle on her sides, Regalia faked a snap of her razor teeth against her nose. But when she refused to budge or even flinch a little, the wolf-girl scoffed and turned her head to the front again. ”Wanna bet how long it takes him to kill this asshole?”

”Hmm? Is that supposed to be a joke?” Watching Raven and Gunther clashing blades against each other before leaping away to get some distance for another attack, Linkle already knew something was off, and Regalia was betting on her not noticing it. ”Heʼs trying to gauge his strength.”

Shrugging her shoulders, Regalia scoffed a sigh and accepted the fact that sheʼd just lost an opportunity to make some quick gold. However, with her interest in gambling coming to an end, she looked around at the pirate ships still pointing their canons at them.

”Should I drown them already?” She whispered with a yawn.

But as her head turned back to Raven, she noticed him looking at her from the edge of his eyes and shaking his head, denying her the satisfaction of killing those pirates. Leaping forward yet again, Raven focused on his enemy and ensured that each strike was severely held back.

Guntherʼs strength, his reflexes, and everything else had no rhyme and reason, and instead, it felt like a desperate attempt to just stab Raven somehow.

”Just kill him already! He injured my mule!” Seeing how the battle was being drawn unnecessarily, Kara couldnʼt help but scream for Raven to end things then and there.

The mage, however, had other plans. Instead of killing him quickly, he wanted to test something about his corrupted power. Readying himself to unleash the corruption on Gunther, Raven leapt forward at the so-called hero and swung his knife at his face.

Although overwhelmed and sweaty from trying to keep up Ravenʼs reflexes, the outlaw managed to dodge the swing and with a devious smirk on his face, stabbed his dagger through Ravenʼs belly.

”FUCKING FINALLY!” He screamed, pushing the dagger deeper and deeper until the pained grunts from Raven completely died down. As he let go of the dagger, the mage fell face-first against the deck and began bleeding everywhere.

”NO! NO! NO WAY!”

”GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HIM!”

”SHIT! SOMEONE HEAL HIM!”

Charing towards Raven his party screamed out in horror of potentially losing their leader, all the while, Gunther stood smiling beside Ravenʼs body and Amber cheered him on with a whistle.

”Are we done? Just take the loot and the girls and letʼs go you half-wit!” Not exactly thrilled about the whole thing, Baylee–as Gunther would put it, was still being a stubborn bitch.

However, feeling a rush of adrenaline through his body, Gunther ignored her completely. Instead, his eyes were set on something else, the wolf-girl casually standing around in a corner with not a care in the world. Assuming her to be a simple passenger with no connection to the dead man, he moved closer to her and Linkle with his dagger held in her direction.

”What?” She huffed, her nose scrunched up with anger.

”What?” Laughing at the hostile tone, Gunther looked back at his party and Amber joined him in his laughs. Turning back to face the demi-human, his expression dropped in an instant, from narcissistically smug to vehemently angry. ”Youʼre coming with me, thatʼs what!”

Reaching forward, he tried to grab Regalia by her collar, but as his hand phased through her body, it finally happened. Like molten tar, her body melted over his hand, he could feel its burn and screeched in agony as the rest of the world began melting around him.

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”AGHHH! FUCKKKK! GUUH! HHGH!” Down on his knees, he clutched his arm with the other hand and screamed out loud. Clenching his teeth, he tried to drown his voice and look around, but with the sky turning into falling tar, his eyes were burned by the tar. ”AGHGHA!

M-MY EYES! NOT MY EYES! SHHHAHHHAA!”

Blinded by the illusion of his victory, Guntherʼs body writhed around on the shipʼs deck with no visible injuries. Both Amber and Baylee had surrounded him in their worry, but no matter how much they shook him, he just couldnʼt escape that prison of torture made of borrowed corruption from a horror.

”WHA-WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!?” Screamed Amber at the top of her lungs, her eyes glaring at Raven.

Standing before the struggling trio with not a scratch on his body, Raven tilted his head to the side and wondered.

ʼWhy would a god choose such weaklings?ʼ He tried to hold the matter for later, but with a quick gesture at Reina to get Guntherʼs body, he moved closer to the girls and began to question their authenticity.

”Youʼre not real heroes, are you? Answer the question and maybe the captain here wonʼt stuff his asshole with black power and shoot him in the sky like fireworks,” wide-eyed the girls looked at Raven in horror, neither believed he would do what heʼd just said and since it was clear to the mage as well, he turned towards Regalia and finally gave her the nod.

”Get those pirates off our ass, make sure they all drown.”

”W-what!?” Amber stammered, her eyes quivering with anxiety as she kept staring at Raven.

”Y-youʼre bluffing right?! No way you can take down so many ships at once!” Baylee was just as dubious of his claims but had no intentions of risking it to be true.

Ignoring them both, Regalia kicked herself off the walls and with a smile on her face raised her hand to the skies, which in turn conjured colossal red tentacles from under every ship surrounding them. For a moment they remained motionless and savored the chilling fear in the piratesʼ eyes. But then as Regalia curled up her fingers, like whips they came down on the ships.

Tearing the ships in halves, the tentacles coiled around the remains and began drowning the howling pirates into the deepest depth of hellʼs ocean.

As the sight of the many ships disappeared from view, Raven turned back to the girls and gave them one last chance to answer.

”Youʼre not heroes, are you?” Although reluctant to admit it, the girls aggressively nodded, admitting to their title being a false farce that theyʼd somehow managed to keep thus far.

ʼThis will be interesting…ʼ Thought Raven, hoping to draw more information from the two before having to kill them off.