Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 425 Choux - The Demi-Fox Witch Hunter

”Who is this girl, exactly?” As those words left Atheniaʼs lips, Cassipea turned to the looking mirror and without knowing it shared her vision with her goddess. Seated on her glimmering throne of stars, Elenaria curiously hummed to the sight of the fox-girl inscribing sleeping runes across the upper floor of the Booty and Barrels inn.

Both the goddesses kept a close eye on the girl, however, despite their attempts to breathe a warning into the heroʼs ears, none of their words could reach his ears. They had no rule over that land, the dead godʼs land. Far from their region of influence, neither of them could even squeal a word.

”I suppose itʼs that cult of Lantherm thatʼs causing the disruption…” Elenaria spoke through Cassiopeia.

Catching on to the godly presence inside the fairy, Athenia instantly knew who was speaking. Turning her attention to the girl once more, she pointed at the gun dangling by her foxʼs waist belt.

”A replica gun of Nightsilverʼs party member, you donʼt think itʼs as devastating as the real one, do you?” Said to annihilate mountains with a single blast of mana, the weapon of legend was far beyond anything a mortal should wield.

”If it is…” Her eyes glowing a light blue hue, Cassiopeia spoke again but the words werenʼt hers. ”Your heroesʼ journey and that of everyone on that island might come to an end sooner than expected.”

Though the goddesses were certain about the gun being a replica, with their eyes glued on the dangling thing, they couldnʼt help but worry. Turning around to face Athenia, Elena had to ask as her concern grew further.

”Where is the real thing anyway? Did your mother not even attempt to hide it somewhere?” Her tone tinged with anger, the goddess hoped that she was wrong and Athenia where the real rifle had been sitting for more than a millennium.

”Did you forget that I slept in a time spell throughout the end of the last war?” Squinting her eyes, a bit annoyed herself, Athenia wanted to flick Cassiopeia like a fly but since it was truly her who was talking but rather Elena, she refrained from injuring the little fairy.

”Besides, every god was busy fighting each other with greater powers than a damned rifle, why would they stop to pick up the weapons from the cold hands of their soldiers?”

”So it wouldnʼt end up in incompetent hands?” Elenaʼs quick response burst a nerve in Atheniaʼs mind. She didnʼt like a sassy tone on anyone but herself.

”Leaving my bitch of a mother and my father alone for a moment,” crossing her legs and leaning closer to the fairyʼs face, Athenia put on a smirk and looked deep into Casseopeaʼs eyes. Through them, she could see Elena sitting amidst the comic sea of Stellaris and staring right back. ”What were you doing? Youʼre what, nearly a thousand years older than me?

And you still havenʼt figured out where the fuck any of those weapons went?”

Clicking her tongue with a devious smirk across her lips, Athenia shook her head in disappointment.

”What a shame that is, isnʼt it?” Staring through the eyes of the fairy, for once Elenaria learned of the goddessʼs prickly nature. She knew exactly where to stab, what words to use to insult someone, and if there were any doubts left in her mind, Athenia cleared them up with her next words. ”As for my heroes dying, yours already did.”

”Thatʼs enough, Athenia!” Elena barked through the fairyʼs lips and with her words came a shudder that shook Atheniaʼs throne.

”You started it,” she shot back.

”As if a simple question enquiries such bolt words!” Elena reprimanded.

”Perhaps donʼt remind me of my mother the next time we get in a fight, she has a knack for pissing me off.” Keeping her tone calm and quiet to appear triumphant, Athenia rubbed more salt into the wounds on Elenaʼs side.

Silence took over their council for a minute past their small quarrel, and even as the two tried to speak to each other again, a clone of Athenia split from her body and covered her mouth with her hands. As for Elena, forcing her lips to remain shut, the pink blob of a fairy didnʼt let her masterʼs words be uttered in Atheniaʼs prison.

”You both need to shut up!” Said the clone and the fairy nodded with her hands covering her own mouth.

Keeping the duo shush for a while, their attention was drawn back to the mirror. Finished with the rune, the fox-girl had already bound everyone in a deep sleep. Everyone, but a few, Amedith and Liliyana as well as Linkle and Asmodia.

While the warrior was unaffected due to his resistance to charms and hexes, Liliyana and Asmodia were both naturally able to overcome it, as for Linkle, the witch was far too versed in magic to be charmed so easily.

”What should we do?” The clone whispered, slowly letting go of Atheniaʼs loud mouth.

Letting go of her mouth as well, the fairy allowed her master to speak through her again.

”The girl seems to be after the witch, how important is she?” Asked Elena, not having a clue about what Linkle meant to the group.

Staring at the girl heading for Linkleʼs door while sensing a hint of murder in the air Liliyana was about to drag Amedith out of their room, Athenia stared at the rifle some more, wondering just how powerful of a replica that weapon truly was.

”You sure thatʼs a replica, Elena?” Turning her head to the fairy, the goddess stared into her eyes and waited for an answer, but when she was met with dubious silence instead of an answer, Athenia decided to take matters into her own hands before things escalated further.

ʼBreaking the heavenly rules again, letʼs see what goes wrong this time.ʼ With those thoughts, Athenia shut her eyes and peered into the past. Stretching her hands forward and tearing with it the fabric of time, she tried to prevent the girl from ever meeting the party, but before she could finish her task, her hand was pushed out of that portal beyond time.

”What the–”

”I told you not to mess with time!” Through the closing portal came a voice, a voice that both the goddesses knew very well. ”Just put some trust in the warriors youʼve chosen and stop fucking things up for convenience!”

It was Razor, giving out to the pair of gods as if they were children.

”This guy again…” Athenia cursed under her breath, disappointed by the fact that she could no longer manipulate time.

Elenaria was just as disappointed, but looking at the mirror her worries began to die down a little. Confronting the girl as she held the doorknob to Linkleʼs room with her hand, both Amedith and Liliyana appeared to have the situation under control, but with the rifle still clutched by the girlʼs fingers, the threat of annihilation for the whole party was still, very much real.