Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 870: Her

A dark miasma oozed from her pale skin, and fringes of her black dress wiggled like worms made up of darkness. Choked by the clouds of corruption, the attendants covered their mouths and recoiled away from her. All the while, the woman stood tall and proud with her eyes boring into Raven’s form. A smile and a chuckle followed the hero’s question. But where was the fun in revealing her nature and her goals as soon as she’d made her entrance?

”Why don’t you–”

”YAHHH!!” Helga’s voice shrieked through the crowd, hurling herself at the woman with her fists balled up. ”ANOTHER FUCKING GOD, THAT’S WHO SHE IS!”

With the click of her tongue, the woman turned to face the valkyrie’s fists flying right to her face. And as she did, Helga’s body was floating off the ground with her gauntleted hands inches from her face.

”I liked you better when you were a monster,” catching the valkyrie’s fist with her hands, the woman casually stopped Helga’s blow. The valkyrie’s eyes widened at the sight, and her feet touched the ground again. She tried to pull her hands away from the woman, but couldn’t. ”Hmm? You asked for this, didn’t you? Now you wanna run away?”

”LET HE GO!” Screamed the hero, however, before the woman’s head could even turn to face him, the valkyrie’s daughters threw themselves into the mix.

”Let mom go!” Shooting above the crowd with their wings, the twin girls drew deep breaths and shot a burst of their elemental powers at the woman. Helga quickly shot her gaze skyward, but it was already too late; the attack was headed towards the woman, and the woman herself was smiling at the valkyrie’s teenage kids. ”Stupid! Let her go!”

”Fine, here, have her!” Feeling a tug on her arm, Helga’s eyes turned back to the woman, but before she could react, her body was flung into the air, and both the cold and the hot elemental breaths of her daughters crashed against her back. The sudden clash of temperatures stiffened her body, and for a spell, her vision went dark as it slammed into her flying daughters.

The trio’s bodies fell with a groan as everyone watched in horror. Raven tried to move the instant his mind caught up with what was going on, but already the woman was facing him with that same eerie smirk as before. Even so, steeling his resolve and clenching some fists, he stomped his feet forward and demanded to know.

”WHO ARE YOU?!”

Quietly shaking her head, the woman sighed. Her hands lazily stretched sideways as a blazing dragon of green flames appeared beside her out of nowhere. Looking up–the both of them, noticed a spiritual dragon sneering down at the woman’s head. The attendants recoiled further while Amedith, Mel, and the rest of Raven’s companions, including Aradin’s group, braced themselves for an obviously treacherous battle. However, the moment the dragon’s scaly lips parted, their worries quickly subsided–at least about the dragon’s appearance.

”Whoever you are or claim to be,” the voice of the dark knight’s form as it was back when he carried the dead lord’s banner, thundered down onto the woman’s head, and yet–she flinched not even for a moment. ”Leave! I swore to protect my master long ago and upheld my oath, and I intend to do the same now. Best leave, you witch. Before my patience runs dry and I’m forced to unleash the curses of dead gods from within my arsenal.”

Snickering at his remark, the woman took a step to the side and gave him a courtly bow. As her head lifted once more and the sound of Helga and her daughters getting up echoed in the silence, she looked into the dragon’s eyes and began clapping.

”Taking this form after a thousand years, for me? Ahaha~ You shouldn’t have.” Holding the smile, she turned her attention back to Raven once more. ”Crippled and insane as they must be, these two are also amongst my children, so what can I say? As for you, hero. Why don’t you gander a guess about who I am? Hmm?”

At this point, there were no doubts. Everyone who knew her name had already assumed the worst. Their horror, however, worsened when Raven finally confirmed it.

”You’re Nerva...” He whispered, his voice hushed.

”Now was that so difficult?” Scoffing out loud, Nerva took a step forward, although her path was blocked as Markus slammed his claw in front of her. ”That’s enough. I’m not talking to you, Markus Vol Velian.”

Swiping her hand in the air, she spawned a spew of dark arms that quickly wrapped around the dragon’s body. The knight tried to break free and scream out curses against the goddess, but then he remembered where he was and the devastation it would cause to not just her but everyone around him. Undoing the change in his body, the dark knight slipped away from the hands of corruption sprouting from the ground. But the burning scars from them still raged against his body, sapping away his power–but not nearly enough to injure or kill him.

”Now that’s handled, I have something to say...” Walking up the stage, Nerva kept smiling at Raven before slowly turning her head towards the attendant for just a glance. Helga was back on her feet, with her daughters being shielded by her body. Gallaria was with them and taking a step back from the center of chaos, Markus had turned his gaze to Milo and Viola–the masters he was meant to protect with his life.

Then there were the soldiers–frozen with fear–and the holy order standing by the death’s priestess, their eyes gleaming with hate and yet waiting for Erika’s orders. Amedith and Liliyana were gone from sight, possibly shrunk and trying to get Nerva by surprise. As for the rest, some were ready to tackle what comes, and the others were simply too stunned to think for themselves at the moment.

”It really hurts when children start to resent their parents,” shaking her head at the crowd whom she saw as her own children, Nerva heaved a sigh and turned her head back to Raven again. ”You invited everyone to this party but forgot an invite for me? How could you, my sweet little thing?”

Reaching outward, she tried to grab his face, but her hand was slapped down. Covering the injured spot, she lightly caressed it while frowning at him.

”Now now, no need to get cranky. I only came because you said you wanted to meet everyone, and that included mommy, doesn’t it?”

”You’re nobody’s mother.”

”And that’s where you’re wrong,” pressing her nail against his chest, Nerva chuckled. ”I gave birth to this world and my daughter, who also happened to be my mother at one point, choked me to death in her womb. But a mother’s heart aches for her children. How long can I endure this separation?”

Pulling her hand away, the pale woman–the goddess of calamity finally put an end to her smiles.

”I just wish for you to live in my embrace, my children. Abandon your gods and follow me to this world’s grave.”

”You’re insane!” Raven brazenly barked in her face.

”And who isn’t?” Shaking her head, she parted her lips to speak again when a weapon came flying at her back. Rolling her eyes, she caught the splinter with her bare hand. However, the moment she felt the weapon with her fingers, her eyes narrowed, and she slowly turned her head to look at it. ”Ahaha~ Oh, if it isn’t the renowned spear.”

Smiling once more, her maddened gaze turned towards Helga. Stunned at her own choice of weapon and actions, the valkyrie was standing by her daughters and panting under the weight of what she’d done.

”Gungnir, the spear that heralds the start of a holy war.” Nerva’s words were followed by deafening silence, and then came her laugh. It echoed through the garden as she spoke again. ”You’ve been saving it since that demon Tariyaan reared his head, weren’t you? But now you’ve done it, my dear monster, you’ve rang the bell and the players must answer! AHAHAhA~!”

Although only a few amongst the crowd knew what had just happened, horror had seized their heart and for a whole minute, the only thing heard or said was the maniacal sounds of Nerva’s cackling laughter. A woman most divine in both her nature and appearance, howling like a dog with a weapon in hand, and her insanity adorned as profane beauty.