Chapter 66 – Starting the Attack

*** Goddess of Power ***

That didn't go as planned—a bit of an understatement, but true. I did find that her angels no longer disobey her or try to control her. Actually, I did get everything I wanted and then some—just not in the way I wanted to do it. But now I wonder if she's gone through and figured out who all her children are. She would get a nice following of her children if she reached out to them.

The bigger problem will be telling Justice that dear Mother is pissed and working on something. I doubt she did that ritual for my benefit. Sure, it shows she is using her power again and forcing me to carry her child. But getting another Goddess to walk into her domain again will be hard. She wouldn't waste a ritual using two Goddesses like that.

Well, whatever, I've got my answers. I'll let Justice know and back off. Thanks to Mother, I'm going to be a Mother. It's not something I can be too mad about. It's hard for a Goddess to get pregnant without my Mother's help. So if you get one offered up, you've got to take it, even if it is a bit painful.

Mother couldn't you have gone a bit softer on your daughter's first time?

"Justice I got the answers you wanted," I shout out. This time, I stay on the edge of the domain. I don't feel like being subject to another Goddess's ritual today.

"Good, come on in. There's no need to act like strangers here," she says, appearing before me.

"I'm fine right here. Mother is more active, as you likely felt. She got her angels in control now, not even hesitating to start up the ritual. Now I'm going back home. I've got a nursery to build."

"She got you pregnant?"

"Yes. I expect you to not get in the way of my temples. Your quest is what made them appear in the first place. Goodbye." Without waiting for a reply, I leave.

*** Yuki, a few days after ***

"Have you scoped out the branch this time? They have more guards now, it seems," I say.

"Yes, two guards. Still, just six assassins are stationed in it. Dumb strength mage to run it. Single handler," she rattles off as we walk through the city. I use a little sound magic to mask our conversation. It is getting late, so there aren't many people on the roads, but there are also fewer random noises to cover our conversation naturally. We've already disguised ourselves as normal wood elves.

"Good, mine is the same, just an earth mage instead. Our goal here is to get it done quickly but make it look like we wanted information. We ..."

"I know Yuki. I know. You've repeated this every day. I'm not Alzi. Hell, even Alzi can remember basic information. I've done this before. I just need to do the same thing, just play around a little less in case there is an overseer who comes by to check on the branch."

"Sorry, I just don't want to mess this up."

"I'll get mine done. Just worry about your own. I'm to the right here. See you after this, Yuki."

"I will. I've done this before as well. Good luck, Nakuma." We go our separate ways down two back alleys. Not that we are sneaking into the buildings. This was just the best spot to split up if we were going to walk together at the beginning.

We both have about fifteen minutes till we make it to our targets. I really am the one to worry about in this mission. I only have sound magic I can use. We still don't want to make it obvious that the attack was from Kitsunes. There are only two in the capital right now. The plan for the headquarters will have us using it in a way that enchanted items could be the cause, letting us not be the default answer to who killed the protectors and ransacked their archives.

Coming out of the alley I turn left down a main road. I can use the main streets for the rest of the way. My target is a warehouse on the edge of the merchant district. The base is run in the back half and has a small basement.

The easier target by a long shot. I should be able to kill the guards and an assassin before they figure out they're under attack. Maybe get the handler before the leader pops her head out of the basement.

The worst case is an assassin runs. I'll need to place a few traps first to hopefully stop any escape attempts. We can't let them know we didn't ask any questions and just started attacking. It would ruin our entire plan to spread the old bitches out to get poisoned or just not be there to defend.

The warehouse has no back entrance, just some windows I trap. I bought some explosion ruins for this and set them to go off if a window breaks. They'll make a lot of noise when they go off, but explosion runes are common enough that they won't be able to track them back to us. They are used for mining, construction, and adventures.

I place them just below the five windows they could run through and make my way to the front. I block the sound of the door so I can slip in.

The warehouse isn't too big—about a story and a half tall. The inside is filled with wooden crates stacked neatly up to the ceiling. The orderly rows let anyone see from one end to the other, but the guards don't like to wander too far from each other, so I should be fine.

The door opened up to the side, so I just had to walk down this side aisle and make sure I attacked whoever saw me before they called for help.

I make my way down the ten rows they have set up before the divider, constantly searching for the guards. During my scouting, I found they normally stick around the back door. They only ever make it two rows away at most before circling back, worrying about getting picked off by themselves.

It does make it easy for me to get to the second to last row and wait for one of their checks. It takes a few minutes for one to split off and start the check. Unfortunately, she goes to the wrong side.

Not wanting to wait longer, I plan to surprise the guard at the door. I should be able to kill her fast enough to get around the corner and surprise the other guard.

I shield the sound in the last row so no one hears the commotion. I pull out a short sword and run full speed at the guard. It takes the guard a few seconds to realize I'm coming. The guard is another elf, a mage based on her looks and lack of a sword. I just need to close the space, and I'll easily kill her.

"FIREBALL!" she shouts out. How is a guard of a branch this weak? Needing to shout her spells out to use them. The guild must be smaller than I thought to have such weak members.

The shout makes it easy to cancel her magic with a simple dispel skill. She started her spell when I was already halfway to her, so with her one spell gone, her life was quickly taken as well. I let her fall to the ground as I reshaped the sound barrier to include the entire front storage area. Next, I use a skill to have my footsteps be silent for the next thirty seconds. Using this time to chase down the last guard.

I run into her as I turn the corner. She was on her way back. The buff elf didn't have a chance to draw her sword before I cut her head off. I quickly check her body for a ring or anything of value. Finding nothing, I head back and search the mage but come up empty.

Turning to the door, I encompassed the back area with the sound barrier and entered. The handler was staring right at me when I entered.

"Hello, Miss. Are you here to report a delivery or rent some space?" She asks with a small service smile. She's behind a counter. A few tables and chairs are placed to the sides of the room. The center is empty. The assassins gather off to the right side by the door leading to the basement. A single assassin is near the handler.

"Rent some space. Room for two crates should be enough." I think that reply means the contract is for two people to follow. I wasn't able to map all of the answers out beforehand, but it just needs to get me to the desk.

"Good, I can help you here," she said, her smile staying still. It seems that is a possible answer.

I didn't hesitate to just cut the poor woman's head off and rush to the closest assassin. The half-orc is fumbling with her sword as I reach her. With a single swing, I get my goal of an assassin and the handler dead before the leader charges up from the basement.

I rush once again to the next target hoping to surpass the goal, but the basement door burst open before I can make it two steps.

I dive into a roll as spikes fly at me from the newcomer. The assassins rapidly organize themselves: three mages and two warriors, four mages, including the leader.

"Bitch why are you here killing us?" the leader spits out, joining her assassins.

"Why do you kill others?" I say as I activate another skill. One to remove all sounds in the area. The only thing we can hear now are the sounds our internals make. Blood rushing through our ears with each heartbeat. Our lungs expand with air.

I had to practice under this condition for over a year before I could move around easily. I'm able to close the distance to the warriors. Their skills are enough to keep me from getting a killing blow in—just some cuts and scratches. Taking a hop back, I return everyone's hearing and follow up with a loud slap, forcing everyone but the leader to their knees.

I dodge another spike and take another head; just one more warrior left. I start my sleep skills up, letting out a little lullaby. All of the mages are able to cancel the spell with some version of dispel. But the last warrior is hit hard by it, giving me the opening to finish her off.

Just four mages, three of which have failed to use a single spell in all this.

"How have three of you failed to use a single spell or skill against me?" I ask. They've been backing up the entire time; only their leader stood her ground. Do they even have a class? They do look a bit flat.

"Shut up bitch!" one of them screams.

Some spikes get sent my way again, followed by a spike trap, where I landed from my dodge, catching a bit of my leg. Painful but does little else to me.

I send out a scream, causing the background girls to clap their ears in pain. The leader once again stands strong. I keep the scream up and rush the leader, careful of any traps she may have placed between us. She launches back a steady stream of spikes at me, keeping me away from her but letting me slip past her and to her useless backup. They've fallen to the ground, so I just pick them off, leaving just me and the leader.

"Why did you let me kill them?"

"They were in my way just as much as they were in yours, and it's better you do it than me."

Her stupid spikes start up again. A steady barrage of spikes sent at my head forces me to move constantly. They move fast enough that I can't close the distance, and without my illusions, I'm limited in tricks to confuse her.

In the middle of my planning, I find what she means by in the way. Spikes start shooting out from the walls, going every which way. Each praying, I run into them. All the while, the bitch just sits there, waiting for a spike to hit something. Blood still flows out of my first injury, though it is just a dull pain right now.

While dancing has gotten my endurance quite high, I can't keep this up forever. Somehow, I've got to make progress towards the mage. I guess we could see who last longer, her mana or my stamina. But that seems like a dumb gamble. I may not even make it long enough to find out who lasts. Plus, she may get back up.

I guess I just send random shouts at her and hope one gets the spikes to stop.