Vol 2. Prologue: The Chosen and the Pious (3)

“We shall do nothing,” he emphasized, “but our Benefactor will.”

And just like that, all the questions Siegnir and Levina had disappeared, yet Xetant was not done shocking them. “Their words, as relayed in my meditation, were that they would soon meet the King of Storms, personally.”

That is… a bad omen for the child of my world… yet I cannot intervene. I must not. I can only… watch. As for Siegnir and Levina, this information left them wide-eyed and unable to say a thing for a few moments. After all, they knew well who their benefactor truly was, and the fact that they would directly intervene had plenty of implications they hadn’t prepared for.

Still, they couldn’t remain silent forever. And so, Levina spoke up as she remembered something of note that happened not too long ago. “That wave of energy from a few weeks ago… That has something to do with our Benefactor being able to make a move, am I correct Xetant?”

“Indeed,” he nodded. “Mortals have a word for such an unexpected yet fortunate event… serendipity. In ridding the world of one of their emissaries, the King of Storms made our Benefactor stir within their seal. From it, one of their Aspects escaped, only to be felled by the Goddess. Yet, in doing so, the world was awash with her energies and those of our Benefactor, creating a shockwave that weakened the seals holding the rest of the Emissaries and the blest Hosts they carry. Among them, Bloody Wrath’s seal is at its weakest. It is through it that our Benefactor shall smite the Goddess’ pest.”

“What if she survives?” Asked Siegnir in what would be tantamount to heresy… to blind believers that is. But Xetant was not one. None of the Chosen were. Just as the very title they gave to one such as them implies, for the Chosen see them as no majesty, no holiness, no patron, just a simple… Benefactor.

“Then, that is when we shall make our move against her. Not before,” Xetant declared. “In the meantime, we shall focus on furthering our plans in the rest of this Love-chained world, like with Sanjo. We may have lost the special attribute we desire to its holder due to my… incompetent peon. Nevertheless, he managed to strengthen the position of those seeking neutrality with the pyrrhic victory he gave to the mortals, solidifying the position of our agents within such crucial land.”

“And they are more than ready to start at any moment, Xetant. Just give me the word and I will tell my subordinates to seize control of it,” said Levina, eager to pull the rug out from the unsuspecting mortals in that island and get whatever it is.

Yet, Xetant shook his head again. “No. Let them continue as they are right now. If we were to attract the attention of the King of Storms towards Sanjo and disturb its path towards our Benefactor, we risk displeasing them in ways that are… not beneficial to us.”

“Oh dear, that is true. We cannot have that,” she conceded as she giggled. “Then, I’ll be happy to order them to let things simmer among the mortals until the time is right. With the seeds of discord already planted among them, things are bound to be interesting either way.”

“What about Zenji, Levina?” Snickered Siegnir. “Demons still being your sore spot?”

“You…! Of course they still are!” Snapped Levina, falling for the thuggish dragon lord’s provocation completely as she motioned like she wanted to strangle him right there and then, her eyes glowing with a deep-seated exasperation, one that was strangely not directed at Siegnir but at those he mentioned, judging by the rant that followed. “They’re crazy! Crazy! They literally turned the monster stampedes I’ve been sending them into a bloody drinking and fighting festival! Be it land or sea, it doesn’t matter to them! They even somehow managed to make some monsters drink with them and enjoy the festivities as if they had always been part of the family! How?! Just how?!”

Seeing Levina in such fuming state, Siegnir cracked up to the point that he had tears in his eyes and was holding his stomach. Meanwhile, Haife hid behind her brother’s throne as best as she could, not wanting to become the target of her now increasing anger. As for Xetant, he simply watched Levina continue to rant, unamused.

“I never took their sayings seriously, but they really don’t fear death. They laugh with it, dance with it, dine with it, and then they drink with it. Ugh… just thinking about them at all gives me a headache…” seemingly finished Levina as she massaged her temples. But of course, the cackling thuggish dragon lord was not yet done.

“Hahaha! You just say that because they got you too and you couldn’t deal with the hangover! Ahahaha!”

“How was I supposed to know that they had something that would make even a Dragon Lord  like me drunk to the tip of my horns?!” Levina shot back as memories of that event filled her mind. From the strong aromatic flavor with sweet citric notes that filled her senses, to the stupor it pulled her into and the drunken things she did under the influence, she remembered it all. And that only made her headache worse, reducing her next words to a mumble as dropped her head on the table. “Seriously… I’m never drinking their damned grezcal again… Let alone the equila… the snacks were good though…”

“Then how about doing the same thing we’re doing in Sanjo?” Asked Siegnir after he managed to stop himself from laughing any more, but the memory of a drunken Levina kept making him chuckle.

“You really are an imbecile…” growled the haughty dragon lord as she looked at him with disdain. “That will not work. Last time I seriously tried, it became a funny anecdote about squashing a desire to become hostile to the rest of the races by threatening to up the taxes on alcohol.” She pouted then sighed. “I hate to admit it, but their damned nightmare of a Matriarch can sniff that kind of plotting from a continent away and snuff it out as quickly… To be honest, I wish I could just throw a tsunami at them like I did with the fairies instead of having to deal with that Demon Fox and her Demon King. But we know why I cannot do—”

It was then that Levina’s servant, Ao, interrupted her by approaching and handing her a small, rolled-up scroll before going back to their place beside the hall’s doors while Levina quickly unfurled it, read its contents, and grinned as she went “oh my, my. They are onto us.”

“Who?” asked Siegnir.

“The Church.” Levina responded. “The report I just received tells me that there is a small team of arcanists reaching out to a select group of third parties and inquiring about a particular set of ancient texts. The very same ancient texts that contain the composite spell Scath gave us to conceal the true nature of our subordinates when infiltrating mortal territory. Once again, the timing of says it all,” she giggled. “The Head of the Church must be quite ticked off after realizing that she interacted with Eternal Winter for years and she never noticed her true nature.”

“As she should be. Anything less would be unearned arrogance. Yet, to err in such a manner while laying claim of being one of the strongest is… pathetic. Now her vaunted might, her unshakable faith, has been rendered meaningless before a spell of eld,” derided Xetant. “And like her, her search is just as meaningless. Violet Death made sure of it when she destroyed all other copies of the last two volumes besides our own. Even if they were to somehow grasp the spell with the remaining three and lift our veils, it will be too late.”

“And if it is not, my agents will just let themselves be revealed in quite the destructive fashion, crushing their morale right where it matters most. Because if their home isn’t safe, where is?” Said Levina still grinning as she imagined every single mortal settlement she has had infiltrated burning, flooding, and more, all by the draconic hands of her subordinates. The despair, the blood, the tears… just like the fairy kingdom but everywhere…

Such an image found itself in the mind of Siegnir too, as he burst with a proud “you devious bastards! I love it!”

“Of course you do,” said Levina, stating the obvious. “Still, if she is ticked off now, I cannot wait to see what face the Head of the Church makes when we show her what is entombed within the Empire.”

“It shall be one of hopeless, broken faith.” Declared Xetant with an absolute certainty once again that made him seem as if he had a power similar to the instinct of my world’s child. “Once her and the King of Storms are felled, and we have gathered what we need, no one shall be able to stop us from fulfilling our objective. No more will this world be her pawn to move as she pleases.”

“No more will she crown those beneath us to guide all and sundry.” Said Levina, her voice filled with conviction.

“No more will her words be the chain that keep beasts wrapped in the shape of people.” Said Siegnir as firmly as the rest.

“““No more. For we shall liberate this world.””” Thus spoke the Chosen as one. All as their only witness, Haife, gazed at the night sky with an undecipherable expression.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, within the hallowed halls of the Kyrie Kingdom’s cathedral, a meeting was being held by the Head of the Church herself, Ludovica Aldert. Those in attendance were all the highest-ranking members of the Nerinnus Church’s two branches, which were called the Hands of the Pontifex.

Yet only one of them was known by the general public, the branch named the Blessed Right. Its five Orders—or ‘Fingers’ as dubbed by the Head—not only communicated the teachings and will of the Goddess to the people of Arte, but also publicly protected and nurtured them via the work of the Paladins, Templars, and Crusaders, as well as those building and manning schools, hospitals, and the like.

On the other hand—play on words notwithstanding—the Grace Giving Left was only known by a few people, for their Fingers were in charge of dealing with the dark side of keeping the world united, all while not dirtying the name of the Goddess in the process.

Now the people in charge of said ten fingers, as well as the two who oversaw them, were in the same room, waiting to hear the reason for their sudden summons with bated breath, most of them at least. After all, only an extreme emergency would warrant such an all-hands meeting. Thus, the Head’s next words would prove to be of utmost importance.

“Hi hi everyone~! I’m so sorry about asking you to come this late in the evening, but I had to give you all the deets on what I just got, yes~! Otherwise, you’d totes go cray cray on me for not telling you as soon as possible!” Said a smiling Ludovica, shattering the tension as she winked and joined her hands in a cutesy, yet supplicant manner, making everyone let out a sigh of relief, their thoughts going in the direction that perhaps things were not as bad as they presumed. Furthermore, Ludovica was wearing not the vestments fitting for her position as Head of the Church, but rather her pajamas, which were a… paladin onesie with Nerinne’s chibi face and the legend ‘Goddess’ #1 BFF!’ on her chest.

Strangely, she wasn’t the only one in the room wearing their pajamas and other nightly outfits, to the point that the ones wearing proper vestments or armor like Julian Gardos, overseer of the Blessed Right as a whole and Ludovica’s very tired personal attendant, were in the minority. A very small minority of… two.

“Mmnn…but I want my beauty sleep, Ludooo… Unlike you, I’m still too young to want wrinkles from not sleeping my hours…” said the pajama-wearing, crimson-skinned demoness sitting by Ludovica’s left side as she rested her head on the table and yawned. Then, she turned towards Ludovica and started poking one of her cheeks while smiling smugly.

Normally, such disrespect towards one’s utmost superior would warrant punishment, or at least a reprimand, but she was given neither of those by no one in the room. Even Julian, who was sitting by Ludovica’s right side, didn’t do anything. And how could he? She was of the same rank as him as the overseer of the whole Grace Giving Left.

Then again, she didn’t go unopposed for long as said superior channeled her inner feline and immediately nibbled on the demoness’ poking finger, causing her to scream in an overly dramatic way. “Kyaaaa! Juli, Juli, save me! Ludo is biting meee!”

“Your Holiness… please stop biting Hadea’s finger…”

“Thank you, Juli, Ju—"

“We don’t know where that finger has been…” said Julian, his voice sounding like that of an older brother that was exhausted from dealing with the shenanigans of their little sisters. Though, in this case, these little sisters were much, much older than him. Regardless of their ever-young attitude.

“Hey! You didn’t have to say that last part, Juli, Juli!”

“Teehee~, you’re so right, Julian. And I wouldn’t want to keep disrespecting someone who is my elder. Non, non, non~. After all, only an elder would totes get wrinkles from missing one night of beauty sleep, yes~.”

“Who are you calling elder?!” fumed Hadea as she poked Ludovica’s chest with both of her index fingers.

“You started it!” shot back Ludovica as she poked Hadea’s chest in return. This marked the start of a bouncing, childish battle between them as they poked each other chests relentlessly, neither of them willing to back down unless the other accepted defeat, therefore calling themselves the eldest of the two. “You are the eldest!”

“Nuh-uh! That honor belongs to you, Ludo!”

“As if! It’s all yours!”

“Your Holiness… Hadea… stop. The meeting hasn’t even properly started yet…” pleaded Julian, whose words fell on deaf ears as the battle intensified from simple pokes, to… pulling each other cheeks, making him sigh and facepalm at the sight of it. Thus, he turned to his fellow pious in search of someone who would be able to put a stop to it.

First, he laid eyes on Glixie, a silver kobold of the reptilian variety and the leader of the Middle Finger of the Blessed Right, the High Charity Trading Company, which was in charge of resource procurement through trade and the administration of the Church’s stores. Said stores provide the people of Arte daily necessities, medicines, as well as other supplies for either a heavily watched symbolic price or at no cost. Sadly for Julian, Glixie didn’t want to be in the middle of such tempestuous battle and immediately shook her head at his silent request for assistance, making him look for someone else.

This someone else was a veiled figure with no identifiable traits whatsoever beyond their tall stature… and their comically small nightcap. Not even their face could be seen as it was carefully hidden under layer upon layer of fabric, including their eyes, and yet… the figure somehow knew that Julian was looking at them. Unfortunately, they immediately shook their head along with their hands in a very nervous and frantic manner, making it clear that they really didn’t want to be the ones to stop the battle. They were Seras Valentine, the leader of the Little Finger of the Grace Giving Left, the Order of Whispers. In other words, the Church’s spies.

But then, as Julian insisted, and Seras angrily responded with an embarrassed drawing of themselves with their veil covered in ribbons, the Head and Hadea laughing devilishly, and the legend ‘last time’, another of the high-ranking members present stepped up.

Yet rather than reprimanding them sternly for such ill-fitting behavior for people of their positions, she approached the matter with the gentleness of an older sister, clapping softly to attract their attention as she went, “alright~, alright~. Stop it, gals. We’re getting sidetracked.”

And it worked, for both Ludovica and Hadea immediately stopped and turned to the mature, gentle oni woman who had spoken up. She was the leader of the Thumb of the Grace Giving Left, the Inquisitors, and held the rank of Grand Inquisitor of the Nerinnus Church. She too was wearing pajamas, a couples set at that, as it had a picture of her partner, a pixie, on it. “Tell us the deets so I can go back to my darling, Ludo. Pretty please?”

Hearing that, Ludovica pushed Hadea to the side, playfully tapped herself on the head, and said “of course, Alina! Sorry about this everyone! I guess we got too into it this time, teehee~.” Then, she turned to Hadea and prompted her to apologize with a certain a look. She obliged.

“I started it so… sorry, Ali, Ali. Sorry, everyone. It won’t happen again.” Said Hadea as she lowered her head apologetically. While she sounded sincere, everyone in the room knew that it would happen again as fighting over who was the older of the two was the usual for them.

In any case, with the squabble finally dealt with, the meeting was able to properly start as Ludovica stood up from her seat and pulled out a piece of paper from within her onesie. “Here, this is why I summoned everyone, yes~.” She said as she handed it to Hadea.

“A letter?” Said the demoness, raising a curious eyebrow as she inspected the plain envelope for any clues about its source, be it magical or physical, and found none whatsoever, which made it all the more suspicious. This prompted her to ask, “Ludo, can I?”

“Of course~! Read it! But do it out loud so everyone can get why I said all of you would go cray cray if I didn’t tell you, yes~.”

“Alright,” said Hadea, her concerns growing proportionately with her friend’s excitement about the whole thing making them go ‘cray cray’. Thus, she carefully opened the envelope, took out what truly seemed to be just a simple letter and nothing else, and started reading it for everyone present.

“‘Ludovica Aldert, Head of the Church, Eyes and Ears of our beloved Goddess, Nerinne. Not only were you blind to the threat of traitors and dragon lords festering within the very heart of the Kyrie Kingdom, but you were unaware of the true identity of one of its most influential figures, letting them both act freely while risking the lives of everyone there… Or worse, the entire continent, had they accomplished their goal of freeing the Emissary of the Evil God.’” Hadea stopped for a moment, frustration and anger getting the better of her, so much so that her hands trembled as her grip on the letter tightened, slightly crumpling the paper it was written on.

And the same could be said of the emotions running through the hearts of all the high-ranking members who belonged to Orders responsible for protecting Arte. Like a certain orchid mantis insectoid dame who couldn’t help but whisper a frustrated “…dammit. If only we had known of that chamber…” She was Erzebeth Farum, the overseer of the Ring Finger of the Grace Giving Left, the Abyss Watchers. Their charge? The study and management of everything related to the Evil God.

All in all, it was their duty to prevent this from happening and yet… it happened. Of course, this had been weighing on their hearts ever since they received the first reports on New Glory and the woman sent by the Goddess… Auros Argento. But that letter made it all the more frustrating and painful, as all the blame was directed to the woman they all knew had sacrificed the most in the past, the woman they all looked up to and served with utmost respect. To them, she was like a sister, a best friend, an irreplaceable companion, the worthiest general to follow, and so much more.

Still, no one else dared open their mouths, no matter how much they wanted to scream, to rage, as they knew they’d be unable to stop at a frustrated whisper like Erzebeth. Thus, just like Hadea was clearly doing, they bit their tongues and remained silent as the demoness continued.

“‘Even with that fate averted, your failures led to not one but two Calamities being unleashed upon the Kingdom as part of a draconic siege. And most importantly, they resulted in our beloved Goddess sending agents of her will to clean up your mess, despite there being no need for it had you tended to your duties properly. For these transgressions you have been found…” Hadea paused, brusquely crumpling the letter between her hands and looking away from for a moment. Whatever she left unsaid was clearly making it hard for her to hold back her anger, which Ludovica easily noticed.

“It’s fine, Hadea. I’m fine,” said Ludovica while placing a soothing hand on Hadea’s shoulder. “There is no need for you to feel like that. And that goes for all of you, dummies. I didn’t call you here to let whoever wrote this get into your head, alright? We erred, I erred, it’s true, but we are actively trying to fix those mistakes. That is what matters to me and the Goddess. If that wasn’t the case, she would’ve told me so rather than entrusting me with a”—she glanced at the two masked maids standing close to the entrance—"little something related to this. So breathe and let go before you get blinded by that anger and frustration, pretty please~?” With just those words and her usual smile, everyone in the room went wide-eyed for a moment as they realized just how deeply affected they were before they released their anger, their frustration, and reasserted themselves in a collective deep breath.

“I… sorry, I guess I still have a bit of that easy to anger girl from way back then…” replied the demoness smiling apologetically at Ludovica after doing the same as the others by quenching her anger, earning herself a hug from said friend.

“Hehe~, that’s fine. That means you’re still young at heart. Now go on, everyone needs to hear this in its entirety.”

“A-Alright. Just… stop hugging me,” pleaded Hadea.

“Muuu~~, but my head feels so comfy between your horns~.”

“Stop it! Or I won’t continue reading!”

“Fine~~,”said Ludovica as she let go of Hadea and returned to her seat with a relieved smile on her face.

With the tension shattered once again, and even some chuckles here and there, the atmosphere of the meeting improved, and thus Hadea resumed reading after awkwardly clearing her throat. “‘For these transgressions you, Ludovica Aldert, have been found wanting and unworthy as Head of the Church and her Eyes and Ears. As such, you have been marked for winnowing. May another more worthy and more capable Head rise from the stump left by the cutting of yours. All so that our beloved Goddess is never forced to take action like this again. Her love be unto you. Even in failure.’ Signed… the Guild,” finished Hadea, intrigued by the name of the signatory, for it sounded… familiar. And she was not the only who reacted as such, as Seras tilted her veiled head in a similar intrigued manner.

“Thanks, Hadea~!” said Ludovica before she excitedly turned to everyone else in the meeting hall, her tone keeping the usual jovial cheerfulness. “There you have it everyone~. All the deets~. So tell me your thoughts, your questions, and anything else that you got from this, yes~! I’m totes sure that we can figure out a lot about these Guildies just from this letter alone~. So let’s get started! Yes~!” She smiled, genuinely eager to hear out each and every one of her dear subordinates, her friends, out, for she fully trusted them and their capabilities.

And it didn’t take long for someone to speak up. “For starters, they sound very confident and not in the arrogant way. Rather… it’s the more dangerous kind of confidence, the one that comes from certainty, preparation, and the stones to carry things out.” Said the armored dwarven woman who sat by Julian’s right, both as Ludovica's second in command and the overseer of the Index of the Blessed Right, which was comprised of the Paladin, Templar, and Crusader Orders, giving it the name of The Three Orders.

“Indeed, Iote~! The letter read more like a declaration than a threat, yes~!” She nodded in agreement while puffing out her chest, proud that her trust was not misplaced despite knowing that for certain. She then focused once again on Iote and said, “by the way, I totes love what you did with your nails~! Your armor too~! Those accessories are so kyute!”

“Tha-thank you, your Holiness…” said Iote, slightly embarrassed but happy. “Glixie helped me with both.”

Hearing that, Ludovica turned to the silver kobold and gave her a thumbs up, along with a happy “on point as always, Glixie!”

“You know it, your Holiness! You can trust this Glixie for the pretty-pretty and shiny-shiny!” Said Glixie as she winked at her superior and gave her two thumbs up. “As for those thieves who want to take you away from us, their name is strong! Certain! It denotes an organization with a solid foundation, like a mountain’s! That means shiny-shiny coin! Resources! And that they have ways to get them without grabbing our attention. This Glixie thinks it’s a firmly established and legitimate network of businesses or trade deals with certain likey-brained merchants.”

“That’s bad… that would also mean that they’d be firmly rooted in the world’s economic affairs by now…  And I don’t know how to feel about a group of fanatics having that much power…” Ludovica shivered at the thought of that, clearly not liking it one bit.

“Not just any fanatics, your Holiness. But a group of fanatics with beliefs about the Goddess firmly rooted in just the right ways that no divine punishment has befallen them yet. We have to clean them up before the worst happens. Of course, for that to happen, we need to find their base of operations first and confirm everything we’re talking about here,” said a brightly colored fairy in black pajamas as they hugged a pillow, Eris Summerdew. They were the overseer of the Index of the Grace Giving Left, the Dusk Eyed Order. In short, the Church’s assassins.

“Mhm~. As they say, jumping in blindly hasn’t done anyone any good~. And its totes true when it comes to enemies whose strengths are unknown beyond their confidence in them, yes~. Fighting is a risk already, no need to make it a greater one, non non~.”

“Your Holiness, may I? I believe there’s a way to gauge said strength that is very obvious once something is made clear. ”

“Of course! Go ahead, Julian~! What is it?” Asked Ludovica as she turned to her right-hand man.

“The letter itself, your Holiness.” He said as he grabbed the completely blank envelope that Hadea had discarded and held it up.

“Oh? Go on~! Go on~!” She urged Julian, excited to hear what he figured out.

“As the one who sorts out and delivers your Holiness’ mail, I am one hundred percent sure that this letter never came across my desk, or anyone else’s for that matter. It is just too conspicuous  to be missed by anyone of the clerical staff or me.”

“What are you implying?” Asked Hadea, her tone turning into a serious one with a clear hint of concern, showing that she already had an inkling regarding the answer to her own question.

“Nothing that you haven’t figured out by now. And the same goes for everyone else here. If I didn’t deliver that letter to her Holiness—”

“And I didn’t get it personally either~. It was just there on my bed as I entered my quarters to sleep,” Ludovica added before Julian could continue, guessing where he was going and wanting to contribute.

“Then that makes the following even more likely. Someone from this… Guild infiltrated what is arguably the most secure part of this Cathedral, planted the letter in a place easy enough to find, and left without any of our people noticing. That is our way to gauge their strength, as unfortunate as that may sound given their motives.”

“They~ want~ to~ behead~ me~~,” stated Ludovica playfully in response, making everyone in the room twitch in slight annoyance, having found the joke not… very amusing.

“Your Holiness… don’t joke like that…” pleaded Julian, looking like he was about to get a heart attack from just the mental image such jest brought up. And he was not the only one, as for Julian’s expression was mirrored in another who spoke up, an orc.

“I agree with Julian, your Holiness! Those kinds of jokes are not good for the heart… Even my back up one felt like it was about to stop when I imagined that…” said Giorgios Magnus, the orcish leader of the Healing Embrace, otherwise known as the Ring Finger of the Blessed Right, their charge being the Church’s efforts in medicine and care.

“Teehee~, don’t worry you two. Whoever they are, I’m sure I can take them. I may look like an everyday gal, but I’m strong, yes~! Wait”—she gasped, seemingly shocked and hurt—"could it be that you two don’t think so?! Shall we spar a bit later?”

“That’s…! N-no need for that at all, your Holiness!” answered both Julian and Giorgios at the same time as they nervously shook their heads.

“Muu… there’s no need to be so scared of me, but fine. No spar later,” said Ludovica, seemingly dejected.

Then, after letting out a sigh of relief, Julian added, “your Holiness’ strength is probably the reason why they did all of this while your Holiness was out. Still, the fact remains, they infiltrated your Holiness’ quarters, and no one was able to stop them.”

“They… even somehow avoided all the measures of detection I personally placed in your Holiness' room, including the unorthodox ones and those made with forgotten spells.” Said Seras from behind their veil, joining in with concern in their androgynous voice, but also a certain awareness of something that made itself clear as they went on. “While that could be possible with an extensive knowledge of stealth spells equal or greater than mine—as we’ve… sadly seen now with Eternal Winter—I believe a powerful relic is at play here.”

“And why is that, Seras?” Asked Ludovica as she smiled warmly at them, trying to assuage the feelings of frustration, guilt, and shame that were still lingering in her veiled friend’s tone, no matter how much they tried to hide them.

Heartened by this, Seras smiled back and nodded, yet their heavy smile was covered by the cloth masking their face, vanishing as they answered Ludovica’s question. “Because something happened recently that I cannot help but feel is related to them, your Holiness. A month ago one of our informants in the Empire disappeared without a trace after leaving a strange message.”

“That’s right, I remember that report,” interjected Hadea before turning to the oni dame who was the leader of the Inquisitors. “Alina, your inquisitors were present in the investigation too.”

“Yes, it’s coming to mind now, he was one of Mouse’s mice… He was always a very reliable kid, but then he just disappeared. In his last message to us he said that he had a lead on a group that was about to steal some relics, but that he couldn't say anything more unless it was in person. And yet, he was nowhere to be seen when our people arrived at the location. I believe the word he used to describe the people he was suspicious of was”—Alina went silent, her eyes widening in realization before turning to Seras, who nodded—"‘a shady guild of some sort.’ Goddess… you don’t think?”

“Most likely. He probably got too close, too quickly and not even Mouse managed to protect him. Worst of all, there was nothing that could tell us what happened to him. No last sightings. No blood. No scene. No… nothing.  He just… vanished,” lamented Seras as they looked down for a moment, closing their hands into fists, before turning to Ludovica. “It might seem far-fetched but that choice of words on his part, the way he disappeared, and what happened regarding this letter. My instincts tell me there is something there, your Holiness. ”

“I agree,” said Ludovica, her tone and attitude slowly changing into a more serious one before continuing with something that shocked everyone. “Especially if we take into account the details regarding the mission the Goddess entrusted me with.”

Yet, despite these shocking words, silence reigned in the meeting hall, for Ludovica the gal pal was no longer the one talking, but the Head of the Church, and her words demanded everyone’s full attention. “I mentioned this earlier in the meeting, but it is time that I fill you in on everything. As such, both of you, step forward.” She motioned to the two masked maids wearing all black uniforms, one had pink hair while the other had black hair. And as they obliged and walked to the center of the meeting hall, everyone couldn’t help but give them from simple curious looks, to more… inquisitive ones.

“These are the Black Maid Knights. While they are similar to the ones who serve Auros Argento, they have made a pact of punishment with the Goddess, who has entrusted them to me. They have one purpose and one purpose alone. And that is to unravel the mystery of the Guild, an organization that our Goddess cannot look into on her own for certain reasons and dismantle it.” Declared the Head of the Church, further shocking everyone present, some even reeling back in befuddlement, while others turned to the Head of the Church with confusion all over their faces. Yet, all of them had many, many questions in their minds.

‘Who are these Maid Knights? Why do I feel Theresa’s love from them? Could they be…?’ wondered Hadea, her unique nature as a member of the empath demon line filling her body with a very unique and familiar warmth, one that she hadn’t felt in many, many years.

‘Just what IS the Guild?’ pondered Seras as she tried to recall any piece of information that could help her answer such question.

‘What is going on? Is there something else that can interfere with Her sight like the blood of the Abyss? Have we Abyss Watchers missed something again?’ Erzebeth asked herself, guilt clawing at her.

Still, all of these questions and more would go unanswered, for they remained unvoiced as the Head of the Church went on. “This task is proof of the trust the Goddess has on us, despite our mistakes, my mistakes. And so, this mission is for all of us here. Still, to keep things simple, you two will respond to Hadea as if she were me, her branch is the most experienced with this type of operation after all. Are we clear? ”

“As you command, your Holiness.” Said the black-haired maid respectfully. She was taller than the other one and had a conspicuous red horn growing out of the left side of her forehead. A horn very similar to the ones adorning the head of the oni Grand Inquisitor, Alina. “But is that alright, your Holiness? The Goddess said you were her eyes and ears, leaving us with someone else would go agai–” it was then that a giggle interrupted her, it was the Head of the Church’s.

“I apologize for that; I did not intend to minimize your concern with my giggling. You just reminded me of myself in my early days of using my gift. Worry not, the Goddess taught me not to follow her words so stringently in these cases. And besides, everyone in this room is my eyes, my ears, and my hands. You will never be out of my reach. Everything you do will be reported to me. If that sounds harsh, I will remind you of the reason why you are here. And don’t think that Hadea will baby you once she finishes realizing who you are, she’ll be worse than me. And I am still very mad at you two.”

Both maids lowered their heads and nodded apologetically, for that was the only thing Mary and Licht could do while being faced by two best friends of the one who raised them, Theresa vi Kyrie, the Saintess. Then, they remembered how scary it was to train under Ludovica and be exposed to her killing intent once again and wondered just how worse Hadea would be. The answer came to them immediately, as they felt a burning gaze fall upon them, and when they looked up, they saw Hadea glaring at them so fiercely that it made their blood run cold. If she didn’t know who they were before, she knew now.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Church continued as if she hadn’t noticed. “In any case, with all of us working together, we shall bring the Guild to light and smite them. For the kid who risked his life to report them to us, for all their unknown victims, and for the Goddess. Understood?”

“Yes, your Holiness!” so exclaimed everyone in the meeting hall. Everyone except a certain, right-hand man, who couldn’t help but notice that his superior was forgetting about a very important detail despite going as if it was the end of the meeting.

“I hate to ruin such a compelling way to end things, but… you’re still marked for assassination your Holiness…”

“Ah! Right! I totes forgot about that for a moment, teehee~,” said Ludovica with a silly smile, reverting to her usual attitude thanks to Julian’s intervention.

“Your Holiness… you can’t just forget about stuff like that…” he sighed.

“Muu… sorry, Julian.. I got carried away…”

“That is alright, your Holiness. No need to pout. Either way, we still have to strengthen our security measures, as well as come up with new ones,” he said while turning to everyone from both branches, and they all nodded in agreement.

“I’m totes fine with that too, yes~. I trust each and every one of you to keep me safe. But now that we’re on the subject, there is just one person I want to include. Specially if their attempt is going to happen when I think it’s going to happen,” Ludovica smiled in such a devilish manner that she resembled her teasing Goddess a little too much. Although, none of the people present were aware of that.

“Don’t tell me… The person you want to include is her… isn’t she?”

“Hehe, you guessed it, Julian. One of the very reasons for their condemnation of little young me. My BFF and their proclaimed ‘agent of the Goddess’, Dame Auros Argento!” Exclaimed Ludovica while striking a ridiculous pose as if to imply that such pose represent the child of my world, which was fitting. “I’ll have her be my escort when the time comes! That will surely mess with them, hehehe~.”

“Your Holiness… teasing the people who want to kill you is really not advisable…” Julian let out the biggest of sighs, to the point that even I, an Old God, felt bad for the tired, dandy man.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, as all these serious developments occurred around the world, the… ‘agent of the Goddess’ Will sent to the world with the sole purpose of destroying the dragon lords and their plan, methodically and unrelentingly’ was… smiling like a pervert as she slept peacefully in her bed, sandwiched between the breasts of two of her three lovers, one of those two being the very Goddess who allegedly deployed her for destruction, and with their two daughters sprawled out all over them.

Truly, what a terrifying sight. One even cannot help but wonder just what manner of catastrophic dreams she was having. Then again, there is no need to wonder. Her dream was a pleasant one rather than one of draconic destruction, or even perverted fantasies as her smile would suggest. No, her dream was of someone from the world she came from, Earth. Someone who was family.

Yet… someone was trying to disturb it, a stubborn idiot set on kidnapping Auros’ soul to her divine realm… And sadly, all things point to her pulling it off this time. Oh, Isharnnat, things are about to get ugly for you…

To be continued… in chapter 1.

(Cue Yawue’s face turning into Vin Diesel’s when he said ‘family’) (Cue chibi Xetant watching chibi Levina and Siegnir prattle away and thinking “Hrnn… these two sure converse a lot despite hating each other’s guts…”)