188 188 – A Familiar Village
On the next mission, I purposely didn’t include Lucy. She didn’t protest; maybe she was self-conscious, but it made her look gloomy. She sat leaning against one of the pillars and said nothing.
“Looks like, deep down, she really likes adventure,” Elise said while watching the blonde-haired woman.
“Yes, I can see it. She blinked many times when all of you fought those undead.” I sighed, then walked over to Lucy and spoke to her. “You will join the next mission, don’t let you do that dangerous thing again, or I will forbid you to participate for a longer.”
Lucy immediately straightened her body, then answered firmly. “I won’t be reckless anymore, sir!”
Right after that, I got a message from Levi. It contains a quest and a little briefing from the Supreme God.
—
[Demons have overrun the settlements around the shogun’s castle]
Credit points: 27000
Skill points: 3
—
The words shogun related to a country similar to Japan, a region that was once visited by Elise and Yua. This will probably be a difficult mission because I’m sure the demon in question won’t be as weak as before. Luckily, I’ve asked Smith, and he said that the weapons that Yua and Elise use can kill demons like that. Even Mona’s fangs and the battle hammer of Lucy’s magical energy also have that ability.
“Alright, we will start the mission, gather….” My words were cut short by the arrival of someone wearing full armor with various weapons on his back. That person was not Smith, the god of smithing, because the appearance of the armor he was wearing was very different.
“I am Lord Smith’s emissary.” The person knelt down and placed a black chest in front of me. “The armor you ordered is ready, Sir Raymund.”
The gloom on Lucy’s face disappeared. She jumped for joy. “May I open it, sir?”
I shrugged. “Of course.”
There is something strange. The chest was so small, meaning it contained things that weren’t too big, even though I didn’t make any special requests like when I ordered Elise’s clothes.
***
My servants landed in a village with traditional, thin-walled houses, much like ancient Japan.
Lucy smiled as she studied her clothes, which showed even more skin than Yua and Elise’s. The outfit basically consisted of a white bikini cross that displayed her underboobs, a bit of armor, and a cyan super short skirt. The skirt is the weirdest part because the front part is open, showing Lucy’s panties barely covering her crotch.
“Are you happy, Lucy?” Raymund asked. Smith said that he made the armor based on Raymund’s previous order, whereas Raymund left everything to the god of smithing.
Lucy nodded with a big smile. “That’s right, sir!”
“But when Elise met your previous life, you really didn’t like clothes like that.” The god of hope chuckled.
“Is that true?” Lucy frowned. “But now I like this outfit. I can move more freely, and it’s cool!”
“Looks like you actually like clothes like that,” Raymund added, seeing Elise a little gloomy. The female warrior was sad because Lucy looked more and more different from the old Renee. “At that time, you were just pretending…. Ah, you guys focus back on the mission.”
“This place is strange, sir.” Yua looked at Mona, who was circling around Elise’s feet. The dog had to be calmed down by its master. “This place is so quiet. Is this the same as the demon village we used to go to?”
“This is worse.” Raymund hissed. “From Ciel’s vision, I saw several demons lurking from one of the houses. They were ready to attack. You guys get ready.”
The servants raised their weapons and looked around. Kimi uses buffs to increase the abilities of her comrades.
“Looks like they messed up the smell in that place, making Mona uneasy, not to mention the dark aura emitted by the demons.” Raymund continued when Mona was finally calmed down by Elise, and now she is also on alert. “You don’t have to hesitate against them, Elise. Use your power to the fullest.”
“Remember Lucy.” Elise hissed at the blonde-haired woman. “Don’t do anything rash like that time.”
“Sure,” Lucy answered while tightly gripping her fire battle hammer.
Suddenly some of the house doors were destroyed, and a group of demons came out, immediately attacking with claws or clubs. Raymund’s servants spread out but not too far apart, facing the creatures.
Lucy jumped high while lifting her hammer, then swung it at a group of demons. It caused a giant explosion that sent off several monsters and burned down some of the houses.
A red-bodied demon kicked Yua in the stomach, sending the woman rolling backward.
“Welcome to our new village, bitch ninja!” The demon with two horns laughed.
“Tamaki.” Yua hissed at the familiar figure, then started attacking again.
The fight continues. Raymund’s servants were not overwhelmed and managed to defeat several demons. However, they continued to move from where they landed. At first, Raymund was silent because he didn’t find anything suspicious until he finally realized something.
“Get out of there! Now!” The god of hope shouted.
It turned out that the servants were herded to a location affixed with paper seals with black calligraphy. The calligraphy writing glowed and made the servants freeze. Instead of killing them, the demons retreated and looked at the servants with satisfaction.
“M-my body feels heavy.” Lucy knelt down, feeling something heavy on her back.
“Abort the mission!” Raymund cried out in panic.
A wisp of mist appeared over the servants, who were now unable to do anything. However, their bodies did not float there. A white light began to emit from their bodies, then into the seals.
“I won’t lose to the evils.” Elise got up and started using her dark mode with great difficulty and trembling. Instead of white light, black smoke came out of her body.
“Hey!” Tamaki laughed so hard. “Why do you smell like us!?”
“I’m different from you.” Elise looked at the red demon with her eyes turning yellow. The female warrior started to move even though it was very stiff.
Lucy gasped at Elise’s change.
“Elise, forget him!” Raymund warned. “I’m trying to get you guys back here. Don’t act rashly.”
However, Elise raised her sword. Tamaki laughed again, this time followed by the other demons.
“Attack us if you can!” Tamaki provokes. “Or I have a much better suggestion! Join us! Without you knowing it, you already look a lot like us!”
Elise didn’t answer and still tried to move.
“Who planned this!?” Yua asked on Raymund’s orders. “Is this on Akaimajo’s orders!?”
“Of course!” The demon replied proudly. “She is the one who will make great progress for humanity! Makes us better creatures!”
Suddenly, a figure came flying from the sky. She was a woman with flowing red hair, but her whole body was not covered by a single thread.
“Akaimajo-sama! Akaimajo same! Akaimajo same!!!” The demons screamed hysterically. Some even shed tears when the fair-skinned woman began to descend from above.
She gestured for the demons to step aside. And when she landed near the servants, she flashed a big smile.
“I’m Scarlet, and I used to be just like you girls.” The woman spoke.
“One question, lady.” Lucy raised her hand. “Why are you naked like that? Aren’t you ashamed? Your subordinates are mostly men, you know.”
“Shut up, bitch!” Tamaki cursed. “Those clothes you’re wearing are so skimpy too!”
“But, at least I covered the private parts and nipples. And I wonder, why is she called the wizard, not the witch? She is clearly a woman….”
Renee’s mouth was clenched tightly after the scarlet wizard made a grasping gesture.
“I will attain godhood.” The woman replied with a faint smile. “I don’t need to explain at length. You won’t understand.”
The scarlet wizard approached Elise and widened her smile, then touched the female warrior’s chin with her index finger. “I didn’t know Raymund would hire someone with the power of dense darkness like you. Well, this won’t be a problem, really. In the end, your power is still considered divinity, and it will make me capable of going to your master place.”
The red-haired woman looked up and said again. “You hear that, Raymund? I will come to your place and be the next god of hope.”
“You know, don’t you?” Yua hissed. “You won’t be able to grant everyone’s wish, even if you’re already a goddess.”
“Oh, of course, I know that.” Scarlet was still looking up. “However, I believe I can certainly do a better job than Raymund.”
Finally, the bodies of the servants floated into the mist. However, their power was still being sucked away by the seals. The demons had advanced to prevent it, but Scarlet signaled them to stop.
“It’s useless.” The Akaimajo said. “Your bodies will be destroyed if you hit the portal. Even I can’t break through, even though I’m his former servant. However, the time will come for me to go there. The important thing is, now that I’ve gathered their divinity.”
The servants’ bodies no longer emit white lights or black smoke. They glared at Scarlet before finally entering the mist.