I Only Summon Villainesses

The killing was sad. Not gaining anything from killing a damn level three Apex was too bad. This damn Lodestar has to be nuked in the end.

I closed my mouth and suppressed a lot of curses as we trekked. It had been two days without water, and I was merely existing by circulating my essence around my body and moving. This was what Kassie had asked me to do to reduce the rate at which energy was burning through my system. It was somewhat like replacing the body’s function with essence, letting the power do what flesh couldn’t sustain anymore.

Maggie was in my soul, resting peacefully, and Kassie was here but she wasn’t riding on any essence so it was quite good.

After a while, we finally reached a place that struck stars into our eyes. It was a city. Immediately I realized it was a city, my eyes sharpened.

One can’t go through the dangers I had gone through in the past few months and not at least have this edge to them. It was getting very difficult to trust really peaceful things.

Strangely, I felt like my own jinx.

’I think I’m stuck with a fate like this…’

But I wasn’t going to sit around and let all these things continue to bully me.

I looked at Tristan and Levi as they scanned the small town from the dunes we stood on. Then I said flatly:

“Do we need to prepare to wipe out the whole town?”

Levi and Tristan froze. Then their heads slowly turned to me. They were both silent for a few seconds.

Then I laughed a little bit.

“I was just playing with you guys, come on!” I said and laughed some more.

Both of them were still looking at me with worries on their faces.

’Uh, why are they looking at me like that?’

I really was joking. Why were they not believing me even after I laughed?

I glanced at Kassie and Nisha who was on the other side. Nisha closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, like she was processing something she’d seen coming.

“It’s fine Cee, you held on long enough. I couldn’t even hold this long, granted my sanity was already fucked up long before.”

I frowned.

“I’m perfectly alright.”

Nisha flashed me a grin. “I believe you Cee.”

She said that but somehow I didn’t believe it.

’Why don’t I believe it?’ I asked myself. ’I really was joking. That was a joke. People joke.’

“Anyways…” Levi said and stood up. “We have no choice, we can’t trek another day without water. My throat feels like it’s burning already, my insides are twisting.”

I nodded.

“So we’re raiding them?”

Levi sighed. “There’ll be no need to if they comply.”

At that point Tristan and Nisha stared at the two of us.

And the two of us, surprisingly, said at the same time:

“What?”

“What?”

I paused and turned to look at Levi, freezing for a moment. In that moment, it actually felt like I just found the love of my life. I could almost hear a melodramatic piano progression playing underneath.

Until Levi looked at me with eyes that wanted to stab me.

“Are you judging me right now?”

I shook my head immediately.

’Goodness! Jesus No! God forbid! I don’t roll like that!’

No discrimination to people who did, but I was too addicted to breast, ass, and the slippery tunnel inside to roll this other way.

Tristan sighed and shook his head.

“No one is judging you, you’re just too insecure.”

Levi smacked his lips and scoffed. Then started to trudge forward. The rest of us followed immediately. As we scaled down the dune, Kassie asked me:

“Are you okay?”

I gave her a thumbs up with a small smile on my lips. Throughout this journey this wasn’t the first time she had done this. She always asked if I was okay, how I was holding on. The check-ins had become their own kind of rhythm, something to count on.

The descent to the town was a downward slope. So we really had to be careful as we scaled down so we didn’t end up rolling down to the city. More than that, we wanted to be at alert, or at the very least, I wanted to be.

’I wonder how Kassie always perceives these things quickly.’

I spread my enhanced hearing and seeing outward. I didn’t think it would amount to what Kassie was used to but I still wanted to try.

After all, this could be the belly of some Spirit Beast for all one knew.

We reached the small town and it was dry as it had seemed from afar. The windows were closed and the winds were carrying red sand drifting across the lower level of the town, almost every corner. The place in fact seemed deserted. Not a soul. Not a sound besides our footsteps and the low moan of the wind threading through empty streets.

But we continued to walk and then found a well with a roof. The roof was like a samurai’s hat, and there was a small wooden bucket to fetch water from the well.

We all ran towards the well and checked it before we decided to draw the water. And for the first time it was indeed clean water.

’Clean water!’

We found clean water!

We all took turns drinking, all of us except Kassie who stood behind us with her eyes narrowed.

After each taking turns to drink from the water, I took another bucket and poured it on myself from head to toe, feeling the cold smack my skin like a good bedtime kiss.

The sky was dark and it was a bit difficult to see the upper layer of the town, most especially because of how the town was positioned beneath the dunes.

I turned to Kassie after pouring water on my body two times. Then I said:

“Even though you might not need it, wouldn’t it be simply convenient to take some water?”

Kassie took about three seconds before she responded to me. And it wasn’t even a response to my question.

Her gaze sharpened more than it already was and she said:

“I think something is coming… it’s not a Spirit Beast… but it also doesn’t feel like good news.”

In that moment, a powerful pressure washed across the entire atmosphere of the town. It felt like the grim reaper had descended.

Everyone curled down, except Kassie who, as if spring was in her legs, shot off the ground and into the dark air.

’Goodness, I really am not going to get a break?’