Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 442 No Time, This Time

Three seconds, he was late three seconds more than he intended to. Washing up in his bucket at the shore, Razor looked at his stopwatch. Three seconds late, another enigma added to the current timeline. However, caring neither way he lifted his head and began marching forward to find a place to dine in.

ʼThose guys can probably wait a bit, must be busy taking care of the possessed Lamia anyways.ʼ

With those thoughts, he headed for the inn–but upon arrival, he was quickly reminded why that wasnʼt a good idea. Destroyed beyond recognition the booty and barrels was a shambling mess, and the food inside had either rotten or rotting just like the corpses left inside the building.

Even so, instead of moving on to an eatery, he wandered through the ruins, going around and kicking corpses for a pulse. Already informed of their demise, however, he wasnʼt really trying to check if they were alive, but rather if any of them had enough time to make a deal with some devil. When none moved, Razor gathered their corpses inside a single room and set them ablaze.

Picking from the air a not-so-neatly rolled cigarette, he lit it from the burning pile of corpses before taking a step back and just watching the smoke rolling out from the shambling corridor. Breathing smoke and letting it out, Razor reminisced over his soldier days. Serving a god as fodder, as a vanguard expected to die when the first arrow was sent his way, were far from pleasant memories, but ending Chronos by his hands and eating his heart away in the end, made it all worth it.

”That reminds me…” Pulling the stopwatch out of his jacket, he looked at the chronograph that reflected the current time. ”They should be done by now, I should get moving.”

Placing the watch back into his jacket and then taking a deep hit of the cigarette, Razor started to move once again. However, while passing through the torn rooms, he couldnʼt help but wonder about the fox-girl.

ʼI wonder how these guys will fare against her as a party.ʼ

His hand resting on a piece of torn wood from the shot of the rifle, Razor closed his eyes and let the homely feeling wash all over him. The mana, the working of the weapon, there were no craftsmen capable of such a powerful weapon as in his homeland.

ʼMalice…I donʼt think they used Malice in their weapons though.ʼ

An elevated form of corruption, Malice–full of hatred and the desire to devastate, only the worst of horrors were capable of welding such strength and many of them keepers and the demon lordʼs general. Granted to them by their lord, these monsters were more than capable of destroying Alatris themselves, had it not been for the gods getting in their way.

To the fortune of most kingdoms, only Razorʼs homeland had to deal with these monsters as their kingdom sat at the core of what was spreading corruption like cancer through the rest of the world. But there was one, one monster that troubled the timekeeper thankfully, however, Raven had tamed her far before she could realize her devastating power.

ʼKeep it a secret, will you observer?ʼ

Aware of the watchful eyes of many, even dead gods like Murdok who was recording every possible eventuality across numerous timelines, he urged them to keep their mouths hushed, for he was the one burdened with great responsibility.

”Now then, time to warn the heroes about the Aranuvian fleets,” he whispered to himself and left the building to meet with the others.

On his way, he decided to buy a handful of snacks from the few places that did sell them on the island. Mostly dried lamb jerky and yogurt-dipped gooseberries were the snack most common on the island–something Razor wasnʼt exactly too thrilled about since as much as he liked boredom and not eating when he did decide to do so, he loved to feast instead of surviving on whatever scraps he could get his hands on.

”Maybe that inn back at Elanaris wasnʼt so bad, after all,” he said to himself and continued walking all the way to the other side of the island.

And by the time he arrived, everyone had retreated inside the church and left the camp vacant. Afraid that Libyan might try to possess Maine again, Erika had advised the group to remain inside the place of worship no matter what happens for at least a few days. But as Razor walked up to the shut door, things were surely about to change.

Knocking on the door he waited patiently until Raven opened the door but only after peeking from a small gap in between the doors did he invite Razor inside. Seeing him again, Liliyana and Amedith quickly walked over to him. Left in Erikaʼs care, Maine was still fast asleep and mumbling, which kept the rest frozen in place even though they wanted to move as well.

”You again…” Her eyes beamed happily yet her eyebrows squinted in confusion, Liliyana stared at Razor. ”How do you always find us?”

”Well, I saw a massive spider in the ocean and guessed as much,” answering with a smile, he moved closer to Liliyana and placed his hand on her head. Brushing her hair for a moment, he noticed Amedithʼs jealous gaze before pulling his hand away. ”Anyways, Iʼm glad youʼre doing okay. The last thing I want is for any harm to come to you or any of you, real–”

Hearing a sudden click from his stopwatch, Razorʼs eyes widened and his words were cut short. Quickly turning his head to Raven, he reached into his pocket and brought the stopwatch out of it.

”Enough talk, you guys need to leave this island,” his words made little sense, yet the sense of urgency in his eyes instantly had everyone on edge. ”I wonʼt be staying here too long, so I canʼt help you more than warning you.”

Clicking the stopwatch, he stepped closer to the groupʼs leader. Looking him in the eye, Razor took a deep breath and said sternly.

”You have to leave for Elanavia and inform the queen about the Aranuvian fleets arriving on this island. You have two weeks to secure this island for your goddess before itʼs pulverized by the witch hunter.”