Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 631: A God And A Mortal

A new tenant has moved into Mansion ʼPhordite, and so has his supposed lover alongside him. One a mortal of immeasurable power and the other an immortal with near about the same. And yet as they sat across each other under the gazebo, none of it mattered for their strength was but a curse that had made their lives hell.

Yet now, as the prince sat in his chair with a gentle smile, Elana couldnʼt help but watch with a momentʼs flutter in her heart. The strings of his harp echoed in the quiet, its melody as smooth as butter and as sweet as honey. Even so, pulling herself out of the enthralled state of mind, she wiped the smile off of her face and demanded an answer off of the man.

”Again, why did you choose me out of all the people in this world?” She asked, a flicker of curiosity apparent in her gaze.

”Hmm?” Lifting his gaze, the prince matched Elanaʼs with a smile. Then, holding his hand forward, he took her hand in his and said in a whisper. ”The same reason you keep asking me that question, because you deserve to be loved, even though you feel as if you donʼt deserve it at all.”

”What does that even mean?”

”Youʼll know in time…” To be treated as a person and not as some spectral monstrosity was a first for Elana, especially after that long year spent wandering aimlessly around the world only to be rejected by the rest of society.

Their little picnic, however, didnʼt last long. As soon as Raven was finished talking with Erika, he tracked the prince down. Walking up to the gazebo with the elves walking behind him, he pulled himself a chair and sat down between the two.

”Donʼt mean to interrupt, but we need you to tell us everything that you know about what lies ahead of the desert.” Resting his instrument upon hearing him, the prince hummed to himself as if deep in thought and trying to remember everything. Once he was done, however, he didnʼt tell verbally what was beyond the desert, but rather offered Raven a hand–knowing full well that he could simply peer through his memory to get this done as quickly as possible.

”Are you sure? I donʼt think I should probe directly through the memories of a god,” Raven enquired, not exactly sure what to make of the offer.

ʼDo it, I want to see whether heʼs truly what he portrays himself to be.ʼ Atheniaʼs voice echoed in his head, and at the same time, the prince gave him the nod.

”Alright, just keep your eyes closed and try to focus on your memories…” Taking his hand while the others watched, Raven took a moment to prepare himself before plunging into the princeʼs mind as soon as his mind was focused.

A blinding light masked by an aurora covered his vision for a good while, so much so that even when a memory came into view, the afterimage of the light remained flashing before Ravenʼs eyes. Focusing further, however, he managed to see another walled city with dark brambles climbing up its stone walls. Then came a forest abundant in the same dark brambles with the croaking sound of something confined deep within its vines.

”What is there?” He asked, and the god showed him.

A face came into Ravenʼs view, a face of a weathered man, old and decrepit. A long white bear and a long scar running down where his right eye shouldʼve been. His body was clad in armor made of bones, and the rest of his equipment was burning with a silver flame. A general at last–not a lesser nor some deceptive keeper. In the flesh, he sat waiting on his throne of bones, and as if peering back through the godʼs memory, he whispered to Raven.

”Iʼve been waiting, hero…” His words repelled Ravenʼs psyche outwards, but as he was almost pushed out of the godʼs mind, Raven barely held on and quickly searched through the godʼs mind to find his intentions.

To his surprise, the god welcomed his enquiry, and what he saw was more than enough to convince the warlord.

ʼLike Shamisha, heʼs tired of his crushing responsibilities and wants to rest.ʼ A strange reason, or so he thought, but having seen Shamisha and how much better sheʼs been doing since she gave up on trying to outdo her master, Raven assumed that it was for the best for the god to do as he pleased as long as his actions donʼt deter them.

”Quite the flurry of thought you have brewing in there,” Raven said, pulling his hand away from the prince.

”Doesnʼt everyone? We all have our demons after all.”

Clicking his tongue, Raven felt somewhat annoyed by how right the prince was. However, quickly shaking the annoyance off, he turned to Elana and said with a nod.

”Keep an eye on him still, alright? And if you donʼt wanna do this anymore, you donʼt have to, just like we promised.” Nodding back, Elana agreed once more to be a potential lover to the prince as well as his babysitter for the time being.

Taking his leave with those words, Raven began working on tightening the cityʼs security even more. Once that was done, he hoped to move on and renegotiate with Mono, after which it was up to Monty to explore the cities and towns up ahead and report back to the party. In the meantime, there was still much to do, but for now, after coming home after so long, Raven wanted nothing more than to meet with everyone that he hadnʼt had a chance to while he was gone.

Thus began the preparations of a banquet, one open to the soldiers who were denied the celebration due to the intruderʼs meddling. There, he hoped to meet with Moxy, Reina, Darius and his wife Aerin, along with everyone whom he hadnʼt seen since the war began. Even those who lived in Elanaris and elsewhere were invited.