Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 871: She Sunders For The Warmth Of Her Children

The weapon left in her care, the weapon usurped from the goddess of war and granted to her for safekeeping, had finally been hurled, and so it shall begin. The holy war... No longer confined to the heavens, the gods themselves could grace the soil of their world. No rules needed breaking for the moment, Gungnir had split the air–Helga had signed the warrant of death and tyranny at the hands of those very gods whom she despised.

”Oh, how easily you’ve aided me, Valkyrie...” Another chuckle from Nerva cut through the tension lingering in the air. Throwing the spear at her feet, she kept smiling at the barbarian woman. ”With those imbeciles at hand ruling this world, this world shall truly fall into tyranny, and finally I shall lay claim to its eventual death!”

Helga’s eyes fell to the spear by Nerva’s feet. Panting heavily, her vision turned into two, and as the weight of her actions descended on her, she fell face-first against the ground and lost all strength in her body.

”MOM?!” Her daughters lunged right at her, but it was too late. The valkyrie had fallen unconscious, and the anxiety had caused her a heart attack. Causing her mouth to foam up, she choked on her own fluids for a moment until Erika and a handful of others rushed to her rescue.

”What did you do?!” Worried about some charm, Raven threw caution to the wind and grabbed Nerva’s arm from behind. Jerking her to force her to look back at him, he screamed through gritted teeth. ”I swear if you did something to her, I will find a way to end you!”

”How naive, my son.” Her fingers tenderly tried to reach his face again, but this time, instead of slapping it away himself, Raven grabbed her hand with a conjured arm of darkness. Scoffing at the response, Nerva looked him in the eyes again. ”She had started a war, and now the gods can descend on this world at any given moment. Lay claim to their enemy’s territory as they see fit, and you are hassling me? Well, no matter... you too shall return to my embrace soon enough.”

”What is it that you want here?! Why are you here?!” Jerking her hands away, Raven took a step and, quickly glancing at his group, gestured to them to handle Helga and the rest of the startled crowd.

The sudden stomp of her heels shattered the moment once more. All eyes turned to her, but this time, unlike the many others, she was no longer smiling. In place of a smile was a dulled look, tired of the constant questioning.

”Why am I here?” Turning around to the crowd, she snapped her fingers and in a flash the eyes of the public were flooded with an outpour of slimy corruption. Screams and howls instantly took over; however, with only but a look, she ordered her children to cover their mouths. ”First to reunite with my son, and the other to take a souvenir that has overstayed its welcome amongst your companions.”

Turning gaze to the quivering mother hiding behind her husband, Nerva’s lips curved into the faintest of smiles. Stretching her arm forward while the rest gasped at her actions, the goddess drew a deep breath and declared.

”You can try to kill me. But let me remind you that I’m already dead,” beckoning June to close the distance, she glanced sideways at Raven. ”Even if you do find a way to get rid of me, the very soil you stand on will crumble, the very air you breathe will turn to poison, and the very flesh and blood in your body will degrade into nothing. I am this world, my sweet boy–you cannot push me away nor defeat me without destroying all that you love and Atlaris with it.”

Each word from her mouth was poison. Nothing but the grim reality with which the hero had to wrestle. A goddess whose very body made up their world, and the dreams of which were the blessing and the niceties, how could one get rid of her without getting rid of themselves? There was no way for the hero to kill her or subdue her, even, and even as June was forced to march forward with her daughter in hand, nobody could utter a word as their very lips were sealed by their own hands or the tense arms of circumstance.

”Give me the demon child, and I will be on my way,” shifting her attention back to June, Nerva’s expression dropped completely. Her eyes narrowed, and there was a fierceness in her look–even so, as the little girl Aurora came into view, she couldn’t help but smile once more. ”Ohhh~ By the Creator’s quill, she is positively divine.”

”D-don’t do this!” June begged as her legs carried her closer to the monster on their own. Hugging her daughter tight, she tried to keep her close to her chest, and though Aradin was trying to move from the spot where he’d been frozen in, not a muscle in his body would listen. ”D-don’t take my daughter from me, please...”

As soon as June stood at the foot of the stage, Nerva lowered herself to her knees and caressed the woman’s face. For a moment, June thought that her prayers had been answered, but the next thing she knew, Nerva had snatched her daughter from her arms. Asleep already, the little girl cooed in the world mother’s arms. Patting her back lightly, the goddess whistled and hummed while standing back up.

Her eyes downcast at the crying mother, Nerva pressed a finger to her lips and whispered.

”You can’t handle a separation so brief, and I am expected to stay quiet for eternity? What sin have I committed in the eyes of the dawns and that of the night, that I shall remain separate from my children and never reunite?” Squeezing her fist on the side, she grumbled in a low tone. ”I will reunite with my sons, my daughters, and you will bear the separation for a while longer as I have for aeons.”

With the wave of her hand, June was sent back to her seat. Already seated with no memory of walking back. Time had bent to the goddess’s will, and although Razor was present, with the spear cast, any attempts by him to stop her would be a declaration of war.

”Now then,” looking at Raven yet again, Nerva cradled the child in her arms. ”Since you’ve resisted the temptations so far, I shall raise this girl to take your place at the end of the world. She will suit fine as the last demon lord; her potential is infinite.”

Scanning the hero’s body up and down before landing her gaze back on his raging contour, Nerva twisted her violet lips sideways.

”Nightsilver’s soul has had a greater effect on you than I expected.” Staring into his eyes, she added. ”I suppose I should’ve added more of my own when I made you in that cradle. Raven, my son–and the salvation of these people at last.”

Raven’s heart seized at the goddess’s words, and so did that of everyone who’d heard her. Her son, her child, her soul, and the part of him that belonged to Nightsilver, what did she mean by it all? Before anyone could ask, another agent of chaos decided to descend onto the world.