Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 900: A Clash Of Minds - Part 3

After the negotiations were over–and while Mono wasn’t yet convinced to part with her potential future body–the group transferred to Inktaus, more specifically, the underground facility where not even the iron queen had been allowed a visit before. The place was flooded with similar-looking researchers in white coats. Some kept an eye on the workings of the invisibility barrier while the others worked on other aspects of the city, like repairs and maintenance.

Fitted with vending machines, water heaters, even freezers, and a few other modern appliances that the now dead otherworlders had recreated in Atlaris, these clones, whether biological or otherwise, were meant to upkeep while also continuously reproducing to replace failing units. Many in the city of luck and commerce were the descendants of otherworlders from Gaia, and to everyone’s surprise, it wasn’t Moeria’s first time hearing about the place, as she’d heard of a fleet of otherworlders thinking about fleeing the war efforts and making this exact sort of city.

Albeit having died a physical death at the hands of the goddess of war, she never got to visit this place herself. But now that she was here, the faces all around felt somewhat familiar.

’Why can’t I remember? Is this unit’s memory short?’ Wondering if the radio her spirit had inhabited was failing in terms of memory, she tried to stare at the familiar faces of the clones, and yet nothing came to mind. ’Must be one of the people from Earth. I know I saw this face in Aphrodite’s domain.’

Alas, unable to remember, the spirit followed in everyone’s footsteps and was led further into the facility by Ditsy. Garcia had decided to show up as well, mostly due to her concern for the vampire’s safety in the presence of such volatile people. As for Mono, she’d carried the look of a silent banshee throughout the tour. Sour to the source and with not a lick of interest in what was happening.

Neither caring to learn more nor exactly thrilled to offer any further aid, she stood quietly by in the secret laboratory, much deeper into the elliptical ring forming the arch that turned the city invisible. Eyeing a small row of bright blue test tubes held high on a metallic platform, she narrowed her gaze at the embryos still in the initial state of development.

Much like Shamisha’s organic and non-organic parts, the table was connected to the test tubes with hollow-seeming glass pipes. Ever so often, they burned a bright blue flame, feeding energy into the tubes that would allow the embryos to grow. Mono’s clone, the Twin, used a similar technique to make her cyborg parts work with her human flesh, but unlike both her and Shamisha, Ditsy, with the help of knowledge passed onto Inktaus by their ancestors, had managed to create life instead of simply fusing it with metal.

”Currently, we have four embryos,” holding her hand towards the tubes, Ditsy turned around to face the crowd. Her body was blooming with a gentle blue glow–contrasting the red of her eyes. ”Every single one of them required donor cells. Queen Mono provided them herself, making these a perfect replica of her dna–and the most compatible with her soul.”

”But there are four, right? You’re not gonna use all four of them,” Moeria interjected.

”Unfortunately,” bringing everyone’s attention back to her with a fake cough, Ditsy continued. ”As you can see, these are embryos. They require years of nurturing before they can be used. Plus...”

Casting a glance at Mono, Ditsy closed her eyes and bowed her head a little.

”I’m sorry to say, but her affinity for Magic is quite low–biologically speaking.” As her gaze turned back to Moeria, the spirit had already taken a step forward. ”Even if they were much older, the most you could use while they acted as vessels for your soul is defensive magic. Offense, as I’ve been made aware, was never the queen’s forte while possessing a human vessel. I doubt that would change with these four replicas.”

Kicking herself off the wall, Mono started walking towards the group with her expression just as sour as before. Locking eyes with Moeria and the rest, she took a deep breath and exclaimed to them all.

”Not to mention, they are made from my dna. The last thing I want is some lesbian using my body to lie with another woman.” The queen’s lips contorted with disgust. Passing homosexuality was one thing, and she didn’t mind even if people practiced it in her kingdom, but for her own body, even if it was a replica, to be used for sexual misdeeds, was a little too much for her.

”How do you even–”

”Every time you look at Helga or Grace, I notice the sudden change in your expression. No need to hide it from me.” Cutting off Moeria before she could question how the queen knew about her sexuality, Mono expedited the conversation. ”It’s the same look Shamisha used to give you, Raven.”

With a sigh, Mono turned her attention to the hero instead.

”Before you two started dating, that is.”

An awkward silence followed her words, broken by the hero with not a request but rather an alternative solution to the whole thing.

”Have Shamisha replace the sex organs with an automaton chastity of sorts. No organs, no sex, should be an easy fix for her.” While the very thought of sex held little interest to the queen, she couldn’t help but stare at the whole ordeal. To invest someone else’s consciousness in her body... that too a lesbian woman.

”Tsk, one condition.” Shooting daggers through her eyes, she squinted at the spirit. ”You will not touch my body inappropriately. And once we’ve found you a replacement, you’re gonna get your consciousness out of my body and get the hell into the other.”

”If I may interrupt,” holding her hand up, Ditsy added. ”A soul contract should help seal the deal? No need to go through the parts replacement, which would take more precious time.”

”I don’t want her to see me naked!” The queen snapped right back, although noticing the shock on Ditsy, she quickly shook her head and washed away her frustration. ”Whatever, I will give you one of the bodies, and you can use it until we can find you something more appropriate.”

Slowly lifting her head again, Mono dropped her shoulders.

”Whether the lack of magic will impede you from using your skills or not, I have no clue. I don’t want this body for magic anyway, so that’s not a problem I need to solve. You deal with it, however, you please.”

”I will bring Asmodia here for that soul contract. She can probably also cast some illusory magic to prevent Moeria from seeing you naked, even when she’s not wearing any clothes, while in your clone.” Raven’s advice was just what Mono needed to hear, although her frustration about how little she’d learned about her parents was not yet over.

In fact, the whole ordeal had left a sour taste in her mouth. She knew a little more about them and that they served under Aphrodite, but why? And was it worth abandoning their daughter? Especially when from what she’d heard about her, Aphrodite was nothing more than an annoying slut sleeping with different men for control and power.

”Raven...” As much as she wanted the answers to those questions, however, there was something else that she needed to get off her chest. And for that... ”I need to talk to you in private. Come to my castle after we’re done here.”

Thus, with a promise to meet in her castle, Mono gave her approval to Moeria. With one of the embryos in her hand, the spirit coiled her hands around it and used one of the few time-based abilities that she could use without incurring the wrath of the god of time.

”Maipulation: Aging!” Borrowed from the goddess of life, Aphrodite, the ability to manipulate time, age, and body was a much weaker version of the curse that has kept Helga alive. Even seeing it at work was enraging for the valkyrie. However, with Aphrodite being dead already, there was little she could do but curse her internally.

Shattering out of the glass, the embryo quickly turned into an infant. Its cries filled the room, and with a twist felt on his shoulder, Raven was made to look away by the iron queen. In the next few seconds, the body turned into a teen and then a young adult. Seeing herself in her clone, even Mono was quite surprised by her appearance.

It was as if she were looking in the mirror after a long day at the manufacturing factory. Minus the grease and the lack of hair in intimate places, as she’d never cared to shave when she still had a biological body. Holding her hand towards her clone, still suspended in the air, the queen whispered a spell of conjuration, and a layer of silk fabric quickly covered her body.

An ability to conjure a web which she’d picked up from after Avarice. It was cloned from Nessa, the demi-spider princess of Elenaris and sister to Amelia. Quite surprised by her skills to weave a blanket from thin air, Moeria wondered what else Mono could do. Unbeknownst to her, the queen, having witnessed her skill to manipulate a person’s age, was now also capable of using it without breaking a sweat.

”Call Asmodia, let’s be done with this!” Mono commanded, and with her mood already foul, nobody wanted to challenge her anymore.

An hour at most, and the preparations would be done. Moeria would have invested herself in Mono’s body, and the queen would be off with Raven to her mansion. And in all of that...

’At least now I can age up the embryos and speed up my departure from this world.’ She’d grown slightly more bitter. A taste that would lead her down a strange path, something Raven would’ve expected but would be on the receiving end of...