Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 901: The Undying Spirit Withers

Having left Moeria to force her consciousness into the clone of Mono’s body, Raven and Mono made for the castle. Once getting there, the hero was left in Grace’s care inside one of the smaller meeting halls. Sitting on one of the couches, Raven awaited the queen’s return from what she had said would be a quick change of clothes.

Meanwhile, keeping him company was Grace. Sitting across from him, she had her legs neatly pressed together and sipped on milk tea–something Raven and the rest had already had enough of, and thus she made no attempt to offer him another cup. While drinking the tea, however, she locked her gaze with the hero and couldn’t help but ask.

”What happened exactly? For once, Master Mono had been happy for a long time, but suddenly, after you came with that spirit, her spirit...withered?”

”I think we might’ve unintentionally picked at a few scars, but...” Shrugging his shoulders, he sighed. ”I didn’t think she would take it so seriously. Moeria also gave the impression that she was going to tell us more about her world, but she’s obviously hiding some things. That does concern me, but we do need her to learn more about Bellona and find a way to get to Nerva–.”

Stopping mid-sentence, Raven wondered if it was wise to reveal his plan to Grace or anyone in Elenaris, for that matter. What if Nerva was listening? On the ships, Athenia was working on keeping other gods from peering in, but even then, the party wasn’t sure if it worked on Nerva, so speaking his mind in a city without the same protection was absolutely out of the question.

’Nerva’s lair... Moeria, you’d better get us the location before someone reveals the plan to infiltrate that place.’ The prospect of getting to that goddess and finding Aurora, perhaps even the rest of his children, was far too important to be telling others about their plans and have it fall into Nerva’s ears. A very similar situation had already taken place after all. Back in Lululalia, Mercedes was playing both sides. Providing the rebels with weapons, but also warning the duke of their arrival. And if Nerva knew that they were coming, then, much like how if Mercedes’ plan was allowed to pass, the duke would’ve crushed the rebels, the goddess would crush them easily as well.

’Still, we will need to find a way to get her to leave her lair while we’re infiltrating.’ Deep in thought, Raven had forgotten about Grace’s question. However, having witnessed how much the hero had helped her master–emotionally and mentally–in all of her previous chaotic outbursts, the automaton believed that he meant her no harm. Whatever happened to Mono after Moeria’s visit must have been an unforeseeable consequence–at least to the hero.

”Sorry, it took a while,” the click of Mono’s heels snapped the two out of their minds. ”Aperion wasn’t too familiar with the new modules. I had to install them myself.”

Present in her ’Undying Spirit Model’, the queen took a seat beside Raven. Crossing her legs, she leaned back, her emotions now much more manageable thanks to the model’s ability to dampen certain human emotions that are seen as weaknesses. Alas, after the incident with the disabled automaton girl, the dampening effect wasn’t as effective. Even so, anything helped at the moment, and for now, that was more than what the queen could hope for.

”Will you leave us alone, Grace?” Throwing one hand over Raven’s shoulder, Mono turned her gaze to her servant. Raising an eyebrow at the strange behavior, it took a moment for the automaton to register her master’s orders. ”I need to talk to him alone.”

”As you say, Master Mono.” Staring at the queen all the way to the exit, Grace wore a grimace, already knowing that Mono was about to do something stupid.

Left alone with the iron queen sitting right next to him, even Raven felt a bit strange. And looking at her, he noticed that she was staring at him already–her eyes void of emotions, and yet a hint of something awkward lingering behind her gaze.

”I hate you for bringing that woman over,” Mono’s lips curved downwards, and her grip on Raven’s shoulder grew firm. ”I don’t care what she can tell me about my parents’ world. I will go there and see everything for myself. What did interest me was the reason behind my abandonment, and what the hell was so important that they left me, that woman couldn’t tell. What was the point of this whole ordeal in the end?”

Staring back into her glaring eyes, Raven was at a loss for words. Mono was acting even stranger than usual, especially given the proximity between them.

”I...” Cursing under her breath, the queen heaved a sigh. ”You don’t know who your parents are, so maybe it’s hard for you to understand. But, despite what they did to me, I thought I could learn more about them–get closer to them in some way. Fuck hell, why can’t I just hate those two?”

Cursing out loud at this point, she pulled her hand away from him. With two warring sides in her mind, Mono wasn’t sure whether she loved her parents still or if her obsession with knowledge was the only reason she was bearing with thoughts about them.

”Gods damned Aurora–” Lifting her head, she looked at Raven again. ”My master–the person they handed me over to, not June’s daughter. She was a backstabbing monster. I never told you, I guess, but when I came back alive, she was hiding in my laboratory and was preparing to take over Elenaris with the swarm of Automatons everywhere.”

It was the very first time that Raven was made aware of Aurora’s presence–in his mind, however, the person was someone else entirely.

”Amelia’s sister?” Shaking her head, Mono corrected.

”That girl you knew? She was just one part of Aurora’s plan. Whether she was her or not, I highly doubt it. Somewhere along the lines, I’m sure my master had taken over the real Aurora’s body, or perhaps it happened before Victor adopted her, hence the same name.” Although still confused about the jumble of names and personalities, Raven allowed Mono to continue. ”In any case, I killed her. She was going to reap the fruits of my labor and rule as a queen. But you saved me by pushing Avarice to the limit and activating protocol Mono. Otherwise, I highly doubt that either of us would be here.”

Waving her hand about, she leaned back on the couch and added.

”Then there was how you saved me from myself and the twin from another world.” Leaning her head back, she stared at the ceiling. ”But I guess it’s time to move on from the past. Forget about what happened with my parents and why they did what they did.”

Stretching her hand towards the ceiling, she wore a faint smile.

”Although this weapon that can kill gods, I will need more information once the spirit woman can tell me more. Could be useful in the war. For both killing them and keeping them from betraying us.”

As she lowered her head and looked at Raven, she found the hero deep in thought. Such a weapon as the one Mono’s parents were secretly creating could be useful against both Nerva and Bellona. To discard the possibility of getting one’s hand on it in such a volatile situation would be foolish, but then again... what if someone else gets their hands on it?

’We need either Bellona or this weapon to kill Nerva. Athenia might be strong, but even with the help of Elenaria, killing an elder god won’t be easy.’ Contemplating his choices, Raven remained quiet for quite a while. That is, until he felt a gentle hand on his thighs and turned his head to the side.

To his surprise, Mono quickly leaned closer to him and locked their lips in an unexpected kiss. Her tongue remained sheathed, but the touch of her false flesh felt cold and spread throughout his mouth like a lick of sweet ice cream. As their lips parted, Mono pulled away. Covering her mouth, she kept staring at him.

”I thought kisses were meant to be warm?” She whispered.

”W-where did that come from?” He asked, visibly bewildered.

Removing her hand from her mouth, the queen’s lips parted to speak, but for a few seconds, not a single word came out.

”I’ve always heard how intimacy can help clear your head. Make you feel good in a bad situation,” wiping her lips with her thumb, she stretched her arms forward, and in a flash her clothes soaked back into her bare, pale skin. ”Help me forget what happened, just once. It won’t mean anything...”

As beautiful as the undying spirit Model was, Raven couldn’t even for a moment think of agreeing with Mono’s request. In his eyes, she was one of his most loyal friends, and to take advantage of her when she was in a vulnerable state would forever taint their friendship.

”Mono...” Narrowing his eyes, he stared at her. ”You’re looking for an escape. Trust me, you will feel like a ship when we’re done.”

”Just...” Shaking her head, she reached down her belly to show him the reproductive compartment–the attachment aperion wasn’t familiar with installing, and she had to install it herself. ”Just once, Raven? I...I hate getting touched like this, but–”

A foul feeling took over the queen, and she dropped her arms to the side again. Her clothes returned in a flash before she covered her face in shame.

”What the fuck was I thinking?”

Placing a hand on her shoulder, Raven gave her a comforting squeeze.

”We all have our demons, Mono. Mine is the fact that I might be a witch’s son and that the monster inside me has tried to kill my friends. Then there’s my crackled soul with Nightsilver sitting there. The weight of thousands of soldiers and more than what I can tell you in a single breath,” swallowing the weight of his burdens, Raven looked into Mono’s eyes and added. ”But we don’t have to bear that burden alone. Even when I tried to kill my companions, they forgave me; compared to that, what you’ve done is nothing.”

Scoffing into a laugh, Mono heaved a sigh of relief. Then, as her gaze turned away from the hero, she whispered one last thing.

”Thanks. And that was your one and only chance to sleep with me, so don’t ever bring it up again.” Sharing a brief moment of quiet laughter, the two spent some more time together in each other’s company. Discussing their next steps and what Mono aimed to do once this war is over.

Her biological body was already ready, given that she could now age them up in an instant. However, leaving now when the world was on the brink of collapse, this conversation with Raven today had convinced her to stay until she’d secured a home to return to once her tour of Gaia was over.