Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 767: A Step Towards Godhood

Through the skin of their teeth, Raven and his companions held on against an innumerable amount of angels. They slaughtered the hideous and the radiant the same with nothing but their hands and their limited magic. At first, with great ease, they were able to repel the onslaught, but with an infinite number of enemies that kept raining down from the heavens, even gods could be stricken to their knees.

Sweat, blood, and scars began appearing everywhere on their bodies. While handling a few, and the others striking them with remaining weapons, the group was struggling. Already on their last foot, they neither had the time to set up a spell nor the mana to do anything massive. And so, even Erika, who could open a portal to hell, was left with nothing but to defend herself with astral arms and basic healing and water magic.

Mel and Aria were no different in the matter. For summoning their familiars and striking their enemies with their weapons was having no effect at all. An angel could only be defeated with a divine weapon, a devil’s power, or magic that too was granted to the mortal of Atlaris by the numerous fairy mothers. By their own strength, it was quickly becoming clear that they were no match.

Even the blunt punches and skull-shattering strikes from Raven’s darkness-enhanced body were having near to no effect on the angels. Had it not been for his fae powers, the group would’ve been overwhelmed already. And although he tried to summon the horrors that he had captured, the tear in dimension that he’d been through had disintegrated thanks to the white light that was meant to kill the general also affecting them, even inside of Raven’s body.

As his vision grew blurry with numerous angels trying to pin him to the ground, Raven thought just for a moment that it was all over. But then he felt something grabbing his leg, and as he looked down, it was none other than the killer with his skin burnt off. Looking up at him through puffed-up eyes, he wore a bloody smile and whispered.

"D-don’t die, and o-only I will go to hell today," his words as his hand fell were barely audible. But those very words made the hero think. Had he come so far to so easily give up? Or would he die tooth and nail before dying to some rotten god’s angels? The answer was simple, and although the ring didn’t work and neither did the jewel, Raven knew one thing that would—something as stubborn as that woman.

"USE THE DAMNED EARNINGS!!" Reinvigorating himself, he used every bit of strength in him to push the angels back. And then came darkness, for everyone did as they were told without questioning him.

Consuming every ounce of light around them, the earrings made from the scales of Libyan’s daughter sent the creatures of light scrambling. Not used to such darkness as the heavens were shimmering and golden, they began bumping into each other and only those who could see in the dark realized what was happening. Assuming each other as the enemy, the angels struck each other in a moment of hysteric frenzy.

It gave the mage the perfect time to try the one thing that he hadn’t, as fighting the angels was already overwhelming. Holding his hand forward, Raven looked through the darkness with ease and grabbed one of the angels whom he’d just shoved away.

"You’re gonna serve a new master, you mindless fucks!" And so, just as he’d captured the horrors and the animals before it to test his new ability, Raven consumed the angel’s body through his arm and quickly spit it out with a new, much darker form. "Now fight!"

Heeding his order, the now darkened angel screeched like a wild animal and lunged at its own allies. With its sharp claws and bird-like beak, it dug into the flesh of his allies but refrained from killing them completely. By now, even though the confusion of the angels was subsiding, Raven–using his speed–began touching the rattled angels and turning them against their own allies.

Seeing it all happen, Amedith and the others took a long and deep breath before forcing themselves to fight some more and help him enslave more and more angels. Though they seemed endless and countless, and any and all angels that had to be killed kept coming back to finish the fight, the heroes continued with dizzy heads and tired bodies until eventually, the numbers were on their side.

Night came, and the fight continued. The rings did not work, the earrings worked the same, and even though they had to get back and fight every so often, with greater numbers now, the party could get a few minutes’ rest every so often. Another day would pass, and then another, and eventually the portal would either close or the angels would stop coming through it. Either way, with Athenia far away and unable to see them, along with the desert even under them burning as glass, no help was coming, and so they had to burn their muscle and fat to keep themselves from succumbing.

And in the time that they spent being roasted above the molten glass, they realized what had happened with the killer. Though his effort may have saved numerous lives, none of them knew why he did what he did and how to feel towards that man’s sacrifice. He’d killed their spies and died on his own terms. How did he do that exactly? They had no clue, and in all honesty, Raven especially could not care any less at this point.

"He should’ve never been in this world to begin with," Amedith whispered, feeling somewhat conflicted because of his radiant nature.

"I guess he did pay for what he did. He paid with his life, but would that be enough penance for what he did?" Erika asked, unsure whether a man like him would end up in the heavens or the hells.

"Enough chatter, we need to get back and fight." Upon hearing that order, the party rose from the elevated platform, conjured by darkness, and returned to the fight. A fight that would last three more days, until the portal would close with one-third of the angelic army safely on the other end.