Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 797: Back In The Element

Encased within an invisible barrier that stretched from one side of the horizon to the other, Inktaus was a city born from a promise between two gods. Fortuna–the mistress of luck–and Mesmerazia, the goddess of commerce. Their alliance was a perfect balance, the test of luck and the promise of a golden future, and so, with a handshake and a promise, they ruled above their invisible garden as equals. However, the bonds between gods are often more fickle than their promises.

And this time, things were no different; on one hand, Fortuna had her own set of cards that she was more than ready to play, and on the other, Mesmerazia had already set her pieces. Through the hands of mortals, their wishes were to be carried out, and with the high priest of Mesmerazia’s church now murdered, it was only a matter of time before one goddess triumphed over the other.

But that time was still far from now, and the people of Inktaus continued with their regular lives. They had no clue that Justice Host had been murdered or that Garcia was missing as the prime suspect for said murder. Why exactly that was? Only the elects at the encasing tower could tell, but with no word from them, the people lived their lives, happily and with ignorance.

One such man was a traveller who’d just entered the city not too long ago. He’d been quite fascinated by the tower that was almost like a wall going around the entire city. Many holes in the tower itself were what allowed the streets to remain sunlit throughout the day, but at night, the darkness was so extreme that no amount of fire could help you see more than an inch.

A city encased within a pipe-like tower and at the same time protected on both ends by an invisible barrier. Worst of all, to go from one side to the other, one needed permission from the elects since the only exit not covered by the same invisible barrier was through the inside of the tower’s walls. Even the open top had the same barrier, except it was much more heavily guarded by soldiers.

The man had simply wanted to pass by, but unfortunately for him, nobody was ever allowed inside the tower unless they were elected to rule above the people. A vote must be cast, but the day until then was years from now on. Something he couldn’t wait for, and so he applied for the only other option that would let him into the tower. As an adventurer who has proven himself strong enough to venture forward and defeat stronger monsters, and drive them away from the invisible barrier.

Today, after a week of applying and filling out forms, he’d finally received a bronze badge as a token to symbolize his start. Sitting in his room above the adventurer’s guild, he stared at the metal piece and felt a strange draw towards it. So long it has been so long since he used to be a bronze adventurer. He almost missed those days had it not been for a greater calling. Simpler times and simple worries, hunting what he can and not always risking his life against something insane.

’Hmm...’ With a sigh, he put the badge away and got up. Turning to his company in the room, he stared at the nude form of the yawning woman. She seemed tired from working with him on a late-night assignment of collecting herbs, but that didn’t stop her from flashing a smile.

"Ha~ Sooo, what are we doing today?" She asked, right as the man put on his only glove.

As soon as it was in his hand, he turned his head towards her and stretched his other hand forward.

"Nowhere..." His words echoed in the silence as the two stared at each other. A peculiar acrid taste had taken over the room in a matter of a few seconds, and that smile on the woman’s face? It was quickly replaced by a toothy smirk.

"You’re smart, ahaha..." Her head twisted on her neck, and her skin stretched like a piece of cloth. Opening her mouth wider, she flashed her many pincer-like teeth and the very next moment, as the human skin came off, her body leapt towards the man.

Grabbing her in the nick of time, however, the man slammed her face against the wall. Her body quickly disappeared and reappeared right behind him, and although a few of her teeth were shattered, she swung her claw at him as if nothing had happened. Yet caught by a dark hand coming out of his back, the horror froze on the spot.

That moment of fear was just enough for the hero to spring countless spikes through his back and absorb all the corruption from the corrupted woman. As his spike retreated and the body fell on the ground, the unconscious woman mumbled something to herself. She was alive thanks to him, and that monster that was slowly consuming her soul to become a keeper of its own was absorbed by Raven.

’One done.’ Turning around, he got on his knees and picked her up. ’Yet there are thousands of them here. And each of them is trying to become independent. We need to act fast and find the source of this problem.’

In the few days that Raven had spent in the walled city, he’d run into more horrors than he’d ever encountered in any corrupted forest. But the worst part of it was the fact that they were acting like people, and if he were to attack them, everyone who was still human in this city would be up in arms against him.

And although he could easily win, a few innocent lives would be lost at the very least.

"I have to head out to meet with the others." Placing the woman on the bed, Raven stood before the unconscious woman. "You probably won’t remember what happened to you; it’s best for me not to stick around anyway."

Making sure that the woman was okay with one last touch to sense any leftover corruption, Raven quickly wore a shapeshifter’s mask and made his way out of the guild as just another rookie adventurer. Even then, traces of his name could be heard all throughout the city; after all, killing a demon general as well as a demigod had earned them quite the reputation as a band of dangerous warmongers.

’These sheltered people...’ If only they knew what the world was like outside the tower, maybe then they would think differently, but until then, the party had decided to simply wear the mask and continue this game of pretend.