Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 973: Manifestation Of Hatred

The link between worlds was as thin as a needle, and the flow of rampant souls trying to cross it to get to the other Athenia had packed it beyond control. Like a clogged vein, it was stretched and bulbous, hindering Nerva from jumping back to her world in a swift, even motion. And while her limbs stretched and her powers ran thin, she formed before the startled group as they were just about to leave with the faeries.

"AS IF YOU’LL LEAVE!" A colossal hand formed of pure corrosive corruption axed down onto the group.

Closing their eyes, they braced for the blow–only for it to never come. Upon opening their eyes, everyone watched a dainty little fairy with short brown hair and two horns holding up the colossal hand, shooting darts of lightning everywhere.

"GAHHHH!!" Pushing the hand back, Beasteria–the mother of beasts–growled a primal growl. "HWAAAHHH!!"

"YOU INSOLENT LITTLE THING!" With more than half of her still in recovery, Nerva felt sluggish in motion and power. Yet swinging her other hand sideways, she tried to wipe the group out again.

Taking the brunt of the force head-on with her gauntlets, Aria pushed against the sweeping hand. The ground of bones under her feet shifted to the goddess’s efforts, still pressing her entire body against it; the elf continued to struggle.

"NOW WOULD BE A GREAT TIME TO GET US OUT OF HERE!" She screamed, speaking to the mothers.

"This might take a minute," emerging out of Raven’s ears and hair, the other fae mothers had taken the forms of tiny fairies. "Keep her distracted, and we’ll be out in a few minutes."

"A few minutes?" Lifting himself up, the hero conjured a heavy shield out of pure darkness. Holding it in front of him, he charged at the hand with as much force and speed as his body could muster in this dreamy nightmare. "Sure! Another day, another god, nothing to it!"

As his body hit Nerva’s arm, Raven changed the shield’s flat surface into fine needle-like spikes that stabbed her arm. Digging deep into the ethereal flesh, the needles began to expand like balloons, swelling the corrupted hand from within. Though it didn’t ’hurt’ Nerva, she could no longer use it. Thus, disarming the hand was the best, and instead, she balled up her returned power into a smaller body. Her own body, at last, albeit a fraction of what she was at full strength.

"Defy me all you wish, but this world, it owes me!" Stepping forward, Nerva flicked her wrist, revealing a glowing blue dagger pinched within her fingers. "It owes me its service! It owes me its faith! It owes me its soul! It owes me for bringing it into existence! It owes me for killing me! AND IT OWES ME EVERYTHING!!"

"It owes you shit!" Breezing past Raven, Aria leapt into the air and clubbed her fists towards Nerva’s head.

"Pest." With a single hand held over her, Nerva blocked Aria’s blow. "Get back before I kill you."

Grabbing her wrist, the goddess caught her off guard and swung her body back towards the group. Catching her in her trajectory, Raven quickly helped Aria back on her feet while his eyes refused to leave his soul mother.

"Not gonna kill her? What the hell is your plan then, you old witch?"

Squeezing the blade in her hand, she twisted and turned her wrist with a stiff expression. Through gritted teeth, she grunted out loud, and finally, as her lips parted, she said...

"Get the fuck out of here. I need you at the end of the world." Moving the blade toward her chest, she pushed it within herself. Disappearing into her body, the glow of the blade remained for a moment, lingering at her chest. "You may think that you have checkmated me, but have faith, you’ve yet to see what is right before you."

Wiping the anger with a smirk, she opened her eyes and pointed a finger at Raven.

"Care for a prophecy?"

"Whatever."

"Ha~ Well, you still have no idea who you are, my son. Nobody does; they just think that they know who you are, that they know ’you’ at all."

"More rambling." Glancing back at the faeries behind him, Raven spoke with urgency. "How much longer?!"

The faes ignored him. Their hands were locked, and their eyes closed as they moved around in a circle, chanting something. A dim rune circle glowed beneath, flickering like a faulty bulb.

"This insult you’ve brought me is nothing to the monolith of my patience. Many a thousand years, son. And I’m ready to wait a few years more. Because at the end of the world..." Smiling ear to ear, Nerva disappeared and appeared right in front of Raven. Looking into his eyes, she caressed his face within a gentle grip. "You’ll find the truth about what you are~."

"She’s spouting nonsense again! Don’t listen to her!" Amedith screamed from the back, readying another spell.

Erika swooped right in, and the others drew closer to the goddess, fully intent on driving her away, but before magic or fist could land on her, she asked a perplexing question.

"That cave? The minotaur one; were you all really ever there?" Patting Raven’s chest, she took a step back. "I know he wasn’t. But were you? Were you there? Were you really the sort of cowards to not even look for the body of a dead companion? My battle is with the gods; I would choke Athenia here and now if I could, but I’d be damned if I kill you now and coincidentally our paths both lead to the end of the world."

"What the fuck is she talking about?" Mel cursed, not really sure what Nerva was trying to insinuate.

The others were just as confused, even Raven, but he snapped out of his stupor with Nerva just inches away. He felt the magic circle behind him crackling with power, and with his gaze set on the witch, he swung his fist right at her face.

"Now get out of he–" Still not fully recovered, Nerva felt Raven’s fist smashing into her skull–flinging her a few feet away. Pain shot through her head as the group quickly rushed for the magic circle, and by the time she lifted herself off the ground, Raven was standing in the light of the fae mother’s spell. "I forgive you, Raven. You do not know what you’re doing. But the gods and countless others will pay for what you’ve done today."

The hero clicked his tongue at her words. He wanted her to hate him just as much as he hated her, but there was a motherly longing in her gaze that refused to budge even as she threatened him with retaliation.

"Rot here."

And with that, the light consumed their spirits–forcing them right back to reality.