Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 992: Step-By-Step - Part 1

Shadows of the iron ships shaded the city of Aurum like a fleet of dark clouds threatening a downpour. At a loss and worried, the soldiers and their families rushed out of their homes with their heads tilted upwards. Their trembling gaze followed the flying vessels, unsure whether it was a ship or a mirage or perhaps something worse–something like a dragon but with more Gollum-like properties to it.

Their worries, however, were proved unfounded when Brein’s underlings cleared the streets and waved at the ships with massive flags to follow them. Guiding the vessels to the other end of the city, they finally made them descend on the open plains, though numerous soldiers and even Raven and his close companions had descended from the ship long before.

"What a world..." Brein sighed, seeing the hero’s group approaching him.

Gallaria was the first to catch his attention, and next was Evangeline as her angelic radiance was hard to miss. Linkle too drew some attention as he’d heard of the comic sorceress who’d been abandoned by her people. Daruis and Aelin, in comparison, felt tame even though the woman was a succubus wearing a conflictingly modest outfit given her race.

’The frost dragon and the demi-fox might be the most normal out of this bunch.’ Having seen Choux and Daema before, Brein paid them no heed and instead extended a hand as Raven approached him.

"Everyone’s waiting for you back at the Consulate. We have a lot to discuss before the departure of our joint forces, so please allow me the honor to be your guide, hero and companions."

Taking his hand, Raven nodded. Holding firmly for a few seconds, the two pulled their hands away at the same time, and then Brein turned around to guide the group to the back of the consulate building. Everyone else was ordered to remain by the city’s boundaries, keeping a stern watch for enemies.

Meanwhile, back at the consulate, Helga was directing the soldiers to file into ranks and get back into the flow of their duties. Amedith, Mel, and Aria were testing their joints and keenness at battle by sparring in the barracks, and Erika was busy listening to the numerous worries of the Aurum soldiers who would soon join their group in the upcoming battles.

Amidst all of this, someone was missing. Someone who wasn’t as important to the coming wars, but was important nonetheless. Perched up high, the dragonesses and Charlotte had their eyes pinned on Helga. Mino, Maine, and even Arche, who’d grown even larger than before, were all planning something that nobody else could’ve expected.

Arche, however, was often distracted by the sight of Raven and his group walking towards the consulate from afar. A few of her eyes remained stuck on him while the others kept staring down at the clutter of soldiers right under her arm’s shade.

"Like ants..." She whispered, scratching the inside of her mouth with the help of the countless spiders hosted within herself.

"Are you sure that you wanna do this?" Mino asked, placing a hand on Tatiyana and Stella’s shoulders.

"I’m sure!" Stella exclaimed.

"I’m not," Tatiyana added.

Both girls had clashing feelings towards the plan, but one thing was clear–they both wanted it to work even if only one of them was willing to go ahead with no reservations felt at all. Taking note of their feelings, Mino finally closed her eyes and used her magic to conjure up clones of the dragon girls near the entrance to the barracks.

Controlling the apparitions with her mind, she made them walk towards the sparring grounds. A few eyebrows were instantly raised the moment the girls stepped in. Erika, Amedith, and the elven sisters instantly saw through the mirage but decided not to say anything. Instead, glancing up at the dome of the consulate, they wondered.

’What is she doing?’ But of course, they received no answers. Instead, their confusion grew further when one of the girls began screaming. A spine-chilling shrill froze the very air inside the barracks. The soldiers, the hero’s aid as well as the priests and priestesses all turned to the sound and watched in horror as Stella was leaning over Tatiyana’s shoulders with a deep wound bleeding from the right side of her belly.

Covering it with her hand, Stella was barely stopping herself from spilling her guts.

"M-mom..." Helga had already heard her daughter’s scream, yet she remained the only one who hadn’t turned to the voice. Petrified by the pain in her girl’s tempo, she stared at the emptiness before her as her heart drummed in her ears. Hesitant and afraid, she hoped that this was a dream and slowly began turning, and the moment her eyes met those of her daughters, her mind went blank with air trapped tight in her chest.

"W-what happened? Andre, I’m–" As her hands reached towards them from afar, a whistling sound from above caught everyone’s attention. Yet stuck in a moment of shock, all Helga could do was finish her sentence. "I’m sorry."

"HAAA!!! TAKE THIS!!" Charlotte’s scream echoed throughout the barracks, and as her hammer hit Helga’s head, the valkyrie’s body was pinned to the ground with none of her magical defenses working against the weapon of the stars.

Shielding their eyes from the dust that had blown up into the air, everyone was at a loss for words, and the confusion in the place grew tenfold. Laughter erupted from the very middle of the dust clouds, only to be cleared up when a pair of flapping wings came down from above. Tatiyana and Stella were both overwhelmed by what they saw. Planning the ordeal was one thing, and seeing it happen was another.

Thus, rushing their mom, they set their foot down into the barracks. Their hearts raced with anxiety while Helga remained lying under Charlotte’s hammer. When the duchess finally lifted her hammer, however, the valkyrie slowly lifted her body, and instead of Charlotte she looked in front of her at the approaching figures of her daughters.

Caught in her throat, her heart kept pounding like a drum. The injury was nowhere to be found, but instead of anger, she sighed in relief and turned away from both of her girls.

"W-what happened?" She whimpered, her hands covering her face as well as the tears behind them.

"M-mom..." The girls muttered, guilty of betrayal; neither they nor Helga could speak another word.

Their standstill, however, didn’t last long as Raven was finally here. Helga decided to take an hour to herself before showing her face to anyone. The deal was done, but the cost felt heavy even though the Valkyrie remained mostly injured. What comes of the deranged ordeal remains to be seen, perhaps sooner rather than later.