The Innkeeper

Chapter 2425: The woman she had become I

The Midnight Inn had many allies, and even more who wished for an opportunity to ally with the Inn. Velma had kept a tight lid on the goals and intentions of the Inn, but she had purposefully let some information leak to the right people.

She understood better than most how information traveled. By telling the right people the correct news, she could pass long hidden messages without even the messengers knowing what exactly they were doing. As such, the Henali, Devils, Elves of the Origin realm as well as the Marzu of the Origin realm had all tacitly agreed to lend the Midnight Inn some aid when they took action.

Everything was discreet for now, and the forces moved were such that their displacement would not attract attention. In fact, many more forces were willing to help, but Velma had to turn them away because their movement would attract attention. The dragons of the Origin realm were a notable example of this.

The humans who had fled Earth and used one of the Minor realms within the Midnight Inn were also extremely motivated to help, especially because Z was so extremely popular among them. However, they were too weak to contribute directly, so they instead contributed in terms of resources.

While the Midnight Inn itself was not lacking for resources, the upper limit of the resources the realm could naturally produce was limited to the Earth Immortal realm. Yet they did not, for one moment, feel like they were limited in resources.

The Infinity Emporium practically threw themselves at Velma offering up to 90% discounts on certain items.

Never before was the fondness and love for the Inn felt so strongly by the workers, causing them to feel extremely touched.

Yet all of this had been taken care of before. Velma now was in a meeting with someone she wasn’t sure how to respond to.

"You do not need to be concerned. At most, I would merely lose this mirror if something unexpected were to happen. No actual harm would come to my body," said Moon from within the reflection in the Dreamy mirror.

Velma did not respond, however, as she considered the situation from various angles.

"If you’re worried about me being an inconvenience to your soldiers, I have already proven that the aid I can provide more than makes up for any inconvenience carrying the mirror causes. The things I can do, no other cultivator can do."

The more that Moon spoke, the more troubled that Velma felt. In truth, she was no longer as ignorant as she once was. A single glance was enough for her to understand that there was something incredibly special about Moon - far more than even Lex’s other sister, Liz, who had bonded with a Sovereign.

The breadth of her abilities was so vast that no matter what explanation Velma came up with, she could not pinpoint exactly what the source or origin was. Thus, she also felt that bringing her out was a much greater risk.

Even if it was just through a mirror, bringing Moon out left the chance of exposing her existence and abilities. If even Z could be kidnapped from within the Inn, then Moon was no safer. Hiding her and keeping her out of view was the best way to keep her safe.

Thus, she wanted to deny Moon’s request to go out on the rescue. This was especially since Lex himself wasn’t around either. But Moon was no child. She was a fully grown adult, and a powerful one at that. Her strength could not be limited by things such as cultivation realm any more. If she was willing to go out, then Velma should honor her wish.

Yet she could not reconcile that with her protective instincts either. If Moon was Lex’s sister, then Velma treated her like her own sister. How, then, could she...

"To be quite frank with you, asking you is only a formality," Moon finally said with a sigh, seeing right through Velma’s internal conflict. "If I want to join, I can."

Velma, too, sighed, and then nodded.

"I hope you understand. It’s not that I want to stop you, it’s just that I don’t want to put you at risk," Velma said.

Moon nodded softly, the reflection in the mirror changing from her appearance to the day Lex had appeared to save her. It showed her world. It showed the Immortals who came to kidnap her, and the Jorlam they encountered during their escape.

"I know just how hard my brother has tried to protect - better than anyone else," said Moon from within the voice. "I don’t want to waste his efforts, but I also refuse to live a life where I do nothing when my friend is in trouble. For all those who helped when I was in need, I cannot just sit back and do nothing when they need me. Staying alive, staying safe, they’re important, but they’re not everything."

Velma smiled softly, and genuinely regretted the fact that she hadn’t spent more time talking with Moon. She was such a... splendid young woman.

"Forgive me, you’re right," said Velma as she gently lifted the mirror. "Welcome to the army. I’ll keep you with me for the greatest coordination. You let me know when you feel like you can aid a situation."

Moon nodded, and said nothing else. Velma paused, and wondered if she should tell Moon about her other sister, Belle. Among all the siblings, she was the one with the most unique personality to be sure.

She was doing fine the last time Velma looked up her information, so it was probably best not to mention it for now. She wouldn’t want to distract Moon from the mission. In the meantime, she would look up some effective anger management techniques to share with Moon for whenever she had an opportunity to meet Belle again. It couldn’t hurt... probably.

The distraction lasted only a moment. Velma reappeared in front of the two armies, mirror in hand, her gold silk armor equipped.

Everyone looked to her, including Gerard, Luthor, Anita and all the others. From the very start she had been leading this mission, and the impression everyone had of her evolved very quickly during this time.

She had very quickly gone from that harmless, cute little girl who liked to gossip and chat with everyone to the fearsome, dependable woman who would infiltrate a Dao level organization and organise a raid on another realm to rescue her friend. The gap between those two identities was huge, but even that could not begin to encompass the change Velma had shown during this period.

"It’s time," Velma said, her simple words carrying over to the two armies. She should give a small, motivational speech first though, right?