Sacrificed to Gods

Motor City. It was yet another name on Noheme's list of places that she had to visit. And as soon as she approached the gates, she noticed that the place was under a complete lockdown. It just seemed that the fox girl somehow carried misfortune everywhere she went. After all, all the places she visited had some manner of problem that needed solving by a stronger mage. Or perhaps that was just how things worked in these lands that were very much different from Joya. Although, even back home in the Jungle-covered land, there were plenty of problems that the goddess incarnate had to tend to. Which was definitely not bad, as it helped her get where she was right now, at least in the terms of power. Despite not doing any real jobs for magicians her whole mortal life, she was strong enough that she could spare with the elites from guilds of this nation. Not that she really wanted to, although a little duel for fun should never hurt anyone. Thinking back to those times of her training and powering up, misfortune truly did happen nearly everywhere the tailed girl went. The severity different greatly from one place to another, but there was always something. Be it portion of the jungle burning to the ashes because unexpected lightning struct the tall trees,  or just an old bucked finally giving out and spilling the water that needed to be transported into the village all over the ground. And if it was some kind of curse, Noheme did not really know about it, what it's origins could be or how it would even work. She herself never really was subjected to the same fate as those around her, so it would not be too much of a stretch to say that she really had a power like that and that it was fighting for her.

Much too her annoyance, it was something that she did not really ask for. When in fight, the girl enjoyed things being fair. Only then she could really have some fun against an opponent of at least similar rank to hers. So when this mysterious aura kicked in, tables usually turned pretty fast, making things dull and boring awful fast. Trying to not think about it too much, the girl shook her head and signed out loud. There were soldiers everywhere, seemingly trying to isolate the place because of some incident that was happening. And without a doubt, they would be letting in some mages to investigate the place and solve whatever problems was residing inside. Problem was that Noheme was not a part of a guild and she did not yet have any time to acquaint herself with how things were in these lands. And she had this sneaky suspicion that if she was to just walk up to these soldiers and ask them to let her in, they would not do so. At least not without checking some sort of permit first or whatever. Seeing how the goddess had nothing of the like, she had to make her way in on her own. And after looking around a little bit, she spotted several entrances that would easily escape the eyes of people that only lived on the solid ground. With a smirk slapped on her face, she would start walking around the city walls until she was hidden from the view of those pesky guards that were probably quite nervous from the girl walking around them so much. And once no one was looking, she jumped up onto one of the buildings with ease, digging her claws in between exposed bricks of the house. Thankfully not everything was made out of metal in this place, which helped her greatly. And with the help of her abilities, she was able to scale the wall just as easily as walking down the road with sassy attitude.

Once on the roofs, she would have another look around the area, only to spot a complete emptiness. It looked like the city was actually completely evacuated, which only made sense. After all, the gates were shut tight so that no one or nothing would  get in or out of this place. So there really had to be something hidden in the depths of this metallic town! The goddess would lick her lips impishly as a spark of excitement ignited in those emerald green irises of hers. She climbed this tower only to satisfy her curiosity, but now there was much more. A desire for adventure and fun, she wished to fight a powerful enemy that would occupy her for at least some time and give her a proper challenge to overcome! It was quite surprising how hard it was to come by one of those on these days, so all this made her anticipate some proper greatness. And seeing as the city was probably mostly empty, she had no problem jumping off the roof that she climbed up, only to land on the cobblestone paths, leaving a clear mark of her hands and legs embedded in the stone from the impact of her body against the ground. And with another swift motion, she would straighten her body into a stretch, accompanied by the cracking bones inside of her body. Mortal flesh truly worked in mysterious ways, making sounds like that without actually having Noheme injured in any way. If she wasn't so confident in her own abilities, it would maybe even be scary to her. But the goddess incarnate thought highly of herself and ideas like that crossed her mind only on the most rare of occasions.

As much as she wanted to visit all the famous places in Fiore and Earthland as whole, some were just less pleasant than others. That much would be clear to just about anyone who had some travelling behind them, but for Noheme, this was something else. A city where you could hear nothing but wheezing of engines and screeching of gears turning at different speeds, pipes that lead through the entire city structure, leaking various liquids and steam. This whole circus reminded her of that one other nation she visited, the one that hated magic to it's very core. While citizens of Motor City probably didn't have all that much against magic itself, it was clear that they chose the path forward lead by advancement of technology instead of advancement of magic. It was a respectable choice, but it still seemed somewhat questionable to the freshly mortal goddess. And who could blame her? Her whole existence was only possible because of magic, as a higher being that was not concerned by the matters of mortals in the slightest until few years back. The concept of others choosing something synthetic instead of the ever changing and almost organic in it's nature magic... it was almost incomprehensible. Almost like taking a cavemen and throwing him into the future. Sure, it was not the best comparison ever... but it worked in the girl's head. Seeing something that was just so out of her norm was almost scary, though it also inspired intrigue and motivation to explore even more. Although, there was very little want to be touching all that grease and oil, which was covering nearly everything, creating colorful films on the metallic walls and machines. In a sense, this was a very vibrant place, despite the dominance of bronze color.

If only all the noises were to shut up for at least a moment! As someone with naturally enhanced senses, it was pretty bad for the fox girl in here because of the constant sounds that were coming from just about everywhere around her. She heard that there were special wizards called slayers that had their senses boosted by the magic they wield, but it was slightly different from this one. Noheme was from Joya and her vessel of mortality fitted that theme quite well. Along with the tanned skin and fit figure, she also had several animalistic features. And while they weren't those of a cat, they still functioned all the same. With those big ears, anyone would find loud sounds a problem. At least the girl learned how to dim out all these unwanted stimulations over time, but that also meant throwing away the whole advantage of having nearly perfect hearing in the first place! They were very useful in any situation you could imagine, be it something you do daily or the battle of life and death. The goddess could no longer count how many times her enhanced senses saved her ass, or even her life. So instead of swallowing it all up and covering her ears, she tried to focus on them even more. She wanted to separate every little source and consciously remove those that she did not need pay any attention to. It was task rather difficult, but certainly not impossible to achieve for someone like her. And suddenly, her hears twitched slightly as a screeching noise echoed through the roads. It was one of the doors opening as the guards let someone else in... another mage. And definitely a strong one as well, judging by the sudden feeling in the air. It was far too late to hide anywhere now, as this mysterious new contestant probably knew of Noheme's presence already as well. Question was, who are they?

Word Count - 1562 / 1562 total

It was rather clear that this whole place was under complete quarantine and that they were sending people in to investigate and deal with whatever was happening. Something that even Noheme had no clue about at all. She expected that there would be more soldiers around the place, but she did not expect to have some at her hands this soon. Especially one with magical energy this high. Was it because she made some sort of error? Did one of the soldiers spot her scaling the walls, or maybe they had a sensor type that managed to catch her presence within this field? All of that was possible and it irritated the goddess quite a bit. After all, she hoped to have some good fun in here with whatever was plaguing Motor City, but instead she would have to most likely worry about dealing with military of this nation that she had to not injure, lest problems would follow right quick. So what now? She had several options on the plate, not all of them very appealing. One of them was to run further into the city, a course of action that somehow seemed the best to Noheme right now. Another would be to run back up the building and leave the city walls once more, either completely leaving this place behind or waiting for the sentries to pass. Though doing something like that could label the fox girl as a coward, something she certainly did not want. Lastly, she could run towards the magical energy she felt and engage with it, ensuring that she would not have to deal with it later if she chose one of the other two paths afterwards. And while a boss fight this early on didn't sound very appealing, it was the option that probably made most sense for what she wanted here.

As her eyes twitched, she sensed the new presence stopping in it's tracks right after entering. A good indication that whoever it was, they knew that she was here as well. Or at least that was how she interpreted it. There was also a good chance that they just stopped to close the doors behind them or something. Though she did not hear such a thing, and her hearing was rather good and reliable. With nearly inaudible sigh, she finally decided. Bearing her claws, she jumped on one of the buildings again, her boots pressing against the hard metal. And with one strong push, she would jump to yet another wall, repeating the process quite few times, nearing the target. There were many thoughts rotating in the girl's head as this was happening, ranging from all kinds of topics. Probably the most dominant being: what if the one she will find there is a cute little girl? She always had trouble attacking girls in general, as they were kinda her weakness. Didn't mean she was incapable of doing so, but still... thinking like that also quickly assumed that she would just attack whoever she would find without thinking about it, apparently. Well, the goddess wasn't exactly one of the most bright individuals to be honest, especially with the way she grew up. Being all divine, she was distance from the world of mortals for the longest time. And when she decided to learn about them, she incarnated as a member of her own tribe. Not saying that Joyans were on the less smart side, but they had their own way of doing things, given the fact that they lived in ever-changing jungle that was just crawling with dangerous predators and other, not very welcoming tribes that required blood for sacrifice to their gods.

What she would actually do, the time to decide came rather quickly. As the fox girl got closer to the gate, she stopped on one of the walls for a moment, only to spot a trio beneath her. So it wasn't just one person, but three. Her sense of sensing was pretty good, but when they were clumped together like this, it became problematic to tell just how many people are in one spot. And it would be even more problematic to engage in combat with all of them at once. So that plan quickly flew out of the window as the goddess jumped down from the wall it slightly threatening manner, landing on all four in front of these newcomers. She would get back into a normal human-like stance, cracking her back a little bit in process as her ears twitched slightly along with the waggling tail. Without a single word, she inhale deeply, taking the smells of everything nearby. The interference of smelly oils and fuels from the engines everywhere were getting in the way, but she managed to get in a properly large amount of scent to memorize all three of them. Now, what should she do? Well, there was just about only one thing she could do after looking through all of them. And that was to suddenly teleport through the shadows right in front of the only girl in the group, quickly grabbing one of her hand in both her palms and bringing it up slightly. Then, she would simply bow a place her lips on the back Yuka's hand, kissing it. She cared not for the rest of the group, only two boys that were probably bodyguards to this princess. Though one of them had a very interesting smell about him, along with his stranger looks. So perhaps she would pay at least some attention to that one later, even if only to find out why he smells like something that was once divine, a godly being. A very specific smell for sure. "My, my... I certainly did not expect to find a girl as cute as you in a messy place such as this, what a pleasant turn of events! If it all possible, may I receive name of this pristine maiden? I am Nohe- I mean Eris Sytry, from afar."

Word Count - 1000 / 2562 total

The man managed to confirm Noheme's suspicion quite nicely when he managed to track her movements, even though she basically teleported. Though he wasn't quite able to stop her from doing what she did, showing that he either wasn't prepared, or was slower that the fox girl. Whichever was the case, it somehow pleased the goddess. After all, she liked being the more powerful one. The one that could lead others and the one that those others would look up to. She was a god after all, or at least fitted into that description by having worshipers back in Joya. And now she was in the middle of this group that clearly came into this place to solve the problems that were occurring. The main dog, as he appeared to be, really loved talking too. It was a bit annoying, listening to some guy running his mouth and asking so many question. If it was Yuka asking instead, then she would be all ears. But like this, she had to almost force herself to listen. Well, at last he provided quite a bit of useful information. The very reason why this place was closed off, limiting contact with the outside world. It was because of disappearances, presumable of either soldiers or civilians. So there was a force that loved to kidnap in large, that much she understood despite usually not thinking too much about problems around her. Since she was here to have some fun, it was not too bad to actually know who would provide that fun. And now she knew that it would be the kidnappers, once they would show their mugs anyway. But seeing how this place was completely closed, it meant that the disappearing was probably happening quite often. Meaning the chance of running into the enemy was at least pretty high.

So now she had the situation figured out, but she still disliked the fact that there was some fort of metallic weapon pointing at her from behind. It was irritating and rude, pointing something so crude at a goddess. Not that they knew she was one, but still. And just as could be expected, the girl was the only one that proposed to be peaceful while the boys wanted to play heroes and soldiers, slaying the monsters and asking question after all the blood was spilled. Perhaps she should teach them a lesson? No, that would result in several different problems. Yeah, for now she just needed to create some distance between everyone to make sure that her head does not come off while she's mid-sentence. That would be probably a good start. Letting go of Yuka's hands, the fox's ears twitched a little. "Hmm..." While she was moving towards these guys, she heard a tiny bit about the guy that was pointing a weapon at her. After all, she had really enhanced senses as well. This one had them too, so she had to make sure to be extra subtle and quiet. But, all of a sudden and without any warning, she rapidly turned around, her hand slamming into the metal creation. It was coated in darkness, making the girl's whole arm appear pitch black and giving off red glow. She hoped to ruin the boy's balance a little bit so she could use the chance and give him a friendly kick that would push him back some. She too would use her fast movements to get away from him, jumping back and landing on her arms only to propel herself further. The position she landed in was again on all four, truly reminding one of a wild animal that was ready to attack it's prey. And the smirk on her face suggested so as well.

"How rude, pointing that thing at me in such barbaric manner! And I even went through the trouble of introducing myself, too. Nevermind that, so the problem is people disappearing, huh? Sounds like all I have to do is track down whatever I can find and that will lead me right to the fun!"

With those words, Noheme jumped pretty high again, placing her feet on the metallic side of a building. It seemed as if gravity wasn't affecting her in the same way as it affects others, for she was capable of effortlessly jumping from that tilted surface and landing in a running position, creating some distance between herself and the trio. Though she would not run off too far, stopping only few meters further. The city was giant and it had plenty of roads, all of them covered in mud. Placing her hand onto the dirty road made out of cobblestones, she started sniffing. A lot of different smells, all leading somewhere else. It made the girl go "tsk" before she started looking around with her large, emerald irises. Tracking the enemy down in a place like this will be much more difficult than she thought at first. And she was already getting all excited and ready for incoming combat with mysterious forces that kidnap innocent people for unspeakable deeds. But with this, she could only let out a sigh, straightening her body and turning her gaze back at the trio, seeing if they followed her. "Can't even recognize a Joyan, what kind of mage are you supposed to be..."

Word Count - 885 / 3447 total

As she heard the man's words, she once again looked all around, trying to find anything that could possibly lead her somewhere. But no such luck, the city was being used far too often and all the marks on road were too muddled together, smells obscured by the environment. And other than their own voices, the place was as quiet as a cemetery filled with only the dead. With yet another sign, the goddess turned to face the dog demon, hands placed on her hips and her face wearing rather annoyed expression.

"Who I am matters not to you, yet I already introduced myself. At least have the courtesy and disclose your name as well. Or at least read a book about the world or something, nearly everyone knows the exotic species that occupy jungles of Joya. It's rather popular tourist stop, to a fault even. With that, I'm sure you can imagine that we're not exactly fond of you, people of Fiore and everywhere else. And as far as I remember, I did say my hello, even bowed! Just not to you but the one that interested me most."

Noheme's hands were all over the place as she talked, her body language perhaps a bit too expressive in this one instance. But at least she was standing in one place and not charging at them, attacking. They could probably thank the fact that they were in a group for that, as if it was either only Cirven or Kenta, the fox girl would most likely just straight up attack them, seeing them as the problems of this city that they were actually meant to solve. Speaking of those problems, they sure were taking a while. Perhaps these kidnappers were not exactly interested in more powerful individuals such as themselves? There was a chance that it was correct, but they knew far too little to make that judgement right now. Hopefully they would not have to play detective because of that, it would be dreadfully dull compared to actual fighting. But to be honest, thanks to this trio that just suddenly appeared, Noheme was quickly losing all her excitement and interest in bashing some heads. Another sigh managed to escape her lips as her eyes started searching the whole place for the only other girl that was present. If the boys could not entertain her by fighting, then perhaps the more fair gender could entertain her with some exclusive company. She just had to look out for the boy with katana, as he will probably not take too kindly to the goddess' near sexual harassment behaviour when near cute girls. But honestly, someone so hot headed should not even be a warrior in the first place. In fact, both the young girl and boy looked rather... inexperienced to her. Not only they appearance, but the way the boy acted previously, his questionable decisions. It was rather surprising that they let someone like that into this place. Perhaps the soldiers were getting desperate already?

Word Count - 503 / 3950 total

Cirven's words made the girl turn her head in his directions with something that actually resembled a smile. So he was here to have some fun as well? Why, he should have mentioned that earlier! Not that it would change much, but it was something nice to know. So they were pretty much after the same thing, though Noheme wasn't here on an official job so she wasn't even after the payment and thought that she would not even receive anything after this will be over. And indeed, her goal here was more to gain the experience required rather than money that would help her pay for some useless junk. Although, there was that upgrade for her bow that she wanted to get, not exactly something cheap. Her train of thoughts was quickly interrupted by the very same metallic sound that the dog demon heard. Goddess' ears twitched slightly as it carried to her as well, making her turn her head back in it's direction. And just by listening, it was pretty clear that there were multiple enemies incoming. If they actually were enemies, that was. But one would not expect something different in a place like this. And they did not disappoint, as the machines emerged from the restrictive fog soon after. They looked fairly bland pretty boring, nothing interesting about their design at all. Judging from that, they were probably nothing more than regular pawns for something bigger. Or at least that was what Noheme hoped for, as something like this could never properly satisfy her, no matter what situation would occur. In preparation for the attack, both of her hands were quickly coated in pitch-black darkness, giving off that same red glow as before.

And they would finally start charging, only one of them staying behind to possibly provide back-up later on. A smirk flashed across Noheme's face as she took a step back and then started sprinting against her opponent, not paying much attention to those that went against the trio. She wanted to test out power of these things and a direct attack was pretty much the best she thought of right now. Interestingly enough,  the machine either copied her movements or had the exact same idea, as they both decided to go for the elbow strike to the other one's face. The fox girl quickly clashed with the machines, both of them catching the opponent's attack with the free hand, forming a struggle where they tried to push their own elbow further while the free hand tried to push the enemy's elbow back. However, the mechanized opponent had just a tad bit more endurance and stability, starting to push the goddess back. Not wanting to get hit first, she quickly devised a new strategy, smiling in the process. On of her legs quickly moved forward, pushing the robot's and knocking him off balance which create opening for a strike. And strike him she did, the darkness enveloped hand serving as a blade that dug into the metallic chest, leaving a hole in it. It was only shame that these things felt no pain, making it look like the attack had absolutely no effect. Noheme and the robot both quickly retreated, which gave the fox girl some time to look around and see how everyone else was doing. Cirven seemed just fine, but the siblings were clearly having few issues with the enemy. And while they seemingly managed to deal with one, other two were already back at their doorstep. With annoyed sigh, Noheme made a strange gesture with her hand.

And just like that, from the thin air, a bow emerged. It's look rather unique and material resembling silver wood and light blue metal. Taking this opportunity, her enemy started charging once more. Little did he know that the bow was actually meant for him. All the girl had to do was form a single arrow of shining light blue magical energy and then her body... well... it was hard to describe. While her main body did not move at all, five different, nearly transparent afterimages appeared all around her, firing arrows at nearly the same time. Five different arrows that hit all limbs and neck of the charging robot, stopping it in it's tracks for a while. Quickly holstering her weapon on her back, Noheme would start sprinting towards the two robots that were currently assaulting the poor siblings. Hitting one to the back of it's head, she would force it's upper body to bend forward, allowing herself to vault over it. And the moment she landed in front of the machine, her leg covered in the darkness would kick that head back up, damaging it quite significantly, but not enough to completely destroy it. Leaving the last droid to the two children, she decided that she should be the one taking on two enemies at once. And while her original opponent was still trying to remove the magical arrows from it's body, she lick her lips and charged forward. A single punch was send forward in her direction, but a simple swing of her hand managed to parry it, sending the robot's arm into a different direction. Though he still had his other hand that he decided to use for blocking. The goddess would have none of that and grabbed his other hand with her own, forcibly moving it away to expose it's body. And with a single jump into the air and a roll, the machine was nearly cleaved in half.

Her tail was covered in the dark magic as well, transforming the somewhat sensitive and weak spot of hers into a sharp weapon that deal quite the damage when swung like that, fast and hard. The machine stumbled back a little, clearly heavily affected by the damage that was dealt so suddenly. But she would not give it any time to recover and rest, she immediately went in like a predator that wanted to rip it's prey apart. And she did want to do exactly like that, forcing her hands into the fresh cut that was going vertically across the whole mechanical body. And before the robot got another chance to attack, it was actually ripped into two different halves, now lying on the floor and twitching a bit before deactivating fully. With a satisfying sigh, the fox girl would take a look around her once more. But before she could actually spot any of her allies, she had to put her hands up as a reaction to immediate danger that approached, a fist that nearly slammed into the side of her face. Blocking the strike just barely with her hands, she was pushed several meters back, her boots leaving a train in the ground that they remained on the whole time. With a little "Tsk" escaping from her mouth, Noheme decided to do something quite interesting. With the little time she had without an enemy attacking her, she quickly removed her shoes and threw them away. Now she was completely barefoot, her toes bearing the same claw-like nails as her arms. "There, that's much better! None will force me wear these stupid things just because everyone else in the land does! Now, come at me and show me something better than your friend over here, unless you want to end up just like him, hah!"

And the moment she spoke those words, something really did happen. A gate in the space itself opened behind Noheme, spitting out a blur of red and blue onto the fox girl and making her fall to the ground. The gate itself quickly closed right after that, and now there were yet another new figure. A female in long ornate traditional clothing, her skin of pale blue color, hair that could resemble some of seaweed or a smooth sea creature sitting atop someone's head. And once she collected herself, getting on her feet, a reveal of face that bore three different eyes, each one of them of shining, orange color. Noheme quickly got up on her feet again too, staring at the newcomer before opening her mouth. "Ai? What the hell are you doing here?! I'm in the middle of something if you can't see, why would you open a gate above me?" The other non-human stared back at the goddess for a moment before she bursted out into excited aura, quickly hugging the fox girl. "Master, I missed you so much! Please don't stay things like this when I spend last several hours trying to locate you and open a gate to your location... I knew you went on some sort of dangerous mission, so I had to come and assist you! I could never bear the sight of you being injured!" There was clearly a lot of affection being displayed here, but the enemy was still very much present in the battle and quickly broke up the hug with it's strike that forced the girls apart, making them leap away unless they wanted to be hit with the iron fists. "We'll talk about that later! First, I wanna take down this little tart~  You feel free to provide support or whatever it is that you usually do."

Ai Eden:

Word Count - 1535 / 5485 total

Well, now the fox girl had her obedient little slave on her side. Though, as much as it would hurt Ai Eden, she was only another obstacle in this situation. While she really wanted to help and even did as much as teleport herself into this place, her power was hardly enough to match even one of these machines. She was simply far too weak for an encounter like this one, no way around it. But then again, Noheme would feel pretty bad if she had to tell her off, as she just hated being negative around cute girls. So she decided that she would leave her where she was, at least there would be some kind of audience other than the trio behind her. And since all the enemies were already occupied by someone, there was absolutely no need to be worried that someone sneaks up behind Ai and attacks her. And even then, she would probably be able to take few hits and heal herself eventually. Sounded kinda morbid and cruel, but it was reality of things. In a true fight, one should only worry about themselves and not protecting others. Because something like that, it could easily lead to others getting hurt while protecting someone else. And if that made Noheme greedy or selfish, then she probably was just that. She was a god after all, a being that was above regular and even not regular humans. Or at least that was what each god believed in, that they were some kind of higher power that could change the whole world in a blink of an eye. Oh, how far were they all from the truth. Shame that many of them would never even realize the painful truth of their own weakness and incompetence. Would Noheme end up just like them? Perhaps she was on this mission of hers exactly because she wished to learn of her own weakness.

A sudden and quite brutal attack that echoed through the whole city swiftly grabbed the girls attention, making her head turn. It was Cirven, unleashing a breath attack. So he had that kind of magic? One of the slayers, presumably. What kind exactly, the goddess did not yet know. All she knew about it was that his element was metal, as he showed several times now. While distracted by the amazing spectacle, the machine that was facing the fox girl prepared for it's attack. It started running but jumped just before it would reach Noheme, attacking from high above and putting some extra force behind it's punch. ""Master, watch out!"" Ai's words made the goddess' head turn again right quick, her hands coated in darkness just barely stopping the fist. And still, it had enough power to force the girl onto her knees, a shock wave created by the attack breaking a window of the house that stood behind Noheme. Her gaze followed the destruction of environment with surprise in her eyes. But it quickly malformed into a twisted smile of happiness, glad that the stone cold machine was capable of something like this. The enemies that she faced up until now, they were nowhere near this level of strength, even if these walking hunks of metal weren't nothing extra. Forcing her hands to the side, she managed to break free of the struggle and quickly move away from her enemy, circling it before going in for another attack. Her hands, sharp as blades, would swipe at the enemy that was now pushed to the defensive. But even when it managed to block, deep cuts would quickly show on it's arms. For now, the fox girl assumed tactic of strike and run, throwing in one swift attack with each of her limp before retreating and escaping any of the slow attacks that the machine could produce.

It was a bit of shame that they could not move faster, as the fight would be much more interesting that way. Instead, Noheme was only playing with her prey until it would fall apart. But not yet! She did not have enough just yet! The machine finally tried switching back to offensive when the metallic plating on it's arms was basically gone, exposing it's inner structure of cables and other objects that the Joyan goddess had no idea about. But just like all previous attempts, all of it's punches and kicks would only hit air, the girl moving far too swiftly for it. Except for one moment, where it almost looked like the robot's elbow would connect with her. But it did not, instead, she grabbed onto it and used it as her footing. Her body was flung upwards as she spun on the enemy's hand, quickly letting go and falling into the ground while kicking the robot's head down and then away, making the whole mechanical structure fall to the ground. With a sigh, the fox girl would stop on a spot for a moment, looking around. Everyone else was done, it seemed. In fact, they were done for a while now and probably waiting for this little show to finally end. Donning an annoyed look, Noheme would calmly walk over to the machine that was now destroyed beyond repair. It looked almost sad, only if it had some kind of soul inside of it. With one quick stomp, she flattened it's entire head and finish it off completely. A dreadful silence filled the battlefield for a mere moment after that, only to be interrupted by Ai who charged at her master to hug her once more. "That was amazing, master! You destroyed all of them like nothing, they were mere worms at your feet! Cans to be crushed with your might!"

And while Noheme appreciated having a cute girl wrapped around her, right now wasn't really the time. After all, the trio was watching and the two siblings did look fairly young. Though there was still the desire to flirt with Yuka. Probably wouldn't work, however, considering that she was caring only about her lovely brother that, oh so heroically, saved her. Quite bold move, only showing further that these two should probably not even be here with their level of fighting expertise. But if this one was to say anything, they would probably lash out again. Though, maybe there was some semblance of trust formed now, after she saved them from one of the machines. Or maybe they didn't even notice as they were far too focused on licking their own wounds, that was also possible. With yet another sign, the goddess moved one of her hands to Ai, petting that strange hair of hers, which brought rather bright smile to the blue, three-eyed face. "So... will they all be like that? 'Cause fighting something soulless like that is way less fun than I expected. These boring cans don't even make proper sounds when you hurt them, it's the worst! How am I supposed to enjoy fighting when I'm not getting any feedback from my enemy at all? It's impossible!" Ai would stop hugging her master for a moment to rise her fist to the skies and open her mouth for a bit as well. "Yeah, master deserves only the best of best and these guys are the lowest of low! Bring on the queen and king, not mere pawns, you cowards!" If that looked comical or serious was up to debate, but at least the first wave of enemies was repelled. Though the girls had this bad feeling that it was only first of many.

Word Count - 1258 / 6743 total

Perhaps they weren't waiting for her for as long as she thought they would. Oh well, all the better. At least they would not demand some kind of apology because she was fighting her enemy for far too long or something. For that, she would probably ditch them the next chance she would get. So it was fort the best that they managed to find new things to occupy themselves with while she was getting busy with the soulless pieces of metal. That thing being Kenta's injury. Of course the brat would get himself hurt in the very first encounter, how else would this stupidity end up? Whatever their role was meant to be, it was painfully clear that they had no experience on actual battlefield and while they posses some actual strength, they had to bloody idea how to actually use it. For some reason, it kinda irritated the goddess. Maybe because she saw fighting as a form of playing, dancing even. Battle was not about bloodshed but about connection of the two people, the twisted and mangled feelings that would be accepted and exchanged. Something that was far too complicated to explain to someone who did not already understand. An annoyed look found it's way back onto the goddess' face as she looked at all the destroyed enemies. Not one of them managed to prove a proper challenge. Hopefully these guys were nothing more than scouts, meant to pick off defenseless villagers that could not fight back. Because that was just about what they could do, it seemed. Even when they managed to land their heavy punches, it was not impossible to block them. Not that something like that would happen too often with how slow they were, being dodged so easily that it felt almost embarrassing for all parties involved.

Cirven surprisingly understood. Then again, he did mention something about wanting to have fun earlier, so perhaps the two of them were not so different after all. Somehow, that brought a faint smile out of the two-faced goddess of the moon, the bow on her back still shining with that otherworldly and cold glow. He knew that fighting something like this that did not posses or channel a real soul was pretty much pointless, as it was incapable of bringing out actual joy. Destroying these robots was almost like picking flowers. They were indeed alive in some shape or form, but if there was no reaction as you ravaged them into pieces, then it was absolutely pointless. With a sigh, the fox girl kicked the broken off metal plates on the ground lightly, her bare feet getting dirtier by the minute. Clothes always seemed stupidly restricting to her and she wore them only because everyone else in Fiore did as well. But in a situation like this, she was only glad that an opportunity to ditch her boots showed itself and that she was able to take advantage of it. When it came to her fighting style, every single bit of her body was like a weapon. And by putting some hard leather and cloth over her feet, it was almost like dulling a blade that was perfectly fine and capable of cleaving the enemy in half. But now those appendages had their effectiveness back, and Noheme was ready to tear apart more enemies with every single limb she possessed. That was if they could face something more fun that just these hollow husks that didn't even properly try to defend themselves. Honestly, who designed these things... they were almost disgusting in this certain manner, making the girl feel little uncomfortable.

But before they could move on, there was that little issue of Kenta who managed to get hurt in the silliest was possible. Honestly, his body wasn't even strong enough to properly withstand collision with these stupid machines! With a weak body like that, how was he expecting to fight something stronger? Honestly, Noheme was now seriously thinking about just telling them to go back home while the big kids handle the real problems. But she was sure that those words would be met with arrogance and resistance from both the siblings and possibly even Cirven who seemed to like them and wanted to give them a chance. Well, at least they had some decency and all three of them thanked the fox girl for saving their asses. "Looks to me like you two don't even properly know how to fight. How about staying behind our backs next time, so the wind won't make you collapse or something, sheesh. If you'll get yourself killed, I won't have anything to do with it, I only care about the princess here." As she said those words, she came over to Yuka and tilted her body towards her while licking her lips in a slight... mischievous manner. Oh, how would she love to grab this one and just escape this metallic hellhole with her. Shame that wasn't exactly possible right now, as she felt Ai's jealous presence behind her, the alien girl nearly bursting into pieces as her cheeks grew red with mixture of different emotions. Ah, right... Ai. Looking at the situation now, her timing was actually nearly perfect. She was not exactly capable of helping during the fight, but not that everything calmed, perhaps she would be able to do some good that they needed. After all, she wielded some pretty interesting magic herself.

Turning her head and gaze towards the three eyed girl, Noheme spoke. "Ai! Seems like this arse over here might have some serious internal injures. Heal him." Her words were met with a silence for what seemed like an eternity before her companion would burst out again. "What are you saying master? My abilities are meant for you alone, what if you get injured in our next fight? Then I won't be able to heal you because of the forced recharge on my abilities, and..." It was clear that she wanted to continue in her protest, but the unchanging serious gaze the goddess gave her shut her up. Gulping loudly, she finally nodded. And while it was painfully obvious that she wasn't happy with this, she came over to the boy's side and extended her hands towards him. "Healing waters of our astral world, I call thee... come to my aid and heal the wounds of the one in front of me!" And surely enough, the girl's body became enveloped by radiating water that gave off a light blue glow, clearly magical in nature. It matched very nicely with the girl's skin, at least until the water moved over to Kenta and entered his skin as if it was not even solid. It took few seconds, but his wounds started to heal, the pain disappearing faster than a scared animal you would stumble upon in a forest. In mere moments, the boy was as good as new, Ai taking few steps back to return to her master's side, where she felt the best. Doing something like this was probably going to leave her salty for a while, but at least the young samurai would not slow them down now. Not that they really had a path to follow at the moment, unless the dog demon was capable of somehow smelling the origin of the metal around them.

Word Count - 1224 / 7967 total

"Well, didn't you just pick out the perfect time to show off. So far, no one is impressed. If something happens to you, it won't be my bloody problem, remember that. I'm not responsible for some kid that went into something that was way over his head and got himself killed because of it." Yes, Noheme's words were indeed cold and cruel. But it was the truth and nothing more. She wasn't here on an official job, so she did not know how it was classified by whoever arranged it. But it was rather clear that this was nothing a novice could handle. Yes, the machines were nothing but pieces of weak trash compared to herself or even Cirven who was standing on the other side of the kid, but that didn't mean the siblings would be able to fight as well. The gap in power wasn't too great between them, but the gap in experience and several aspects of focus were simply far too great. It wasn't that they lacked in raw power, it was more like they did not know how to focus it. Something like that, it made their fighting style seem rather dull and uninterested to watch. It would be expected with Yuka, as she wielded a weapon that was not meant for elegance in the first place. But a swordsman? All he could do was swing that blade of his with no style of direction. It was quite pathetic in fact, nearly disgusting to watch. Which was why the goddess decided to protect them both that one time, so she herself could focus on battle and not on their sorry display. Or at least that was what she told herself right now, not really wanting to admit that she just rushed in and saved them like some damn knight in white shining armor. She wasn't that kind of character, she was meant to be someone else entirely and saving others wasn't like her!

But what was done was done, no way around it, really. Filled with unwanted feelings, the fox girl merely turned her back to the whole scene and started into the emptiness that was the road in front of them, searching for any clues that could lead them further, or perhaps more enemies that could distract her and provide some entertainment that she craved. So now the conversation shifted to Ai Eden, who was spoken to about her water magic, as Cirven formed it. For some reason, it made the pale skinned girl puff her cheeks, clearly indicating that she was displeased with what he just said. "No water magic, mind you! This is Astral Magic, power to open gates between this and Noheme's Astral realm! I merely brought the healing water from there and gave it some directions, it did the rest by itself. Some professional you are... um..." Noheme herself almost popped a vein when her real name got mentioned by her little companion, but since no one knew that Eris wasn't really her actual name, there was probably no reason to worry about. So she merely lifted one of her hands into the air, as if she wanted to shrug as she helped Ai out a little bit. "Cirven Mizune." The words were rewarded with Ai's fist slamming into her other palm as the light bulb finally turned on in her head. From time to time, it was quite puzzling how little attention this girl could pay to the world around her. Especially when her master was around, then she could only see the green haired goddess and nothing else. Not that she was here for the introductions, but she even forgot to answer the man's question that he asked before, when the fighting subsided. Perhaps she had a memory of a fish while looking like one, that would explain some.

"Ah, that's right! My apologies for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Ai Eden, an Astral Spirit of Noheme's Astral world, here to aid my master! And as you probably already figured out... I'm my master's slave~" The last bit was rather annoyingly accompanied with a deep blush and the girl's body swaying, as if from mild embarrassment. The world slave clearly had much more positive meaning in her book with a reaction like that. It made Noheme sigh in disbelief as she turned around, placing her hand onto Ai's head, stroking it gently as if she was petting a dog or something. That in return made the three eyed maiden's body freak out even more, as she could barely hold herself from exploding with joy and the urge to leap into her master's embrace. But things like that were not something she should be doing publicly, and she knew that very well, a single thought that made her restrain herself as she did not want to disappoint her master either. Though the expression of pure bliss and pleasure soon turned into one of an angry girl, her thee eyed gaze directed right at Kenta that started entertaining himself by flexing like a fool. "How about a simple 'thank you for saving my life' hmm? Are you even listening to master?! What are you doing playing your silly games when we're in situation this dangerous where anything could happen, you little...!" At the end, she almost went out of her way to pinch the young lad's cheeks to remind him of where they were, but she was quickly stopped by her master who's hand was still on her head. "I think I've heard something from that direction, we should get going already. It's so boring here that I could start killing you hatchlings just to keep myself away from boredom."

She said those words with strange seriousness behind them, though it was clearly that she would not do such a thing. After all, fighting with someone that weak would be just as boring as fighting those soulless machines. And thus, the goddess took the leadership into her hands, starting to march towards the unknown that lied beyond the strange mist all around them. The question if everyone else wasn't really bothering her either, as Ai and her own power was all she really needed. And she knew her lovable little slave would never leave her side, even if it would cost her the very life she holds in that strange body of hers. Her ears twitched several times as they all walked, the siblings finally taking the hint and being behind the two stronger wizards so that they would not go down in the first strike of a battle. And right next to them was walking Ai as well, as Noheme could not trust those two to keep a proper lookout in case something tries to sneak up on them. Not that it would be too much of a problem thanks to the fox girl's enhanced senses, but still. Better safe then sorry. And speaking of sorry, a sudden wave of magical energy stopped the goddess dead in her tracks. A strange magical circle appeared beneath both Yuka and Kenta, forming some sort of transparent bubble that completely immobilized them and started raising into the air. Just from looking at the scene, it was crystal clear that they were screaming something, but their voice would not escape the suddenly formed prison. Reacting as swiftly as ever, Noheme's limbs would be once again coated in darkness itself as she jumped up, penetrating the one that Yuka was in, grabbing the poor girl into her arms and safely landing with her a little bit further down the road. And since her hands were tied this way, the second one was up to Cirven. The second one that would increase it's defenses in order to fulfill it's purpose. A prison of sacrifice.

Word Count - 1301 / 9268 total

Sighing, Ai accepted what Cirven said and looked around, her expression telling that she probably couldn't really find a proper response to what he just said. "I guess that's good enough comparison, yeah. Like a Celestial Spirit Realm, just different in it's design." As far as she recalled, the world where celestial spirits existed was composed of tiny planets and starts, each one serving as a home to the individual beings. But Astral Realm looked quite different, the sky always coated in bright orange with fast moving black clouds. And instead of small planets that would serve as homes for the residence, the world consisted of large number of floating islands, each of them bearing beautiful nature and structures. Below, only eternal abyss awaited, so one could say that it was a pretty dangerous place to live in as well if you were afraid of heights or falling over edges. Of course, there were many more differences between the two worlds, but it would take far too long to explain everything in the detail needed. It would be merely wasting the time that they did not have in the first place, something perfectly useless in this situation. Though she would not mind to explain things in a more calm environment some other time, if they were to ever meet again. The girl also appreciated the thanks that she received from the siblings, even blushing a little as she heard those words. At first, it kinda seemed as if she demanded a words of thank you, or at least expected it. But now that she received what she wanted, it looked more like she was surprised to not be ignored or something, being genuinely happy about what was said. Playing with her strange hair, she looked around a bit again before turning her back towards them all again, as if she was embarrassed from was happening or something. Well, she was but a slave so perhaps this was quite out of the norm for her. Though Noheme was still turned to them by her back as well, not really able to see the delightful expression her servant was wearing right now. Truly shameful, as she would surely like that look as well.

But things quickly escalated, spiraling out of control and the kinda boring mission transformed into a hellish landscape of horrors and anger. Noheme saved Yuka and brought her away from where the bubbles were, taking into consideration that there might have been more. Because of that, she held her in her arms like a princess, high above the ground itself. So if something were to happen, the goddess herself would be engulfed by the strange magic or mechanism. But nothing of the sort happened. Instead, she could only watch as her temporary partner wailed on the transparent bubble, but only for naught. Was he not strong enough? Surely that wasn't the face, the first trap got destroyed rather easily. And she saw his power before in that short fight, he definitely was a force to be reckoned with. Realizing that the dog demon alone would not be able to break Kenta out, the fox girl quickly placed Yuka's legs onto the ground so she could sprint over and add her little bit of power as well. Alas, it was far too late for that now. The moment she made her first step, the bubble exploded in a horrific manner, taking even the goddess aback. And of course, the only remaining half of the siblings, a girl that was far too shocked to move a single muscle. Cirven himself was affected by the explosion as well, but definitely not as much. After all, he was still alive... an the one that they were meant to protect , the one that slowed them down and wanted a chance to prove himself was gone. In a fit of rage, the dog demon would nearly go on a rampage. But instead, he spoke to the goddess again. His words making the fox girl's expression darken, as if she was just told something she wanted to hear least.

And in as sense, that was indeed correct. She introduce herself as Eris Sytry for a reason. And not even one, there were many of those when it came to the fact as to why she was hiding her identity. Clenching her fist, the world she was able to see grew dark around her, a tunnel vision commencing. "I don't recall giving you a permission to call me that, you dog." That was all she spoke. And moments later, an extreme wave of magical energy washed over them all, as something of great power was released somewhere in the city. Not wasting any time, the goddess would start sprinting towards the source, leaving everyone behind. Even her lovable slave, who was frozen in shock just as much as Yuka. The two girls stood next to one another and Ai Eden was the first one to awoke from the sudden eruption of different emotions inside of her, the disbelief in reality right in front of her. Switching her look between two different place, she know no longer what to do. Should she follow her master as the obedient, loyal puppy she was? Or should she stay behind and tend to Yuka? The poor young girl wasn't moving at all, not even making a single sound. She simple stared at the burned ground where her brother stood only few moments ago. Biting her lip to the point where a crimson red blood would come out, she grabbed Yuka's arm with all her strength and started running in the same direction as Noheme, dragging the sister behind her and uncaring about Cirven. He was mad, that much was clear. And she wished not to die because he would not take lightly to her master's words. It was selfish of her, but she decided to have Yuka by her side simply so that the metal god slayer would not instantly decide to cleave her in half only because she was on her goddess' side. It was... a bad situation all around.

Word Count - 1021 / 10289 total

Ai Eden still didn't know what to do with the child by her side. At least Cirven wouldn't hurt her in any capacity, as it seemed that he still had his sanity even in the state of great anger, but... he merely passed by the girls with those words and then left further ahead. He would not help the two of them, as he was only focused on the fight ahead, on avenging the slayed brother. He may have not noticed, but Ai was actually weaker than Yuka herself. Despite being an astral being and controlling ability that she showcased, she was nothing like her master. She was weak and she knew it. She would never be as strong as the one who was taking care of her, despite the confidence she usually showed. And to be honest, she was not afraid and regretting coming here in the first place. This battlefield was not meant for her and she did not even do anything useful yet. Sure, she managed to heal Kenta's wounds before, but what good that did? He was dead now, after all. It was all so... useless. In the moment the young girl managed to push away and start talking, the astral spirit would stop dead in her tracks, dead look in her eyes. She had no idea how to reply. Should she be direct? Should she try to calm her? Was there any other option at all? She simply did not know. She did not know at all. The world around her grew dark, collapsing in her vision. Why was she left in this situation by her master? Ah, of course... she had more important matters to tend to. She had to stop whatever was causing this whole situation. Clenching her fists, she would turn around to face Yuka without a single word escaping her mouth. And then... she would hug her tightly. "I'm sorry..." In that very moment, they both teleported. Ai opened another portal, just like when she appeared the first time. But now, she dragged the other girl onto the other side, as they would find themselves suddenly falling into a pool of water. Despite looking similar, this water quite different from the healing one she used before. It had a powerful effect that would make one fall asleep for some time. Already living in this world, the spirit was able to resist it for long enough to drag herself along with Yuka onto the ground where they now both laid sleeping.

They would not have to experience the destruction that Motor City was about to see. As both the demon dog and the goddess looked at the madman in white coat and his creation. He explain himself and surprisingly, the two of them let him finish. Or at least partially. When Cirven attempted to attack him directly, it had no effect at all because of the machine that protected it's creation. So he really was at least partially blinded by his hatred and wrath, all brewing together inside of him. Noheme on the other hand simply stood there, her look dark and unchanging as if she was spacing out. But she was not, as she even heard her partner's words clearly. In that instant, a small piece of memory surfaced inside of her mind. Something rather strange and unexpected. Why did this not come to her sooner? Was it because of the shock? It was certainly possible... the memory of that day when she received a certain information from the man who called himself her creator, her father. He told her that despite living along with so many years as a divine entity, she was in fact not so alone. She had two sisters and there was an option for them to live happily together in the past. But now, that option was no more as one of the sisters recently perished. It was news so shocking that the goddess knew not of how to respond to it all. A mixture of disbelief and anger, the fact that there was a chance for her to avoid all that loneliness all that time, but it was now snatched away, not even giving her a chance to save it all... it strangely reminded her of their current situation. Was this how Cirven felt right now? Just like she did back then? It's not like Kenta was his actual brother, but he was meant to protect the boy nonetheless. There were certainly some similarities in their predicaments. So Noheme liked to think she understood him at least a little bit. And precisely because of that, she could not obey his words.

Not giving him a chance to do anything else, the goddess placed one of her hands on the ground, strange markings all over her body suddenly. But they did not stay long there, as they quickly spread to the the ground, forming a giant cute all around them, an arena of sorts. It was rather nightmarish in it's appearance, blocking light of the sun with it's black-ish purple-ish walls that were covered in those strange markings, even forming a miasma of sorts all around them to reduce one's vision. And the moment she activated it, everyone felt the goddess' power. As everyone, even Cirven lost piece of their life force, energy being sucked right out of them. It made the man stagger, but only for a moment. As he had no longer time for anything else. Noheme was standing right behind him, one of her hands piercing his chest and holding his torn out heart right in front of him where he could see it. Yes, the demon's metal attack did not work despite it's speed. But the fox girl was capable of direct teleportation, something that was nearly instant and pretty much unstoppable. Especially once the man created some space between himself and his creation like that on his own accord. He doomed himself, not allowing his masterpiece to have enough time to move to the rescue and save him from that attack, one that actually managed to kill it's master. The strongest being... in the universe...? I am right here, standing behind you. I... am... god! Something you mortals shan't ever understand because of your own greed! Crushing the heart with her own limbs that were coated in the darkness, she finally pulled her hand right out of his chest, allowing the other people present to see here. She... changed, to say the least. As the darkness took over the light, Noheme became the goddess of darkness. The moon created it's eclipse! And it was a pretty drastic change too, her body now even engulfed in black flames of despair, giving off an aura of unspeakable sadness.

New appearance:

The machine stared at her for a while, but did not attack. It blocked Cirven's attack before, but now it did not. It only made a sound similar to human's sigh. "A mere human... he wasn't fit to be my master after all. No matter, as you two will perish nonetheless." Those were it's only words before Noheme was right next to the machine, trying to pierce it with her claws. But it was way sturdier than those before, as it did not even flinch on the contact. Instead of even trying to dodge, it relied on it's own armor to stop the girl in her tracks as it gripped the sword that it wielded right now and attempted to slash her head right off. Thanfully, the fox girl managed to just barely dodge by bending her knees and falling backwards, the weapon flying just above her nose and cutting a off a little bit of her hair. Using her darkness coated tail as a fifth limb, she managed to regain her stability quite fast as the Genocide tried to attack again. What commenced was a flurry of strikes from each side, as both of them were currently focus on speed. And not even a single hit landed, as they were both able to dodge the other one's attack, at least for a while. In a moments notice, the goddess got into a rather tricky situation and the blade grazed her side just a little but, but enough to spill her crimson red blood. In that moment of pain, her balance was lost and the swords changed into an Ax that the machine wielded with both of it's hands. And in a downward slash, it meant the cut the poor girl in half. However, something strange happened. The ground that they were standing on, it seemed that as if the machine slipped on one of the stones and the ax moved in a different direction than it was meant to be, missing Noheme completely and hitting the ground next to her instead. The aura of misfortune. An ability that the girl herself was not quite aware of, but it was indeed there. Though the enemy did not remain in shock for too long, kicking Noheme in the stomach and sending her flying quite some distance away. It looked rather painful, but at least in opened the curtains for another dogged contender, Cirven.

Word Count - 1527 / 11816 total

Even though the impact she received was quite a big one, she was still holding together. Her magic shielded her somewhat, and as long as it would remain that way, she should be able to continue fighting. Though as she slammed into a wall of yet another house and created a not very small dent in it, she required a little bit of time to recover. And in that time, she saw her partner doing his best to fend off the beast. In contrast to the robots they faced before, this one was truly different. So much more power, it almost looked as if the two of them could actually lose. Well, that was until the moment the boy started changing his form as well. Noheme thought that he wasn't quite an ordinary person just from his abilities, but she did not expect him to change his whole appearance like that. Though she herself did just that few moments ago, so perhaps it was not so uncommon in this world of mortals. It was apparent that his fighting abilities increased quite a bit too, just like the goddess' did with her little transformation. Though in her case, all that increase was her raw power and ability to deal damage, nothing else. In all honesty, it was kinda shitty boost all things considered, but it was the best her mortal body could handle right now. So there was really no room to be complaining about this as she watched the rest of the fight unfold. Unfortunately, even the new formed of the dog demon wasn't quite enough to win. But at least it was enough for the man to not die, though he was send flying as well, which clearly dealt quite a bit of damage to himself. Good thing that the younger ones were not actually here, showing them a show like this one would be nothing short of embarrassing... and the goddess wanted only to show herself in the best light possible.

Noheme watched as the Genocide dispatched of Cirven for the time being, yes. But what it did next caught her attention even more. As it started wielding it's scythe in rather strange manner. It almost looked as if it was ready to throw it like some kind of bumerang. In fact, that was the moment when the goddess grew rather terrified, as indeed the machine was preparing to use it'S weapon in such manner to end the life of the man that was currently kinda out of it. As it extended it's hands in preparation for the attack, a pitch black chain suddenly flew from the other side of the battlefield, wrapping itself around the machine's arm. That clearly caught it's attention, and much more. On the other end was Noheme, smiling brighter than ever as she forcefully pulled on the chain. And it actually worked for once, making Genocide lose it's footing as the enormous mechanical body suddenly flew into the air and was forced into a nearby building thanks to whip-like motion of the chain. "Didn't quite expect that, hah? Enhanced by my god magic, even something this simple can overpower that stupid giant body of yours! Now come at me and show me all you've got! Let's dance!" "Gladly!" The enemy was not afraid to take on her challenge and quickly jumped out of the crater he formed when his body struct the metal plated structure. And as he was flying towards the goddess, she created several, rather large jet black needles in her other hand, not hesitating to throw them forth. The machine merely covered it's body with it's hands, blocking all of the needles, though they did bury into the metal quite nicely. But they did not hurt the beast at all, making it think that the attack was simply far too weak.

Jumping back a little, Noheme avoided the fist that was headed at her as the machine landed where she stood just a second ago, and it did not waste any time before it would start swinging it's scythe at her in all directions. It was fast and could read the girl's movements as if it was reading the future itself. Was that Genocide's power? Or perhaps power of that transforming weapon? She could only guess at this point, and there was not exactly much room for error. The situation was starting to get a bit dire with options running low. And with each swing, it seemed as if the scythe was closer to hitting the fox girl, forcing her into a defensive position. And while the cube they were in continued to deplete the enemy's health, it was also affecting Cirven as well, which was not great in the current situation. That was the nature of her magic, something that could hurt the enemy as easily as it could hurt all the allies. A cruel message to someone who only wished to learn about humans and get along with them. Gulping, the girl decided that it was time to give it everything she got, even if that meant her magical reserves running rather dry after all this. Spotting an opening, she used her perfect movement to use the air itself as wall and propel herself right into the machine, knocking it back a bit to create some time for casting. The dark space was already prepared, so she could begin right away. Another figure quickly formed next to her, resembling her shape, but not color. It was a transparent clone of Noheme made out of dark energy, ready for battle. And with a smirk, the goddess continued, also summoning several claw-like weapons of darkness that she grabbed along with her little copy by her side.

"Bringing more won't save you. I will still--" The machine was quite rudely interrupted as both of them started charging at him, making him prepare for counterattack with the scythe. But it was at that moment, the needles would finally become active, suddenly sending shocks through the mechanical body and making it spaz, even if for just a moment. Creating an opening like that, both the real deal and her clone tried their best to tear the enemy apart. And they did a fairly good job, at least until Genocide regained it's control and quickly managed to grab the clone by the head, crushing it and cancelling the summon instantly. Noheme tried to continue fighting regardless and despite the return of that stupid scythe and it's speed, she somehow managed to push the robot back into the center of this square they were fighting on. But she wasn't able to keep it up forever, as he eventually managed to knock her of balance and his next hit managed to hit. It pierced right through her stomach, impaling her as the machine raised it's weapon with the woman on it, blood pouring out of her mouth and her widened eyes staring back at it. But before the massacrebot could start laughing and claim it's victory, that surprised look transformed back into a smirk. "Aha..haha! Finally I can feel such amazing pain and fear! So this is what it means to be alive, to be mortal and so very fragile... so very human. How... fascinating. Yes, this is what my mission is about! As your reward, I shall make sure you die quickly and painlessly! Mostly anyway~" Her last words were filled with tease as eight more tails suddenly appeared behind her back, all of them them touching the ground beneath them all at the same time. And the moment they did, a giant pillar of black flames engulfed both Noheme and the Genocide project. A pillar of flames so strong that it reached into the skies and started melting all the buildings that were around, probably giving Cirven a little bit of a hard time in the process. Eventually, the goddess would stumble out of the flaming scene, her own magic not affecting her. She held her stomach, clearly heavily injured... but she seemed happy. Though, did that finish off the enemy? It was hard to tell through all the steam that was created by her display.

Word Count - 1362 / 13178 total

Even after the ace that she had up her sleeve, her strongest finishing attack, that machine was still intact?! Sure, it looked rather melted on the outside, but it was still walking, talking and trying to kill. How could it survive a blast of power that great, Noheme had absolutely no clue. And it infuriated her, as she thought that she won by casting her Pyre. But instead, she was now writhing in agony on the cold floor because of the injury she sustained, incapable of fighting back at all. All she could do now was watch Cirven finally get up and finish the job. Even her dark space started collapsing as she was unable to properly cast the spell again in her condition. And so, the entire cube that was covering the battlefield started breaking into pieces as the walls that were covered in the strange black marks slowly vanished. The miasma cleared up quite nicely as the warm rays of the sun started shining on the battlefield once more. A perfect weather for a decisive victory. Only Noheme was no longer capable of obtaining it. How... humiliating for her. She could not believe it, but her only option was to hope that her partner had enough juice left in him to finish the beast off. And while he struggled quite a bit while trying to beat it up to the best of his ability, he managed to win in the end. It was ragged and not very elegant victory, but it was victory nonetheless. And that was all that really mattered at this point. He finally got to avenge Kenta and the other 4 500 souls that were taken away by this monster. At least he didn't do it completely alone, the moon goddess still deserved some credit here! And as far as she was concerned, she was the one who won that battle, not Cirven. The best melted into nothingness under the head of her nigh-tailed funeral pyre, that would be the story she will eventually tell those who'll ask her for her heroic adventures.

Though it would probably still be quite a while before she becomes the hero of humanity. She was still only at the very beginning of her mission to understand humans and their emotions, their culture and customs. Cirven wasn't exactly the best start either, as he could hardly be counted as a human, he even said so himself when Genocide labeled him as one. So there was that little achievement thrown out of the bloody window, getting shattered on the road behind it by the feet of pedestrians. Oh well, perhaps she understood Yuka at least a little bit. Speaking of which, she was still passed out in her Astral realms, along with her slave Ai Eden. Hopefully they would not sleep too much longer, as it would be rather awkward if they were to return without even one of the siblings. Not that Noheme really had anywhere to return to. After all, she kinda broke into the city only because it looked interesting. She had no idea that anything like this was going on here, that there was a job to fulfill. She never officially accepted anything, so she was even sure that there would be absolutely no reward waiting for her at the end of the road. The only thing that would await here would be soldiers with weapons at the ready, prepared to put her into the jail for breaking an entering or something, getting into the city while it was closed off. It forced the girl to sigh, which caused another wave of surprising pain coursing through her body as more of her blood spilled on the ground. At this point, she was basically bathing in her own bodily fluids. Thank god she chose a strong vessel, one that would not die easily. But two strikes, one that even actually pierces her through, were enough to put her out of the commission. Well, anyone would be in the same state after what she went through. But at least it was somewhat enjoyable. Not as much as it could have been, once again ruined by the fact that her enemy was a stupid robot. Despite it's ability to trash talk, it was still a soulless piece of junk that could not show any proper emotions.

As Cirven approached the goddess, she tried to move her eyes up to see him. Yeah, he seen better days too. But at least he was able to still stand. And after hearing his triumphant words, she could no longer remain in that position, even with a wound like that. Picking up the last of her strength, she tried to somehow pick herself up. But she only got to a position on all four before she started vomiting out blood, only adding to the pool she was already in. "Uh... fuck you..." Yeah, that was her answer to the brave young man's words. But before he could reply or try to help her in any matter, she actually managed to get up. Her right hand held over the wound, trying to stop the bleeding while her entire chin and most of her chest was completely covered in her own blood from the vomiting. Not exactly a pretty sight, but she was alive. One had to wonder if she somehow had more blood in her body than your regular human. However it was, she clenched her other, free hand and started focusing. At that moment, a warm light would envelop the two of them. And just like that, Cirven's wounds wounds started healing. Noheme didn't recall using another light-based spell today, so this was probably a surprise. But yes, she was not just all about darkness. She was a goddess of both dark and light. And her light was truly comforting and embracing. But in contrast to her selfish darkness, it was far too selfless. And because of that, the light could only heal others and not Noheme herself. Thus her injuries remained exactly the same as they were while Cirven's body slowly returned to the state it was before the battle even began, completely fine and without a single scratch. And now that she allowed light to shine again, even her dark visage crumbled away, revealing her previous appearance.

"Take that as a token of appreciation for assisting me. Though I should have not done so for your rudeness of addressing me by a name that I did not introduce myself with." Everyone had secrets, Cirven no doubt too. After all, the goody persona he was wearing surely served as a mask and wasn't his full self as well. And no one wanted to give those secrets away so easily. Even though he managed to figure it out thanks to her mistake at the very beginning due to her not being used to the new name just yet... she would still appreciate it if he stayed with the name Eris for now. But at this point, she could not stop him from calling her by her real name, so she didn't even bother saying anything out loud. If something, there was a good chance she would get laughed at, since she wasn't able to really defend herself both physically and verbally in her current state. And even if she would be laughed at just as a joke, well... she would still hate it. That was simply her nature, her pride. It didn't allow her to be able to take jokes directed at her, forcing her to retaliate every time instead. She was a godly being that was to be respected and worshiped, not mocked. All of that simply made her feel like a useless goddess that failed in her role, as a mentor of masses and hero to many. A guiding light and embracing darkness. What would be even left for her if she were to give up on her very being? Well... those in her tribe back in Joya still worshiped her, so it would probably only mean that her quest in other parts of the world failed. And all these thoughts, they were probably only present because of the fact that her attack wasn't able to finish the Genocide off, making her feel weak.

Perhaps it was only natural to feel that way when you were injured so heavily, bleeding all over the place when you partner only seemed to have some bruises and scratches. Or perhaps she felt like that only because she was expecting far too much of herself? Because she was a goddess, she felt as if she had to be the best in the whole universe, just as the machine claimed to be. And since she wasn't able to defeat it all by herself, then it maybe was correct. It was stronger than Noheme because it took two people to defeat that thing. The girl slowly closed her eyes in shame, ready to be consumed by the endless abyss of her mind. But instead, her body was pushed into the dog demon by yet another portal that appeared right behind her, spewing out Ai and Yuka. The Astral spirit sure had a great aim, hitting her master for the second time already today. Right as the moon goddess' body touched Cirven, a strange reserve of power kicked in, a strong shove sending the young man flying away as the female took few steps away, her face red in blush for some reason. She didn't even care about her injuries no longer, the embarrassment she suddenly felt overpowering all. Why did she feel like this again? Was it because he technically saved her life? Or maybe because he showed that other form of his, suddenly looking like an alfa male dog/wolf being to a fox girl that had strong animalistic side? Well, there were plenty of option to choose from and Noheme didn't like a single one of them, so she just shook her hand and swept it all from her imaginary mind table, turning to face her slave and the still clearly half-asleep remaining sibling with wrath in her eyes. Even when injured, she was still getting pushed around like some kind of tool.

"And where were you with your shield the whole time, huh? Opening portals like this, did you return to my realm because you were scare? Hmm... is Ai a little scared kitty? I hope not, because I aim to teach her what a real fear is after this! A punishment that you will never forget!" Her words sounded very unpleasant and forced a mixture of excited and rather nervous look on Ai's face, indicating that she was both happy and terrified from what she just heard. Their relationship sure was interesting it seemed. Though the three-eyed girl quickly threw all that behind as she spotted her master's wounded body, her expression quickly darkening and becoming much more serious. Jumping out to support her goddess, she gave Cirven a dark side look as well, as if she was saying 'How dare you not protect her in my absence' or something along those lines. But she was far to focused on helping her master out right now to actually say anything to the man, or to Yuka who was now left stumbling around alone, the sleeping effect slowly wearing off but still leaving her in a state where she was more of a sleepwalker than anything else. "Please, hold on for a moment master! It's not ready yet, but... I can... I can... uuh, this is what I was talking about when I had to use my only healing ability, you are meant to be my top priority!" Noheme appreciated the worry and smiled gently once more, her head dropping low. "It's fine... my natural regeneration already started taking care of it all. I'll be good in no time at all." Looking once more at Cirven, she showed rather neutral expression, but there was still gratitude behind those emerald green eyes of hers. "Why don't you take the girl so we can leave? I can't wait to be out of this dump..."

Word Count - 2026 / 15204 total