Well… Shit.
Elythra stands up and goes into full parahuman psycho mode. She seems to completely ignore the guys who just got into a car accident and the completely defeated Skidmark. She simply pulls out her staff as the bugs begin to flood the place.
I'm not gonna lie, it looks pretty badass, but now is not the time.
Hah… what I have to do for my Master. Pity me!
"Master, do you know them?"
Elythra nodded.
"Cricket, very good at fighting. Crusader creates flying clones."
That's... not exactly wrong, but it can get Elythra into trouble.
Oh well, there's no better lesson than pain, I suppose. I'll just stop Crusader from impaling her, everything else is fair game.
"Fine. I'll take the three clowns to a safe place. Good luck."
"Hey, Cricket! These rookies are underestimating us! You take care of the weirdo, I'm going for the stripper!" Crusader shouted.
Clearly, it was a way to provoke us. To make us make mistakes.
"What did you say!?" I don't give a shit!
It doesn't bother me that I'm considered a stripper. I'm a goddess of lust, prostitution is 100% within my domain. That they use it as an insult, denigrating the work? That irritates me!
Without a second thought, I fired a beam straight at the armored bastard's face; however, a ghost passed through his body the moment I aimed, and it managed to get in front of him in time to block the shot.
"So a Blaster… Then, also a flying artillery if the reports of its flight from before are true. It seems like it will really be better for me to handle this one."
I'm gonna kill this bastard.
But, first...
"You can do it Master!"
Taylor immediately prepared herself for the fight and looked ready to give it her all against her new opponent. Supernaturally so even for her.
Huh, that's B-rank charisma for you I guess.
Cricket hadn't said a word yet and stared at Elythra as she slowly approached her direction. She seemed to be… Posing? Walking with style? Aura farming? Elythra hadn't been wasting any time, though. All the bugs gathered at the place swung at both of them at once.
Honestly, I thought that would be the end of Crusader at the very least, but he ended up exceeding my expectations.
After taking off lightly to avoid the bugs on the ground, two of his phantoms began to rapidly spin their spears through Crusader's body and at the same time kill any bugs in their path. Normally, this wouldn't be enough, but his armor limits what path the bugs can take to get to his skin, making it considerably easier. He did get a few stings here and there, but not enough to bother him.
Elythra also didn't use enough bugs to overwhelm him.
Cricket, on the other hand, began to accelerate towards Elythra as soon as the bugs headed her way. She was somehow able to avoid the vast majority of groups of insects and even accurately cut down many of them here and there. To top it off, those that did get close to her ended up too stunned to do anything for some reason…
Her power to generate infrasound, of course.
I guess our bug-drowning maneuver failed and with Cricket on the way this could get dangerous for the captured villains. I tell Elythra the same thing through our bond and without needing further explanation, Elythra starts running away from me and the wounded. I'm sure Cricket knows what she's doing, but she ignores it.
With a thought I move Maana and with precise control I use it to place the villains in place. Starting with Leet who is the most injured.
Shame, I was planning to use Maana for the first time in this fight, but I guess it'll have to work as a stretcher for now.
I was heading towards Skidmark next.
I saw out of the corner of my eye a spectral spear aimed at my side, I dodged the blow with a hip movement assisted by some flight and quickly moved away from the disadvantageous position by flying away from the phantom.
I turned my attention to my surroundings with a dozen of those ghosts surrounding me from all directions and flying out of the circle of ghosts was a flying Crusader.
His flight seemed clumsy and somewhat unstable as a phantom was completely superimposed on his body, but I guess it was some kind of flight anyway.
"Perhaps you have forgotten me, wench?"
I felt my eye twitch. Make me angry again? I will definitely make it painful for this guy. That doesn't mean I will neglect my priorities.
With a snort I threw my hair back.
"How could I remember a weakling like you? You can't even reach the soles of my feet, you filthy commoner. In fact, I shouldn't forgive you for even thinking about breathing the same air as this Goddess and her Master." I said, pointing at his ugly helmet.
"Master? That bug girl? Interesting power, I admit, but she's no match for Cricket." He said with a shrug.
That's what many have said.
"I wouldn't underestimate her if I were you."
The idiot snorted.
"I think you overestimate her. You do look pretty good in those slutty clothes you're wearing though. If you beg me, I'll spare both of your lives even if you are a mudblood." His voice was proud with a nice hint of lust in there.
My eyes darkened.
I'm buying some time for Maana to finish picking up and clearing the villains away from the scene, but even though Maana was still doing the good work, that was the last thing on my mind right now.
"How dare you?!" I shouted angrily.
Mudblood?! Me?!
I pulled out a topaz from my inventory, again repeating the motions of bringing my hand closer to the gem on my necklace before doing so. The topaz in my hand shattered and a flash of light flowed through my body for a few seconds before returning to normal.
With my preparations ready, what I had been waiting for happened.
A spear shot out from my blind spot, ready to pierce my spine. A victorious smile spread across Crusader's face. Apparently, I wasn't the only one trying to distract the other. Now that I was clearly upset, Crusader decided to make an attack at my back.
However, all that was useless.
Without even looking back, I do a perfect spin move, sending the spear flying past me. Using the momentum of my spin, I do a perfect roundhouse kick straight to the thing's head.
My kick sent the ghost flying straight towards its owner, passing through him without much effect, but revealing his eyes wide at what the fragile flying Blaster shouldn't be able to do.
My hits don't hurt the ghosts, but they are still affected by the knockback.
Our little conflict paused as Crusader tried to process what had just happened. That ended up working out to my benefit, of course. Maana had already finished rounding up the villains and taking them to a rooftop two blocks away.
With Maana by my side I felt complete.
I gave him a toothy grin that definitely didn't reach my eyes at the bastard in front of me.
"It's time for round two!"
Crusader did not hesitate. All the ghosts that had initially tried to surround me moved forward, protecting their master. Crusader himself moved further away than before with his clumsy flight backwards.
Useless.
I take a stance ready to beat him up with my bare hands. I know it's dumb for an archer to fight at close range, but I couldn't care less at this moment.
I shot forward, flying far faster than this fraud could ever imagine achieving.
One of the ghosts stepped forward, attempting to stab me in my beautiful face. I moved my entire body forward while slightly elevating myself to dodge the blow. With a flip, I struck his head with an axe strike using my heel, sending him flying towards the ground.
Taking advantage of my distraction, four ghosts tried to stab my torso from all directions.
I continued the momentum of my kick, leaving my head pointing towards the ground and raised myself slightly to be above all the spears. I placed my hands on the spears that crossed each other, where my torso was moments ago. As if I was practicing Break Dance I used the crossed spears as a fulcrum to rotate with force, delivering a few deadly kicks to the head of each ghost, sending them flying like the others.
Crusader had already begun his final retreat, taking two phantoms with him, not counting the phantom he used to fly, leaving the remaining three phantoms to buy time for his retreat. I assume he would use the other two phantoms to pick up Cricket and distract Elythra.
Not on my watch. Elythra may be taking a beating right now, but I sure as hell won't let him interfere.
Repeating the same gesture as before, I took two gems from my inventory. A topaz and a sapphire. Without a second thought, I threw them both towards the position between Elythra and Cricket and Crusader's fight.
"Master, close your eyes!" I followed my own warning and closed my eyes, ready for what was about to happen.
A second after that warning, the sapphire exploded slightly boosting the topaz's effect, turning what would be a small flashbang into a large light bomb. Elythra, who didn't hesitate for a second to follow my warning, was left unharmed. Cricket's crazy reflexes minimized the damage enough so that she only took some damage. Of course, Elythra didn't miss the opportunity to provide her first blow for that particular fight. However, the one I was interested in was Crusader.
"Argh shit! I'm fucking blind!"
Heh, you deserve it, bastard.
I think it's time to end this show. I quickly flew towards the remaining ghosts. This time they were in a row and their strategy was to hit me in three different vital points; however, their plan is in vain. Just before I was "impaled", I suddenly braked using my majestic air control and simply soared completely above the ghosts.
The ghosts immediately flew in my direction, forgetting about my trusty flying companion. Maana. Maana headed straight for the still dazed Crusader.
However, I won't be using Maana for something as vulgar as making a tackle.
From my vantage point in the air, I pointed my gun finger from above the clouds towards the head of the unprotected Crusader.
"Gandr!" I shouted.
The familiar ball of darkness shot forth without delay, and before any of the remaining ghosts could do anything, it struck its creator squarely in the head, causing Crusader to pass out and the ghosts to disappear all at once.
Including, of course, the one that kept him in the air.
Crusader was about to fall to his death, when he was picked up by Maana who was in position to catch him beforehand.
One more down.
I flew towards Maana and Crusader's direction. And I noticed that the bastard wasn't completely out yet. However, due to Gandr's illnesses it didn't look like that would last for long.
I could almost feel his gaze of hatred and disbelief from here.
"Y-you… You couldn't… Do… That."
Bow your head.
"Of course I could."
If looks could kill, I would have already been wiped off the throne of heroes.
"S-so… W -why…!? "
Don't you understand?
Crusader's biggest mistake was fighting me in the sky. My control over my flight is absolutely perfect, for me controlling my body in the air is even easier than moving on the ground. It's like moving my arm. There is 0 difference between what I imagine and what happens. Also, although I didn't flaunt it, I am much faster than him or his phantoms, getting close to his rear would be a piece of cake.
It could have all been over in an instant.
With a cruel smile straight out of my darkest times, I replied.
"I was just having a little fun."
He didn't seem to be able to understand what I had said to him, no, he just didn't want to understand it, but eventually he did.
"Y- You !... "
"Ohohohoho! Byee ! ~ " With that I made him faint with hypnosis.
Fuu … Well, that was fun.
Using Maana I began to fly towards where the other villains were, watching Elythra's fight out of the corner of my eye.
It wasn't going well.
Honestly, Elythra being alive is only thanks to Cricket's playful tendencies and Elythra's armor.
Cricket hadn't come out unscathed. Elythra took full advantage of my light bomb's distraction, however, Cricket managed to protect herself from the climactic blow by sacrificing her left arm which appears to be broken. Still, it doesn't seem like that stopped Cricket from beating the shit out of Elythra, though it definitely made things easier for her.
However, I don't even want to think about how many bruises there must be under that suit.
Cricket seemed amused enough by it all that she was just having fun leaving bruises on my Master. She hadn't even noticed that Crusader was already out of the fight. She probably wouldn't care either though.
"Hey, Master! Do you want help?" I asked.
"Everything is under control." I can't say I didn't see that answer coming.
A kick that hits her in the stomach and sends her rolling on the ground makes me not want to believe her, but I decided to trust my Master.
I decided to finish preparing the villains on a silver platter for the heroes.
I started by applying some first aid to Uber. The crash didn't seem to hurt him too much compared to Leet, but he wasn't in perfect shape or anything either. Ironically, most of the damage is the burns from his seatbelt and airbag. Not that it's something wrong, since those safety measures are what kept him from being so bad like leet in the first place.
I decided to be a merciful Goddess and healed most of his injuries, as well as his concussion, using some jades. Of course, I immediately bound his hands and feet like the others.
There wasn't much to be done with Crusader. Trapped like the others, but I kept the disease. It wasn't anything dangerous or anything, and it was a good punishment for daring to disrespect this Goddess.
With all that taken care of, I turned my attention back to the fight.
Elythra had stepped away from Cricket, who was simply watching her in amusement. They were both staring at each other. Surprisingly, Elythra was the one to break the silence.
"I recommend you give up now, Cricket, this fight is over."
Cricket snorted in amusement.
"Strong words for someone who has barely given me a hit since we started."
"I didn't need to. I already have everything I needed to defeat you."
What a cool line!
It's a little strange because I don't remember canon Elythra talking that much unless she's trying to buy time. What exactly is she doing?
Mmn? I looked up at the sky.
Ohh…
"Oh yeah? Let's see if that's true, insect!"
With that shout, Cricket lunged at Elythra who hadn't moved from her position. Though she didn't make it more than two steps before Elythra's plan was put into action.
Hundreds of thousands of insects outside a certain range began to emit sounds all at the same time, at exactly the same frequency and cadence. A few did nothing, the countless bugs slowly approaching our direction? It was a loud cacophony that could be heard all over the place.
If Elythra's idea was to annoy Cricket with noise, then it hadn't worked. Cricket continued to run smoothly towards Elythra, using her pulse to disable any insects that came near her; however, the noisy bugs inside were only the first part.
A huge, approaching shadow finally drew Cricket's attention to skyward, but it was too late. A dark cloud of flies and mosquitoes descended upon them both, limiting the view of everyone in the room.
Of course, with my divine sight I had no problem following what was happening.
Elythra had used the noisy bugs to hide the sound of the sky bugs falling towards Cricket. With Cricket constantly moving, it would be difficult to surround her with bugs, but if they all fall at once, there's not much she can do. She's now in Elythra's territory, inside the sea of bugs.
Of course, this didn't stop Cricket. She switched from her bug-stopping pulsar for a second to an echo-locating pulsar. The pulsar switch was a one-second switch and the bugs took advantage of that second to do as much damage as possible, but it wasn't enough to stop Cricket, who was getting closer and closer to Elythra. Once in range, she immediately launched herself at Elythra, aiming her kama at her neck, no more games.
However, Elythra had not wasted time and those one-second gaps either. Holding the staff with her right arm, her left hand was on the hilt of her secondary weapon and with one movement she pulled it out of its sheath, the knife.
Elythra aimed a slash at the approaching Cricket's side, taking advantage of the gap between pulsars. Cricket, however, had seen it coming and, although she could no longer dodge the knife, she put her kama in position to stop it. At the same time, Cricket moved her broken arm, ready to use it as a club to hit Elythra, but something happened that she would not expect in a million years.
Elythra's knife, that was meant to be stopped by her kama, cut through the reinforced steel weapon like butter. The sheer stupidity of the whole thing distracted her for only a moment, but Elythra was counting on that moment, and it cost Cricket dearly.
Elythra, using only one arm, uses her staff to hit Cricket's kneecaps hard. The lack of momentum and using only one arm meant that she didn't do too much damage, but it was enough to limit her mobility.
With Cricket down, Elythra dropped the knife (thankfully not perfectly vertical) to hold the staff in both hands. Properly prepared this time, a good blow to the head finally snuffed out Cricket's consciousness.
Elythra had won.
The fight only lasted a few minutes and Elythra's final plan was a few seconds, but that was amazing!
Elythra looked alarmed by the flying hug missile hurtling in her direction, but not even her new spatial awareness could save her from what was coming.
"You did it, Master! I knew you could!"
"Aah! Inana this is embarrassing!"
Elythra could only remain motionless as I hugged her waist, and we spun in the air.
"You are amazing!"
"Inana!"
We circled around and around for a few more seconds until I finally let Master rest on the ground. She looked dizzy and embarrassed by what we had just done, but I knew she was secretly glad for the attention.
Without saying a word, Elythra turned her head in another direction, muttering in a voice low enough for even I not to hear what she was saying.
At the same time, the bugs in the vicinity of the fight slowly retreated from the area, leaving the empty space free of arthropods.
Elythra started walking towards Cricket after I had pushed her away a bit with all my spinning. She seemed unsteady on her feet, and not in a way that was justified by the little amusement from earlier. I guess she was more hurt than she was letting on, but I didn't call her out loud for it. Elythra doesn't want to appear weak, especially in front of the people who stood around us in awe now that the fight was over, and the bugs were gone. Still.
"It seems you will need healing, Master."
"Later. I can't ruin our debut."
I don't want to rain on her parade, but I'm sure someone recorded the first few minutes of constant beatings of their fight, so it's a little late for that. I didn't tell her that, though.
"Understood, Master! I'll go find the others."
Elythra nodded.
When I returned to the other villains, I used Maana to carry them more easily. Elythra had already finished securing Cricket properly. However, instead of relaxing, she was standing upright, facing a certain direction. The insects hidden from the distracted crowd with butterflies were preparing as well.
"What's wrong, Master?"
"Someone is coming," Master replied.
Just in time for a motorcycle to speed towards us. Normally, I would have prepared myself for this as well, but I could see who it was long before.
Riding a standard PRT motorcycle, with his full blue body armor and his halberd on his back, was the head of the ENE Protectorate. The strongest Tinker in this part of the country. The first hero known to Taylor in canon, and it seems that Elythra will not be any different either.
Armsmaster.
Oh, and a teenager in armor, probably Gallant.
Great, the Protectorate is here. Late as usual.
Yeiii ~ .
Surprise: I also used dice to determine Ishtar and Taylor's allies and by pure chance Armsmaster (and Gallant) came up. The idea was to have the allies appear during the fight, but I didn't want to take away Taylor's first real victory in her debut so I made them appear at the end.
Me: "Urgh, I don't like Worm fanfics that go so slow."
Me as soon as I get the chance to write one: Eleven chapters in and it hasn't even been a week. It's actually Monday yet.
We didn't have to wait long until Armsmaster and his co-pilot arrived at our location.
Whether it was out of protocol, or out of some kind of precaution in the face of two unknown capes, they did not simply stop in front of us, but at a kind of "safety distance" that I swear on my life I do not understand.
They started walking slowly towards us, as if they were waiting for something.
Armsmaster had his head straight ahead, making him look completely intent on making his way. Though, probably, only I could tell that his eyes told a different story. His gaze moved in every direction, from Elythra, to me, to some kind of HUD on his helmet. He was pretty good at disguising it, but to me, he was clearly on guard.
Gallant wasn't doing as well as his elder. He looked back and forth between Elythra and me, and seemed hyper-aware of the surrounding bugs. He seemed to be expecting them to pounce at any moment.
Weird.
You'd expect the guy who can see emotions to be the first to notice we're in peace.
I looked at Elythra who had turned into a good imitation of a statue.
Oh... Now that I think about it, this must be the first time she's met some heroes. It's weird how quickly she goes from tough Elythra to nervous Taylor. I think Armsmaster was her favorite local hero at this point, so I don't blame her. It's a cute gap moe and cuteness is justice.
They kept walking, and walking, and walking…
Why the hell are they going so slow?!
As if answering my question, Elythra spoke to me through our bond.
"Reinforcements are coming," she said.
Shortly afterward, vans that were clearly PRT came into view across the street. They came straight towards us, but, like Armsmaster, they stopped at about the same safe distance.
Teams of people in their paramilitary uniforms and carrying foam guns got out of the vans; however, they were not the only ones. Another team, this one with riot shields, got out and began to move the crowd around us away from the scene.
As the riot team dealt with the crowd, the foam team positioned themselves around the heroes. Both sides began to advance at a normal speed. Each of them moved almost in sync, a united front, ready to fight villainy…
Bullshit!
What was that?! It seems like they were putting on a show or something and the PRT agents were late on their part of the script!
Look! That guy over there is apologizing!
Elythra didn't seem to have caught any of that. While she was still a statue, I could still see the bugs back there scurrying around like crazy, as if they couldn't stand how cool the whole scene looked.
When the heroes (finally!) arrived in front of us, Armsmaster was the first to speak.
"Elythra and Inana. New capes. There are no official records of appearances for Inana except for today. Elythra is suspected of an attack on the ABB and Lung's disappearance. You gonna fight us?"
Huh? I was expecting something more robotic, but he actually looked like a 40-year-old man who didn't go to acting classes reading a script.
Elythra took a step forward.
"No, we are new heroes. Although we defeated Lung, we have nothing to do with his disappearance." Elythra replied almost immediately.
Her tone didn't give it away, but from the speed with which she answered, Elythra seemed nervous about the question.
Me? not at all.
The fact that no one seemed particularly prepared to pick a fight told me that the PRT already had a good idea that we weren't some new villains looking for territory or something. They're probably a little nervous about Lung, but I think they know we're at least neutral. That last question must have been protocol or something.
A silence a little longer than anyone would like settled in with Elythra's response. I didn't want to get too involved in the conversation to solidify my support persona, so I just hovered behind Elythra. I was sitting comfortably on Maana, watching the show.
"You speak the truth," Armsmaster said. Obviously checking something on his helmet.
He is as subtle as a brick opening a window.
The PRT members relaxed a bit at that. Gallant, aside from his nervousness about the bugs, was already relatively relaxed, so that didn't change much.
Elythra just looked confused.
"He has a lie detector in his helmet, Master. Be careful what you say. The boy on the right can read emotions. I wouldn't be surprised if they're together exactly to know our intentions," I said.
It's time to show how really useful I can be in all kinds of situations!
Though… I probably shouldn't have told her that, considering how nervous the bugs back there looked. Thanks Me, no one seemed to notice, except Gallant who looked strangely at Elythra.
Elythra noticed as well, so taking my advice into account, she slowly calmed her breathing in an attempt to control herself. It didn't make Gallant's glare any less prominent, but at least Elythra was calmer.
"You should have said so earlier." She sounded frustrated.
"I forgot!"
"You-" She was about to start another scolding, but a voice interrupted her.
"Those people trapped over there. Who are they?" It was Armsmaster.
Elythra looked at him like he was an idiot, but Armsmaster looked serious. It was impossible for someone like Armsmaster not to recognize who the trapped villains were, especially considering their disguises were intact.
Elythra probably thought the same thing, but decided to play along in a strange attempt to remain professional.
She pointed at the nearest villain.
"That's Uber. The one next to him, badly injured, is Leet. One of his inventions failed during a chase. The one with the Bandana on his head, I don't know him. He could place fields that seemed to hinder friction-"
"Skidmark, suspected leader of a new gang specializing in drug trafficking. Is that his motorcycle?"
Elythra nodded.
"Tinker Tech. So the rumors of their new member weren't wrong. Continue with the report."
Report?
Elythra ignored it and continued on without any problems.
"The man in the armor is Crusader. The woman with the cage on her head is Cricket. Both from Empire 88. They arrived after Uber and Leet crashed, and we caught Skidmark."
Another silence.
Armsmaster stared at Elythra who seemed unfazed by his gaze.
He nodded.
"Understood. Will you have a problem if we arrest them?"
Elythra seemed to be having trouble keeping up with the Tinker's nonsense. I have an idea, though.
"He's probably calibrating his lie detector."
"Go ahead, we were going to call for them to be taken anyway," Elythra replied to Armsmaster, and at the same time spoke to me through our bond.
"I see… he probably wanted to test if his lie detector worked properly, with information he already knew."
"Exactly, Master!"
"It's no big deal, Inana."
I'm oddly proud of how good she can be at masking our conversations if she really tries.
Armsmaster signaled to the PRT soldiers. They all nodded in unison and put away their foam guns to get to work on learning the villains. It was a military sight to see them all moving in such an orderly fashion. They weren't even rough or especially brutal when transporting the villains, just neutral and efficient in accomplishing their task. Pretty cool, I must admit.
I doubt any of them will go to the birdcage or anything, but it's a start.
Gallant and Armsmaster stayed behind.
Glory Girl's secret boyfriend, who hadn't said a word until now, renews the conversation.
"That was an impressive debut for a small team of two new capes here in Brokton Bay. Five captures in one patrol? That has to be a record or something. Not to mention you took down Lung."
He said with a small giggle.
I could see how someone like him could be popular. His intrusion into the conversation didn't seem forced at all, and he had a gentle, soothing tone of voice. Elythra definitely sensed it because she looked less like a statue now.
"Defeating Lung was a matter of luck. I barely understand what happened in the end, since I fainted shortly after, but Inana told me that what looked like Coil's men took him away somewhere."
"Don't put yourself down like that. If luck was all it took to stop him, he'd be behind bars a long time ago," Gallant said.
Elythra seemed surprised by his words, but nodded.
"Thank you."
Well done, Tin Boy. Elythra's self-confidence is made easier if other people help out, too.
"About today's patrol… It wasn't a big deal. The fight with Cricket was tough, but I know Inana was always there to back me up." This time it was Elythra who continued the conversation.
I felt like I was going to cry.
"Master!" I launched myself off of Maana, flying towards Master's neck with a hug.
"H-hey!" Master sounded embarrassed, but I didn't care.
"Ah! Master! Don't worry, this Goddess will always defend you from all evil with all her might!" I shouted, my voice filled with determination.
"Inana, you're embarrassing me!" All of Elythra's professionalism went out the window.
"Maaaster!" You will live past eighteen, I swear!
"Master?" Gallant's stiff voice interrupted us.
Master and I stepped out of our little world and turned simultaneously in the direction of both heroes. Armsmaster seemed equally still, but I could see that his knees were slightly bent, and his hands looked ready to hold something that wasn't there. Probably the halberd that was still on his back. His eyes were also looking in all directions, reading God knows what on his helmet.
Gallant was less worried, but he looked nervously between the two of us and then towards Armsmaster. And I hadn't heard it until now, but a voice in what seemed to be his ears seemed to be sounding rather loud now.
Elythra was a little confused by their reaction for a second, until she understood the implications of what was happening.
"You stupid idiot!" She shouted into our bond.
"Oops?" I didn't sorry at all, but I won't say that.
"It's just a nickname!" she said quickly. This relaxed Armsmaster a little, but Gallant was still somewhat nervous.
This time I decided to speak instead of Elythra.
"Oh come on! You guys are so paranoid! As if a girl who controls bugs, can also control people. It's nonsense." I said, trying my hardest to keep a straight face.
Armsmaster stared at me before asking.
"What is the origin of that nickname?" he said slowly.
I shrugged.
"I called her Bug Master when we first met, eventually shortening it to Master for my own convenience. It's my personal nickname for her, and anyone who tries to denigrate it will face the wrath of this goddess." Lies, of course, but I'll rely on Information Defense to save me.
"You don't lie…" Armsmaster said.
Information Defense for victory!
"How?" Taylor sounded surprised.
"You still don't know all my tricks, Master. Wink." I still have to have some mystique, to lure the pretty queen into this goddess's web.
"Did I feel that wink? How did I feel that wink?! Can you send mental emojis over here?!" For some reason, she sounds surprisingly annoyed about sending mental emojis.
I was about to answer when Armsmaster interrupted us once again.
"Inana… Mesopotamian goddess. Do you know the consequences of bearing the name of a God? It brings expectations of power that could attract the attention of the most dangerous capes." He said.
I snorted. As if I were hiding my name because of the threat of some fools with delusions of grandeur. By the time I'm done with this world, even the most dangerous monster will be a glorified megaphone.
Still, I think I understand where he is going with that line of conversation.
"As if those commoners could even touch a lock of my beautiful hair! They'll be lucky to be able to eat through a straw when Master and I finish them off."
They both heroes stared at me for a few seconds. I guess that wasn't the answer Armsmaster was expecting to make his point about why we should join the Protectorate. He seemed surprised that I had gone off script like that.
I couldn't see Gallant's face, but I'd bet he was surprised by my statement, though not for the same reason as Armsmaster.
Elythra, on the other hand, seemed… Excited? What?
Gallant spoke again.
"I-I see… You two seem to get along very well." Gallant said. He was changing the subject. That's a social butterfly for you, I guess. It sounded like a statement, but it was clear he was asking about our relationship.
Elythra and I spoke at the same time.
"Of course!" I said.
"More or less," Elythra said.
How dare she!
"Master!" I said without pouting and expressing all my indignantly.
She ignored me.
Grrr. There will be no misunderstandings about us!
"We get along so well! Perfectly! We know everything about each other! She even knows my measur- Ouch!" A knock on my head interrupted my declaration of love.
"Inana, shut up." She said, looking away.
"You evil Master!" I shouted in righteous fury.
She ignored me again.
Armsmaster watched our usual spectacle, not quite sure how to react. Gallant snorted in amusement. He probably knows more about our relationship than Elythra herself, so him laughing like that is a good thing.
Anyway
"Hmph! Then I won't help you, Master!" This will teach her a lesson!
She ignored me again.
Guk! Devastating blow!
Devastated in a new world filled with pain and loneliness where nothing matters, I sat back down on Maana. This time, I buried my face in my knees, while pulling my legs up to my chest in a fetal position. A rain cloud hung over my sad self.
I felt Gallant and Armsmaster's gaze. Elythra continued to ignore me.
Gallant, seeing that Elythra didn't think the situation was serious or anything, wanted to continue the conversation, but Armsmaster interrupted him.
"Looks like we've finished our business here."
I raised my head slightly to see what he was talking about.
It seems that at some point during our conversation, the police had already arrived. They started making sure the public stayed away and surrounded the whole scene with that yellow police tape.
The PRT soldiers, on the other hand, split up. One part got into the vehicles, keeping everything ready to advance. Another part was standing guard where the villains were. The last small portion simply stood behind the two heroes, waiting to leave the place.
It seems that the conversation is already coming to an end.
"I advise you two to be careful. Your involvement in this incident will not go unnoticed. The Empire may come out seeking revenge, coupled with your feud with Lung, that would put two of the three major criminal organizations in Brokton Bay against you." Armsmaster said.
In two days, we probably will get 3 out of 3, but I didn't say that a loud.
Elythra seemed nervous about that, but nodded determinedly.
"We understand, but we won't stop. I became a hero to stop villains like them."
Armsmaster watched her for a second, before snorting.
"And you will do it alone? I see that you are young. You could join the Wards program, where we will support you." He said in a tone that sounded somewhere between annoyed and proud.
It seemed like he already knew Elythra's answer to his proposal, but he still decided to ask. I knew it, too.
"I refuse. I don't want to deal with teenage drama." Elythra didn't hesitate for a second.
That didn't seem to be the answer Armsmaster was expecting, at least not entirely. I think I could sense Armsmaster's grudging respect for Elythra ebbing. Elythra wasn't done yet, though.
"Besides, I'm not alone. I never am," she said softly.
I felt like I had come back to life at her words. I jumped up from my fetal position.
"Mas-"
"Not now, Inana."
"M-maybe later…" She whispers, embarrassed by our bond.
Aww... She sounded so embarrassed~. I'll enjoy it later. Hehehehe.
I squirmed, imagining the cute situations we'll find ourselves in after this.
Unaware of my definitely unhealthy thoughts, Elythra stared at Armsmaster. They had a sort of staring contest until Armsmaster simply turned away.
"I understand. These aren't the reasons I was hoping for, but I'll respect them. Gallant, let's go." I doubt he actually respects them, but he won't say it out loud either.
"But, sir-"
"Don't waste your time. I know how to recognize someone who isn't going to change their mind."
Gallant seemed hesitant and looked like he wanted to push further. His goal with the conversation was probably to introduce us to the Wards, but Armsmaster and the whole nickname mess threw all his preparation out the window.
Shame. Not that Elythra was going to agree anyway.
Although, thinking about the scenario, I wouldn't have refused to go with her if she decided to join the Wards. However, I'm sure it would be a hassle.
"I understand." With that, Gallant gave us a brief farewell and also turned around to leave with Armsmaster. They hadn't taken more than two steps, before Armsmaster stopped.
"Elythra take this," Armsmaster said.
Without even looking back, he tossed out a business card, which I quickly moved to catch in case it has anything else. When I checked it, it looked like a business card, empty of any visual information except for two things. The name Armsmaster and a phone number.
I used Structural Grasp to search for electronic components. I couldn't use it like Shirou would, but at least I can tell if it has anything other than cardboard.
It wasn't. It was just a business card.
I passed it to Elythra who looked amazed.
"It's my personal number. Call me if you need anything or if you change your mind," Armsmaster said.
"I got it." Elythra replied without any problem.
Armsmaster nodded one last time.
Elythra and I stood there watching as the PRT vans, having finished packing up the villains, headed back to their base of operations, followed by Armsmaster and Gallant.
That left just the two of us, the police who avoided us like the plague, and the people at the scene who kept pointing their phones at us.
"Let's go home. That's enough for today," Elythra said, sounding considerably more tired than before.
"Understood, Master."
I moved Maana so it would be easier for Master to lay on it.
As we soared above the buildings away from prying eyes, Master began to squirm a little. She seemed uncomfortable, looking for the best position to rest in. So I grabbed her by the waist and laid her upper body against mine and caught her in a hug with my arms. She seemed a little uncomfortable at first, considering our height difference, but after moving around a bit she seemed to find the ideal position and simply laid back comfortably, resting her head on my chest.
I began to hum a soft tune that reminded me of home, ruins, and butterscotch cake, as I slowly stroked her hair.
"Ishtar…" Taylor spoke up. I should be scolding her for saying my name while we're technically still in patrol mode, but I just continued to carefully pet her.
"You're here for your mission, right? So, when you're done, you are gonna le- … No, it's nothing. Thank you for being with me, Ishtar."
Taylor paused in what she was going to say, but I'm not so dense that I couldn't understand.
"I'll be with you as long as you need me, Taylor. I promise." And to my own surprise, I meant it.
"… Thank you."
The rest of the journey was pleasantly quiet. Along the way, I used some jades to take care of Taylor's wounds and some Amethysts to hide our tracks.
So, we arrived home with a well-groomed and rested Taylor.
I thought we were going straight to sleep, but it was six in the evening at the latest. Obviously, I didn't need it, but Taylor didn't seem to feel like sleeping either. We didn't feel like training or researching anything either, so we decided to take the rest of the night as a time to rest.
So we made some popcorn and made today a movie night.
For dinner, I decided to be merciful and showed Taylor my mastery of Chinese food by making her a delicious plate of Mapo Tofu. Her spicy face and screams for some milk were hilarious.
The pain in my cheeks afterward, not so much.
In the end we both went to sleep in what was becoming our usual position and with a little goodnight kiss we went to sleep.
Monday is over. Next chapter? Interlude. I think it will be a long chapter.