Ank

Forty, maybe fifty? In case, Hunah and I killed tens of Lower [Gods] in the past few days, [Zemis], [Apachetas], [Stelae], and even [Ol-heads] had fallen, and we made many of these deaths as showy as possible, so people would start to actually take seriously the message we were trying to spread, that the Adventurer’s Gild was taking [God] hunting quests.

And take seriously the message they did: right then, I held about a dozen quest papers pleading for some [God] head-hunting.

…Which I took from the completely destroyed; burned and flattened; Adventurer’s Guild building.

“We’re not doing this fast enough”, I said, separating the quest which should take us to the nearest [God], and shoving the rest inside a separate pocket.

“Then we just need to quicken”, Hunah said, stepping out off the city’s bank. Throwing me a bundle, she said: “Here, take this. Weapons, armor, and shit may be my specialty, but you need to change your stuff from time to time too, you know?”

“Ah, sure. You’re right”, I opened the bundle, and noticed a set of red scales, and feathers inside.

It contained a cape fused with a helmet (more like four long stripes of cloth), shirt, pants, boots, and gloves of an [Dragon (infant)] scales and feathers. Once I equipped everything, matching with Hunah (the only difference being that my helmet had a small red wing on its right side, while hers had its wing on the left side), I had a full extra [+400 Resistance], plus a significant increase in fire resistance.

“Here”, I threw her my old set, which she promptly stored away inside her [Inventory]; that secret [skill] capped down her total [Magic Points] per kilogram stored away, but once her fighting [skills] didn’t consume much [MP], and because of our unique builds, she had the storing capacity of a full hangar. Not that she’d throw away my old armor if she didn’t have that skill, of course: she only unlocked it because of her crazy hoarder compulsion; a reward for carrying so much stuff with herself for such a long time. “It’s just that, if I could only send my summons further away… If I could spread them just like the armies that are invading this country, nothing of this would have happened”, I gestured to the devastated town around us.

Just one more victim from the invading armies. One of many towns, villages, and cities around: everyone had been killed, everything destroyed.

“Pat!”, Hunah’s hand fell on my shoulder. She looked at the destruction around us too, stepping on the same ashes. “Yeah, it would be great if you could do it. Send all your summons around… If I could give their weapons some buff too, it’d be even better, and we would be able to stop this nonsense in a day. Fuck, we’d be able to clean this world of Lower [Gods] in weeks, maybe”, she then looked at me, and concluded: “But neither of us can do these things. There’s only one thing we can do, this hasn’t changed, and it is: kill all the [Gods] with our own hands.”

I nodded, seriously.

Though, call it my male pride, or whatever, I just couldn’t let that end as it was, so I smiled, pulled back Hunah’s helmet, and patted her head.

“Thanks, sister.”

“Hey, everyone needs this kind of support from time to time, right?”, she smiled back.

“Oh, my, you finished already?”, Taffy called us, approaching from behind a fallen three stories building. Behind her, trailed a line of scared children and very few teenagers; about thirty people at best. “I finished healing the survivors”, she said.

And, I was about to tell them that we’d take then to the nearest settlement, and give them some supplies (Hunah had months of food, and water in her [Inventory], plus a bunch of trinkets that the invading armies missed somehow – like our newest armor) but that they should get to the capital and get away from the country as soon as possible, when a shadow raised from behind us, twins, and a loud voice boomed:

“Ha! I knew it, following the heroes wannabe always makes my job easier; they dutifully collect all the treasures and people for me, like the good boys and girls they are… then promptly get slaughtered!”, laughed the giant floating stone head; [Ol-Head].

“Oh! Maybe we should let the adventurers live, and force them to become our agents, make them go around collecting all the escapees and valuables, instead of hoping that we will come across these adventurers trying to become rescuers all the time”, suggested one of half a dozen little wooden men; [Zemis].

“Shut up, you scum: you’re only good for scouting and this kind of stupid job; you’re just trying to run from your responsibilities”, bickered an armored stone man, kicking the smaller deities; [Stelae], one of two.

“No, no, no, the [Zemi] actually had a good idea!”, the floating head nodded to its underlings on the ground. “Okay, you there, mortals in red! If you want to live, give up, betray your kind, and become our slaves!”, it laughed loud, before adding: “I’m such a benevolent [God], dammit!”

The survivors behind us fell to their knees, and those who still had tears to cry, started to sob; but the majority simply stared blankly at the gang of overwhelmingly powerful deities before them. Until, that is, I got into the conversation:

“I see, so this is how the invaders manage to annihilate completely every city, hu?”, I pointed out.

“It makes sense: whoever is their pimp, the Intermediate [God] leading the army which passed through here, put these desperate deities to do the dirty job and collect the trash they leave behind. And, of course these arrogant pieces of shit would accept, they’re almost shitting their pants, scared of being killed off like the bitch who led them before”, Hunah added, nodding.

“Yes, yes. I’m just surprised that their pimp gave them such dignified job, of garbage collector, instead of using them as the only good thing they’re good at being, as cock-sleeves.”

Hunah punched my shoulder, laughing while replying:

“Come on, Ank. Of course their pimp did use them as the little bitches they are.”

There was a couple of silent seconds, once I Hunah and I finished laughing at the [Gods], as everyone, even the survivors behind us, stared in disbelief.

“…Change of plans: I won’t take these two as my puppets… But I do want them alive. Kill everyone else”, the [Ol-Head] finally ordered, smiling placidly while looking down on us.

As the gang of Lower [Gods] approached, advancing before their master floating head, Hunah turned to the survivors:

“Sorry…”, she started, and it seemed that the survivors were about to blame her for their supposedly sealed deathly fate, as if if we hadn’t laughed off the deities, they’d let them live.

“[Summon: Zemi, skiron armor, weapon]”, I conjured five little wooden man, all already covered in their thorny-armor-spell, and brandishing the whip of intertwined vines… both of which were subsequently enhanced with metal plates and spikes.

The incoming troop of enemies froze in their place.

“Normally we’d put a show for you all, but we’re kinda in a hurry now”, she concluded, and followed after me, leaving the confused survivors behind.

“[Make: General]”, I raised the [Level] of one of the [Zemis] to 150, and this one quickly took control of his small troop.

“Kuh! Don’t get cocky mortal, the fact that you can summon a bunch of trash doesn’t mean shit! Look, we have them too! …What are you waiting for?! Go!”, one of the [Stelae] screamed and pushed his deity underlings forward.

“GWOOO!”, the largest humanoid mass of thorny vines enveloped in hard gray metal roared, and my summons sprung into action too. But much better organized, and prepared, and selflessly.

Even with the numerical disadvantage, my group of 5 Lower [Gods] didn’t just clash with their enemies, but pushed them back, as their weapons hit harder, and they could take more damage: when the [Ol-Head] underlings used their [Spells], we had 11 giants just absolutely demolishing the surroundings, the few structures that had gone through the invasion and burning down of the city relatively untouched, finally crumbling down when slightly touched by the great whips and fists, and simply because of the small earthquakes caused by the stomped of giants.

“I told you to not get too cocky!”, one [Stelae] showed up from behind a cloud of ashes, spear polled back, and smiling under his stone helmet.

“[Summon Embodiment: Stelae]”, I conjured; the creature with highest [Strength] [Attribute] I had, once I couldn’t simply shuffle the points around with [Summon Embodiment].

And, even if only one arm had taken a grayish tone, not looking even slightly similar to the appearance that pushed closer to the strongest Intermediate [Gods], even if I purposefully used a weakened version of my unique [Spell] to save [MP] just in case, I managed to stop the incoming spear without even moving a centimeter, simply raising a hand, and gripping the shaft of the weapon before its tip touched me; the [Stregth] of a [Stelae] had just been added to my own, after all.

“WHAT?!”, a stupefied [Stelae] gaped, staring at my hand holding its weapon.

The shock of that image was such, apparently, that when the second [Stelae] showed up behind me (apparently the two of them have combined a pincer attack), even this one lost track of its moves, giving me a second to, simply, throw the user of the spear I was holding against the deity that tried to attack me from behind.

“BOOM!”, when the two stone-warriors collided, curtains of ashes and dust raised high, and their bodies were hurled further away, making through half broken walls, wreckage, and finally breaking through the walls of the (somewhat) still standing bank building.

Hunah passed besides me, heading straight for the [Ol-Head], and my summons were crushing the last two standing [Zemis], when I jumped after the pair of [Stelae], through the bank wall.

“W- W- W- Wait!”, the first bagged.

“Now you can’t surprise us anymore!”, the second screamed, jumping on my back once again.

Sighing, I quickly stepped to the side, stole the spear from the attacker, and impaled him with it.

With the corpse of the stone deity at the end of the spear, I turned to the last remaining [Steale], and used the weapon+corpse as a hammer, bashing it to death with the cadaver of its own companion, destroying both bodies in the process, at each new hit, another limb flying away.

Once I finished my work there, I went outside in time to see Hunah tearing off the jaw of the floating head with her newest huge long-axe (I hadn’t seen that one before, it seemed made off dragon bone? …Honestly, I didn’t think I could keep trek of all her items anymore), stepping on the loose tongue of the deity, pinning it on the ground, and all five of my summons digging their fingers on the eye sockets of the creature; three on the left eye, two, including the General, on the right eye; and splitting the [Ol-Head] in three, bloodily.

With that, our [Levels] were:

[Name: Ank

Race: Half (Messenger + Filled Teeth)

General:

Level: 550

Class: Glorious Summoners

HP: 5010/5490

MP: 13999/14975

SP: 1790/2755

Attributes:

Strength: 551

Resistance: 1098

Magic: 2745

Perception: 1098]

[Name: Hunah

Race: Half (Messenger + Filled Teeth)

General:

Level: 550

Class: Warmaster

HP: 5080/5490

MP: 1609/2755

SP: 12000/14975

Attributes:

Strength: 2745

Resistance: 1098

Magic: 551

Perception: 1098]

“…Why you’re always the one who takes out the big baddies, and I only get the minions?”, I asked, bypassing the astonished survivors, and approaching Hunah.

“Well, you know: your magic stuff is way better at crowd control, large groups of enemies and shit”, she shrugged.

“Oh, no~ This way I’ll never look cool to the girl that I like”, I feigned shock, covering my mouth in a similar fashion to Taffy.

Giggling, Hunah jumped on me with a hug, and said:

“Well, now you have a particularly overpowered [Spell] to take big baddies all by yourself too”, she dug her face half-hidden by the helmet on my chest, adding: “If anything, now I’m scared that I’ll never be able to impress the guy that I like; he can both take big baddies and thousands of minions at the same time, oh, no~”

I laughed, not mentioning the fact that she probably made through at least a few hundred of guards in the capital city of the Emerald [Goddess] all by herself, and she also had come back with an overpowered new skill from that fight, and simply answered her hug.

“S- Sorry, but… What should we do now?”, one of the refugees asked us. They didn’t even seem sure that we were their allies anymore.

In reply, I took one of the quest papers I stored it away, and to where Hunah and I were going next:

“This ‘Long Rock’ place should still be fine.”

We take the refugees to one of the few last standing cities around, and protect it from the incoming army and it's [God], two birds with one stone.