Alister knew what he had to do. It wasn’t enough to damage one segment, that much was clear. He had to damage the whole thing at once. To do that, he knew just the trick. One short chant later, a familiar old dagger appeared in his hands… though it was more like a short sword in his grip. It was among his weaker stock, so it shouldn’t be TOO hard to activate, right…?

Trying to command it to activate resulted in… absolutely nothing. It refused to obey even a bit. Right… he used a pattern system back then. But what was it?! The dagger was from when Raalin was young, and he adopted an entirely different system later.

The goddess sidestepped a bite before grabbing one of its mandibles and snapping it. There was a moment of pause as she saw the blade, however, the thing tickled something in the back of her head. Didn’t that blade belong to the Godslayer?

The moment of distraction got her vessel run through, making her wince and gasp. It wasn’t painful, not exactly, but it did severely shorten the time she had here. A palm strike destroyed the second “head” that mandibles came from, breaking it into splinters. Light glowed from the wound, which automatically began to seal itself, but it took focus to prevent the vessel from being wounded once she left. “Where did you get that?”

Alister stared at her wide-eyed. “Shouldn’t you be more concerned about being impaled?!” he asked, worried.

That just got a hand wave in response. “A simple fix,” she said as even her shirt mended itself. “More importantly… what did you do to-” she began, before being interrupted with an “Ah hah!”

The blade did its job, transferring energy into the electric affinity as he absolutely flooded the thing with mana. Pointing it at the centipede, which was nearly halved at this point, a long bolt of lightning shot forward. The monster, now just a blunt, four-segment-long line of vertebrae, jerked and jolted erratically. It kept jerking until they all began smoking, then caught on fire as the bone was turned to dust.

Alister, meanwhile, took the blast about as well as could be expected when a small child fired a lightning cannon. He was knocked backward, off his feet. The dagger flew from his hands, but thankfully understood what it was supposed to do; the remaining charge went where it was supposed to until the bone monster crumbled into ash… at which point it lashed out straight up into the air. A white, stormy beacon in the middle of the afternoon light.

[Level up! - 11]

[Status]

[Alister Ordthea Severin iii]

[Full Recall: Raalin Wynnryte]

[Level: 11]

[Class: Arcane Rogue]

[Core: Dense White]

[Mana Pool: Vast]

[Physical Condition: Child, moderate]

[Stats]

[Skills]

[Titles]

———————————

[Level up! - 11]

[Status]

[Wisteria O’neah]

[Level: 11]

[Class: Powder Mage]

[Core: Middle White]

[Mana Pool: Small]

[Physical Condition: Child, fit]

[Stats]

[Skills]

[Titles]

A moment of quiet between the two passed as the lightning continued to roar into the sky until at long last the dagger ran empty of energy. It lay on the earth, crackling and sparking on its own. The goddess approached after a moment of making sure it was done, being cautious with her vessel. “You. Where did you get that dagger?” she asked, her presence far greater than the body she was in would allow. He could almost see a golden shadow of shape standing above and around his friend.

Well… this was a pickle, Alister thought as he contemplated how to answer for a long, awkward moment. There was no way he could answer that wouldn’t wind up getting him watched… so he would have to do his best to run down the timer. Surely she didn’t have that long left, right? “I… summoned… it…?” he asked, getting only a blank stare in return.

“I… yes. Obviously. You didn’t have it, then you did. That’s summoning. But HOW did you summon it?” she asked, arms folded, the annoyance in her voice clear.

“It was intuitive to do. Can you deal with whatever it is that has our allies captive?” he asked, prompting her to turn and stare at the being of smoke and ribbon. A moment of examination passed before she turned back with a shrug.

“Not in any way that wouldn’t kill your friend. I don’t know what you did to draw the ire of such a being, nor why they are not attacking… but if it is not gone when I am done in this form, I will deal with the abomination with prejudice,” she said with a sharp glare towards the monster. It simply waved back in response. “Now you. How did you gain access to summoning that weapon?”

“By using the right spell?” he gave an awkward, deeply uncomfortable smile. Fuck. This was as far from how he wanted this to go as he could have gotten.

The goddess threw up her hands, “Agh! You… damn you, why don’t you just answer my questions?! You know what I’m asking! That weapon belonged to an important figure from a very long time ago. His trove has been lost to the world! If you know where it is then you must tell me, child!” Her hands tightened into fists, struggling against her urge to pick the annoying child up and shake him.

Alister hesitated before sighing. “Because I fear the consequences of my answer, and respect you too much to lie,” he said frankly.

This just got a stare from the goddess, who expected more evasive fuckery. “I… see. You are aware that your friend can see and hear everything, yes? You may not answer me… but you will be watched, and surely your friends will expect answers,” she said, sighing in annoyance but no longer pushing.

The energy around Wisteria began to dissipate, a sign the goddess was leaving. “Your mysteries will not last,” she said as a farewell, with Wisteria passing out as soon as the energy left. Alister rushed over and checked she didn’t hit her head, before glancing back over to see if the ribbon monster was still present. It was not, thankfully, having dissolved shortly after the goddess made her threat.

A moment of silence passed as Jacob checked on Wisteria, with Ode and Morgan just watching. The air was heavy with tension until Morgan spoke up, “Okay, so are you going to explain yourself, or are we going to have to finish the interrogation that Advera started?”

This just got another long moment of silence as Alister considered how to answer the question. “I… suppose I have no choice,” he said with a sigh, “But I don’t want to have this conversation here. Mother would want to hear this as well… and it’s only fair. She’s put up with my mystery longer than anyone. I’ve only ever spoken to father about it.”

This just got a grumble but eventual agreement from Morgan and Ode. Jacob nodded his approval, “Good choice. It sounds like your family needs to know this secret. Surely a thing so dire as to evade the questioning of a goddess is important enough to deserve extra security.”

This just got a groan from Alister. “I hope not… to be frank, if this becomes a problem that requires security, then there are no guards they could give me that could protect me,” he explained sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

This just got a concerned look between the three adults present, before Alister let out another huff, “Look… can one of you take Wisteria? The sooner we’re back, the sooner your curiosity is sated.”

Neth’rexhis slithered forward, surprising everyone. “Goodness… I almost forgot you were there with how quiet you are,” Morgan said after just about jumping out of her skin.

This got a nod from the naga, who was entertained by her response. “Ssomething I learned in the last couple of monthss,” he explained, making Alister grumble to himself about the treatment of slaves. “Come,” the snake man said as he picked up Wisteria effortlessly in one pair of arms. “We sshould return to your family.”