Chapter 10: A Very odd Fight.

*Erika’s POV*

Fuckers made me wait three hours for them to come back. I could hear someone arguing with the woman at the front desk. I know that she wasn’t a Savior so, if need be, I’ll go help her.

After a few minutes of yelling, I heard them stop, and then make their way to my location. When they entered, only one of them looked quite shocked to see only one person standing there in their base. The rest kinda looked uninterested, or something like that.

???: “Huh… Looks like we messed up. Per chance, could you tell me what happened to the rest of our group?” The one who looked like the leader asked.

Erika: “Rejoice! For I did not kill them. I just let them join my group, and they happily accepted.” I say with a laugh.

???: “Ah, so, you’re the one whom I heard about. You three. Deal with her.” The same woman said before sitting down on a chair to the right of us.

She positioned the chair to be able to watch us fight. Sofiel was right about them it seems.

Erika: “Alright, I guess I’ll fight you three first.” I say with a confident tone before taking out my sword.

The three… they didn’t reply but did take out their weapons. One had a spear. And the other two both had swords. They seemed… off?

???: “Don’t worry about those three. Unlike Sari and Kary, they’re just soulless husks.” She said with a laugh.

Erika: “Soulless?” I ask with a head tilt.

???: “That’s right, they don’t have a soul. It wasn’t my doing mind you. They ran into a very annoying being that was a part of a group against ours. Their souls are gone, but they still listen to orders so, I was given them to use as I see fit.” The woman said with a sigh.

I guess that I won’t have to care about killing them then. The one with the spear was the first to attack. I dodge her attack with ease and hit her stomach with the hilt of my sword.

She did not react to that at all. That woman wasn’t lying about them being soulless. I actually shouldn’t kill them. If I was able to get a new body, surely, they could also have their souls returned to them. Or at least have a new soul inhabit their bodies.

With that thinking, I needed to deal with them in a way that didn’t kill them. Which makes my job even harder. Just great…

While I was thinking about that, the two with swords flanked me on each side, with the one with the spear in front of me still.

She lunged her spear at me once again, I dodge it, but almost got hit by the other two's swords. I dodged one sword and deflected the other.

It was time to stop playing around. So I decided to use everything that I had. I kicked one of the sword users in the chest. She flew across the storage area and loudly struck the wall, leaving an indent. She was, surprisingly, out cold. I guess that concrete wall really hurt to hit...

Just because they’re soulless, it doesn’t mean that they don’t have a limit to how much pain they can endure. They aren’t zombies after all. At least, I don't think that they're zombies. I mean, they aren't rotting or anything.

My next target was the other sword user. But I didn’t get a chance to deal with her yet, as the spear user attacked me first. I dodged her spear and then grabbed hold of it.

I shoved the hilt of her spear into her stomach, which sent her flying away into a wall in the same manner as the other one. I was left with a spear in my hand. I just tossed it away and went to deal with the last one.

As expected. Mindless drones that only follow orders, won’t be able to deal with someone who was free thinking like me.

Rather than send her flying, I let her try to strike me again, then I dodged to the left her, grabbed her right armed that held her weapon, flipped her over, and finally I punched her hard in the stomach. Like the others, she was down for the count.

Behind me, I could hear clapping. Obviously, from the only other person in the room.

???: “Impressive! Even though they were basically mindless, they were still hard to deal with for most people. Sari and Kary couldn’t after all.” The woman said with a laugh.

Erika: “Actually, I find those two more interesting than them. At least they could think on their feet.” I reply with a shrug.

???: “Oh? So you were the one behind their disappearance… Anyway, true. Now then, could you perhaps tell me your name?” The woman asked with a curious tone.

Erika: “My name is Erika. And you?” I reply with a curious tone as well.

???: “Oh, what a pretty name. Mine is Amriel. I look forward to fighting you.” Amriel said with an excited tone.

Erika: “Likewise.” I say with an excited tone as well.

Amriel approached me and made her sword appear. She walked right and front of me, and tapped my sword with hers behind taking a few steps back.

In the next second, her figure blurred and ended up right in front of me. Or it would have for most people, I could tell that she was moving really, really fast but, I could still see her perfectly, as if she was moving slowly.

I easily blocked her slice at me. She looked surprised before smiling and licking her lips. Uh oh… she might be a battle junkie like me…

Her and I exchanged strike after strike. No one landing a hit on each other at all. The fight went on like that for about thirty minutes. She was clearly agitated.

Amriel: “Why!? Why aren’t you fight me seriously!?” She yelled after striking at me once again.

I blocked that attack as well.

Erika: “Too bad for you. You’re very beautiful so, I just can’t find it in me to hurt or kill you.” I reply with a slightly remorseful tone.

If Amriel was the first person I fought while using a sword, she would have definitely landed a few hits on me but, since she wasn’t, I was able to deal with all of her attacks with ease.

I doubt that I would get this lucky again so, I need to ask Sofiel how to actually fight with swords later. It would help me greatly. And I know that she was good at using them, since we were trapped in that dimension that one time.

Speaking of Amriel, she had long white hair that went down to her waist. She also had the same colored eyes as Sofiel. She was even the same damn cup size… Was she related to Sofiel? She did look similar to her…

Actually, this was the real reason why I didn't want to hurt her. Her being beautiful was just an added reason. I don't want to make Sofiel upset by hurting someone she knew.

Amriel: “Is that so? Then I have to push you to fight me for real!” Amriel said before releasing more of her power.

A flash of light shined through the room completely blinding me. When it was gone, I could see that Amriel now had Angel wings and a holy aura surrounding her.

Oh! This girl was the one who Kary was talking about. She did say that they had an Angel on their side. Why the hell was she stationed here? She isn’t as strong as Sofiel but, she is significantly stronger than the other Saviors that were here.

Amriel: “You seem surprised. Yes, I am an Angel. Now, you should be aware that you have to fight me for real!” Amriel said before attacking me once again.

She might have powered up but, she was still moving slowly to my eyes. Every time that I dodged, blocked, or deflected her attacks, while also never attacking her with the intent to harm or kill, really seem to piss her off.

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While doing this, I decided to rat her out to Sofiel via Lilith. And since I can’t really use my phone in this situation, I’ll tell her it via my mind. I mean, maybe I could but I’m not going to risk it.

Erika: “Hey, Lilith? Please ask Nadia to inform Sofiel, that I am currently fighting an Angel.” I ask with a serious tone in my head.

Lilith: “I already did. Sofiel needs a few more minutes.” Lilith replied with a serious tone.

Erika: “Hm? Why? Is she okay?” I ask with a concerned tone.

Lilith: “She’s fine. She just used up all of her MP to show off for you earlier. Going in and out of dimensions requires a lot of MP. Especially when you do it with so many people as she did.” Lilith said with a laugh.

Did she use up all of her MP to impress me? How cute! I should tease her about this later. As for now, I guess I just have to keep this pissy Angel busy.

Amriel: “Holy hell! Could you please take me seriously!?” Amriel yelled in frustration.

Erika: “I am.” I say with a shrug.

Amriel: “I know for a fact that you could easily land a hit on me! Why won’t you attack me for real?” Amriel asked with a fed-up tone.

Erika: “Because you’re beautiful. You’ll also be joining my group very soon so, I don’t want any bad blood between us.” I reply with a serious tone after dodging a swipe of her sword.

Her face went red, and her attacks became sloppy due to her frustration. I was having an even easier time dealing with her now.

Lilith: “Sofiel is almost ready to head to you. By the way, again, don’t get cocky. Amriel isn’t really that high up in the Saviors. A real challenge will soon come your way, I can just feel it.” Lilith said with a cheeky tone.

After another eight minutes of our “fight” Sofiel finally showed up. Amriel looked greatly shocked and stopped the fight right away.

Amriel: “My Que…” Amriel said after kneeling down on the ground but her sentence was cut short.

Sofiel: “Say no more!” Sofiel said with an angry tone.

Ooo… Sofiel is pissed that Amriel almost outed her to me. Well, I already knew Sofiel’s real identity, so I’ll just pretend that I didn’t her Amriel.

Amriel: “…”

Sofiel: “So… do tell me why you’re with the Saviors.” Sofiel asked with a serious tone.

Amriel: “I… I just wanted to get stronger!” Amriel said with a shaky voice.

Sofiel: “That so? And yet, you go against your orders.” Sofiel said with a scolding tone.

Amriel: “…”

Sofiel: “Listen, I am upset at you but, if you join my group, I’ll forgive you.” Sofiel said with a sigh.

Amriel: “Really? But…” Amriel said with an unsure tone.

Sofiel: “I’ll make an exception and allow you to join us since, it’s my group after all. Although, I’m not the only leader of it.” Sofiel said while rubbing her head.

Only leader? I guess Alice as well as Victoria's wives are the other leaders of our group? I should really ask these things...

Amriel looked happy, but Sofiel looked quite upset. Because of that, I came up behind her, and wrapped my arms around her waist, and lay my head on her shoulder.

Amriel looked shocked, and she tried to use her sword to attack me, before Sofiel stopped her. She was clearly just trying to protect Sofiel and didn’t realize our relationship.

Sofiel: “I just said that I would forgive you and yet, you try to attack my lover?” Sofiel asked with a fed-up tone.

Amriel: “I…” Amriel looked extremely remorseful and she sounded like it too.

Sofiel: “Enough! I’ll hand you your punishment when we get back. Wake those three up, and order them to do the Dark Savior Ritual with Erika.” Sofiel said with a sigh.

Amriel then made her weapon disappear, and quickly went to each of those soulless husks, and woke them up.

Amriel was clearly already aware of the ritual, and order those three to do it. It was only four people so, making them all Dark Saviors only took a few minutes.

Sofiel: “Those three are soulless… Good going keeping them alive, Erika! Alice might be able to save them and if not, she could still let a new soul get a new life in their bodies. You do stupid things a lot, so sometimes I forget how smart you are.” Sofiel jokingly said.

Erika: “Yeah, yeah. I’ll just take that as a compliment. Speaking of stupid things, what's I heard about you trying to show off to me?” I say with a wave of my hand.

Sofiel: "..."

Sofiel then said bye to me, but with a red face, for the third time of the day, and disappeared with those four in tow. I got the notification that I’ve finished those two tasks.

Since I didn’t have to choose which reward to get, they just went straight to my inventory. Three S+ Grade Monster Cores to use as I please. Now if only I could eat them… Damn… maybe I should just buy some rock candy? That might deal with my odd craving of eating Monster Cores…

It was now time to leave this place. I just have to focus on finding the rest of the time loopers and making them happy. My long desired break will soon be mine!

As I was beginning to walk towards the exit, the door swung open and a woman with deep black hair, and deep red eyes, wearing a trench coat burst through the door. She had a handgun and pointed it at me.

???: “Put your hands up!” She demanded.

She honestly looked like a detective… This can’t be a coincidence, with my stupidly high luck, she was most likely part of the time loop as well.

Erika: “No.” I reply with a cheeky tone.

???: “Raise your hands now! I won’t ask again!” She yelled.

Erika: “Time loop.” I say with a deadpan tone.

???: “You… so I was right. Your group was interested in this time loop!” She said with an excited tone.

Erika: “My group? Look around. I had just gotten finished with dealing with the group stationed here. I’m part of a different group than them.” I say with a sigh.

???: “There… there’s more than one group?!” She asked with a shocked tone.

Erika: “Yes and no. There were only two groups in this dimension. Their group is called the Saviors, while I am a Dark Savior. Apart from me, I am the only one of my group in this dimension. Oh, and I’ve already dealt with the Saviors in this dimension. Now it’s just me.” I explain calmly.

???: “What is your goal here?” She asked with a serious expression and tone.

Erika: “To complete tasks. Ah, it’s kind of confusing, just think of it as me doing quests in a video game except, it’s real and I have a System.” I explain slowly so that she can understand fully.

???: “Really? I’ve read so many novels like that… Could I get a System too?” She asked with a pleading tone.

Oh, right, she had already lowered her gun a while ago and was just talking to me.

Erika: “Not likely. From my understanding, it’s not that common.” I reply with a sorry tone.

???: “Oh well, can’t blame a girl for asking. What will you do when you finish your tasks?” She asks with a curious tone.

Erika: “It might sound bad but, I plan to make this dimension my group’s new base dimension. You see, our current one is a medieval fantasy dimension. Those in our group are very long lived so, we’re beginning to tire of it, and we want to live in a more modern one instead.” I reply with a calm tone.

???: “I see. Do you perhaps have a task that involves this time loop?” She asked with a thinking pose.

Erika: “Yes I do. Actually, I already found three people that are involved with the time loop. They’re currently staying at a safe place. I could take you to them. We currently have no idea how many are involved in the loop.” I ask calmly.

???: “Can you prove it?” She asked with a serious tone.

Like with Riko, I had done the same and let her talk to the others via my phone. Surely they would be awake by now. This whole thing did take a few hours to do after all.

As this woman was more mature, she didn’t look like she was going to cry, and she didn’t. If anything she just got more interested. A weird person it seems…

???: “That was very informative, thanks! I’d like to go to Sasaki’s. Like them, I have died a few times so, staying there would be for the best. Oh, by the way, what’s your name? I totally forgot to ask.” She asked with a Teehee after handing me my phone back.

Before answering her, I texted Sasaki to ask the driver to come back and pick us up. She replied, "Okay." so we should have a ride soon.

Erika: “My name is Erika. What’s yours?” I ask with a sigh.

???: “Oh! A very pretty name! How fitting! My name is Yuki. Last name unimportant.” She said with a laugh.

Erika: “Nice to meet you, Yuki. Someone will be here to pick us up soon.” I reply with a smile.

On the way out of the building, I saw the clerk. She was still a little confused, it seems. I told her not to tell anyone about this, and she agreed. Funnily enough, there was a ton of cash in the storage room. Probably about $50K if you convert it to USD.

I managed to bribe her with it. I did make sure to tell her to get it taxed otherwise, she’d be avoiding taxes. I’m not too big on giving a government money for no reason but, it’d be bad if she got caught with undeclared cash.

Ah, I just remembered that I was basically exempt from taxes when I was in that special unit. I am not prepared to pay taxes once again…

After waiting with Yuki for about twenty minutes, our ride arrived. I was tired from the fighting so I just took a nap on the way there.

When I woke up, we were only a few minutes away from Sasaki’s place.

A shorter work day than yesterday but, at least most of my tasks are done. I just have to do the tasks regarding the time loop and the Goddesses.

With only probably thirty minutes left until we make it there, Lilith messaged me on my phone.

Lilith: “Hey Erika, you need to rip the bandaid off.”

Erika: “Could you be more specific?”

Lilith: “Nadia and the rest argued back and forth for hours. They came to the conclusion that you have to tell them that they’re Goddesses.”

Erika: “And what would that solve?”

Lilith: “Nadia cheated and abused her power to check out this dimension. With Yuki, you’ve found all involved in the time loop. Now you just need them to realize that this hell is one of their own making.”

Erika: “Would that really work? I mean, who is the real Goddess of this dimension anyway?”

Lilith: “They all are.”

Erika: “And how would that work? My task says to make the Goddess of this dimension happy, not Goddesses…”

Lilith: “Have you noticed that apart from Yui, the rest of them seem somewhat one note?”

Erika: “I haven’t talked to them all enough to really know for sure but, maybe?”

Lilith: “Yui is the main body, the rest of them are just born with parts of her soul. The going theory is that for some unknown reason, she wanted to kill herself but couldn’t. Instead she just split her soul as much as she could.”

Erika: “Really? Then why don’t any of them remember anything? And what caused this loop?”

Lilith: “They won’t remember until they combine. Problem being is that they all have their own lives so, this would be an extremely tough decision to make. As for the time loop, it was most likely just a byproduct of her splitting apart her soul.”

Erika: “Damn… Okay, fine. I’ll tell them but, I won’t be happy about it.”

Lilith: “I know, I’m sorry. I wish that there was a better solution than this.”

I spent the rest of the ride deep in thought.

How would I break the news to them? Would they even believe me? I for one, would be pissed being told that I have to give up my free will to get out of shitty situation…

Maybe I can reason with them? Fuck… this might be extremely hard to do but, I still have to try in the end. If I don’t, then this entire trip was almost pointless…