Surrounded on all sides by drooling demons, Momo said a prayer.
Which of course, she quickly realized, was stupid. Any god that might have been listening most likely—no, most certainly—wanted her dead.
So.
She stopped that nonsense, and dove for it.
Valerica’s hand was wrapped around her own as they plummeted. Given the circle of protection they were afforded by the acid rain, soaring directly downward was the safest way to begin their descent. The flying maneuver only became dangerous once they curved in the air and left their little bubble of protection. This was an unfortunate inevitability, since the rift portal was to the north, through the clouds and past several patches of trees, far beyond their current position.
So, they descended like two hawks in free fall. Just as the sleeve of Momo’s shirt grazed the ground, she flattened her body and let her wings catch air, shooting out of the rain cloud’s sphere of protection and speeding with a crackling velocity toward the rift.
The demons took notice of their new path immediately, screeching in unison before twisting their bodies in the air and diving behind them. Black talons, claws and teeth gnashed like churning gears as Momo and Valerica’s bodies skidded along the fields.
Risking a glance backward, Momo realized that she was moving far quicker than Valerica. The other goddess’s green streams of air functioned more like a jetpack than actual wings, causing her to swerve back and forth in the air.
“They’re nearly on you!” Momo shouted.
Craning her neck took a few milliseconds off Momo’s speed, but it was worth it to give Valerica the warning. One of the demons almost had its tendrils around the goddess’s leg. In one swift motion, Valerica fired off three green icicle-shaped projectiles, slicing the monster’s hands. The creature’s screams echoed throughout the valley as it crashed into the demons behind it, slowing the entire mob.
Momo’s eyebrows shot up. She let out a shocked laugh. “Good shot!”
“Thank you, darling,” Valerica said, followed quickly by, “Oh shoot. Duck!”
Momo instinctively looked up, only to be met by the sight of hundreds of sharp, glinting teeth above her. Without hesitation, she followed Valerica’s instructions and pitched downward into the grass, narrowly avoiding the massive, acidic icicle that pierced through the monster’s head above her.
Momo went to cheer again, but she misjudged her distance to the ground. Her elbow hit the dirt, sending her into a wild tumble. She flipped violently, shoulders crashing into the weeds as she rolled across the fertile earth. When she finally skidded to a stop, two demons were already upon her, fangs brandished. There’s only two, she thought, blood pumping in her ears. Few enough that she could reasonably purify them, but that would require pressing her hand to them, and getting that close seemed like a death sentence. So, going purely on instinct, Momo summoned her rapiers, finding comfort in the heft of the swords in her hands as the demons closed in on her. She readied herself in a defensive stance, thinking back to her duels with Nia, when the thought occurred to her…
Kezko’s mana gem.
I can cast any spell with my swords that I can with my hands.
The first demon snarled, then swooped in. Even amongst the demons, it was a large one, nearly double her size. Using that size difference against it, she ducked, and pierced the creature straight through the middle. The Nether rapier glided through its midsection like oil through water; the creature’s body folded around the wound like puddy, allowing just enough space for the blade to fit in before snapping back into place when Momo withdrew the sword. Well, that’s evidence enough. Her theory had been correct: the swords—made of Nether themselves—would do no damage on their own. Luckily, that didn’t matter. It had only been a test.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
She dodged to the side as the large demon’s claws streaked past her. Taking advantage of its colossal momentum, she sidestepped behind it, and speared it straight through its hunched back.
“[Nether Demon – Purify]!”
White light emanated from the tip of the sword, pulsing once before exploding outwards. She could see through the demon’s translucent skin as the purifying magic traced across black veins, illuminating the creature like a light bulb from the inside. Two eyes began to carve themselves into rubbery flesh, and Momo observed the mere millisecond it took for sentience to overtake this ghoulish creature of impulse, transforming it from a rabid zombie to a hapless, blinking child. It was— god. Momo’s eyes watered. It was gorgeous. Like watching creation itself.
A sharp, awful pain just below her ribs turned that brief bliss into torture. She had been so caught up in the first demon that she had forgotten all about its sidekick. The other demon was a smaller, more demure one, almost rodentlike, with tendrils emerging from its snout that mimicked whiskers. It had bitten her in the stomach, latched its fist-sized teeth into her side. Crying out, she attempted to slash into its neck with her rapier and send out another purifying pulse, but the creature overpowered her. It straddled her on the ground, its small skeleton masking a huge weight that kept her pressed into the dirt.
“Damn it,” she hissed, feeling blood leaking out of her. She was missing part of her side now. She didn’t have to put her hand there to feel it; this was like the onboarding all over again. Only this time her wrists were pressed to the dirt, fixed in place by the monster’s gigantic rubbery fingers, and her sword had skidded far into the grass. Drool globbed onto her face from above, and an unfamiliar terror consumed her as death’s messy, sloppy kiss approached.
That was until a screeching white giant barreled into the demon’s side, pushing it off of Momo. No longer restricted, she scrambled upright, watching as the purified demon laid hit after hit on the oversized rodent. Every subsequent punch from the giant had an unexpected effect—the white magic seemed to seep into the other demon, purifying it without Momo’s intervention.
“Oh my god,” she whispered. Could I use that against them?
Before Momo could properly digest what was happening, Valerica soared in, trailed by a blazing troupe of demons. Their bodies were in structural disarray after being pelted by a hundred acidic projectiles. It was like they had been the victim of some sort of explosive shrapnel. Their moods matched what would be expected from that sort of incident—extremely dour, and deservedly bloodthirsty. Momo turned to Valerica and took her by the shoulders, reeling from the blood loss.
“Less—go,” she mumble-yelled.
With the white giant standing guard behind them, the two of them ran hand and hand through the grass. Momo kept her hand pressed to her side, feeling numbness climb up her torso as blood covered her fingers. Behind her, the horde of demons came bursting across the rollicking fields. She imagined it looked a lot like David and Goliath, only Goliath was the good guy, and David was a mass of murderous, physically personified remnants of god-trauma.
Between fuzzy blinks, Momo could see the rift appear in front of them. It was shuttering in and out of space only a few feet away. Her feet felt extremely heavy as they padded through the grass, and with every subsequent second, more weight seemed to fall upon them. It was as if the entire universe was weighing upon her shoulders; she was a modern Atlas, climbing not a hill, but a flat expanse of green weed, pushing not a rock—but her very own legs, like two bags of sand.
Faintly, she heard Valerica call, “We’re close, darling! Don’t die on me!”
With one strangled breath, Momo forced her head through the portal.
***
When she came to, many minutes or perhaps hours later, Momo’s fingers dug into a delicate, humid softness below her. Not soil, but—unmistakably—a cloud.
She had made it to the Vacant Edge.
Her ears were ringing, and a piece of parchment was covering both her eyes.
With a groan, she peeled it off of her, and craned her neck to the side.
Valerica was lying beside her, eyes still closed. They were alone. Not a soul had followed them through the rip. She felt a pang of gratitude for the purified giant that had protected their exit. She hoped he was alright on the other side.
Taking a deep breath in, she raised the piece of parchment up to look at it.
Praise Be! You have gained a level in Lesser Goddess [Domain: Reaping]
ERROR! You have not completed a Reaping. New skills cannot be acquired at this time.
Solution found …
Reaping Domain Activated…
LOCATION: EARTH, CURRENT DAY
TARGET: SOUL #1284_0B (RichardSmith)
[QUEST ASSIGNED]
[RIFT OPENING]