Over the course of the next two days, I calmed down a lot. After a lot of discussion between the four of us, I decided to delay my plan for massacring the Church. We had discussed various things about it, with Summer and Xeno even offering to join me in wiping them out, but I declined. It wasn’t their problem but mine.
Xeno however expanded on his offer to form an official party through the Guild. I asked him why he wanted to form a party and he explained his reason. He was fond of my previous achievements, and now coupled with my ruthlessness, strength and the care I had shown for Olivia, he believed I was worthy of forming a party with. He invited Xia, Alice and Summer as well, with all of us deciding to accept once the problem with the Church had been resolved.
As for the Church, the others convinced me to inform an executive of the Guild, and with the Memory Stone of the incident, they believed the Guild would be able to turn a blind eye and assist with the Royal Guard if any problems arose. Next, Xia had brought up her family, and in doing so we informed Summer and Xeno about our relationship, in which they didn’t seem surprised about.
Xia’s family wasn’t directly connected to the Church, instead they were what Xia described as a detached branch family. Their purpose, which I knew, was to wait for a Blessed and raise children that would be able to serve a Blessed if they were to ever come to Vale. There were many families like this spread across the world, and when I asked if they would believe me over the Church, Xia said they would side with me without question. So we made plans to enlist their assistance, on the condition they would follow me. Xia even said if they chose to put the Church over me, then she would consider them dead to her.
We arrived at the small guarded building, and after an inspection they allowed us through. Xeno went through, followed by the Trio of Idiots, who had out of fear completely stopped talking, refusing to meet our eyes. The slaughter I had performed had finally drilled it into their heads that I wasn’t to be pushed it seems.
I had honestly felt refreshed since that bloodbath. All of the stress and frustrations I had accumulated during this trip had been used to fuel it, and the new Domain I had used had come from those bottled feelings. I couldn’t use that Domain at the moment, though I knew if I had that same bloodlust, it would answer my call again. I had no idea what it did either. I had a feeling that it enhanced my bloodlust to an extreme while setting fear into those I deemed as enemies, though that might’ve happened because of my presence weakening those below my level.
Summer followed the Trio of Idiots, then Xia went through with Alice. With Olivia holding onto my arm tightly, we stepped through as well. We arrived in the room with the teleport to see the others waiting for Lin. It didn’t take long for him to arrive and lead us to a private meeting room. The Trio of Idiots were led to another room, and they offered for Olivia to be taken care of, but her only reaction was to cling to my arm harder.
When we arrived in the private meeting room, Elise and the other male attendant were already waiting for us. Sitting down, Lin nods to us.
“Good work, we’ve confirmed the identity plate of Frank as well, you’ll all receive seven Mithril coins, in addition you’ll be getting another three as compensation for the danger. Now, Summer, please debrief everyone present here and present the Memory Stone you have as proof of completion.”
Summer stood and handed him the stone. As it plays out, she narrates everything that happens as if retelling a story. The moment of Frank’s death came up and the Memory Stone was paused. Lin and Elise turn to me.
“Good job, and thank you for holding back on killing those three morons. We’ll provide an additional one Mithril coin to you and three to Olivia as form of compensation for what occurred.” The Memory Stone had shown what Frank had done to Olivia, so even if the Trio of Idiots tried to tell their elaborate story it would fall on deaf ears.
As the Memory Stone continued, Lin, Elise and Marty, the male attendant, became more frustrated as the voices of the Trio of Idiots reached their ears. The moment of the massacre soon arrived, and I saw from another point of view just how ruthless I had been. Watching as I laughed, swiftly moving between different, weakened people and tearing them all apart, I smiled slightly at the scene.
Lin sighed and looked at another pouch to the side. “So that’s where they came from.” Turning to look at me once again, he sighed again. “What are your plans?”
“I’m going to massacre the Church, regardless of what the Guild says.”
“And if we forbid it?”
I simply shrug and sit back. I had grown tired of being on the backfoot, always being on guard in case the Church tried something. I wanted nothing more than to remove this problem from my side and no longer cared of the repercussions.
“Please wait here for a few minutes, I will be back.” Lin spoke as if he had aged several times before leaving. Elise got up and moved over to me while Marty spoke to Summar and Xeno.
I had expected her to reproach me, or yell but she simply hugged me. “I’m sorry. I want to tell you that I’ll join you and help you, but I can’t, I’m tied to the Guild.”
Knowing she meant best, I simply patted her back as she released me. Looking at Olivia, she showed a tight smile as she knew about her condition. She brushed Olivia’s hair as the door opened once again, this time Xander walked in as Lin followed.
Lin shows the scene of the massacre to Xander, who watches patiently before raising an eyebrow and turning to Lin as the massacre finishes. “What’s the point of showing me a bunch of fools being killed?”
“Sir, Madam Alisha intends to follow through and launch an assault on the Church of the Moon Goddess directly. I believe this will impact the Guild.”
Looking towards me, Xander asked in a low voice. “Is this true?” I nod once to him as he grunts and turns back to Lin.
“The disciple of the Branch Master wishes to purge a threat to not only herself, but now the Guild. You telling me this either means you want me to stop it, or provide a cover for it. Fine.” Xander looks at every Gold Grade in the room before nodding.
“Adventurers! The Guild hereby declares an emergency request, the reward will be five Mithril coins. The Church of the Moon Goddess has corrupted those of the Guild to do their bidding and launched an attack on you all. Your task is to remove this corruption that is the Archbishop of the Church, as well as all those that support her. The Guild will cover all expenses.” Turning to me, he asks in a low voice “How long do you need to prepare?”
“Two days.”
“In two days time you will begin your assault on the Church of the Moon Goddess. The Guild will not provide any additional adventurers to support you, as we believe you all are fully capable of eliminating a small branch. I will inform the Captain of the Royal Guard, Roland, and coordinate with him and a select task force to ensure the safety of innocents. We will provide information that we have and a plan on the eve of the assault. If you have any questions, say them now.”
A silence fills the air as I raise a hand. As if predicting my question, which is why the Guild was assisting us, Xander answered me.
“The Guild has determined that the Church of the Moon Goddess is guilty of leading adventurers astray and led them to attack you. This is not only a rule of the Guild but also of the City of Vale, which means we are authorised to do this.”
Surprised, and thankful that the others had convinced me to inform the Guild, I sighed out of relief as the tension within me disappeared. I had been worried that going down this path would mean no longer being a part of the Guild, which was essential to returning to Crater, but that no longer seemed to be the case.
Xeno raised his hand as Xander looked at him. “Sir! I wish to request the formation of a party with those present here, sir!”
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“You don’t need me for that Xeno, your advisor can set that up. Anything else?” Marty, Elise and Lin all showed a surprise look at Xeno’s request as Xander answered him, all three looking between the five of us. They hadn’t heard the discussions we had during the journey, it had only shown what had occurred as Lin controlled the Memory Stone.
“Good, I’ll leave it with you two.” Glancing at the attendants, they quickly stood at attention and bowed. Looking at Lin, he mutters “Get their payment to them before they leave the building.” before walking out.
Lin also quickly left as Marty looked at Xeno in surprise. “You’re sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“About bloody time, Xeno. I’ll arrange the paperwork, in the meantime, you five go and prepare. I’ll have everything ready for after the request is completed. Consider this your request to complete to form a party.”
Marty leads Summer and Xeno from the room, leaving Elise, Xia, Alice, Olivia and I behind. I felt Olivia squeeze my arm slightly, and looking at her she still had that slightly vacant gaze, but I could see a glimmer of worry in them.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be okay.”
“Alright, well this entire thing is surprising. Alisha, we’re going to talk about your next steps. Do you have anyone you can ask for support?”
Turning to Elise, Xia and I explained about Xia’s family as well as our plans to recruit them. Elise nods and pulls out a notepad, writing everything down.
“Okay, good start. Bloom, Amelia and Leon are available, Elizabeth should also be returning. All of them have since levelled to 50, do you want to enlist them?”
Biting my lip slightly, I thought about it before nodding. “I’ll talk with them, I don’t want to drag them in without them knowing why.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less. I’ll inform the attendants to block their requests until they’ve spoken to me, and I’ll send them to your house. Next, you should speak to Floof.”
Raising an eyebrow, Elise smiled. “Floof had a friend within the Church of the Moon Goddess, a Bishop by the name of Bud. Bud went missing a while ago and has not been seen since, and Floof has since found that the Church had him killed for hiding your location. Don’t blame yourself for this, Bud truly believed you were a Blessed of the Moon Goddess. I doubt that Floof will directly help you, but he won’t refuse a request for some help.”
Frowning, I didn’t dislike the idea of asking Floof for help, but I didn’t want to pull too many people into this. Though, if his friend had indeed been killed by the Archbishop, then I should at the very least let him know.
“What are your plans from here?”
Thinking over it, I told Elise my plans. “First, I need to take Olivia home and get a proper meal for her, then find someone to care for her.” Feeling a squeeze coming from Olivia, I looked down and hesitated. From that squeeze, I knew she didn’t want to leave my side. As I’m hesitating, Elise suggested something.
“Take her with you for now, I’ll look after her once the assault begins. She can’t be involved in that, but if she’s by your side, her safety is guaranteed.”
“That…yea, I’ll keep her by my side.” I felt Olivia’s grip loosen a bit so I continued. “Once that’s done, I plan to go to Xia’s family first, then make my way to the Lily Pond Inn, then look at preparing everything else. About Bloom’s team and Elizabeth…”
“I’ll send them up to your place, Elizabeth has been teaming up with them so she’ll be able to get them into the house. By the way, your garden has been harvested and a new room was built. Here is your key.” Thanking her, Lin entered shortly afterwards and handed me a bag of coins.
“Thirty three Mithril coins. Don’t think you can spend without worry, the stronger you get the more money everything costs.” Thanking Lin, he nodded and left the room.
“Alisha, if you have that money, you should buy some high-grade monster meat, it should meet the requirements for you to cook it as a Chef. If you go to Grandma’s she can provide it to you. I believe a weeks worth of that meat will equal about one Mithril coin.”
Looking at Elise, she smiled softly. “Trust me, the meat that gets you is some of the best the city has. Now, leave everything else with me. Go see Grandma, then Northern Hawk for some clothes for dear Olivia here and head home. I don’t want to see you here until the eve of the assault.”
***
Opening the door to my house, I sighed as I walked in with Olivia clinging to my arm and Alice around my back. We had spent two Mithril coins in total, one on meat as suggested and another one clothing for all of us. Xia had suggested relaxing for the time being and doing some shopping, which I had to admit I found enjoyable. Northern Hawk had shown us what he called his ‘best quality goods’ which had some very good clothing.
“Madam Olivia, allow me to assist you.” Xia gently gets Olivia to follow her down the hall towards the bath. Olivia turned back and looked at me with those vacant eyes all the way down the hall, as if unwilling to let me out of her sight. Smiling at the sight of this, my smile soon disappears as its replaced by one of anger, aimed at the Church.
Sighing while calming myself, I had Alice go and play while I started making food. I found the various fruits and vegetables that had grown in the kitchen and was very happy with the results. They were very bountiful, had a lot of pure mana laced into them and from trying one had a lot of flavour to it. Using them as well as the newly bought meat, I started working on cooking up a big feast for everyone.
***
Sitting at the table, I helped Olivia eat, though the sight of the mountain of food before her must’ve had an effect as she started showing more signs of life and started eating more herself. Or perhaps it was due to the fact I had infused everything including the tea and coffee with mana, providing various effects, such as effects that calmed one's mind, gave more energy, improved ones sight for a short while and even one that had surprised me slightly and that was one that gave an increase of 200 to Agility.
It didn’t affect me, and I knew why. The Chef didn’t receive anything from their own creations, so for me to gain anything like that I would have to eat something another Chef cooked. I would still gain effects of everything else, but increases to Stats simply would not occur for the Chef that prepared the food.
Alice also ate without complaint. She wouldn’t eat anything but monster cores or something I had made. Xia had been hesitant, but after a stern look from me she also joined in. Overall, the atmosphere quickly turned from gloomy to joyful, and Olivia started looking a lot better.
After we finished most of the food, with the food that increases one's stats being one of those that I had saved for Bloom and his team as well as Elizabeth, Olivia fell asleep at her chair with a small smile on her face. Feeling relieved that I didn’t have to find Summer to play her harp, I refused Xia’s offer and gently took Olivia to my bed. It was something Summer had suggested, that it would be best if I was nearby and in the same room in case Olivia had a nightmare.
Sitting at my desk watching Olivia, I still felt worried. She hadn’t spoken a word at all, and one of my fears was that she might think this was all a dream, something Summer said could be possible as Olivia had basically been at death’s door. Of course, this would pass but it would take time. Xia was currently out with Alice, shopping for supplies we needed.
As I’m practising Gravity on a small monster core, attempting to make it float, I heard the front door open and voices in the lobby. I recognized the sounds right away, it was Elizabeth and Bloom’s team. Not wanting to leave Olivia by herself, I released a sliver of mana as a pulse towards them, harmless but would tell them I was here.
I very quickly heard running up the stairs as the door burst open, and a panicked looking Elizabeth entered the room, looking at the bed before meeting my gaze. She did a double take before walking over and pulling me into a one armed hug.
“I’m so sorry! I got too wrapped up in everything and failed to be with you.”
“Elizabeth, it’s okay. I’m fine, I’m not the one you should be worried about.” Patting her on the back, she pulled before looking at the bed.
“I can’t believe it, you found her. Even after so long.” Elizabeth walked over and sat next to the sleeping Olivia. “She looks horrible, like she hasn’t eaten for so long.”
“It’s alright, I’ve made sure she had a good amount of food. Can you let Bloom know I’ll be downstairs soon? I don’t want to leave her side.”
Elizabeth looks at me and gives me a soft smile. “Of course. Come down when you’re ready.”
“Oh, and there are some meals in the cold box for everyone. It’ll give you all a small boost to Agility.”
“You made one?! Oh my, that work is finally paying off!” Giving me one last hug, Elizabeth moved downstairs. Her Status hadn’t escaped my eyes.
Level 51 Elizabeth the Aspiring Hero
Mage Core Human
Apprentice Summoner
Health: ???/???
Turning my attention back to Olivia, I continued to sit there, practising Gravity as I waited for her to wake up. After about six hours, Olivia opened her eyes and sat up, looking afraid for a moment before her eyes saw me, and a relief washed over them for a moment. There was more life to her eyes now, but they still looked vacant. She got out of the bed and walked to me, grabbing my arm again.
Brushing her hair slightly, I helped her change her clothing into the new set, though she seemed to manage most of it herself surprisingly, before we went down stairs to have a serious discussion with everyone.