Arriving in the living room, I found everyone sitting there chatting and as I entered, they turned their attention to me. Everyone glanced at Olivia before looking at me, but Olivia suddenly cried out a little and hid herself behind me, her gaze on Amelia. Looking at Amelia, I understood the reason for her sudden fear and why she hid herself.

Turning to Olivia, I brushed her hair as I said “Don’t worry, Amelia is a friend, one I can trust and have fought with. Like you, she’s a Deviant as well, and I’m here, you don’t need to be afraid.” Slowly, Olivia peeks around me and looks at Amelia again as Amelia gives her a small wave. I hated seeing Olivia like this, it pained me to see that prideful elf trembling in fear.

Turning to face everyone, I sat down while Olivia sat right next to me, as if afraid I would suddenly disappear. Amelia gave her another glance with a sad smile before looking at me.

“You said Deviant, right?” I nod as Amelia frowned slightly. “Does your friend have a last name?” Though I couldn’t recall it, I nodded as Amelia shook her head. “As I thought, she’s from a noble tribe. Those bastards…”

I wanted to ask more, but I knew now wasn’t the time. I figured I’d ask later.

“Missy, ye gave us a right scare, ye did. Imagine our surprise when we rock up to tha Guild and get told ‘Yer not allowed to do requests.’ Scared me outta my wits.”

“Ah, sorry about that. I wanted to ask you guys for help.”

“We’re in.” Amelia smiled at me as Bloom and Leon nodded. Tilting my head, confused, Amelia chuckled. “We told you, remember? We’d be there to help you, even if it’s to kill the King of Vale. We’ll help you do the action and hide the body!”

Smiling at her words and Bloom and Leon nodded, I sighed and looked at them. I explained everything to them, about what we were doing, the request it had turned into and about my identity.

“Ah, yer a Chosen of some God, are ye?” As I nod, Bloom laughed. “Well, ye and Amelia are alike!”

Turning my head to Amelia, she nodded. “Ares, the God of War and many other things. I gained His notice some time ago, before I reached level 20.”

I really should learn more about the Gods of this world. Perhaps after this was all over, I could finally head to the Academy to learn more, the only reason I hadn’t done so is because I’ve been doing a lot of other things recently. With the Church eliminated, that would relieve some pressure to get stronger quickly, meaning I could focus on some other things in the meantime.

I heard the door open once again and by smell I knew it was Xia and Alice and they soon joined us. I had nearly forgotten, but Elizabeth had not yet met the new Alice, and her reaction to Alice was to pick her up and call Alice adorable.

“Ugh, El El!” Smiling at Alice and Elizabeth, I spoke with Bloom and Amelia, while Alice chatted away to Leon, pointing every now and then. I wonder if they could communicate somehow? Soon, they left to go and prepare themselves as I turned to Xia. We both nodded at the same time as I turned to Elizabeth.

“Alice, stay with Elizabeth for now.”

“El El ok!”

“Olivia.” Olivia looks at me as I give her a smile. “Can you stay here with Elizabeth?” After a few seconds, Olivia shook her head slightly. I cup her face as I smile more. “Don’t worry, I won’t be gone for long. I’m only going to go talk to a few people and I’m sure Elizabeth would like to spend some time with you.”

Olivia slowly turns her head to Elizabeth, who smiles softly. Olivia turns her head back to me and after a few seconds, she nods. “Thank you. I’ll be right back okay, and I’ll make you some more food.” Softly patting her head, I smiled at Elizabeth and threw her a bag of monster cores for Alice as Elizabeth sat next to Olivia and wrapped her only arm around Olivia’s shoulders.

***

“Xia, tell me about your family.” As we walked along the snowy path with Xia guiding me, I asked her in preparation.

“They, like I, are believers in the Moon Goddess. While we attend the Church of the Moon Goddess, we do not follow the Archbishop. We are not attached to the Church but are instead an addition to it, as I described we’re more like a detached branch family. Our mission has always been to serve a Blessed, or in your case a Chosen. My family will not listen to the orders of the Archbishop, so there will be no worries of them choosing to side with her.”

“And if they do?”

“Then it’s a simple matter to eliminate them as a threat. We do not have anyone in the family go over level 60.”

“Why do they not level?”

“Tradition, mainly. The other reason is because we do not want to be too high level, as the level restriction from making a vow to a Blessed can be harmful if the Blessed’s level is too low. We could become too weakened or unable to adjust to the lower Stats causing us to fail in our duties to protect our Blessed.”

I understood what she meant, though I had yet to experience it. I'd imagine after being used to more strength and losing it quickly would be difficult to get used to. Xia’s family lived far from the Church, so we had no issues with being seen going to them, though we didn’t know if there were spies or not. Even if there were, we didn’t plan to hide our faces, I didn’t care if they knew we were coming, the Church will still become a bloodbath, whether or not they were ready.

We soon approached a large estate, surrounded by a wall. I had learnt from Xia this was actually a very small estate in Vale, even though there was enough room for a huge, two story house and the land could fit 10 of my gardens easily. Then again, with how big Vale is, I wasn’t too surprised that people considered this small.

We arrive at the gates that led in, and the guards turn to look at us. Four of them stood, armour covering their bodies with weapons on their hips. They saw me, then looked at Xia as realisation came to their eyes. One of them turned and ran into the estate while the other three kneeled. I hadn’t been expecting this reaction as they said at the same time “We welcome the Blessed of Celestia.”

One of the guards spoke up. “The head of the family awaits you, Blessed. We are at your command.”

Glancing at Xia, who had taken up walking behind me and stood at attention, gave me a slight nod. I suddenly felt nervous, I wasn’t used to this sort of attention. Breathing in I decided the best way was to simply acknowledge them and walk in.

“Good. I’ll be entering.”

“Yes, Madam!”

As we entered the estate, I could see people rushing around as people peeked out the windows. Children who had been training in the yard stopped and watched me pass. No one kneeled however, and glancing back at Xia, she had a frown on her face while some concern showed. Silently preparing myself as well, Xia guided us into the house, which was void of any person and she continued guiding us until we reached a large door with two guards on either side.

Both looked at me and nodded. They opened the door behind them as they said “The head of the family awaits.”

As we entered, two cubes hit me, with another two hitting Xia. Chains sprung forth from them and soon my body had become chained as the chains released a pulse of familiar energy which then stopped, not invading me. Xia on the other hand fell to her knees, struggling against the chains while looking horrified.

“Father! What’s the meaning of this?!”

Looking up the hall, a flight of stairs led to a man who sat on a large chair, to his left and right stood six people, all young with blue hair and I could see some features of Xia in them. That man had short blonde hair with golden eyes as he looked down on us with a snort.

“The False Blessed has entered our home, and my foolish daughter brought her here.”

“You believe the lies of the Archbishop?!”

“I believe in our Goddess, who has spoken through our Archbishop. Daughter of mine, you will be executed for swearing a vow to a False Blessed, though that is unnecessary, as when the False Blessed is executed, you will die.”

The man turned to me, ignoring Xia’s continued question and he snorted once again. “The False Blessed. A monster, prancing around spreading the falsehood that you’re a Sister. You’ll be handed to the Church of the Moon Goddess, they will ensure you are sacrificed and we will be rewarded.” Hearing footsteps behind me as the doors closed, I understood now that they were never going to hear me out, nor would they be willing.

I stood there, looking at this man that Xia had called father. I was bound but I never bothered pretending that I was weakened, though it did not seem he cared.

“Father! Where is Mother and the others?!”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“That does not concern you. Guards, escort the False Blessed to a cell, I will inform the Archbishop. Kill Xia and toss her corpse onto the street.”

Breathing out, I shook my head and sent a command to the chains that had bound me. They fell off and without looking at the crowd that surrounded me, I turned and placed a hand on the chains that bound Xia and they too fell off.

“Seems it’ll be an early bloodbath, Xia.”

“I-impossible.”

“Father, she might very well be-”

“Silence! You are to listen to me! Do not question me, the king of this household!”

Looking at the man, the six around him suddenly looked confused, as if unsure what to do. It didn’t matter, everyone here would die.

“Domain. Mystical Lunar Starfield.”

My Domain spreads fast, covering the entire hall within seconds as the guards around me pulled out their weapons but hesitated. Looking around, I scoff. They weren’t a threat, none of them were close to level 50, what is the point of having them here when the seven up there were higher level? The six that resembled Xia were all between level 53 and 55.

Raising a hand as I used Lunar Blessing on myself, I threw it down as a weakened Starfall using about 20% of my mana fell, killing the guards around me. My eyes remained on Xia’s father the entire time.

“YOU! You stole my Starfall! How dare you! It was my reward!”

As I took a step towards him, the six that stood behind him threw down their weapons and kneeled. Xia’s father stuck a hand out in front of him as a powerful surge of mana erupted from him.

“Moonblast!”

An orb in the shape of the moon launched from him, half the size of me. It hits me, but doesn’t do anything as I continue walking towards him. His eyes widen as he draws his sword.

“IDIOTS, GET OFF YOUR KNEES AND HELP!” Yelling as he steps forward, he swings his sword as I dodge. The six behind him stood and looked at each other before picking up their weapons. I had thought that if they remained kneeled, I might’ve left them alive. Sighing, I knew this fight was about to turn ugly for me, but instead the opposite happens.

Avoiding another strike by Xia’s father, two of the six appeared behind him and as I’m about to react, the swung their weapons, a mace and scythe…at their father, striking him in the back, drawing blood.

As he let out a scream of pain, two others moved in front of me as they lined their weapons, nunchucks and a sword with spikes on it, with magic, the same type that Xia used and Lunar magic. The four proceeded to continuously attack their father as I stepped back and watched, speechless. Very quickly, they backed off as he let an eruption of Lunar magic explode around him, looking both angered to his limits and afraid.

“You children dare betray me?! The king of this house? You shame the Moon Goddess! I wi-”

Before he could finish, Xia appeared behind him and pierced his neck with her rapier that glowed purple. I saw purple cracks running up the man's neck as his eyes widened in fear.

As she drew the sword out of his throat, the last two joined in and I simply stood back as I watched the seven of them absolutely slash, cut, bash and saw into their father. Within ten seconds, he was no longer recognizable as I heard a soft “Why?” come from him.

“We helped. The Blessed.” One of the six, a boy about the age of 17, who had previously stood behind him simply said as they swung their sword, decapitating whatever remained of his head. As my domain collapsed, I blinked as I wondered what had just occurred before I heard loud shouts coming from outside.

Xia returned to my side, her rapier still drawn as she stared down the six, alongside me. At this moment though, I didn’t know what to do, I had not expected this turn of events. Looking at those that bowed, I turned to Xia and whispered.

“Help.”

Xia tilts her head, causing me to purse my lips since she’d picked this habit up from me, and whispers back “What is it, Madam?”

“I don’t know what to do!” Whispering back with urgency, Xia nodded.

“Should we kill them?”

“How can we after that?!”

“Pretty simple, stab them, right?”

“No no, they just killed the arsehole you called father, I can’t just kill them now!”

Realisation dawned on Xia’s face and as I’m about to sigh in relief she whispered back “Then we just go with torture, right?”

Slapping my palm into my face, I groan. I knew why Xia was saying this, she thought I was simply wondering how to kill them. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, I pull her in closer.

“Look, let's forget killing them. Or torturing them. Or punishing them, before you say anything.” Keeping my voice low still, I continued speaking. “I was going to kill them, but they kneeled when I removed my chains and used my domain. They weren’t even sure!”

“Then we just find out why father was acting like that.”

“I’m pretty sure I know it’s because of greed, he said I stole Starfall from him, remember?!”

As we whispered, the sounds of yelling and footsteps grew closer. The six remained quiet while Xia and I whispered to each other, trying to find out what to do with them.

“Argh, what if they just swear an oath to me and we can be done with it?” Feeling exhausted just from these whispers, I just wanted to leave this place already.

“That is not possible, Madam.”

“Alisha, Xia, Alisha. Is it because of tradition again?”

“No, Mada-Alisha. You can only have two people that have sworn their lives to you, and since I am one of them…”

“So I can only have one more? I don’t like people swearing their lives to me, so thank Celestia that isn’t an option then.” I had suggested it mainly out of frustration of the situation, and because right now the room we were in was being surrounded by unknown people.

“It’s a great honour for us, though I understand your feelings.”

Sighing, I let go of Xia as we both faced the six, who remained still. I cross my arms and think it over before I ask a question Xia had from earlier.

“Where is her mother?” Sticking my thumb at Xia, all of them rushed to answer before I pointed at one in particular, the boy who had decapitated his father.

“Father had Mother locked in the prison a month ago, saying she had betrayed the family. Mother had believed that your Grace is a Blessed and denied the Archbishops words.”

“I had been told your family doesn’t listen to the Archbishop?”

“We don’t. We listen to Father, who had met with the Archbishop about seven months ago, when your Grace first arrived in Vale. After he and Mother met with the Archbishop, they told us that the Archbishop had been spreading falsehoods in an attempt to gain more control over the Church. The Archbishop had only just taken the position due to the previous one mysteriously leaving.”

Loud bangs came from the door, and looking towards them, I sighed before looking at the other six.

“Anyone else with your Mother?”

“Two brothers, one sister and her guards, they stuck with her and her beliefs.”

“And you lot?

“We believed our Father and followed his side. The truth has been revealed today and our loyalty is with you now, your Grace.”

Looking at this boy, I had to applaud how brave he was to outright admit that they had followed their father.

“Do you have a problem with me being part human, part monster?”

“No, we do not. We simply followed our Father as he was the head of the family and believed him over our Mother. This was our mistake, and we will accept any punishment from it, your Grace.”

Being bothered over them calling me ‘Grace’, mainly because I didn’t know what it meant, a bang rang out as cracks ran along the doors. Looking at Xia, she nods before turning to the six.

“Take us to Mother.”

Getting up, the six led us behind the throne, and pushing aside a marble cube, a passageway revealed itself as the siblings led Xia and I down it. Feeling glad I had left Olivia behind with Elizabeth and Alice, we continued down the passageway which branched into several paths at certain points. Wondering how on earth a house could have this many passageways, we started to go down a flight of stairs.

Upon reaching the bottom, a large pair of doors stood there, a light silver colour radiating off it. I could tell right away it was Lunar magic, and the boy that I had spoken to during this time once again spoke.

“It’s a seal, a high level one, that Father got from the Archbishop. It’s too complex for us to figure out. It seals everything in a sphere, the door is for show.” Explaining to me, the boy once again kneeled, I looked at the seal and felt the same type of mana signature that had come from the one used during the ambush. Would someone yelp and pop from this one?

Placing my hand against the seal, I pushed my Celestial Eclipse mana into it and with a loud crack, the silver glow faded. I didn’t know how high level the Lunar magic was, I just knew Celestial Eclipse mana was far stronger than it.

“As expected of Her Blessed, praise the Moon Goddess.” The siblings made a gesture over their left chest, forming a full moon with their hands. Pursing my lips, I turned my attention to the doors and pushed them open.

***

Olivia’s PoV

This dream was wonderful. I sat next to Elizabeth, clinging to her arm as I watched Alice who looked like an evolved monster run around playing. I felt sad knowing this dream would have to end, but I wanted it to keep going. Sitting here in this warm house, with Alice, Elizabeth and Alisha around made me feel so happy.

Alice suddenly came over and climbed onto my lap and offered me a monster core. “Vi Vi hungry?”

“Now now Alice, Olivia can’t eat monster cores. She’s an Elf.” I heard Elizabeth’s voice as she spoke with some amusement. Alice looked at me and tilted her head then looked down at the monster core before eating it. Alice leaned her head back on my chest before looking up at me with child-like curiosity.

“Vi Vi ok?”

“She’s okay, Alice. Don’t worry, she’ll recover soon.”

Recover? I wonder what Elizabeth meant, did I look sick in this dream? I didn’t feel sick.

Alice continues to look at me before looking at Elizabeth and back at me. She sat up and turned, her black eyes looking into mine, still filled with curiosity. She raised a small hand and patted my head.

“Vi Vi ok!”

As Alice jumped off my lap, she turned and gave me a big smile before running off out of my vision. Before long, she return and stuck her hand out. She had one of those strange cubes.

"Vi Vi hungry?"

Seeing her smile while she tried to hand me the cube, I moved my arms away from Elizabeth and stood up as I heard Elizabeth gasp. I walk towards Alice as she tilts her head, reminding me so much of Alisha. I kneeled before her and pulled her into a hug.

"So cute!"