GODDESS OF WAR

With the arrival of dawn, the group of four people and two creatures departed towards the Ancient City. Indifferent silence hung over them as they traversed the forest and exited towards the mountain pass. Lynne was deeply immersed in trying to understand why has Goddess of Luck abandoned him, throwing him into the pit of hellish fire. A large variety of expressions crossed his face over time, from fear to awe to confusion.

Thalia kept a close eye on him and noticed all these changes; while it was amusing, she still couldn’t decipher their source, and merely spent time in silent and simple joy. The mountain pass was rather wide and easy to tread, causing them to lower their guard somewhat. The attack by the black-clad figures had already been put into the depths of their memories, and with the addition of Thalia, Anna and Elynal felt a few could threaten their group.

As they climbed upwards slowly, Thalia slowed her pace as she matched it with Lynne’s, walking shoulder to shoulder with him. Lynne paid her a courtesy glance, smiled, and went back to his own thoughts. The monkey and the bird slept lazily on his shoulders, causing him to become quite a sight.

“What great woes can make Lynne Nyord to look so worried?” Thalia broke the silence at last, smiling gently as she asked.

“Go away.” Lynne replied bluntly, not even looking at her.

“I just want to help, so we can become better friends. Why are you so cold?”

“Ah...” Lynne sighed, shaking his head lightly. “It’s not that I’m cold, it’s just that you’re too dumb for subtlety. So I’m forced to hurt your feelings by directly telling you to screw off.”

“Ha ha,” Thalia smiled joyously, seemingly paying no heed to Lynne’s insults. “You truly have a snake’s tongue. Would it kill you to be a bit gentler towards a lady?”

“I am nothing but a gentleman when it comes to ladies; it’s the children I have a problem with.”

“Oh, so if it was my mother instead of me, you’d treat her with respect?”

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“If she’s really your mother, I’d question her as to why she felt a desire to bring you into this world.”

“Ah, only women can know the cruelty of man’s heart…”

“Eh, instead of bothering me, why not go ask those guys behind us what do they want, huh?” Lynne smirked lightly as he spoke.

“Oh?” Thalia arched her brow, somewhat surprised. “You noticed them too?”

“Look at those two kids upfront,” Lynne ignored her question and looked ahead towards Anna and Elynal who were walking forth without a care in the world. “It sure is nice to be young and ignorant.”

“Why are you asking me to deal with them? Is it because you’re scared?”

“Nah, I’m just hoping they’re strong enough to kill you.”

“If I die so will the rest of you. I didn’t take you for a suicidal man.”

“Suicidal? Never… I’ve yet to--”

“Sleep in the bosoms of ten thousand mature maidens, swim in the river of gold and drink godly wine… ye, ye, I’ve heard the story. Aren’t you a bit too young to have midlife crisis though?”

“Insolent brat… didn’t your parents teach you not to interrupt adults when they’re talking?”

“You’re younger than me though.”

“Age is but a number,” Lynne rebuked. “What divinities cross my mind… yours in comparison is an empty void.”

“Eh, isn’t someone deeply in love with themselves.”

“If even you don’t love yourself, who else will?” Lynne stopped walking forward as he turned around. “Isn’t that right gentlemen?” he suddenly raised his voice, causing both Anna and Elynal to come to a halt as they turned around. “What wretched souls lack courage to stand on this road? What cowards lurk from the shadows – and rather unskillfully so if I dare say so – and prey upon the innocent? Ah, what has world come to…”

“Be lenient brother,” Thalia suddenly joined in, shaking her head as she sighed. “Very few possess the courage of yours, the pride towering the sky itself; perhaps, to you, they may be ants, but not everyone can be a king. Say, why don’t you just slap them once or twice and send them on their way?”

“Wretched woman,” Lynne angrily rebuked. “If I lowered myself to their level, what of my heart then? A lowly being such as yourself is perfect for this task; go smoke them out and teach them a lesson. While you’re at it, teach yourself a lesson as well and stay with them, lest you corrupt children behind us.”

“Ai ai, you’re so cruel brother Lynne; I am but a young maiden, my heart as soft as silk. I forgive before I accuse and sentence; I cannot brave the storm like brother Lynne can. Besides, how can a princess like myself filthy her hands by dealing with common dogs? That’s well beneath me.”

“Common dogs? Don’t insult man’s best friends!” Lynne barked back. “Dogs trust us with undisputed heart; they’d throw their fragile bodies in fire to save us. How can these cowards be compared to dogs? Dogs don’t hide and trail! They bark till their throats burn and even heavens are aware!”

“Ah, I didn’t know you loved dogs so much, brother Lynne,” Thalia still held admirable smile on her face, as if she was reciting an ancient, love poem. “Could it be that you wish to create a new species?”

“Ah, what a filthy woman;” Lynne sighed solemnly. “To think such youth is so corrupted. I need ask who your father is, for he deserves a lesson in upbringing.”

“He he,” odd, distorted smile interrupted their light banter; shadows behind them deformed and shattered like glass, whereupon sixteen figures in total appeared. They were all green-clad, and Lynne immediately recognized them. “I didn’t know we’d stumble on an old, married couple all the way here. You two--”

“Shut up,” Thalia interrupted him icily. “Who allowed you to speak, huh? Didn’t you hear brother Lynne? You are below even the dogs! If dogs lick our boots, then what do you think your job is? It’s to scram before I burn the last bit of hair you have on you disgusting bodies!”

“You bitch!!” the leading man exploded angrily, his face reddening. “Wait until I’m done with you; there won’t be--”

“Done with me? Who gave you permission to even dream of being with me?” Thalia’s face grew increasingly gold as she continued. “Impotent bastard, your face has ruined my day completely! If you don’t scram within five breaths, I’ll have you skinned and butchered and feed dogs with you! Someone so ugly actually dares leave the safety of his home; this world has gone completely mad!”

“How dare you insult Senior Brother Zhu you lowly bitch?!” another person from the group yelled out.

“Zhu?” Thalia creased her brows slightly as she spoke. “Zho, boo, who gives a shit? Even if he was Zulu I’d still butcher him and his entire family just for being born so ugly! Blegh! Just glancing at you is turning my innards out! And you, who the hell allowed you to talk? If you brother zoo isn’t permitted to open his filthy trap, what makes you think you are? Shut your horse mouth before I twist your tongue out and screw your asshole with it!” holy shit, this woman is fierce! Lynne suddenly realized that Thalia has been rather mild when dealing with him. Naturally, he was also relatively easygoing, as there was no bad blood between the two of them.

“Brother zoo, hahaha,” Lynne suddenly burst out in laughter, bending over as he held his stomach. “Oh sweet lord, if that was my name I’d turn into an ostrich and bury my head in the sand for an eternity! Ha ha… ah, that was good. Now shoo brother zoo, go back in the cage with others of your kind.” by now, brother zoo’s face was steaming red, his eyes bloodshot beyond compare; no one ever has insulted him like he was insulted today. And, perhaps, no one in the future would even come close to it.

“You’re looking to die!” his Mana burst outwardly; surprisingly, he was Two Star Pius Magus, and one with relatively solid foundation as well.

“Even if I was looking to die, do you believe a scum like you would have the turn in making it happen?” Thalia’s voice nearly froze the air itself as she spoke.

Without even giving the other group a moment to reply, she flicked her sleeves slightly whereupon a crystalline blue spear appeared from thin air. Soul Weapon! Lynne sucked in cold air as he noticed the weapon; although the material it was made from wasn’t a match to his own, it was clearly of high grade!

As she lowered her waist lightly, she burst forth with unimaginable momentum, flinging her spear circularly in her hand as she struck at brother zoo; the latter clasped his hands together whereupon a massive torrent of blood erupted from him, turning into a curved shield. Thalia’s spear suddenly shook, its shaft vibrating as its head began shimmering in cold blue, leaving behind a trail of frost as it cut through the space. Thalia increased her momentum as she shifted herself forth, flinging her leg in an arc through the air and jumping lightly, thrusting the spear directly into the center of the blood shield. Brother zoo sneered as he saw this; after all, this was a high-grade Spell Art, Crimson Vanguard, one of the best defensive Spell Arts from the sect.

However, his sneer froze immediately; a mirage of a coiling dragon appeared around the spear as it burst straight through the blood shield as if wasn’t even there. Before the spear even reached the group, the sheer air pressure caused good deal of them to kneel and vomit blood, staining their green robes crimson.

Zho bit his tongue to force himself out of temporary paralysis of pressure, immediately taking out a two-meter long greatsword from his Pocket Ring. He swung it forth rather clumsily as he had no time to build any momentum. As the spear and the sword clashed, sounds of metal grinding echoed out, whereupon the greatsword exploded into smithereens, and Zho was sent flying through the air like a broken kite. Thalia’s spear pierced into the ground, causing the entire mountain pass to shake as web-like cracks spread throughout. Everyone from the green-clad group was either injured or unconscious, their eyes staring at the frosty goddess before them, entrenched in deep terror and fear. Thalia glanced over them indifferently as she reverted back her aura and small bits of frost that began spreading from the spear’s head stuck in the ground shattered as the spear itself disappeared.

This entire fight took less than three seconds, in which she utterly destroyed supposed sect young powerhouses – sixteen of them at that. The strangest part, though, was that Lynne was unable to determine what rank she was, no matter how much he probed. He only knew she was far, far stronger than he, Anna and Elynal – combined – are. She was barely two-three years older than him, and she already had a Soul Weapon. Lynne obtained it barely through an extremely lucky chance, but he had a feeling that hers was genuine.

“Ah, you’re so cruel woman,” despite knowing that she can kill him with her finger, Lynne didn’t change how he acted around her. “Look at the poor amoebas. They’re shaking in terror, with half of them turning back into three year old kids who occasionally wet their beds. Ah, their hearts will never be able to love another woman with you having carved your cruel image inside of them.”

“Oh, so now they’re amoebas? Interesting.” Thalia replied with a smile, her frosty behavior disappearing completely. Eh… I better be on guard against her. She isn’t much worse than me.

“Ah, lamentable fate…” Lynne sighed as he turned around and began walking back up. “In twenty years, you’d become a beautiful mature lady. But, that cruelty will never allow it; you’ll become a beast instead.”

“Ha ha,” Thalia laughed lightly as she caught up to him and walked shoulder to shoulder. “I have a feeling they’d be far worse off if you’d taken action.” she probed lightly.

“Hm?” Lynne cast her a strange glance. “It appears you see me as a mystery,” Lynne smiled widely as he spoke, his usual, playful tone replaced with a serious and solemn one. “A shroud you need to unveil. That’s fine,” Lynne interrupted her quickly, waving his arm lightly. “But, before your thoughts weer astray, I may as well tell you that I’m not who you think I am at the moment,” Lynne sighed softly. “You believe in your spear to fix all the wrongs and force all the rights, but I don’t. To battle and win… and to battle and kill, those two are completely different things. There are only few hatreds in this world worth spilling blood over… that’s what I believe, at least.”

“Hmm…” Thalia smiled lightly as she stroked her chin. “If you don’t believe in murder, why even tread the path of a Magus? To cross it, you’ll leave behind hills and mountains of bones and corpses. No matter how sharp your tongue is or how quick your wit is, strength will always be the iron clad rule.”

“Why walk, huh?” Lynne smiled bitterly, thinking back to the collapse of Edgemaw and to the fate of his father… “Strength indeed defies right and wrong. But, in the end, Kingdom built atop the bones of dead will never last or prosper. Fear is a tool to control the weak… but within the sea of those weak people, there will always be a few exceptions. In the end, all will collapse unto itself. I simply lack desire to participate in that…”

Thalia gazed at him with deep surprise; nearly every Mage she has met so far had no qualms about killing hundreds and thousands to get what they want. They’d abandon their humanity for the sake of power, and happily so. Lynne, on the other hand, didn’t seem like the type who foolishly believed in the good of the heart, yet he still doesn’t seem to believe in the path nearly everyone else follows. You’re getting more and more interesting Lynne Nyord, Thalia smiled mischievously as she thought. It looks like I’ll have to peel off all the layers you have, despite Principal’s warnings… I wonder what will I find down there…