Chương 12: Lives in Her Hands

Elise placed her bow on her back. She could already notice people's eyes flickering towards her. One shot, four arrows, it was surely going to cause a stir. It was a low leveled magic within two trees. In GEO, all trees had some overlap. It was useful to spec your character into all trees to some extent. One never wanted to become an all-rounder type, but there were enough skill points that you could safely specialize while grabbing points from other trees.

For example, a lot of elves took nature magic classes, and the race provided a bonus to nature magic, archery, and things like herb gathering. The spell she used, [Blooming Blood Arrow], was a bit deceptive. It was a combination of blood magic and nature. The magic of her arrow pierced into their bodies and drew on their blood, turning their cells into plant material before becoming petals on the wind.

It was dangerous if one didn't have any counter play, and for lesser demons who hadn't seen it coming and overestimated their strength, it was the end. That's another thing that isn't like the game. If this was still GEO, the demons would have been cautious. They would have acted more in alliance with their programming, meaning there was a chance my spell wouldn't have worked. They could have cast defensive magic. Esmeralda's hand dug into her shoulder, the nun scowling at the queen.

"What was that just now?" Elise took a deep breath and waved her hand towards her maid who was ready to pounce.

"It was a skill that I'd been holding onto."

"You mean to tell me you'd been holding onto something until after all of those people died? Why didn't you use that sooner?" The queen clicked her tongue and flicked Esmeralda's hand off her shoulder. She turned towards Esmeralda with a scowl of her own. Elise had always been aware that something like this could happen, yet she'd hoped it would have been later. Still, she narrowed her eyes towards the nun whose face burned red with anger.

"And what if I did do it sooner? My job was to protect the baron, was it not? If you'd been so confident in my abilities, then why didn't you act to save them? Surely you had the power to do so?" Esmeralda took a step back, her voice shaking.

"No, that's..."

"That's wrong? Is it really wrong? We all have things we want to hide, don't we, Miss Evencrest?"

"I..."

"You what? Aren't you with the Order of Dawn? Instead of grilling me, maybe you should focus on saving those souls destined to Hell? What about the pastry boy? Are you going to tend to his wounds?" Esmeralda trembled, and her hands clasped the golden cross on her neck. The nun took a deep breath before turning back towards the fallen soldiers. Nothing was left of their bodies, but their souls had yet to be reaped.

Because the demons died too fast and the zone shattered, their souls remained trapped within the realm. Elise's eyes glimmered red for a moment, spotting the white wisps drifting in the air. The living soldiers and adventurers remained quiet and tended to each other, while waiting to see what the lady from the Order of Dawn would do. I am curious as well. Might you share a secret or two with me? The nun took off her necklace and held the cross out in front of her.

She closed her sky blue eyes and let her magic seep into the holy symbol. It glowed with a vibrant golden light, casting holy into the air around it.

"Lady Dawn, give me the power to guide these lost souls. Let them return to your eternal embrace and be freed from the shackles of Hell. Hand of Dawn!" Elise looked up to the sky when she felt the power floating above. An ethereal white hand descended from the clouds, wrapped in golden light. It covered the entire battlefield and blanketed everyone. The vampire queen could feel it coating her skin. There was no burn, only a slight tingling across her body.

I guess even this amount of Holy Magic is not enough to burn. Still, another chant? The hand turned over and held the wisps as if they were something precious. Elise imagined a world where she could interrupt this spell. She could take those souls from that hand and bring them to her shadow. A twisted part of her mind told her that was the thing to do, but she shook off that notion. Are these my skills affecting my mind? I was not exactly a paragon of morality, but would I have done this without those skills?

Another thing, I was not so standoffish before, was I? She could have never imagined her past self mouthing off to someone affiliated with a god. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Nevertheless, the hand continued and lifted the wisps from this world, taking them to salvation. The soldiers looked on in awe before offering prayers of their own. Elise was tempted to follow the hand with her shadow magic, but she decided not to at the last second.

Better not to attract the direct attention of a god quite yet.

"Well," Baron Edmon said from nearby, "you were quite special after all. It seems I was right to trust my judgment." He twirled his mustache and took another swig from his pipe.

"Would you accompany me after this quest ends?"

"I am afraid not." The man laughed and blew smoke rings from his mouth. After taking in fresh air, he coughed a few times before nodding.

"Still, I will inform the guild properly about what happened here. Ambergrad awaits us, and we should not dally much longer." He narrowed his eyes towards the sky where the hand parted to.

"Especially now." I guess the baron is a lot more cunning than he lets on. Half of his comments are in jest, and the other half carry something else. Plus, he knew that she was an Evencrest, whatever that means. Elise spread her shadow through the ground and all the way back towards Hammerlin. She spotted Ava'koz sitting on top of a roof and reading a book with her legs dangling from the edge. The shadow reached her, and the purple eyes of Greed went wide.

She smiled vividly, her tendrils flailing about on her head.

"My Goddess?"

"Goddess? Uh, never mind, I have a task for you if you're not too busy."

"I am not busy at all. It's been so fun playing with these mortals, but I miss you. We all miss you. It's no fair that Tyralith and Rela can be so close to you. I think Lenore is getting sad... sadder than usual." Elise frowned and pressed her hand to her head. Now that I think about it, I haven't really had a chance to interact with all of them that much. I'd been too focused on what I should do with them that I forgot how real they are now. It will be better to tend to this as soon as possible.

I need to delegate them tasks properly, and I need a clear objective. The voice of Greed entered her mind again, asking her what she needed, but Elise paused. She remembered her time spent in game, and she remembered her dull life from before. This whole time she'd tried to be cautious, and she would continue to do so. However, what is the point of having power that I never use? What is the point of becoming the character I always wanted to be if I never enact Her will. She called me a Goddess, didn't she?

Yes, that is what I am. That is what I will be. I am the Goddess of Death, Reaper of Souls, Eternal Queen of the Night and Damnation. That is who I am. What other quest could there be for someone like her? She'd watched souls disappear right from her fingertips. She felt it all this time, and she knew she could grab them. So what if there are players? I will deal with them as they come. This situation has only made me more certain. I will establish the Land of the Dead here on this world.

That forest will be the breeding ground of my domain. After all, even if there were top players, can they stop me?

"My Lady?" Rela asked with a tilt of her head. Elise smiled at her and patted her head.

"Yes, you all will be the key to everything. Your happiness is assured in this world by my side, and I won't ever forget that." She looked around the clearing and observed the nun healing the pastry boy. She saw the way that the soldiers filled their water skins at the river's edge. All of them had struggled and did whatever they wanted, even if they followed orders from someone above them. They lived their own lives inside of warm castles, but Elise would also do whatever she wanted.

She finally turned her attention back towards Ava'Koz.

"Learn all you can about the Evencrest family and The Order of Dawn. I will do my own snooping. It looks like there is a hub in Ambergrad. As for the others, well, I will be back in the castle after this quest concludes. Besides, I need to check on that paladin."

"Your wish is my command, My Goddess." She felt like she'd already exhausted all information she could get out of Tiberius, so the next step was naturally the nun not far from her. A piece of paper appeared in Elise's hand, cut in the shape of a human. She pressed her shadow magic into it until it turned black, and then she whispered.

"[Shadow Puppet]." She blew on it as if blowing a kiss, and the thing flew through the air, going unnoticed by everyone except for Rela. It landed on Esmeralda's shoulder without her noticing before turning white and blending in with those robes. The nun stood up next to Heinkel and smiled at the cat girl.

"He'll be fine now. Though, I'll need to keep a close eye on him to make sure he heals properly without any influence."

"Thank you so much," Kaila said with a shaky voice, tears welling in her eyes. She hugged the man who remained unconscious and clung to his body. Esmeralda's frown returned when she looked at Elise. She walked towards the carriage and brushed against the vampire queen with her shoulder, her voice lowering.

"This isn't over. I will figure out who you are 'Lady Emerald'. In the meantime, you should ride in the baron's carriage. Heinkel will lay in your seat." Elise sighed and watched the Nun walk away as other adventurers hoisted Heinkel into the air. To think that she was just kindly playing chess before all of this happened.

"My Lady, can I please remove her hand?" Rela asked in a hushed voice.

"I thought your disdain was directed at the baron."

"It is directed at all of these humans, My Lady, except for the pastry boy." Elise's eyes widened.

"The pastry boy?"

"Yes, it was exactly as you said. He does possess an interesting skill. Other than that, I think he receives a passing grade for teaching me something, My Lady."

"What? Did he really teach you something?" The maid looked away, a slight red painting her cheeks.

"Well, it was more about that cat girl. I'd seen her love for him while he lay there pathetically unable to answer her call, and it reminded me of what I said earlier." Hmm?