Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Things were finally heating up and Athenia's curiosity had tenfold in recent days. She was curious not only for the prospect of war and how to prepare for it but the eerie thought that somehow that dead soul attached to Raven was making him do certain things. The plan to build an army came to him first, why? Why was Nightsilver a man sure to be dead affecting the decisions of the hero of today? And why was it that his suggestion to Raven was the conclusion she herself derived with a few days of delay?

'I'm missing something or else I could reach for the future and figure out how to make sense of this…' Looking through the mirror and watching her chosen fighting the pathetically weak angels, the goddess of life and death pondered just how many other invisible bystanders were helping Raven in his journey? 'First, he gets the power to absorb corruption by some strange deity, then he runs into Choux's ancestor who was part of the last hero's party. It's almost as if the path has been predetermined and there are much larger hands at play.'

Squeezing her fingers around her throne's armrest, her eyes squinted in doubt and her mind continued to race. Exhausting every possibility of finding an answer and coming out on the other end with none, Athenia looked in the direction of the infinite library. A single book from those shelves could reveal secrets only her father could've known and continues to write them as the many timelines merge into one.

'Maybe today…' She wanted to get out of her chair and head for the library but then reminding herself of the flow of time being much different there, she decided to do so later as Raven and his party weren't out of the woods yet.

The angels, having been unable to fulfill their duty, had already perished in a gruesome frenzy against the hero's party. Their bodies thrashed, slashed, pinned and battered to a pulp, the once grotesque creatures were laid to rest. In doing so, Raven found himself covered in their guts, he could even taste their blood on his lips, and the sheer anger still bubbling in his heart.

His thoughts, interrupted only by the maniacal laughs of Jenna from inside the infirmary, he turned around to check on the others, and thankfully it appeared that nobody was hurt. Noticing a window of opportunity for her to speak to him and his party, Athenia thundered her voice down into her skull.

"The people of these lands are finally waking up from the nightmare that was, now is the best chance for you to win them over for if the opportunity escapes, their god Batimos could pursue them to follow his teaching still." The sudden order cast from heaven froze everyone in their tracks as they were left to wonder what to make of the situation. First came the surprise of the queen being a keeper, then the angels, and now having to take over yet another city on Athenia's command.

Despite not being in the mood to follow commands, Raven turned his attention to Liliyana and with a snap of his fingers got her attention.

"You, Erika, and Aria need to go check on the people, make sure they see us as their allies," glancing over to Mel next, he beckoned her closer. "Me and Mel will go check the keeper's body for the core and the rest can stay here and watch over Maria and Monty both."

As the orders were out everyone was ready to leave, but the sudden echoing of approaching footsteps from behind them stopped them in their tracks. Turning to the sound, Raven noticed and could already sense a divine presence in the approaching party. Felix, Hilma, and Astra, all three of them were chasing after their objective given to them directly by Batimos, however, unaware of that and even if he was aware, Raven couldn't care less in the moment as he leapt forward and his body reinforced itself mid-air by dark muscle fibers as well as the dark fairy aura to change into his fairy form.

In a flash, he reached for the demi-human boy and grabbing him by the face, slammed him into the ground. The tiles shattered and bounced out of the floor, some even hit the other two, but it happened so quickly that they didn't ever realize that Felix was attacked and was lying unconscious.

"Next!" The mage screamed as he glanced up at the other two. The flash of Astra's cat ears a visceral hate from the true nature of his monster. Leaping for Astra's throat, he gave not a second to catch up as he swung her body and threw her head-first into a wall.

Finally, as her body hit the ground while bleeding heavily from her skull, Hilma caught what was happening. Slowly shifting her gaze from her party members to Raven, her eyes wide with terror quivered at the sight of his beastly form. Her fingers let go of her weapon and her breasts rested heavy downwards as though she had already given up.

But the moment she saw Raven swinging his fist at her face, a scream came out straight from her pounding heart.

"PLEASE DON'T!" And for some reason, her voice stopped Raven.

Slowly opening her eyes to find his fist just inches from her face, she looked at the silver-eyed beast. Turning back to his human form, Raven pulled himself away from the woman, and in return the release of anxiety made Hilma's legs give in and she sat there on the ground with soiled panties.

A moment passed and Raven was once again discussing something with his party members. Hilma was finally coming to her senses and thus came a question wandering into her mind.

"W-why…" Looking at Raven's back, she called out to him for an answer. "W-why didn't you hit me?"

"Hmm?" Slowly turning back to face the woman, the mage looked deep into her eyes and answered. "Because I needed at least one of you conscious to answer some questions. What did you think? I was doing a favor because of the way you look or something?"

Although closer to the truth, Raven told a lie. For not only the woman's face was far too beautiful to be punched, but she also reminded him of Rose and the many other older women of his harem. His desire to build the biggest harem had tumbled far down the list of priorities, but even then subconsciously, the mage was held to his humanity by his fascination with the feminine and everything beautiful about it.

"T-thanks…" Hilma replied, her breath just as restless as before.

Looking her up and down, Raven mused to himself for a moment before coming out with some orders for her as well.

"Tie your companions yourself and stay here for now, I'll be back and then you can show us around town." Hoping to use the false heroes as a way to win the people's hearts and shift their faith from Batimos to Atheina, Raven decided to keep the woman by her side, at least until he could find another use for her and her useless party members.