Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

A visit to the hell, how could it be made more comfortable? The flames were more fierce than anything else in their world and the slightest flicker of ember could set them ablaze without proper protection. Having taken all that into account, Linkle devised a plan–a plan that involved the owner of the Red Madam, Reina's jewellery-making skills, and Darius's inscription in the same way that he'd once helped the hero's party overcome the curse of Libyan's poison.

And now, after many days things were finally coming together. The Red Madam already had everyone's sizes, and while her subordinates worked on everyone's fire-resistant clothes, she graced mansion 'Phordite with her presence. But to her dismay, Linkle was busy and so was Shamisha, the only two who could sympathize with her chase towards perfection of the craft.

"They say your worth degrades over time if you visit someone far too often," looking straight at the witch, the old woman heaved a sigh. "If that's true, should I take it that a single visit from me was too much? I've been waiting for you to be done for an hour, after all."

Anger was apparent on the Madam's face, judging the young-looking girls to be her juniors, she felt disrespected as an elder as well as a guest. Unbeknownst to her, both the girls were much older than her but simply didn't seem as such.

"Sorry, we're done," Linkle responded, the madam's complaint going in through one ear and leaking out through the other.

"Done for now that is…" Getting herself off the desk, Shamisha could feel her spine decompressing as she stood up. Having sat on her butt all day with nothing to do but theorize on how the attack would work, both she and Linkle were tired, but only one of them knew healing magic.

Instead of using a potion or a spell, she followed Linkle toward the Red Madam while placing her false hand on her spine to alleviate the effect of gravity on herself somewhat. In an instant, she felt a pop and the tension in her back muscles lightened up by the time the trio were heading for the meeting hall downstairs.

As they walked, Madam's eyes wandered through the corridors, the steps, and the uninspiring decor. Everything felt dull, the lack of color most of all. But what bothered her most was the cluttered Automatons with humanoid faces standing pretty much everywhere inside the mansion. Squeezing through the gap, her sleeves often got caught in their iron bodies. Cursing them under her breath, she wished to push one of them so that all of them may tumble over like dominos.

"Will these slaves require fireproof clothing as well?" She asked, but with a simple shake of her head, Shamisha put her concerns to rest.

"They can handle the heat, we just need anyone with flesh to be able to withstand the heat," Linkle added as the trio descended the stairs.

Staring back into the witch's eyes as she was looking at her from over her shoulder, the madam pondered just what kind of suicide mission these kids were shooting for.

"The clothes will provide a resistance to fire, not complete immunity."

"That's why Reina and Darius are working on rings to improve the resistance the clothes will provide," looking back at her again, Linkle stood at the foot of the stairs and gestured to Madam to hurry. "I'll have to bind the inscription parchment Darius is prepping with the rings Reina is currently working on."

"Sounds like you have thought of everything then," replied the Madam, genuinely impressed by the witch's readiness to tackle the worst possible outcome in the given situation.

Following Linkle further down, her thoughts took a dramatic shift. From worrying about what's happening to admiring the pear-like curves of the witch's body. Imaging and then seeing her walking in a black dress with an emphasis on her hips and slits on the side for the legs to peek out with every step–it gave her chills and she couldn't wait to work on that dress herself later.

Finally, they arrived at the hall and everyone was already waiting for them inside. Some were sitting on their chairs, others had their heads pressed to the table and the others looking out the hall's window to the backyard or simply leaning against the walls pondering about their own problems.

"Next time…" Kicking herself off the wall, Helga shot a piercing glare at the trio who'd just arrived. Walking towards a chair while holding that same look, she appeared like she would choke someone out given the chance. "You make me wait so long I'm gonna–"

Her words, however, stopped at once as she was reminded that not far from her, her daughters were also sitting at the table. Turning to look at them for a brief second, she shook her head and simply waited for the trio to settle.

"Girls you two should head out to the garden now," while Helga sent her daughters and their dog to the garden, everyone finally settled down.

It was time to discuss the final strategy for the infiltration of the hells, knowing that Linkle let that fact settle in everyone's mind for a moment before breaking the silence.

"We're–"

Her words, however, were quickly cut short.

"Duchess Ophelia and Amelia!" Charging in through the meeting room's door came Tan, his face turned pale as if he'd seen a phantom in bright daylight. Following right behind her, just as pale as him was his barbarian girlfriend–blossom. Panting for just a moment, the two caught their breaths while everyone's attention slowly turned to them.

"What happened?" Rising from her seat, Ophelia could feel her heart pounding with anxiety, and the anxiety only grew as she heard the new few words that came out of Tan's mouth. Continue reading at empire

"T-the Mistress! The Mistress from the Maze is here!"

'What the fuck!?' Was the thought rippling through every mind who knew exactly what kind of monster Tan was talking about. But why was she there? Only with time will they find out.