Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

As Amedith returned home, he quickly took charge of the situation by first handing the gem to Linkle and asking her to find a way to draw out the person held within. Then, breaking from the group housed within the mansion, he went for Regalia and the rest to further accelerate the preparation for the coming war.

In the meantime, the witch left with the jewels and the bracelet turned to the stars. Flying her way to the very top of the mansion, she sat on the roof with her eyes wandering amongst the stars. Her mortal shell was incapable of unbinding the person from the gem, as they were one and the same. Their bodies had turned from a complex organism to a gem–something her people and even she used to be known for, having a body made of precious metal and minerals.

'I can't do anything without their help this time, and if Aradin comes back from the barracks before I'm done, we're gonna have another headache on our heads.' Holding both the jewels to the skies, she looked through them, and in a moment of recognition, the cosmic wizards shone their light through them. 'Help me, will you? I'm still one of your daughters.'

She said to the amalgamation of soul and cosmic dust that constituted her race. At first, even the beam of light retreated, but then a presence as wide as the night sky brought them right back. Pressured by Elanaria, the wizards gave in. The mistress of the night was amongst the few whose orders they could not refuse despite their immense knowledge and power.

Thus, with a glimmer, a beam of light was shot through the jewels. It cracked them with its great intensity, and holding them in the hand was getting harder due to the cold. Yet keeping them clenched between her fingers, Linkle allowed the frost to cover her fingers. Until eventually, the gems broke and out came the girls, flooding like water through a popped balloon.

"AGHH!"

"OAAHH~!"

Falling on top of the witch, the duo avoided tumbling off the slanted roof. Their senses, heightened by the sudden release, however, their limbs thrashed about, and their eyes and ears were being pricked by the slightest light and sounds. With closed eyes, they struggled through the mirage and asked in unison.

"Where am I?!" But before Linkle could answer, she teleported them inside the mansion so that none of them would fall.

Landing in the middle of the hall and right above the gem that had been set inside a circular design, Linkle felt it digging against her back, making her push everyone off of her before getting up in a rush. Placing a hand on the injured spot, she winced in pain while staring at the other two slowly getting up from the ground.

A handful of others were also around them. Aria and Mel, along with Tan, Blossom, and Maria. The rest had taken to the garden in wait for the battalion leaders of the army to arrive alongside Regalia and Aradin.

"You got them back, huh? That was faster than I thought it would take." Walking closer to the rescued girls, Aria grabbed Shamisha's hand and tugged at it lightly. "You two come with me, I'll show you your bedroom, get some rest before everyone comes back–because once they do, you won't get a second to rest your feet."

Already covering her mouth from nausea, Shamisha simply nodded and followed the dark elf as she led them upstairs. Athenia's air wasn't something she was used to yet. It was much cleaner and lacked the signature taste of rust in the air like her home city. Her body, having adapted to the pollution, was incapable of taking in clean air without it stabbing her lungs and stomach.

"And…I thought I got used to this place," She said to herself, barely holding herself from vomiting on her own legs.

June, on the other hand, was anxious but not as much as the sorceress. She was disoriented, but it wasn't anything that she hadn't experienced while fighting against horror in the six-month-long war.

Meanwhile, everyone else was left to wait for Raven's return. Having heard of the creature that they fought and even felt the burn on their own bodies, everyone knew that something was off, but the person who should've been the most concerned was instead the least. Erika, having gathered Athenia's most trusted followers inside her church along with the new faction of militia called the holy order, she was down on her knees praying to the burnt idol of her goddess.

Just moments ago, her body was half burned and still sizzling, her flesh smelled like burnt meat, but now it was all gone, replaced once again by her pristine skin. Not only that, her clothes had healed, and it seemed as though she hadn't experienced anything at all.

And the sight of her miraculous healing bridged a greater bond between the faithful and their goddess. They had seen her miracle with their own eyes, now how could they even think of ever betraying her? Had it been for her, their bodies would've turned to ash. What comes next? Now that they've felt her grace as their priestess had for the longest time? Service, prayers, and most important of all, to spread her gospel throughout this world until every lip uttered her name with hopes for better days, no matter how hard things get.

Raising her head finally, Erika slowly walked over to the podium and touched the idol to which everyone had been praying. Burned on the surface yet steel on its core, the statue was salvageable, and so with a flourish, she conjured up a scrub and began cleaning the idol. Watching her do so, the others rushed to the back of the church to grab other supplies to clean it as well. Before long, everyone was taking turns, cleaning up the idol as a form of worship in itself. Seeing how things were progressing, Erika decided to leave the church for now and instead visit the orphanage to check on the children.

She hoped none of them were burnt, but her hopes were quickly shattered the moment she entered the building; it was clear that not even the children were spared. However, instead of cursing her luck, she spread her arms wide and welcomed the children into her healing embrace. One after the other, the woman who was once seen as an older sister turned into a godmother for countless children in the orphanage.

'You'll pay, whoever did this to us…' Erika thought to herself, more than ready to face whatever comes her way now that she knew for sure that her goddess had her back.

But before the party could chase the colossal creature, a war was waiting for them, and a lot more sudden and unexpected adventure.