True Magician (FatexDxD)

Rondel.

The rest of the night went the way Tia and I wanted it to. We walked from one food stall to another, sometimes resting on benches or parapets and gazing up at the starry night sky. Now our duo was back in the now familiar tavern, I was sprawled out on the bed of my room, and Tia was sitting contentedly on my chest and yawning sweetly.

Even despite her current size, her appetite hadn't gotten any smaller. She was like a tiny shark that hadn't been fed since birth.

I chuckled.

I remember the stunned faces of some of the food vendors when they saw Tia in business. Each of them really couldn't comprehend what was happening in front of their eyes. After all, she was almost single-handedly emptying some of the stalls. But her satisfied face is worth all the effort I put into it. Now, we can have a little talk.

- Tia. - I called out to her, to which she opened her eyes and looked at me.

- Aaaa~" asked a sleepy Tia.

- What can you say about this spirit? In a way, you two are very similar. - At my words, she thought for a while.

- Aaaaaa~ - she finally sang out, and the signs of sleepiness disappeared on her face.

I raised an eyebrow.

- So he's not Gaia, or even a Beast? I see. - I muttered, and Tia nodded.

According to her senses, this spirit was once indeed a part of Gaia, but after the force majeure arranged by the past gods, it's hard to tell even for her. It is not a beast due to the fact that Tia did not sense the "Sin" in it.

All in all, it can be said that this is even a good thing since he doesn't possess immortality in this case. Otherwise, my Noble Phantasm wouldn't have killed him if it didn't hurt the carriers of 'Sin'. But it's hard to draw any conclusions when I haven't gotten information from both sides. I'll have to talk to the spirit, and he'll come to talk, since he needs me. For now, we might as well get some rest.

- All right, let's get some sleep. I think that's enough adventures for tonight. - I smiled and stroked Tia gently. She yawned in response and her eyes started to close. A few seconds later, Tia was already sniffling sweetly on my chest, taking my finger.

I guess I'll have to take a wait-and-see attitude, for now. I can't find him anyway. We'll see how this goes.

-0-

The next day.

I woke up early in the morning, as the morning sunlight streamed into the room through the window. It was already relatively noisy outside as someone was rushing to and from work, school, and somewhere else. Tia was still asleep, so I didn't wake her up, but just put it carefully in my pocket and left the tavern. And then I left the town, noting the villagers I'd saved beforehand. I wanted to cover my tracks before I left.

I was now at the gates of the city of Belnargo, where the main temple of the goddess of the underworld, Hardy, was located. There was no point in bothering, so I just scanned some poor guy's memory and teleported straight there.

I went there because I learned something about the goddess. In the minds of Itami's two elf companions, she was at the forefront of their minds, and the feelings associated with her were bad to say the least. Digging a little deeper, I learned that this goddess was not known for her... intelligence. By human standards, of course.

Destroy a village or two to remind her of herself? It's not a bad decision, but it's understood to be for a god. A god's power depends on faith, after all. They're all afraid of being forgotten, since it just makes them... disappear. Except...

I glanced around at the vast number of people entering and leaving the city as I stood at its gates. Any way you look at it, you can't say it has a shortage of believers. Plus, I'm sure she has her own Apostles, along the lines of Rory, who only contribute to the growth of faith in her.

There are bad gods and there are good gods. Of course, judgment stands on the perception of mortals who are inferior to the gods themselves.

An example of a good god is Amu-chan. She symbolizes the Sun, which is essentially the giver of life. Heat, energy, plant growth, animal life cycles. All of these can be associated with her aspect. Plus, she is portrayed as strong, beautiful, wise, sophisticated and understanding. A role model, in short.

Another example, particularly of a whacked out asshole, would be Zeus. He just fucks anything that moves, not limited to humans. Despotic, paranoid, and unfaithful. In people's eyes, he almost seems like the most disgusting thing ever. Except that those who live in this part of the world are well aware of the downside.

Power. He is its symbol and a guarantor that the believers of other pantheons will not oppress him. It can be called analogous to nuclear deterrence. There's no point in starting a war if there's no one left, or if there is, but only a few. And those without power are quickly absorbed or subjugated by the stronger ones.

So, all gods are essentially the same, because there is only one attribute that plays a role.

Basic law of nature, eh?

But a nice talk with Hardy, I still wanted to have. Perhaps with force. After all, if I could do something, why not?

Anyway, while such musings were running through my mind, I had managed to reach the main Hardy temple. And it was massive. It had a Greek or Roman charm to it, as the building definitely had similar architecture to those nations.

- Wait!" I was stopped at the entrance by what I realized was a Hardy priestess dressed... like a Gothic lolita: a white dress with stockings, a corset, and lace. It looked rather incongruous given the time frame of this world and culture. Rory, however, is dressed the same way, plus or minus - the Temple is closed to visitors. Come back later when it's allowed.

- Oh? I apologize," I said with an apologetic smile, "But I really need to talk to your goddess. I promise I won't cause any trouble.

- Your request is denied. Go away. - she said flatly.

Since I wanted to talk, at least for now, I decided to use only words. Quickly approaching her, I leaned close to her ear and made my voice as seductive as possible. Solomon was considered handsome after all, right? We could try to play on that.

- Please, beautiful lady," I whispered, "Do what I ask. It's very important.

There was a quick response to that. The priestess looked young, and most likely she still hadn't fully given herself to her goddess. Her ears and face reddened, and a slight shiver ran through her body. Her breathing became a little hotter, and the priestess herself averted her eyes.

- N-n-well..." she stammered, "I-if your case is t-so important...

And just as the priestess was about to let me in, we were interrupted.

- What's going on here?! - came a loud female voice from outside.

We were approached by... a dragon girl? Yeah, you could say that. She had horns sticking out of her head, her pupils were vertical, her fingers had claws, and her feet were full reptilian paws. In her hand she held a large-sized scythe, and she was dressed in a more... open white gothic lolita dress than a priestess. Basically, she could be called the epitome of a monster girl fetish.

- Mistress Giselle! - The priestess was startled, and her eyes flickered - What are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to leave?

- Not yet," she grinned, "Are you new? I've seen everything. Don't you know that the orders of the goddess are absolute?

The priestess had no time to be fully frightened and explain herself, but in the next moment the dragon girl's fist slammed into the first one's face, sending her flying a couple of meters away. Her cheek turned red and a trickle of blood slowly came out of her mouth.

Seeing this, I raised an eyebrow.

Interestingly, the priestess didn't even squeak when she was hit, the other witnesses ignored what was happening, and the dragon girl herself grinned wryly.

- Not bad. Next time it will be my scythe, understand? - She asked the priestess, to which the latter nodded briefly. After that, the dragon girl turned her attention to me - Are you still here, mortal? Leave while you're still in one piece. Or do you want to receive your portion of divine punishment as well?

Of course, I didn't react. Or rather, I didn't know how to react. What should I say? I came to have a nice chat with your goddess, and perhaps with force? Such a decision, even if I can demolish both this temple and this city in seconds. True, my silence was taken as an insult by this dragon girl.

- Do you want to die, mortal? - she frowned.

- Not so mortal," I blurted out, and then slapped my face, realizing what I'd done.

- So you're one of those, huh? Then you don't mind if I check it out, do you? - She swung her scythe and tried to cut off my arm. Of course, it didn't happen.

ZING

The sound of steel meeting steel was heard around the neighborhood. The dragon girl's eyes went wide in incomprehension at what she saw: her massive scythe was blocked by an exposed hand covered in nothing but thin cloth. I could directly see her looking for at least a drop of blood on my arm, but not finding any, she shifted her gaze to me.

- Who are you?" she asked in a more stern and serious tone, "Why are you here?

- I'd like to speak to the Goddess Hardy," I smiled, slowly pulling my braid away from me, "You've realized by my clothing, young lady, that I'm not from around here. So there are a couple questions I'd like answered. I promise not to cause trouble.

- Do you think your words are enough to-" she growled as she suddenly froze. A few seconds passed before she looked at me questioningly and continued-"You're in luck, stranger, the goddess heard your words. Follow me. And no nonsense, I'm watching you.

- All right, all right. Lead the way. - I said and followed her into the temple.

The goddess has decided to intervene in the dispute? How interesting. Let's see what happens.

-0-

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