The Goddess of Water

October 2nd
11:00

Today the house is as busy as ever even though it is a Sunday morning, my mother is having breakfast, Tamamo is preparing something for poor Xi'an who is still in the garage being transformed into a giant spider since yesterday, Levia is sunbathing in the corridor of the yard. Momo and my daughters are in the garage trying to create something to make the spider more comfortable, since the poor thing has been locked up since yesterday without much room to move. The only one still asleep was Lisa, who was still sleeping in that closet, sometimes I wonder if she is really comfortable in that closed place. I, on the other hand, was sitting at the table next to my mother and Tifa, preparing my things.

"Okay, two medium daggers, ready"
"Five throwing knives, ready"
"Xi'an ceremonial knife, ready."
"2 military first aid kits, ready"
"Gear belt, ready"
"Baretta M9 checked and ready"
"But the 5 magazines of 20 9mm rounds are still missing."
"Has anyone seen the box of 9mm Luger armor-piercing ammo?"
"I'm sure there's a new box of ammo somewhere"

"Cesar, losing a box of ammo in a house is not something I like to hear."
"You're the one in charge of the guns, you're the one who should know where it is" said my mother with concern

"It's not missing, not at all."
"It's just not in the gun drawer in my room."

"Isn't that thing on the fridge?" said the little fairy.

"Ah! Yes, I left it on the fridge for breakfast."
"Here it is, a box with 100 bullets."
"Unfortunately this is the last one, I'll need more when I get back."

"Hell, you're the only person who can use that much ammo at the rate you're going."
"I don't even like the idea of having to buy more ammunition for my son to use it all up in a month."

"Oh, excuse me for gambling my life away every day."

"Is that it or do you need anything else?" Tifa asked.

"The Glock is still damaged and the Sauer P320 has a barrel so worn it has lost its aim."
"I would have liked to have the replacement pistol I ordered earlier this summer."
"So the Beretta 92 FS Fusion will have to make the trip alone."
"This is my last pistol, if this one fails I will have nothing left to shoot with."

"Xi'an was the one who bought the guns and ammunition, without her I can't do much."
"It is difficult to buy guns when I theoretically do not have a license to carry one in the country."
"But seriously, three guns, you've already destroyed three guns this year?"

"What can I say, a lot of wear and tear."
"And unlike the ones the Army keeps in a locker for months without using, these were in the middle of the action."
"...."
"Okay, ready, magazines full, a sixth to get the gun loaded right away."
"....."
"Now all I have to do is tape all this stuff to the Avalon and I'll be able to take it all on a trip without worrying about airport security."

"Ugh, why does everyone in this house get up so early?"
"At least don't make such a fuss and let the others sleep."
"Can't you see it's 11 o'clock in the dawn?" Said my sister disheveled and still in her pajamas.

"Oh look she's still alive"
"You had us worried, we thought a trailer had parked in front of the house."
"But we thought it was strange that it came from the second floor."

"Thank you"
"Don't you get tired of rubbing your big boobs with your slime-haired hands all day long?"
"Or how about being naked all day long in the house, you fucking pervert?"

"That sounds great thanks"
"Maybe you should try it if you ever get tits."
"If such a day comes"

"Fucking hyper grown cell"
"Having bad inflatable balloon implants doesn't count."

"They are not implants. they are 100% natural."

"They are just water, they don't count how much your boobs are made of the same material as your butt or belly."
"Or brain now that I think about it"
"You can get them as big as you want just by drinking water from the pipe, which you went overboard with getting them that big."

But while I was still arguing with my sister, the living room doorbell rang, making everyone nervous, but after checking the entrance, my mother opened it to reveal that it was an unexpected visit from Stella.

"Good morning everyone"
"It's good to see that everyone is well and in high spirits as always."

"Well, this is a surprise visit."
"Normally you only show up when things have already gone wrong, not before."

"I have come on this occasion to repay the debt the CSS owes you for what happened in Korea."
"As promised, I have come to give you more information about what really happened that day and who was behind both the train attacks and ....... the theft of Nanami's body from you"

"Okay, go ahead."
"It is better to explain it in the living room."

When Stella came in, everyone in the house sat down in the living room, even Lisa got up and came to see what was going on, the giant spider also approached the garage door to see a bit of the living room and listen better. My mother served her some coffee out of courtesy.

"The topic is a bit tricky and dense, so I don't know where to start."
"....."
"Let me start by explaining who Xian Fang is."
"She has been a powerful sorceress since ancient times."
"She has mastered magic, divination, and astrology."
"But perhaps most importantly for our discussion, she also mastered alchemy, she was one of the best, one of the very few alchemists who had any success."
"She managed to discover immortality by not aging by eating mermaid flesh."
"She discovered how to make golems, how to turn water into gold,"
"and, in the case of Xian, homunculus, using animals as a base."
"....."
"Normally, we would keep an eye on someone with such magical powers."
"But Xian Fang herself volunteered to work for the CSS as a demon hunter."
"She is still one of the best hunters in the world."
"She's known as Tiānxiān, Zhìzūn Fǎshī, Shénmì Nǚwū."

"Celestial Magician, Supreme Sorceress and Priestess of the Mysteries."
"Three different titles from three completely different branches of Chinese magic."
"She is someone who is quite important in the defense against demons."

"Stella, Stella, stop, stop!"
"I'll make it clear once and for all so that we understand each other better."
"I don't care who she is or how important she is."
"I'm going to kill her, end of story, no negotiations."
"I don't care if the CSS needs her, I'm going to kill her with or without her help." I replied.

"......"
"Yes, we fully understand"
"...."
"We are also surprised about what happened when she decided to attack you in Korea."
"...."
"As you know, your information is carefully handled in our database, so we really don't know how she became aware of your existence in the first place."

"It's really not that difficult," Tamamo the goddess replied.
"Xian Fang has always been an important and connected person in politics, she was in the days I lived on earth and I doubt she hasn't remained so since then."
"If no one in global politics knows of her existence it is because like Oka-san, she works from the shadows, using others on her behalf."
"And someone who has been involved in global politics long enough to come from ancient times would be able to realize what other important people there are around the world."
"Xian Fang became aware of Oka-san during the continental war and has been keeping an eye on her ever since."
"Maybe to see what she was capable of, maybe studying her, seeing if she was an enemy or someone she could take advantage of,"
"She sent  Xian to spy on her, and while watching her she met Goshujin-sama."
"A powerful warrior, important, and at the same time difficult to know that he exists."
"But most importantly, the Emperor of the mythical region of Atlantis."
"Full of power, magic, weapons, and secrets, a floating island fortress that could bring the whole world to its feet."
"And if Xian Fang manages to usurp the throne, unlike the current Emperor, she would not hesitate to use it to control the world in record time."
"She would be able to reassert her total control of the world and no longer have to hide."
"That is why despite having the most important leaders of the world in Korea, her target was only Goshujin-sama."
"What she seeks is his power to control Atlantis."
"Whether she has any idea about the dragons...... remains to be seen."
"Personally I think she has no idea because she would then know that being the master of the dragons and the emperor of Atlantis are two completely different things."

"If that's the reason, then there's nothing we can do."
"Protecting the Codex has become a priority, and Xian Fang's actions have been strange lately."
"We can't take any more risks."
"....."
"Since the Great Emperor is anxiously waiting for the future hunt, I guess we will not intervene," Stella said with resignation.

"You are right"
"If the little bitch wanted to screw me to the point of having to sacrifice Nanami's body, it's only fair that I force her to have a similar bitter end." respond a little rough.
"Besides, there's still the Thalassian Enigma she's somehow managed to reproduce."
"I have to steal it if I want to save Luna from her prison."
"The CSS will destroy them all if they become aware of its existence."

"....."
"Speaking of prisons...."
"Regarding Xi'an, I have some news to share with you."
"According to what we have researched, which is already obvious at this point."
"She is not human, she was originally a simple poisonous spider, a black widow."
"Xian Fang evolved her into an Arachne."
"But that's not all."
"In order to control her, she modified her a bit more to include safety mechanisms, you could say her body is more like a spider turned into a magical artifact like a Homunculus, a Homunculus Arachne."
"One that, by the way, seems to be malfunctioning, as Xian Fang is somehow unable to control her once she is out of her immediate vicinity."
"This is the reason why Xian Fang, not being aware of her nature, helped her even though it could be counterproductive for her mistress."
"That is why Xian Fang called her back to China during his vacation to check on her, but could do nothing and sent her back before anything suspicious was noticed."
"...."
"Now there is one loose end left."
"...."
"What are you going to do with Xi'an?" Stella asked me.

"What are you talking about?"
"Save her of course, she's a friend who needs help."
"She's just another victim, we have to set her free."

"Yes, I know that, but what I'm talking about..."
"What do you think will happen when she's free?"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, I feel like I have heard this one before"
"Here we go again."
"A new girl for the harem," said Maria in mock annoyance.

"Xi'an is essentially a spider, a black widow, one of the most venomous spiders on the planet."
"A violent, treacherous spider, known to be cannibalistic towards her mates."
"Although if she has lived as a human all her life, she most likely does not have these characteristics, or at least some of them are quite weakened, except for the venom."
"She is probably not a threat, at least not any more than Lisa."
"But her magic seals are a different story."
"Xi'an was literally turned into a bomb with two legs by Xian Fang, well, eight, but you get the point, don't you?"
"She is programmed to self-destruct, taking with her anyone who knows of Xian Fang's existence, which you already know"
"Lisa had the good idea to cut off her upper body to prevent the magical safety seals from activating and causing her to explode."
"But that only bought time."
"Xi'an was in her human form for so long that her seals went to her human skin instead of being in her spider body."
"But that won't last forever, right now her magic seals are regenerating as she heals."
"The bomb is rearming itself."
"...."
"At best, I think it has about 6 days before she detonates again."

"She's a bomb!"
"What the fuck?"

"Geez, that's heavy"

"Oh no, poor Xi'an!"

"Like hell, I will let her explode!"

"Tell me how we can save her!"

"Well, that's easy at least".
"If she becomes another of your slaves, you could simply order her not to explode."
"After all, a Master's orders overwrites everything else!"
"And she'll get another one of those big metal choker necklaces that are so popular in this house."

"....."
"God damn it, are you fucking with me?"
"Aren't you bothering me just so I don't break your face for another CSS fuck up?"
"You're trying again to cover up your mistake?"

"No, I'm serious."
"For now that's our best method, though not the only one."
"We could also take her to a medical center and try to deactivate the magic seals."
"The problem is that it would take at least 10 days while we investigate and she would explode in six."

"How about killing Xian Fang in two days?"

"There is no point, these are autonomous security measures, Xian Fang would not even realize that Xi'an exploded."
"She is the same as a conventional mine, how do you deactivate it with words alone?"

"Don't worry Darling, I understand perfectly"
"Xi'an is someone important to us after all, isn't she?"

"Xi'an, she has helped me a lot during the most difficult times, it's only natural that I pay her back for all her help."
"It's fine by me if it means saving her" even my mother resigned herself.

"Xi'an is kind and innocent, much more so than I was when I worked for the mermaids."
"She is going through something just like I did in the past, if not worse."
"She needs help."
"Besides, Darling is not as bad a master as he seems when he goes into bossy emperor mode." said Levia as she listened to the conversation.

"Xi'an, your school teacher, really?"
"Good luck explaining this to Haru."
"And not only that but also a  husband devourer spider!"
"Quite a taste you have, brother."

"Come to think of it, isn't Xi'an the girl closest in age to what Cesar should be originally?" my mother added.

"Ugh, okay, all right, all right."
"What a difference one more wife makes..."

"Good decision sir, I'm sure she will be a beautiful flower for your collection when she regains her humanity."
"...."
"Now the problem will be Xian Fang again."
"When she tries to use Xi'an again to spy and sees that she cannot do it, it will immediately put her on alert, if she isn't already aware of it."
"She will undoubtedly reinforce her security to the maximum."

"Well, I think it's perfect, a prey should be afraid when the hunter arrives."
"Otherwise it wouldn't be fun"
"Just tell me where to find her and I'll even go through the front door to burst it, I'm already fed up with that disgrace despite knowing her so recently."

"Xian Fang, according to the last record we have, lived in the vicinity of the city of Kunming in China, since the last time she lived in the city."
" Now known as Chenggong since the reconstruction."
"The largest city and capital of Yunnan province, in southwestern China."
"We know that she used to live in a nearby village called Lóngyán Village, but since the reconstruction, we have no idea where it is now, it could be deep in the jungle, or it could be downtown next to a bank."
"But I imagine that someone as influential as Xian Fang would have followers and helpers all over her own city."
"So surely if you interview the right people you can find out where she is hiding now."
"...."
"Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to try to stop the spider from exploding."

Stella started to walk towards the garage to try to prevent Xi'an from becoming a threat, then she left shortly after, it seemed that she was going to try to talk to the CSS people in charge of supervising the old sorceress. After Xi'an became another member of the group and I gave her the order not to destroy herself, I tried not to think about it anymore, I had to concentrate on the main task, to go kill Xi'an Fang, her mother, who was now an immediate threat to my whole family, including Xi'an now. Although while I was still preparing myself Tamamo appeared with another gift for me.

"Another kimono?"
"You recently gave me the Latex one, thanks but I'm fine for now."

"No, no, this one is special!"
"Look! It's from the same store where I buy my Goddess clothes."
"Top Divine quality! I bought them with you in mind!"
"Look at a beautiful dark blue color and light white details just like you like it." Said the moon goddess as she showed me the new cloth.

"Yes very nice, but the design moves in real time."
"You can see the water moving all over the place."
"Humans still haven't figured out how to print images that move, much less on fiber cloth."
"I can't wear this in public" I complained to her.

"Wait, it's important!"
"I have enchanted this kimono with magic myself!"
"It is blessed by a goddess to protect you from magic."
"Xian Fang is a powerful magician since ancient times."
"I am not able to know what she has up her sleeve, so I have prepared these clothes for you."
"Please wear them, they will protect you, I made them to protect my beloved Goshujin-sama in battle."
"I will feel much safer knowing that you wear them."

"Okay, all right"
"...."
"Do I also have to wear the wooden sandals?"

"They are called Okobo Geta and they are the same as mine, don't you like them?"
"They have a beautiful pattern in honor of the sea."
"They even make you look taller, you're almost a normal size now with them."
"I'm sure you can even see better, and if they are enchanted to protect you from magic as well."

"....."
"With all this I look just like you, I just need eight more fox tails!" I joked a little.

"But you look pretty enough!"
"Look with all these clothes you look like a goddess too!"
"The beautiful water goddess Elise Valkyria!"

"Yeah, the problem is that I'm a fox girl made entirely of water."
"And I come from the other side of the world, I can't be a Japanese Goddess if I was born in Central America!"
"I was supposed to be an office worker as an adult, not a kitsune slime Water Goddess."

"But come on, you look pretty cute"
"And I'm sure Xian Fang will think twice before attacking the Water Goddess after her."

"Oh to make her hide even more and not be able to find her."

"Don't worry, with your bad luck, you'll find her in a day or two at most."

"You know Tama, sometimes I have no idea if you are comforting and encouraging me, or just teasing me."