"No," Ming said. "Maki, you will tell me what’s going on. And about all of these rumors going around. I’ve even heard what some girls are supposedly doing in your name."
Maki blinked.
"No one’s doing jack in my name—I didn’t give out commands yet." She pointed at Ming. "Sweet cousin, I love you, but if you don’t hand over the sphere, I will take it from you. And it will hurt."
[You activated Binder’s hand.]
[No effect.]
Clyde blinked, taken by surprise. No effect? He’d never seen a prompt like this in any of his battles.
Maki held out her hand. Alice leapt into action, snatching the sphere and then bolting for the door, motioning for Clyde and the party to follow. They complied.
Maki teleported outside, waiting for them with a wicked grin. Clyde supposed now was the time to get the arrest over with.
"Maki—"
[Talent Main character stuff. Hidden Skill. Tier 1 skill: Foresight.]
[This skill was forcibly triggered by your soul connection to Alice.]
Death rained on the restaurant in an explosion on a level he’d never before seen. In fact, the entire block was wiped out by the black Ki. This…unnatural power, given to the girl by a trickster demon god. She meant to kill all for power and ecstasy.
[Warning: this is but a possible future, among many futures; however, if you continue to let her remain influenced by the irresistible allure of the trickster demon god, she will kill against her will. Then once given full power, will become numb to it, force herself to enjoy it. You must say something to stop this course now.]
[Maki is currently wrapped in the trickster’s net of protection. Ordinary magic will not work on her. She must resist, even a little to break from his grasps.]
Clyde knew everything he said would ride on this. For now, he’d have to forget the arrest, forget that she was batshit insane and pull her from the clutches of Melody’s father. Of all things, a fucking demon god is dipping his hands into their lives. This had to be against the stone-viper game rules or something. Why weren’t the watchers doing anything?
"Maki," he said softly. "Let’s talk, just you and I."
She gave him a skeptical look, but the grin long since faded as she probably charged whatever crazy power it was that she wielded. Clyde continued. "Don’t let him control you."
She flinched then fell to her knees. A voice whispered from everywhere and nowhere, from the skies, to the ends of the universe.
[Warning: your charisma may not be high enough to accomplish the feat.]
"When you learn the Omen’s sphere, even a little bit, kill the Stone. Do so and I will grant you power, more than you could imagine. And you can use it to fix your life. Obey mortal."
Maki shook her head.
"No. You’re trying to trick me—get out of my head."
[Your heart protection has launched a seed into Maki’s spirit. An unknown force combats it…]
"You don’t have a choice. Kill him or I’ll just give this power to your uncle. I have his soul, ready to revive, to point of your location. Don’t make me compel you Maki, mortal. There is great power, potential. I want you to willingly use your black Ki for me. Obey! Or I’ll kill your family."
Maki flinched, tears streaming from her face. Clyde could see that she was simply a frightened college girl.
"Maki!"
Mei seemingly appeared from thin air and pulled the other woman into a hug. "Please, resist it. I know how to stop his influence. Please…I don’t want to—"
Maki grinned widely as her eyes glowed red.
"That’s just an act. As if I’ll throw away the chance to become a goddess. Besides, master’s aura is too great. And Mei, you should’ve stayed home like I told you."
Her black Ki-enveloped hand fiercely lurched into Mei’s stomach in a gory display of cold-blooded murder. Mei gasped and held onto Maki’s arms as her strength vanished. Ming screamed and cried as she watched her cousin commit the horrible act. "I pull you from your suffering out of love, old friend. Now off to my master you go. He’ll take care of your soul."
Tears streaked from the demoness’s eyes as she burst into purple flame. "Oh no, who didn’t see that coming." Maki laughed. "Come on, guys, lighten up. She had it coming, the nuisance."
Clyde and his party remained frozen, eyes widened. Pink aura appeared around Alice.
"Maki…why? Just let me know that," Clyde said. "Why even do all of this?"
"You’re not my cousin," Ming said softly, wiping tears from her eyes. "Mei was so kind…and you…"
Maki winked.
"Kind my ass. Say what you want, but I don’t call the shots. I obey, I get to live, and gain real power. No more of this life for me."
She teleported by Alice.
"I’ve been meaning to tell you this, slut."
She almost unleashed a deadly blast of black Ki on Alice, but the demoness had no intention of just standing there. She swept Maki off her feet, then followed it up with a kick. The force of the attack spiraled the yandere ten yards backward.
Maki laughed maniacally but held the Omen’s sphere high into the air. "Another act, a mission for my master completed. Bye!"
<Maki channeled shift.>
And just like that, she was gone. Ordinary magic wouldn’t work on her. Clyde spat.
"How the fuck….what the fuck just happened," he said. He felt bad for Mei, but had no sympathy to spare for her. Maki couldn’t be saved. He rapidly dialed Melody’s number. If anyone could counter the demon god’s magic, it would be his daughter. If not, well, they were already fucked.
[Volume 3.] Episode 21 (Part 2)
Clyde, Alice, Harumi, Chika, Kitome, Toru, and Yuki sat in silence as Melody paced back forth, panicky. After nearly ten minutes, she collapsed with a sigh onto the couch.
"Any bright ideas?" Clyde said. "Besides hide from a god we can’t see."
"My father’s not omnipotent," Melody said. "But we can’t fight him."
"We’re not really going for that, strawberry-head," Chika said. "How do we fight against the magic he’s given to Maki? Clyde magic couldn’t even touch her."
Melody gave them a weary look.
"Since the net that protects her is god tier, you’ll have to break it with god tier magic. Or goddess tier."
Clyde frowned.
"Natalia’s spell takes too long."
"Not to mention the fact that the psycho girl will teleport," Alice said.
Kitome shook her head, still disbelieving.
"So Maki has really sold her soul, huh?" Suddenly her face it up. "Sahara has a spell that should work, maybe stop the teleporting. We’ll still need Natalia to break the net."
"Or you know, Clyde could just power up to max," Toru said.
"I don’t have any god tier skills," Clyde said. "Not yet."
"It looked like everything you did in that state was god tier," Toru said.
"Okay, so we’ve got a small plan," Chika said. "Something’s better than nothing. When do we do this."
"Tomorrow," Clyde said. "Toru, you can take us to where she lives, right?"
"Yeah," he said.
"Before we finalize this, Kitome, go contact Sahara. Tell her everything and get her here tomorrow, early noon," Clyde said. He looked at Alice. She nodded.
"Natalia and Tear will be here tomorrow morning."
"To think we’re up against Maki of all people," Clyde said. "She should still be civilian. Not wasting our time. Hell, I hope I won’t be exhausted enough to meet with the vampires."
Yuki massaged his shoulders with a technique that set the young man at ease, whether he wanted to or not.
"You won’t be exhausted," she said. "I’ll make sure of that."
The others blushed. Yuki grinned. Toru rolled his eyes.
"I can see why Seth keeps damning you," he said.
"He sure had no problems when he made us listen to his disgusting grunts at the hotel," Harumi said. Everyone looked at her a
nd then erupted into laughter.
Somewhere in Lot City, Naomi’s room….
Naomi held her hands against her head, desperately ignoring the voice. The voice that demanded her to proclaim Maki as a goddess then become a sacrifice. Naomi would be damned if she placed that bitch on an even higher pedestal. Someone who always got her way and nothing less. Life was just unfair and it sickened Naomi. She would not give in. Whatever was happening, had to be stress related. She would not give in. Never. Not to that one. Damn her to hell, she thought.
Naomi nearly tripped over a stack of books as she made her way to the mirror. The young woman had always been attractive, but distant from everyone. She had to be, to do her job, run the newspaper club, and make ends meet. She worked hard for everything.
And yet Maki thought she could just swoop in and take it all away. Naomi allowed a tear to drop. She was so scared to answer the phone when Clyde called, not after being forced to betray him. She ignored the calls from the others too, afraid to…afraid... She was never afraid, always strong-willed, never the one to give up.
Naomi straightened, allowing the fire to return to her.
"Venus, if you’re watching over me, please give me strength."
She took a second shower, calming her nerves, steeling her resolve. The hate formed into a blade in the back of her mind. What would Clare do?
Kick ass. Clare was just two years older than her yet said some wise things. Naomi considered learning the ways of the maiden like her old friend. As if she had the time.
After donning sweatpants and shirt, she pulled a box from under her bed.
Answer the call. Proclaim your loyalty to the ascending goddess, Maki.
"You can fuck yourself, voice," Naomi said as she opened the box. A katana sheathed in red-gold metals and leather brought her memories of an old life. Then the madness finally took over as she touched the sheath of the cursed sword. It wasn’t madness it the literal sense, but all of the knowledge on killing with it returned to her conscious memory. Memories she’d rather leave buried. "I will kill her."
Naomi couldn’t return to her old life, not after running away from the Band to live as a free woman. She let a tear drop. To be driven this far insane. A voice in her head, intense desires to kill, and unveiling the cursed sword. Venus, forgive her for what she was about to do. Venus, forgive her for making the claim to another life.
Libado Grasslands at eleven that night…
Clyde panted as he reached his fourth consecutive hour of training. He was still pissed at himself for freezing. Freezing because the magic he relied on didn’t work. Since when did he become over-reliant on something he never used before entering this world.
He switched from pushups to combat to running and normal exercises, meditation, and sword practice. After remembering the brief exchange of blows between Alice and Maki—or Alice putting on the beatdown—he laughed. They were overthinking the entire matter. Maki couldn’t be defeated with magic, but physical damage was fine. He had skills that did physical damage and now was the time to put them to the test.
[Unarmed attacks:
-Roundhouse kick. [Attack] – does physical damage. Change of knockdown at 5%.
-Mystic punch/kicks. [Attacks]- does physical and spiritual damage. Chance of stun at 1%. 50% stun if catching enemy by surprise.
Sword attacks:
-Precise Slash 6. [Attack] – does physical damage. Chance of critical at 31%
-Deep Slash 6. [Attack]- does physical damage. Chance to cause bleeding at 29%. Chance to stun at 7%.
-Spirit Slash 6. [Attack] – does physical and spiritual damage. Chance to cause dizziness at 17%. Chance to cause spiritual blight at 27%.
-Shatter Strike 3. [Attack]- does physical and fire damage. Chance to break barriers at 12%.
-Tier 3 skill: Sound Slash [Attack]- does physical and sound damage. Chance to cause deaf at 1%.]
Clyde trained with all of them and especially Sound Slash. He wasn’t perfect—there were times that even some of the best leaders could crack. His party members didn’t demand perfection out of him. He was only human. A person. Sometimes among the loads of stress, a moment of weakness wielded its head. The young man knew he could only learn from this. Only a couple of weeks ago, he knew jack shit about magic and combat and extra-terrestrial dimensions. Of course, there would be moments where the human in him couldn’t compute…
He let out a breath, feeling the resolve within strengthen. He’d probably make even more mistakes as he learned more about this world, his place, and even the deeper power that lied within himself.
Without turning around, he blocked the incoming blow of the hornet that crept behind him with a single hand.
"You know, despite looking like us, you guys don’t think civil at all," Clyde said as he turned to look at the mass of hornet monster girls. Well, fleeing hornet monster girls. He grabbed onto the stinger of the one that tried to stealth-sting him. She fell to her knees, strength drained out of her, breathing huskily. He kicked her to the ground, straddling her back.
"See how your hornet friends abandoned you? And now you’re about to die. Was it worth it?"
"Please," the hornet whimpered. "I’m sorry, I’ll do anything, don’t kill me."
"It’s not fun being on the other end of it, is it?" Clyde said. "Well, I tell you what, we’re going to make a deal. You’re technically a demon right, so listen, unless you know, death is a preference."
"No," the hornet said. "I’ll let you do whatever you want to me."
"I’m not a fucking rapist," Clyde said. "What is up with you monster girls and—never mind, that’s not the point. I need you to put that stinger to use, so make a pact with me. Just for a day or so."
He grinned evilly as the plan came to mind.
[You have made a pact with the hornet. Due to the circumstances and your overwhelming power in comparison, she has become your slave.]
[You have earned the title, Slave-driver. Tsk, tsk.]
Oh goddammit System, Clyde thought.
[Volume 3.] Episode 21 (Part 3)
Thursday. Week 3. Month 1. Year 1. Season: Autumn.
[Last day remaining to arrest Maki…]
Alice was already up, dressed in a light pink shirt and black short shorts. She smiled at the young man.
"Don’t overdo it."
"I know," Clyde said, nonchalance in his voice. He was surprised at the lack of soreness while brushing up. He put away Alice’s toothpaste, so that she wouldn’t suspect anything. Hers tasted better anyway.
Clyde used this time to access his weekly special item store.
[Items available: Super sex potion (350,000), Ki Book: Passion Burst (900,000), Thor’s hammer (75,000,000,000) Health Potion x 6 (1200), Dildo gun (2,000,000), Book of Blazing Spirit (250,000,000), Grand Equipment set 500,000), Place of Power Core (1,000,000).]
Clyde didn’t hesitate in his selection. Some of the items were outright ridiculous and made him curious about their usefulness. Not all special items were for battle.
[You have received Place of Power Core. Item class: Relic. Item value: priceless.]
[Balance remaining: $ 1,151,400.]
It was moving day, the house under Clyde’s official ownership. Tear had already offered to teleport everyone’s belongings to the new place, so as soon as they dealt with Maki, he’d arrange to get started.
Alice met him at the bathroom exit with a kiss. A moment of pulsing almost had the duo ripping each other’s clothes off. Only the thought of dealing with Maki for the last time, prevented the love-making. They settled for one more deep kiss.
Clyde forced away the thought of going home after the Viper was killed. Not the time for that, he thought.
He dressed in sweatpants with a shirt and a thin jacket to offset the autumn air. He could feel the cold even inside.
That afternoon, the large party stood ready, eyes hard. The amount of people would seem like overkill, but Maki had the aid of a demon trickster god, so it only made s
ense to even out the odds. Everyone had a job to do. He even told them about the hornet so that they wouldn’t kill her while in the heat of the moment. It was a last resort plan and most of the women were reluctant to accept it. Clyde formed the layout of the team in his head.
[Assaulting party: Clyde, Alice, Chika, Tear, Kitome, Seth, Toru, Yusuke.]
[Charging attack and heavy magic user: Natalia, Sahara, Yuki.]
[Healers and suppressing attackers: Harumi, Alice.]
"Remember what I said," Clyde said. "Physical attacks until that protective net is down. Then wreck her shit. Any questions? This should be simple."
"But we all know it’s not going to turn out the way it’s written on paper," Kitome said. Sahara nodded in agreement.
"We’ll cross that bridge when we get there," Alice said. "Tear, jump us to where Toru pointed."
Tear thrusted her hands forward.
"I hope everyone’s ready for this."
Clyde didn’t feel much of the stomach-lurching like before, courtesy of being used to the time-space jumps.
The first thing he noticed was a naked unconscious Naomi lying on the ground, broken katana next to her. The poor girl had bruises all over her. Her clothes, mostly shredded, were scattered in all directions. There was suspicious liquid all over her face and body. The young man noticed a bandana on the ground that read: Goddess Maki Fan Club.
No one seemed to be around in this neighborhood to help his friend. His friend… that was violated by both Maki and her giant fan club. Hundreds of members. He quickly took off his jacket and covered her. They left her for the worst in the cold and naked.
The Anime Trope System: Stone vs. Viper, #3 a LitRPG (ATS) Page 16