by Tamryn Tamer
“Ah,” Jericho nodded while thinking Talia definitely acted like a demigoddess. If a goddess does you a favor, you need to make an offering. If you don’t make an offering, expect the favor to be rescinded. “It’s about the statues.”
“No,” Talia lied as she regained her composure. “Of course not. That’d be petty. It’s about getting the mortal races to band together to fight a greater evil. I wish to stop the wars and conflicts by giving them a common enemy. Sure, Dalmeth will kill some people, but far fewer than the kings and queens if left to their own devices. And if things go a little too far, they can always pray for my help.”
“Right,” Jericho said knowing full well she was full of shit. It was entirely about the statues. He was starting to understand why Sable referred to her as delusional. She actually believed herself to be a deity of some sort and acted the part. “Okay then. So, do you have a timeline on all of this?”
“Timeline?” Talia chuckled. “Good one! The seal will break at midnight. Do you intend to stop me before then? It’d be fun if you decided to stop me. I hoped you’d try to stop me. I think you’re a fantastic hero. The man who chooses to free a bunch of dragons instead of becoming a god. Demigoddesses need heroes to try to stop them.”
“No thanks,” Jericho answered. “I don’t really give a damn about Dalmeth. I came here to meet with you.”
“Liar!” Talia stomped angrily while working herself into a frenzy again. “You came here to stop me! You’re a good person! I saw it at the magus tower! You’re not about to let me release an archdemon capable of eradicating all life! Now stop fooling around! Tell me your plan!”
“My plan?” Jericho chuckled at the furious woman. “I suppose I do have one. But it’s honestly not much of a plan. I only decided it a few minutes ago.”
“But you have a plan,” Talia’s eyes lit up. “Yes! Now tell me! How is the brave hero going to attempt to defeat the demigoddess of time?”
“I’m not,” Jericho said smugly. “Heroes don’t fight goddesses, they fight monsters. I’m going to kill Dalmeth.”
“What?” Talia made a series of confused expressions as she processed Jericho’s words. “You’re not serious. You’re just a mortal mage. You wouldn’t stand a chance against one of his generals let alone Dalmeth himself. Are you insane? Do you have any idea how powerful an archdemon is?”
Jericho grinned naughtily as he admired the confused time witch. It wasn’t like he wanted insane or villainous familiars, he just wasn’t opposed to them as long as they had good reasons. Jinx could hardly be called a saint and Sable wanted to eradicate existence. And Jericho could hardly call himself a good guy with his kill count where it was at.
“I have no idea how powerful an archdemon is but I’m still going to kill him,” Jericho said confidently. “Then, I’m going to find a way to defeat you and make you my familiar.”
“I’m a demigoddess,” Talia said irritably. “Do you think I’d ever be defeated by a mage?”
“I think you’ll be defeated by this mage,” Jericho smiled playfully while admiring the furious blonde. The more annoyed she got the more he found himself wanting her. “If I defeat you, will you become my familiar?”
“You can’t defeat me,” Talia said getting angrier. “It’s an insult to even suggest it.”
“If it’s so impossible then there’s no harm in agreeing to become my familiar if I defeat you, is there?”
“Fine,” Talia said arrogantly. “What will I get if I defeat you?”
“Nothing,” Jericho quickly replied. “I’m just a lowly mortal. It’s not a question of whether or not you beat me. It’s just a matter of how many times. Should a demigoddess really be demanding a reward for crushing an ant?”
“You make a good point,” Talia grinned. “So, let’s put the number at a hundred times. If I kill you a hundred times, you and every person who serves you will become my acolytes.”
“No deal,” Jericho said. It was very possible that Talia could kill him a hundred times in under an hour if she camped a graveyard and the last thing he wanted was to lose. “There’s no reward for killing me no matter how many times you do. Scratch that, I’m currently number one on the bounty board so you can always collect on that. Every kill earns you a thousand gold.”
“No!” Talia snapped angrily. “If you beat me you get me as a familiar! I want something for beating you!”
“Oh,” Jericho said roguishly while giving an exaggerated apology. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t aware you were viewing this as a real competition. I am so flattered!”
“I’m not!” Talia yelled as her face filled with fury. “Fine! If you beat me, I’ll become your familiar! And if I kill you, I’ll just get the pleasure of killing you! I’ll just have to find ways to make killing you entertaining for me!”
“That’s the spirit,” Jericho teased. He paused remembering that although he couldn’t really be killed, there were ways to hurt him. “One final thing. You can’t kill my familiars.”
“Excuse me?” Talia scoffed. “I will kill whoever I please.”
“Talia,” Jericho’s voice was filled with so much malice it chilled the air. Even Talia felt it as she fought the urge to back away. “You can fight them but if you kill one of them, I won’t bother making you my familiar. I’ll kill you.”
“You think your threats mean something to me?” Talia said slamming the base of her staff against the stones. He could tell his threats did mean something as she tried to hide her trembling. “I’m the Demigoddess of Time, Talia Memoria! I will do as I please! You are just an insolent mage!”
Jericho resurrected in a graveyard somewhat confused as to what happened. One second, he was talking to her and the next he was in the graveyard. He sighed dejectedly as he remembered all of the valuable items he’d been carrying when he was killed.
He groaned hoping she wouldn’t just kill him again. Jericho pictured standing at the bloody platform. It wasn’t much of a stretch to convince himself that he was still there given how recently he died. After a couple seconds of concentration, he was back at the bloody platform.
“You’re back!” Talia said gleefully as if nothing happened “I was so worried you wouldn’t come back! I admit I got a little angry. It was kind of your fault though. You should know better than to threaten a demigoddess. But that’s water under the bridge. Why aren’t you saying anything? Are you angry?”
“Not really,” Jericho said while looting the items from his corpse. He was more confused about the personality switch. “Jinx has nearly killed me a few times. But I still need to make sure we’re on the same page about the killing of familiars and followers!”
“I never said I was going to kill them!” Talia stomped furiously. “But if I want to kill them, I will kill them! I don’t want to kill them but the more you tell me that I can’t kill them the more I want to just to teach you a lesson! I am a demigoddess! You are just a mage! You don’t get to tell me what to do!”
“Fine,” Jericho said realizing there was another way to get his desired result. “Will you please be merciful and not kill them?”
“Are they going to try to kill me?” Talia crossed her arms while staring at Jericho.
“They might,” Jericho answered. “But as a demigoddess, you should be powerful enough to avoid killing them. So, I’m asking you to show mercy on them.”
“Since you asked so nicely, fine,” Talia said reluctantly. “But every time I spare one of them, you’re going to accrue a debt to me. Each spared life costs you a life. There need to be consequences.”
“You’re saying that every time you don’t kill one of them you get to kill me. Is that right?” Jericho asked.
“Yes,” Talia answered haughtily. “You will report to me to be killed whenever I spare one.”
“That’s fair,” Jericho nodded. “I’m glad we got this all worked out.”
“Me too!” Talia said as her anger washed away and was replaced with excitement. She hurried back to drawing in the
blood. “Anyway, if I’m going to finish all of this up before midnight, I need to get back to work. Will I see you at midnight?”
“Any reason you don’t just use time magic to finish that all up in an instant?” Jericho asked pointing to the enormous drawing.
“Takes the same amount of time either way,” Talia answered. “At least from my perspective.”
“Interesting,” Jericho said. He wondered if Talia didn’t realize the value of the information she’d given or if she just didn’t care. It was also possible it could be misinformation. If she was telling the truth it meant she was only altering the flow of her own time, not the time flow of those around her. “Out of curiosity, can you use time magic on others?”
“Yes,” Talia answered happily while continuing her work. “Would you like to see?”
“Very much,” Jericho said.
Talia vanished, he felt a tap on his shoulder, and for nearly a minute Talia was moving at an insane speed. Then he noticed it wasn’t just Talia moving at an insane speed but everything else around him. Finally, the realization hit him that none of them were moving at an insane speed, he was moving slow. He felt another tap on his shoulder and the flow of time returned to normal.
“Satisfied?” Talia asked cheerfully. “I only did that because I felt bad about killing you. So now we’re even, right?”
“Sure,” Jericho smiled as he checked the time and realized an hour passed. “Although I wasn’t even angry that you killed me.”
“Oh!” Talia said excitedly. “In that case, we were already even. That means you owe me now. I’ll settle for an offering of food. I haven’t eaten in forever. I’ve been so busy.”
“I have jerky or chocolate,” Jericho said pulling out some of each. “Any preference?”
“Chocolate,” Talia said as the chocolate vanished from his hand and appeared in hers. He had a good grasp of her magic but had no idea how to beat it. Jericho pulled out an entire stack of chocolate for her. Talia looked at it excitedly, “I can have all of it?”
“Sure,” Jericho answered as the stack vanished.
“So,” Talia said. “Do you have enough information to understand how my magic works now?”
“I think I do,” Jericho chuckled. “And you didn’t mind showing me because it’s unbeatable, right?”
“That’s right,” Talia smiled while wagging the chocolate bar at him. “You’re probably thinking that catching me by surprise will do the trick. You can ask your friend Sapphire how that turned out.”
“I’m faster than Sapphire,” Jericho teased. “But I don’t think surprise attacks will work. If it were that easy somebody would have killed you by now.”
“Exactly,” Talia said. “That’s why I’m not worried. But I still hope we can have some fun with this competition. By the way, when are we starting? Now? Has it already started? Do you want a head start?”
“Can we start after I kill Dalmeth?” Jericho asked. “I’ll kill Dalmeth and his generals. Then twenty-four hours after that, we can begin,”
“Right! Dalmeth!” Talia said as if she’d forgotten him. “But I doubt you can kill Dalmeth. The best I could do was trap him and his generals away and I’m a demigoddess. So, you don’t really stand a chance. But can I look forward to you being back here around midnight when he’s released anyway?”
“Honestly,” Jericho looked at the time. “There’s no way my familiars and I are going to make it back here before midnight. We’ll have to catch Dalmeth later. Which city do you think he’ll head for first?”
“Oh! I can help with that. One moment.” Talia said enthusiastically.
Jericho watched as Talia rummaged through her belongings and pulled out a scroll. She followed up by pulling out some alchemy ingredients and a red gem fusing them all into the parchment. A scroll suddenly appeared in his hand and Jericho remembered Talia using one to open a red portal at the magus tower.
“What is it?” Jericho asked opening the scroll. It was a map of the region with a red spiral marked near the platform. “How does it work?”
“It’s just a portal,” Talia answered. “It looks a little different than other portals and only stays open as long as it’s being charged with magic but works fundamentally the same. I’ve marked this spot with one end of the portal, wherever you cast the spell from will mark the other end of the portal. It’s pretty straightforward.”
“You can use spatial magic?” Jericho asked staring at the scroll.
“Spatial magic is far more powerful than that,” Talia laughed. “This was simple alchemy and cartography. It’s a fairly complicated formula and very expensive. If you manage to defeat me and make me your familiar maybe I’ll tell you how to make them.”
“First I’m going to have to defeat Dalmeth,” Jericho grinned excitedly at the interesting woman. “So, see you at midnight?”
“See you then!” Talia said cheerfully as Jericho envisioned his manor and vanished.
Chapter 3
Planning and Penetration
“She only killed me once,” Jericho told his furious familiar. He’d been trying to get Jinx to calm down for at least ten minutes. “It’s not that big of a deal.”
“I’m still going to kill her!” Jinx roared. “And don’t tell me I can’t kill her! She killed you! Only I’m allowed to kill you! Idiot! Moron!”
“This is going nowhere,” Terra sighed.
Terra and the spectral beasts arrived home with piles of meat from their hunt around the same time Jericho teleported back in. He brought them up to speed and everything was going fine until he mentioned how Talia killed him. After that Jinx insisted that she wasn’t interested in the Dalmeth or his generals, only killing Talia.
The other spectral wolf women were also getting caught up in the excitement and of course backed Jinx completely. So, Jericho had to kick them out of the lounge room while they discussed the situation. That left Terra, Jericho, Jinx, Ariel, Theia, Mirage, Luna, and Sable.
“We need to figure out our plan,” Jericho said. “We should start by gathering members to fight. Maybe even get Raven and Diana.”
“The last thing you want is an army,” Sable said pensively. “Dalmeth is an archdemon. He feeds on death and destruction.”
“I’m afraid Sable’s right,” Theia said supportively. “Archdemons revitalize completely each time somebody around them dies. It’s how they are capable of destroying entire armies and walk away completely unscathed.”
“Interesting,” Jericho glanced at Terra. They both understood the mechanic. It was fairly common for world bosses to have protections to prevent too many players from engaging them. The full regeneration one was one of the most difficult to deal with because an hour of progress could be wiped away in an instant. There was also the player who liked to purposefully die to deal with, “So, we probably just want our strongest.”
“That means me!” Jinx roared excitedly. “I’m going to punch his head off and become queen of the demons! Weaklings! Wimps!”
“I recommend only Jericho and I go,” Sable said. “I’m not sure anybody unable to use cosmic magic could do combat with them.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jinx said angrily. “Do you think you’re strong than me? I’m the strongest! Wraith! Ghoul!”
“And what about me?” Luna crossed her arms. “I’m a cosmic magic user. I’m at least as powerful as a dark magic user. And so is Theia.”
“What are you going to do? Teleport around them until they get dizzy?” Sable said mockingly. “And Theia is a pacifist. That leaves me.”
“I have a bow that fires dark arrows,” Terra offered. “I have at three shots.”
“And no way to escape and if you die you regenerate him,” Sable retorted. “I believe our best chance is with Jericho and myself.”
“Assuming I can go head to head with Dalmeth that’d leave his three generals,” Jericho shook his head at Sable. “It’s not a good idea for you to take on three alone.”
“I can be
at them,” Sable said confidently.
“I’m willing to come,” Theia nervously offered. “I am a pacifist but all Seraphim are required to go through combat training in case of an invasion. If nobody else can go, I can.”
“Really?” Jericho asked. The idea that Theia would be forced to fight didn’t sit well with him but it was obvious she wanted to go. “I’d rather you not fight.”
“I understand,” Theia continued while steeling her conviction. “But in this instance, I’d rather fight as long as it’s alright with you. At the very least I can withstand their attacks.”
“That’s awfully brave of you,” Mirage said supportively. “As for me, I’m well aware of my limitations. Demons are nearly impervious to physical attacks making me a liability. I’ll stay at home.”
“Thank you,” Jericho said somewhat relieved that one of them had sense.
“I want to fight!” Jinx roared angrily. “I’m the strongest one here! Ingrates! Doubters!”
“If Theia’s coming then I should come,” Ariel chimed in while trembling. “I know I…”
“No,” Jericho said sternly. “You’re staying home. The only reason I’d consider allowing Theia is that she can use light magic.”
“Okay,” Ariel said relieved. “But if you change your mind…”
“Stop ignoring me!” Jinx said angrily at Jericho. “I want to go! Bastard! Asshole!”
“Do you promise not to try to kill Talia?” Jericho asked judgmentally. “Because if you can’t then you’re not going.”
“That’s not fair! Dolt! Jerk!” Jinx snapped.
“That’s the deal,” Jericho said smugly. “You have to decide between killing demons or killing Talia.”