The entire afternoon and evening is spent preparing for transferring everything onto the
Jasmine Efreeti, while Marta waits for, it transpires, some of her more reputable friends from her old workplace. From Marta's excited speaking about them, they were some of her only supporters in her endeavours to finish the
Vainglory. She spends much of the late afternoon forking over her share of the winnings, as well as the notes on the
Vainglory, to allow them to finish building it for her. Serena takes her aside later to have her sign the contract that the rest of the group has had to sign. Judging from how long it takes, it seems Marta knows a fair bit more about the law than Serena does.
The next morning, the only thing left to load onto the
Jasmine Efreeti is Milly's wagon. The airship takes off from the Senija Cizek Airfield, named for a famed archaeologist, while letting people get accustomed to things on the ship.
"Next stop, Ishim City!"
"I think....I'm going to be sick...."
"N-no, wait! Don't throw up on those! T-that's sensitive equipment!"
Earlier, at a rest stop between Midgardia and Wybernia....
"Well, well. Seems they're living it up."Kazuto looks up at one of the televising crystals currently following the Cizek Grand Prix. Specifically, the aerial battle between Team F and Mammon's forces. He calmly toys with his own Wybernian Emblem, before looking over at a sleeping Rena, whose head was currently leaning against Kazuto's shoulder, her sleep puncuated by her soft breathing. He raises his finger to flag down a waitress.
".....hey, do you mind if we could have a pot of coffee for the whole table, please?"The entirety of Kazuto's team was attempting fit into a tiny booth at the rest stop. The entire place was a small affair, designed to feed adventurers heading down the long path between Cizek or Batali onto Ishim, resembling what Kazuto had called a "diner", with small booths for people to eat at, greasy dishes, stale coffee cake and checkered floor tiles. Next door, a general store stocking adventuring supplies, such as weapons and vulneraries, could be accessed. Many small joints like these were dotted throughout the roads into and out of Ishim, mainly to encourage people to come in. On a board next to the entrance, advertisements for the services of adventuring groups such as the Wharf Street Warriors and the Myra Park Mighty can be seen, along with other quests. These rest stops being what they were, the proprietors were qualified to take and send for requests for quests.
"Is this how mortals eat in places like this? I feel ridiculously constricted."
"Maybe we should've waited until we could get two tables...."
"Dat's a good idea. Should'a wai'ed fer a table. Me n' Don can 'ardly move!"
"Tuck your wings away then! Kazuto, do you mind moving up?" "I cannot tuck my wings away. Even if I were able to, they're not as large as the gargoyles' wings." "And wake Rena up? No way!"Miria and Fantine, sitting at the end of the table with some chairs they'd yanked from other tables, shoot each other a grateful look for not trying to squeeze in.
Suddenly, the screen is filled by the image of a brown-haired woman in purple robes, wielding a glowing scythe. Kazuto lifts an eyebrow.
"The hell's Wiz doing here?" "It's Lilith. But....that's not possible."Kazuto's eyes looked back towards Andras, who suddenly sounded freaked out. Or as freaked out as a demon could sound, anyway. He was pointing a gauntleted, shaking finger at the screen.
"Who? Who is Lilith?" "The woman on the screeen. Her scythe....I recognise it now, from our legends. She's the Deceiver. The Sovereign of Despair. Her true name is Lilith Asbel Pandoria, but I had thought....she was a myth. A story told like your bedtime stories, to get your children to behave."
"She's no match for the demon Garsabadon within my left eye! The Sovereign of Despair.....finally, a worthy opponent!"
"Wait wait wait. There's eight generals? She sounds like bad news." "Well, she looks like she's kicking demon ass, so she can't be all that bad."
"....Lilith...."Borea looks thoughtfully at the screen.
"...they didn't even tell us there were eight Demon Generals. Freya kept saying there were only seven. That's....I'm starting to remember a little more from before I ended up here."
"Wait, Freya said there were only seven generals before you fell? Like, right before? Don't you Goddesses know how many of them you're fighting?" "We're not....all-knowing. I....we must find Discordia."
"To think that a godling would would descend upon Generia...."Mammon looks down over a table with a map of Generia. On the shores of Penultia and Ultima, several tokens marking army units. Leviathan, holding a golden goblet, takes a calm sip. It was, actually, wine. They needed the drink.
"The weakest of the godlings, it is true, but a godling nonetheless." "....we will need to re-evaluate our approach. Especially with so many generals gone; Belphegor missing, Satan and Lucifer turned traitor and Hellrealm knows where Beelzebub is. He hasn't been seen in months. And they even have Lilith among them..... All we have left is Asmodeus, and we know where her loyalties lie." "....should we still fight this war?" "What do you mean? After what we know? The fact that that godling denied it all....the nerve. No, we fight. If the Goddesses are so insistent on keeping their secrets, they won't let us live in peace."
".....my love, we are outnumbered. But....no. We....we cannot give in."As the couple tried to keep each other's spirits up, they were unaware of someone watching them.
Specifically, Thanatos.
"....it all falls into place now. I will have my fight. Maybe....at long last, I will finally have worthy opponents. With Lord Mammon and Lady Leviathan dead-set on fighting, you will just get stronger." "I need you stronger, Team F. Only the strongest will do." ".....and then maybe I won't be so Goddess-damned bored."
A day later...Belphegor covers her mouth to burp, downing yet another glass of Tauriner energy drink.
"Alright, lady. Me and my business partner here have places to be. We've been here trying to hash this contract out for two days and I need discretion. Do you agree to the terms?"
"Dammit, Bel. We're in a business meeting here, not one of your tabletop sessions."
"Look, Molly. I'd rather keep in secret as it is, seeing as I'd rather not the old hag and her attack dog of a husband find me. It was annoying enough I had to show up in person. And I hear your old boyfriend is about too. After that buffoon showed up in Cizek with Satan...."Belphegor, Asmodeus and their business partner were sitting in a finely-decorated room at a large oaken table, the top polished almost to the point of being reflective. The large glass windows peered out over the skyline of Ishim fifteen storeys below, specifically the Pacifica district. The district was known for its luxury hotels and casinoes, for once not an invention brought over by the Revivians; a combination of magic, enterprising gamblers, a religious focus on hedonism due to the Freya cult, brought money and innovation to the city. Two heavily armored oni guarded the door, and two armored oni stood ot the sides of their business partner.
"To get this clear, Miss....Zircon, was it? Miss Zircon will provide me with exclusive partnership with her girls from the Luxurious Leopard, in exchange for me providing advertising space for the Guild of Tristitia's Clash of Legends. In exchange for me providing you with space to store your computing engines, Miss Smith, you will pay me....1,500 rhea per month to compensate for the lost space and special containment requirements."
"And you'll tell nobody I'm here, of course. Under any name.""Miss Smith, you have my assurance that no force in Hellrealm or Generia will find you here. My establishment has, in addition to having some of the finest amenities in Ishim City, a great number of services regarding discretion. Secrecy charms, burglar alarms, security golems and of course, our vaults, should you need anything else stored. Is there anyone in particular you need kept out?" "Trust me, once you see them, you'll know. They're rather hard to miss. They've been all over the news.""Mhm."Their partner, the proprietor of the Belleview Casino and Hotel that they currently sat in, took a sip of wine.
"Shall we call for dinner? You must be famished."
: "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I trust everyone has been having an enjoyable voyage?"
"Is it really so e-easy to say that?"
