An Archer's Promise

Beta read by n1ch, Shigiya, Solitary heart and 8kagi.

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-???-

She saw hell through the eyes of the young boy.

The raging blood-red flames kindled the sky in an unholy shade of red, as the world burned in an unholy fire. The screams of despair echoed through the inferno, the cry for help which turned to begging as they burned alive in agony. People lost hope as they were being slowly swallowed by the fire. The smell of burning flesh and the stench of death was palpable, clinging onto her form as a terrible specter.

Even as a Goddess, Celestine had never seen the Underworld and the realm of the dead. But this… she would have thought that she was in the deepest pit of purgatory. From the tales she heard from the spirits, from the horrifying retelling of the battles against Olga, nothing came close to this— nothing to this terrible inferno. There were no orcs, no imps or any kind of demon that she saw in her long life. Very few atrocities could ever match this moment… this terrible scene. Raging flames that burned everything that it touches. The smell of rust filled her nostrils, before it was slowly burned away, making her nautiouse from the stench. But the worst part was the malevolent evil that surrounded the area, a presence that made her very being tremble in fear.

Step

Her attention soon turned towards the boy her spirit was following. Why was this child walking through this hellscape? She did not know. Why did the gods abandon such a gentle soul, she could not fathom. Even with her status as a reincarnated goddess, there were still moments that the gods' actions were still a mystery to her, and their actions to the mortals. She wished she understood why such travestys have to happen but at the same time she didn't want to know the answer. No answer would be able to justify this… this scene. A mystery in itself, a puzzle she dreaded to solve but one she wished to know the truth behind—the hidden meaning. Her heart broke into pieces from watching the child travers through this burning maze. Watched as the child slowly lost bit by bit of his soul as he ignored the pleas of help, all in order to survive.

He was crying, tears streamed down his cheeks.

Was he sad? Hurt? Angry? Scared?

She could not tell as his face remained devoid of any expression, nothing more than a blank canvas. But she could see one thing from him, slowly haunting her the longer she looked. She saw as he slowly died. With each step, he threw away part of himself to feed the fire; his eyes no longer having any signs of life.

He was already broken.

He was nothing more than an innocent child. One that should have spent his time frolicking in the field with his friends, playing games, smiling, laughing, and just enjoying life. Celestine saw the many burns and wounds littering his body. Exhaustion marred his being as he trudged forwards, trying to escape this hellish place.

She wanted to hold him, bring him close to her, and take him away. Wanting to soothe the boy that everything will be alright, that she was there for him and that his life was no longer in danger. Wanting to be his salvation and his beacon of hope.

But she couldn't. A cruel fate she was forced to live through. A nightmare she wished to escape from, yet remained just for the boy's sake.

He began losing more of himself with every step. Anger, curiosity, fate, happiness, love, everything. In the end, starting to become nothing more than an empty husk of a human being—he threw it all away to the flame to burn.

His legs gave up on him and the boy fell to the burned ground, unable to walk any further. "No!" Celestine's voice escaped her mouth as she tried to hold him, to catch the boy before he succumbed to his demise. Yes, she was once again reminded that she had no presence in this reality, her hands passed through the boy and she watched in horror as life began slowly leaving the boy's eyes. "No, please! You must live, don't die!" She ignored the aspect of this being a vision of the past, future, or nightmare and just tried to hold on to the boy.

"Somebody save him, do not let an innocent soul die like this!" The Goddess cried for the boy, seeking for a savior in hell. Holding onto the thread of hope firmly and never giving up, she continued to call for help.

She watched the boy turn his eyes to the red sky with a black moon. Maybe asking himself why he was to bear such a fate, what had he done to deserve this. His gaze was lost to oblivion where he had already given up on everything. He cut away everything he had, so that he could survive—now becoming nothing more than a shell. She wanted answers, she wanted justice but got none of those. The redhead boy's hand reached up for the sky, in an act of desperation she tried to hold on to them but was stopped when another person caught them instead.

A man, clutching the boy's hand like it was his only lifeline, crying from unending joy and relief. This action brought the light back to the boy's eyes, making them shine one more like fiery jewels that entranced her by their sheer beauty. He looked at the man as if to search for an answer.

And for the first time, she heard his voice.

'Can I, one day be as happy as him?'

These words that should have brought joy to Celestine since the boy was going to be saved made her react in a completely different way. Her premonition abilities screamed at her, that beyond the path that he was about to take, lied nothing but misery and death.

She screamed in despair.

{Break}

-Thorne, main palace-

"Aaaahh!" In a white castle in the Kingdom of Thorn, the Goddess Reborn who was revered by all of the citizens in the seven kingdoms woke up from her bed screaming. "Huff… Huff… Huff…" Her skin, hair, clothes, and bed sheets were drenched in sweat. Hands shaking as they came to rest on her heart, she could feel how disturbed her spirit had become from this nightmare.

Even in her distraught state, the elf beauty shone through anyway. Truly taking the characteristics of a Goddess, she possessed a body of little to no equal—almost representing the aspect of fertility and love. She was tall, wearing what could only be described as ribbons which wrapped around and underneath her enormous breasts, which turned into long silk ribbons that wrapped around her arms and thighs. Her intimate part was covered by a single black piece of leather with a golden ornament keeping it from moving around and accidentally revealing her parts to the world. Her long blonde hair reached her ankles, possessing a shine that no other humans could hope to achieve.

She was the Goddess Reborn.

"Was it a dream? Or a vision from the gods?" She asked herself. The face of the boy traversing through hell itself continuously flashed in her head, the details of the vision getting cleared and more horrifying by the second. Her frantic breathing returned with vengeance as she could feel the flames lick her skin.

Looking around, she saw the many piece of scrolls and official documents, littered all over her bed. And taking into account that she was still wearing her clothes, Celestine soon realised something. "I fell asleep in the middle of my work... again."

Knock

Knock

"—!?" She was brought out of her state from the sound of someone knocking on her bedchamber doors. In all of the seven kingdoms, her room was most likely the most guarded area. The role of guarding her life was taken by one of the Seven Shields, Claudia Levantine; a long-time friend of hers. The guards were posted on the outside while only handmaidens—trained in the art of combat and healing—were stationed inside. Yet they still could not come inside her room without the permission of at least two of the Princess Knights or a direct order from herself. Celestine was aware of how overkill such a method was, but her friend would have none of her protests as Claudia valued Celestine's health and safety above all else. She had sworn an oath after all, and that woman was of stubborn nature.

'She must have heard my scream…' Not just her, she suspected that half of the castle's denizens heard her voice. A twinge of embarrassment climbed up her face as she berated herself on such a shameful display. As to not cause any further distress to her overprotective Knights and handmaidens, Celestine called them in.

"You can enter."

The doors open quickly, almost slamming themselves to the wall and breaking from the excessive force. The five of her closest friends and protectors came rushing inside with worried expressions. Kaguya, Luu-Luu, Alicia, Prim, and Claudia—nearly everyone was here aside from Maia.

The first one, Kaguya, a black-haired woman who was the perfect image of a shrine miko—a notion that Archer would have disagreed upon immensely. The upper part of her clothes was a normal light brown colored kimono which came in an additional sleeveless white robe and a golden ornate headpiece showcasing her high status. But this image soon changed when the lower part of her body came into view as she wore literally nothing aside from a simple rope-like fundoshi underwear. Unlike the rest of the Knights who had a worried expression, she was stone-cold neutral.

The second one was a woman who wore similar armor to the Knights Archer encountered. Having the similar three pieces of metal covering up her intimate parts, her pauldrons were vastly more covered with bigger pieces of metal, and her helmet looked like they were made of gold.

The smallest of the bunch was Luu-Luu, possessing a childlike body and face; it was hard for anyone not familiar with the Shields to confuse her for a young kid who had lost her way somehow. But somehow, her clothing was even more indecent than the others as she only wore a large cloak which barely hid her nipples and a small piece of cloth that hid her genitalia.

Then came Alicia Arcturus, a blue-eyed blonde young woman who surprisingly wore a similar bikini armor than the normal Knights, but this one covered a bit more of her skin. A blue metal plate next to a white cauldron, with white vambraces and white leg armor, came with a black stocking. Her armor also had pieces of white cloth which helped in covering up more of her body—barely. She was followed by her cousin, Prim Firiore.

Unlike the rest, Prim wore an actual dress that almost looked normal. Even with her slightly smaller stature than the rest of the women—aside Luu-Luu—Prim still had one of the most curvaceous figures, having breasts bigger than Alicia herself. With matching blue eyes and pink hair, she looked as innocent as a sheltered princess. But out of every Knight in the room, she held the most capabilities in politics compared to her cousin Alicia. The dress she wore though more conservative than the rest still showed ample amounts of her cleavage and thighs.

But there was one person missing among the Shields, Maia. The Queen of Mercenaries was busy managing her Kingdom's affairs and was on high alert after rumors of Olga's forced presence in her territory came to be heard.

"Celestine-sama, are you okay!?" Both Claudia and Alicia came to her side as they noticed her state. "Did something happen? Was there an intruder?" The third eldest of the Shields began worrying over her like a mother to a child. Celestine smiled at Claudia's motherly nature when she became concerned over someone else's well-being. It was truly a tragedy that she couldn't be blessed with a child that Celestine knew the Knight desired very much. The fault was not of Claudia of any sort, but concerned her husband, Klaus. The details she decided not to pry as this was a private affair.

"Are you hurt, Celestine-sama?" Prim the ever sweetheart came to her side and checked her over for any signs of injury or illness. The Goddess' heart warmed by their display of affection, though it was her job to mother and take care of everyone here, she couldn't deny that being taken care of was a pleasant feeling.

"I am fine, Prim, and no, I did not get attacked nor has anyone—other than you five—entered my room." She explained calmly. "Now all of you, give me some space."

"But—"

"—No buts, I'm fine, Alicia. Now come on, everyone needs to calm down."

They all hesitantly followed her orders and retreated from the bed. Kaguya came by her side with a brush and wet towel, which she gently cleaned Celestine's face with. Despite being a believer and follower of a different god, Kaguya still held the elf with high esteem as their patron deity commanded her to follow and protect her from the Dark Queen's forces. "Was it a vision?" She asked, curious as to what could have caused such a reaction. It already didn't bide well with the state Celestine was in now. Has the Dark Queen come up with a plan to send their kingdoms to ruin? Will she be invading soon with her army of demons? Kaguya wanted to know, so that she could make preparations in advance.

The Goddess shook her hand, "No, it wasn't a vision of the future… I think." There was no indication that it was a warning of something that was about to happen or were the gods trying to tell her something. A savior? A destroyer? Just who was that boy? "I can't say for sure, Kaguya, but this must be a bad omen. Or… it can be our answer, only time will tell. Where is Maia? Has she made any leads on the demon army situation?"

"We received a distress call from one of Claudia-sama's Knights in the village of Grünes Bergdorf, a remote village in the Kingdom of Ken," Alicia said, before continuing. "Maia took her entire cavalry with the local Kuroinu mercenaries with her." She said with a slight distaste in her tone. Alicia being noble born and raised, was never really that fond of Maia; a former Kuroinu member. She looked down on that group and their people, seeing them as nothing more than a mud stain in the history of their Seven Alliance. Though she did begrudgingly respect Maia for all of her hard work and effort she put in helping and defending Lady Celestine against the forces of the Dark Queen. But she absolutely abhorred those low-life scum of the Kuroinu and she was disgusted by Maia's unhidden crush on their leader; Vault. The Knights that she and Claudia trained, along with the Templars of the Church, were more than enough to protect their Goddess and battle their enemy.

Claudia noticed her former student's—now fellow Princess'—sharp tone when addressing anything that had to do with the Kuroinu group and Maia. She sighed, Alicia's dislike for the opposite gender was a well-known fact in all of Eostia. She also held intense prejudice against the lower class, seeing them as beneath her on some level. A belief inappropriate for a Princess Knight, but then again, Alicia was still young… she would mature with time.

"Aya~ Don't worry! I sent some help to Maia-chan, she should be armed with my latest creations anytime soon!" Luu-Luu, the only halfling of the group, said confidentiality. She focused more on crafting and forging rather than politics and war. Weapons, armor, basically anything made of wood or metal was made inside her Kingdom. Even Vault's famous bastard sword was forged by herself, including Maia's twin blades!

"That was a wise decision for you to make, Luu-Luu." Claudia praised.

"Humu, praise me more, praise me more!" Taking a confident pose she puffed up her chest like a proud child. "Maia-chan better be grateful and thank me with a few bags of gold!" Everyone sweatdropped at her attitude. Luu-Luu, aside from having a keen interest in the art of forging and crafting, was insatiably greedy when it came to her hunger for coins and all that is golden. Her greed would sometimes make the favors her fellow Knights and noble hold for her be repaid in coins instead.

"Will Maia-san truly be able to defeat the army of demons on her own?"

"She has the might of the Kuroinu at the back of her call, Luu-Luu's forged blades, and even her own Kingdom's army with her. I believe that is more than enough for her to take care of things." Claudia assured Prim's worries. "It is the demons who should be worried instead, the Queen of Mercenaries has been known to be a true warrior while on the field. She can take care of herself, and if things were to go south—she could always retreat."

The comment prompted Alicia to snort in displeasure. "A coward's way out of a battle that is."

"Alicia, we talked about this…"

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"I'm sorry, Claudia-sama."

"Anyways, I put my trust into Maia, she is a capable woman and I have received no bad omen of her demise whatsoever from the spirits. I believe that holds true for lady Celestine as well, so rest assured everyone, she is fine." Kaguya said. "As for now, I would prefer hearing this vision you had, Celestine-sama."

{Break}

-Castle Discordia-

In the dark region separate from the seven kingdoms' land, where the soil was as foul as the most corrosive of acid. The air was dense with a poisonous miasma that made an invasion impossible for any human beings. Only demons like Orcs, imps, and trolls considered this place home, and all of them followed the order of the Dark Queen as the latter—who lived in her highly defended castle—controlled everything with an iron fist.

Just like mentioned in every book describing the forces of the Dark Queen and her castle, the building itself was massive; bigger than Celestine's own abode. It was littered with hundreds, even thousands of defensive magic formations and thousands of Orc guards as well as dark elves.

Walking up to the main throne room was another dark elf with long blonde hair in the back. She had large breasts, wore a blue shocked uniform, a long gray strapper that traps her crotch, blue long-sock tights connected to the uniform by red ribbons, and brown low-strapped boots.

Unlike the many dark elves that worked under Olga's rule, Chloe was different. Unlike the rest, she was not a full-blooded elf, but instead, she was a half-human as well. Born to unknown parents who had probably sold her off due to her heritage, Chloe grew up as a slave and was abused a lot at the hands of her slaver. She saw the human's true colors, she bore witness to their evil ways and their disgusting nature—which led her to hold massive hate against that race. It was only thanks to her master, Olga Discordia, that Chloe was able to escape her fate. It was through this action that she swore eternal servitude to her mistress and vowed to always be her sword and shield against all her enemies.

Chloe was still no more than a young teenage girl who was quite stubborn, but not stupid. Her experience as Olga's knight makes her a capable and serious woman, capable of managing the demon army and even part of the Dark Elf kingdom prior to the rise of the Kuroinu mercenary group. A group, which for the last few months, have begun to lay siege to their allies and their Kingdom from the order of the Human-High Elf Alliance, taking over each of them one by one. Each day more of her people died to those bastards and many chose to flee the land, choosing to hide till everything was over.

'Traitors, all of them!' Was what Chloe thought. She wondered how these people forgot the treatment their race had to endure in the hands of the humans. They were treated below animals and sold as slaves all over the continent.

The blonde elf was confident that only by following her Queen, Olga Discordia, could they truly achieve an everlasting peace.

So, instead of facing their enemy head-on, she decided to play dirty and cripple them from the inside by covertly sending groups of demons inside the land of Ken.

It was a way to wound their enemies as well as learn of their hidden weapons with viewing magic attached to one of their scout imps.

Yet what Chloe saw today could not be described with words, as the very memory of that scene brought a great amount of fright and horror to her being. A force of nature of which she had never seen in the past, capable of annihilating the Orcs in a matter of seconds. As if the Sun itself imploded on the surface of the sun, she only saw a bright flash of white before everything turned to dust.

'Olga-sama needs to know about this as soon as possible!'

After a bit of walking, she reached a set of large heavy metal doors where she knelt down. She didn't even knock as she knew her mistress was already aware of her presence.

"Olga-sama, I'm afraid I have some bad news."

Things were about to change, and everyone's fate would no longer be the same from this point onwards

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The next 5 chapters of Snafu and Fate are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter.