NOVEL NEXT Sabbatical – Chapter 227: First to Fall
Caethya's blade swung upwards, guided not by her hand but by the sword itself, and cut the first bullet that had been fired at her in half. She had honoured her ancestors, and they had given her guidance. There was no real need to cut any of the projectiles down, of course, but intimidation was a good tactic.
The reply to her action was a hail of gunfire that to them would likely appear unavoidable, but to the Demigoddess of Creation, it was simply an invitation to dance. Caethya lifted her arm and flicked her wrist, clearing a few bullets from the torrent with her blade so that she could step to the side, bending backwards to let more lead pass by overhead. She twirled around, a touch of her magic guiding more of the metal thrown her way to flow around her while extending the length of her blade to cut through a larger section of the fast-flowing metallic sea heading her way.
Their dance continued for a moment longer, Caethya not really interested in striking back as she discovered just how far she could push herself while using as little magic as she could. She even went as far as asking her love to not stop the bullets from hitting her; a request Aperio granted but not without a bit of grumbling. Though Caethya did not hear it directly, she nonetheless felt the universe's displeasure at the idea of her even getting slightly hurt.
Caethya stood to her full height as the hail of bullets stopped, removing some non-existent blood from her sword with a flick of her wrist. She directed her gaze at the group of mortals and, just like before, tilted her head slightly. Their little exchange had brought her closer to the group, and them closer to despair. What had they expected to happen? As far as they knew, she might as well have been the one that stopped their fake sun. If that — their most powerful weapon, she assumed — did nothing, why would bullets work?
A smile spread beneath her mask as she watched the people retreat back into the ship. Can't let that happen, now can we? With a small tug at her magic, Caethya appeared inside the ship, right in front of the person that had wanted to enter it first, and drove her makeshift blade though his stomach. Her wrist flicked upwards, and the man was cut in two. The mist that was still trailing her and obscuring her form reached out for the wound she had made, freezing the corpse so solidly that it shattered once it hit the floor.
Before the other sailors could react, an explosion rocked the ship. One Caethya had not caused. She had left a fleet of ships largely intact so they could be used to take people back home, but some people had rallied to a select few vessels and turned them against her. The move to attack was one the Demigoddess could not quite understand. Sure, the ones that could actually use their brain had accepted Aperio's offer, but she had thought a more personal demonstration would convince the rest. I guess this is why Aperio only ever gives one offer of surrender?
That was a side of her love she was not quite as fond of, but she also couldn't really fault her for it. She did not start wars, and always offered people a chance to surrender and be forgiven — at least by her.
With an almost silent sigh, Caethya lifted her arm in the direction of the shaken sailors and closed her fist, causing the various shards of ice that stuck to the ship’s interior to fly from the walls and pierce the group of mortals.
If they weren't going to surrender, she would at least grant them a quick death. A frozen, pierced brain was certain to accomplish that. Then, just to be sure, Caethya closed her eyes and let her magic seep through the entirety of the ship. Not a breath later, she ripped it apart. Countless jagged shards and spears exploded outwards, each projectile tracking a different mortal in the fleet.
Every single one struck true.
Caethya then drew on the waters below her, willing it to rise up in a wave that carried her up above the empty, lifeless remains of the other ships around her. High atop her liquid pillar, she moved towards one of the few remaining ships in this particular fleet that still had living beings in it.
She would leave one mostly intact, as condemning all the mortals to a certain death was still not something she wanted to do. Those that remained would serve as a suitable demonstration as to why one should not mess with her love. Or me, for that matter.
Caethya stepped the wave she had created onto the ship she had decided would be the one to survive, making sure the mist she had conjured was spreading over the entire vessel. They should, after all, have the impression that an angry ghost was attacking them, and not a random woman.
A few of the mortals on board the ship started shouting in a language Caethya did not understand. She didn't have to, however, as it was quite obvious they were fighting over what they should do. Some were seemingly adamant that they should shoot at her while others wanted to prevent exactly that. Caethya made the decision easy for them, lifting her arm and closing her hand into a fist, causing all the weapons they had on them to simply crumple into a fist-sized ball of metal.
The mortals were quick to drop their demolished weapons, and those that didn't quickly followed as the mist that clung to her began to flow around them. It wouldn't harm them too much; a few frozen fingers perhaps, but nothing that couldn't be healed. Unless they haven't figured out how to do that yet?
Caethya wasn't exactly sure how the mortals of Earth healed things without magic. On Verenier, such a practice existed for the few diseases magic couldn't cure or was simply not that useful for. But that also meant that its scope was much smaller, with results much less grand and useful than even that of the simplest light- or even water-based healing spell. They'll figure it out in time. Probably.
Her love’s gaze lingered on the mortals briefly, causing most of them to look around but find nothing. Some instead went through various motions that Caethya attributed to religious belief, but also did little else. In the end, none of that helped their struggle to make a decision, but it was amusing to see nonetheless. Mortals’ reactions to Aperio’s attention were always fun.
The thing that managed to convince them to lay down their arms was a blade of ice Caethya had conjured that cut the ship opposite the one she was on cleanly in half. Personnel included. Dragging it below the surface of the sea with tentacles made from metal and frozen water might have been a tad much, but it helped to get the point across. Should they push further, they would be guaranteed death. Should they finally lay down their arms, they might yet live.
Aperio moved her wing slightly as Eleanor pushed against it with her hand. The mortal mage had calmed down somewhat, at least as far as the All-Mother could tell, but she had still remained hidden beneath the feathered appendage.
"Do you require something?" Aperio asked as Eleanor looked around the peak of the tower, her eyes briefly lingering on the Dragon curled up on the other side.
"Do you have water?" the Human asked, her voice more than a little raspy.
Aperio offered the woman a glass that had appeared in her hand, already filled with the requested liquid. "I do."
"Right." Eleanor took the glass. "Of course, you have everything I can think of."
"I doubt that I have what you claim," the All-Mother replied with a raised brow. "It is not like I am reading your mind, nor can I claim to know about all the things your people have made on this world." Not yet, anyway.
Aperio had taken to sifting through this 'Internet' the Humans had invented, using more than a few abandoned computers that nobody seemed to care about. By now, she had figured out how the machines communicated and received information, but hadn't quite understood how to make use of the bits they sent back and forth. Just another language in the end.
"But you could," the mortal mage said after emptying the glass she had been given. "You could have launched the attack on yourself to justify this. You could have just absorbed all the knowledge of Earth and solved our problems. But, you could also be controlling me right now and I wouldn't know it."
The All-Mother looked at Eleanor for a moment, a thought nudging the fabric of reality to refill the glass she had made for the mortal. "Yes. I could do all of those things," Aperio eventually replied. "But as you have been told before, I quite specifically do not. I cannot prove to you that I do not read your mind or control anyone else, the best I can do is tell you that I do not."
Why Eleanor had chosen to rehash this topic once again was beyond even the All-Mother, but she wouldn't question it. If the woman was talking, she was probably no longer quite as scared about the meaningless attacks a few of her people had started. Of course, she might also just be losing her mind, but Aperio doubted that. She had seen enough mortals go down that route, and this one didn't seem to be quite there yet. And it was only an attack, not a lifetime of abuse. She narrowed her eyes slightly as she refilled the glass the mage had once again emptied. Or did the other mages abuse her in the past?
Eleanor let out a sigh and set herself down, placing the glass Aperio had made on the ground in front of her. "What is Caethya doing to the people that attacked us?"
"She has turned the ocean against them and is using their ship to make weapons," Aperio replied, making no attempt to hide her happiness at her love's magic. It might not make much of a difference to the average mortal, but to the All-Mother the way Caethya used magic now was vastly different. Much more… refined. "She also disguised herself in a large robe, a mask, and good amount of mist. Almost like a spirit from a fairy tale. At least, the tales I know of."
"From what I've heard, the actual spirits are a lot more mind-bending than the descriptions people wrote down," the mortal mage said as she poked at her empty glass. "I kinda doubt that now, seeing you and all."
"I could let you glimpse at my true nature, if you wish," Aperio offered as she looked at Eleanor with a slightly tilted head and refilled the glass once more. "I would not advise it, however. The mortal mind seems to not find my nature agreeable."
"Not even Caethya?"
"My love is not a mere mortal anymore."
"One of the Elders, then?" Eleanor asked, idly tapping her glass and glancing behind her at the motionless dragon. "Some of them have been around for millennia, they should be able to, no?"
"Millennia on a mana-starved world," Aperio replied and let her aura manifest itself just a little more to show the mortal mage what proper mana looked like. "They might be strong compared to anyone else here, but they are nothing to someone from a world that has not been cut off.
"Adam is a good example," she continued. "He has the potential to be strong on another world, but currently, he is not. On Earth, however, he does not even have to try to play in the upper echelons of power. Caethya is far outside the realm of what anyone here can achieve, and my power does not fit inside any frame of reference other than my own."
Aperio let out a quiet sigh and spread her wings slightly, supporting herself with them as she leaned back. "All of that matters not for now, however. It is still your world’s turn to be judged. Though, I would say it is more an evaluation than a judgement now. No fate hangs on your impression anymore, after all."
"That's not ominous at all," Eleanor mumbled in reply. The mortal remained quiet for a moment before she set her gaze unto the horizon, squinting against the setting sun, likely trying to see Caethya cleaning up the last bits of the fleet.
With the tiniest touch of her magic, Aperio created a small screen for Eleanor with which she could observe the remainder of Caethya's fight. There wasn't much to see anymore, but if she wished to watch, Aperio would not stop her. The All-Mother herself had something else calling for her attention.
Laelia held the Beastkin woman by her throat, pressing her against the wall of her office with just enough force to not crush her windpipe. She glared at the woman as she continued to pull weapons from her body.
Before the Scion of the All-Mother spoke to the maybe-assassin, she directed a prayer towards her Goddess; one that was answered uncharacteristically fast. Feeling Aperio's… attention, for a lack of a better term, settle onto her was both a welcome experience and deeply unsettling at the same time. Not only did you feel seen, you were also quite suddenly aware of how small and insignificant you were.
Once the last of the visible weapons had been stripped from the Beastkin, Laelia dropped her onto the floor before reaching out with her magic to form silver chains. They wrapped themselves around the woman, holding her immobile while denying the use of any shadow tricks she might try to play. Doubly effective with Aperio watching.
"What do you want?" Laelia asked as she sat herself down behind her desk. Holding the Beastkin up against the wall had been highly annoying. "Trying to kill me for attempting to clean this city up a bit?"
"I need to speak with your Goddess, Scion," the woman — Adelita, if Laelia recalled correctly — hissed.
"Then talk," the Scion replied. "She is listening right now."
