The Adventures of Rose Hood

“Core truth?”

“Yep.”

“What does that mean?”

“Quite simply, there is no such thing as the evil god.”

“That makes no sense.”

Asura spoke up.

“I’ve battled the Sin Wrath before.”

“Of course, but the dirt like substance is evil. It covers each shard’s core. We are not the evil god, but the good god.”

“The good god?”

“Yes, we used to be the queen of the gods, but in jealousy, the others rebelled against us and tore us apart. Realizing that we would gain the aid of the world, they shoved evil over us in an effort to corrupt us, and, for the most part, they succeeded. But they couldn’t hurt our cores, only cover them. Our actions are corrupted by our smothered cores. But there were three of us that they couldn’t fully corrupt. Purity, Respect, and Prosperity. As we were still corrupted, we transformed into Innocence, Benevolence, and Peace, respectively.”

Climond still looked suspicious.

“How can we trust you?”

Then I released my aura.

All of the S ranks stopped breathing in awe of the purity. Life accelerated around them. Flowers bloomed, trees grew faster, and kind animals came forward.

I hid my aura, but the effect was done. The area around us had transformed into a beautiful place.

“Incredible.”

All of them looked at me in awe.

“It’s true.”

That was all that they could say.

I smirked,

“So, um... do I make the cut?”

Asura snapped back into focus.

“Alright, all-in favor of making Pur- I mean Rose an S rank adventurer, raise your hand.”

It was unanimous.

_

“So, ye outrank me now.”

Mammon was proud of me and I was blushing by his congratulations.

I entered the guild and Mammon shouted.

“Rose was promoted to S rank 21.”

Everyone cheered, but one.

Zath dropped his wine bottle and started shivering.

“P-p-pardon me, M-M-M-Mammon, but could I take a break.”

“Uh, sure?”

Zath ran out the back.

“That was weird.”

“Yeah, you’d think that weirdo would be happy.”

Royce walked up.

“Anyways, congratulations Rose, you made it to S rank.”

“Thanks.”

Then Asura popped in.

“First unanimous acceptance vote in history, that was awesome.”

That caused their eyes to widen.

“IT WAS UNANIMOUS?!”

“Yep, Rose here managed to convince everyone with the secondary task.”

“That’s impressive, even for her. I was certain that Climond would at least vote against her.”

“So did I, but after her stellar performance I would’ve been more surprised if someone voted against her.”

Something came for me. I dodged by a hair. Zath crashed into the wall.

“Zath, what’s gotten into you!”

“Rose, you... you.... I’ll kill you...”

He attacked again, but he was no match for me. I dodged each attack.

“Zath s-”

“Mammon, I can handle this.”

Mammon was confused but trusted me. Zath struck faster and faster, but I hit him first.

He screeched in agony. Then I spoke in a language older than the world.

“Oh, lost soul, be restored to your truth. Allow the echoes of Purity to shine through your soul. Be restored Archangel of Piety.”

His screeches stopped and his evil aura faded. He sat back and began crying.

“I am purified. Thank you, Rose.”

“You are good, Zath.”

He shook his head with a smile.

“Not Zath, Silas.”

“What... just happened?”

“Mammon, I apologize for my outburst, but Rose used her newfound power and purified me.”

“Newfound magic?”

I smiled.

“Goodness magic.”

“Goodness magic? That sounds lame.”

I snickered at Mammon’s statement.

“I guess it does, but it’s the counter to evil magic.”

“Well, that’s useful, but please come up with a better name than goodness magic.”

“I’ll try.”

Royce turned to Asura,

“Was that the secondary task?”

“It’s a result of it.”

“Hey, Rose, would you mind if we talked?”

“Sure.”

I followed Royce and as I left the room, I instructed Silas.

‘Keep my identity, the S ranks will do the same. Act like I just developed the magic as a side effect.’

‘I understand, Lady Purity.’

We got into the private room and Royce looked at me.

“Silence.”

I felt the silence bubble show up.

“So, Rose, what was that?”

“I discovered something important.”

I told him everything that happened at the meeting and what I learned about the true nature of the evil god. By the end of it he had a large frown.

“So, other gods will come after you again?”

“Quite likely.”

“Are you the same person?”

“Yes, because I was bound into the dragon body, I was able to manifest emotions that none of the other shards or gods could gain. Sloth, in being bound to me, also gained some.”

“So, this lie about evil. It was ingrained into the very fabric of the world?”

“Yes, and that’s why creatures like goblins and orcs started appearing.”

“I see, how do we fix it.”

“I need to merge with the rest of the shards after purification, meaning I have to either get them to sit still for 4 days straight, or I need to get them to be willingly absorbed.”

“Are you going to purify Sloth?”

“Not yet, I’ll wait for her to wake up so the chance of her being hurt is minimized.”

“I see.”

“Well, could you tell Dallel? I don’t think they’ll let me go again.”

“Will the S ranks keep it hidden?”

“Yes. They understand my want to keep it hidden.”

“Good.”

I began to walk out.

“Hey Rose?”

“Yes, Royce?”

“I want to congratulate you on being purified.”

I blushed; his smile was adorable.

“T-thanks.”

I left quickly.

‘Why did I do that? That was so rude. And why can’t I stop blushing.’

“Ooh, did something happen fun in the room?”

“Ha ha... funny, Mammon.”

He looked confused along with the rest of the usual adventurers.

“What?”

“Did you just get the joke?”

“I mean it was obvious... Is that odd?”

Zat- Silas explained.

‘While you were Innocence, you never understood dirty jokes, including the ones you would make.’

‘And now that I’m Purity, I actually get them now.’

‘Bingo.’

Mammon was crying when I refocused.

“She’s growin up.”

I blushed.

“Mammon you are evil.”

He smiled,

“At least you still have the basics down.”

He laughed at his lame joke all the way into his office.

“Some things never change.”

“Like Mammon’s lack of humor.”

We all just nodded silently in agreement.