"GIIIIISSSSHHHAAAAAHHHH!".

The ground trembled in fear. Zeran and Ru weren't afraid rather, the both of them brought out their respective weapons and gotten ready for combat. Though, it seemed her weapon was kinda longer than before, making Zeran to feel worried yet, he didn't mind it that much, since he was focussed on destroying the monster right in front of them. Then, he huffed-out confidently and said,

"Well time to crack this crab inside-out...".

Ru nodded with her devious smile and the great battle commenced. The atmosphere boiled up as the flames of battle engaged. The monster took the initiative and swung its gigantic claw at Ru, although for some reason, she was able to dodge it's strike swiftly and looked unscathed. Zeran tried to ambush the monster regaining its composure after swinging its arm at Ru but, it's steel-like carapace deflected his strike like it was nothing. As Zeran noticed that his attacks weren't effective, he told her,

"Uuh...Ru, my attacks aren't working...".

She replies,

"Well why don't you buy me sometime for a while my li'l pet..."

"While I do something here...".

Zeran looked stressed as he heard that from her, although he just agreed upon her demands later on. Ru went away for a few distances, while she was chanting out a powerful magical spell that needed long preperation while she was representing a graceful pose of crossing her arms and closed eyes. After sometime, he has been distracting and catching the attention of the crabmonstrosity, while he was deflecting and dodging its powerful strikes with great caution. The monster was persistent on crus.h.i.+ng Zeran but, due to Zeran's swift movements and the crab's slow attacks, he was able to dodge all of them no problem. Though, he kinda looked p.i.s.sed since, this style of fighting isn't his cup of tea nor his interest. A little while later, his feet was getting sore and he was feeling exhausted of dodging and blocking its destructive blows and swings. Not only that, he was feeling irritated of just being a meats.h.i.+eld and decoy. Suddenly, Ru shouts over the distance,

"It's ready Zera!".

Zeran was filled with energy and motivation, as he heard her inspiring voice. Though, as he turned his head to see her, he was filled with huge surprise and shock, since she was now lifting a humongous ball of plasmatic and burning dark energy above her head with her two arms, such as she was holding a giant beach ball. She cracked out a menacing grin at Zeran like she was trying to scare him-off, as expected, Zeran was trembling in fear and he was sweating because, it seemed the sphere of unstable darkness was directed at him. Soon, Ru tossed the sphere of deep abyss like she was playing a beachball towards the crustacean monster. As the the humongous ball of energy hit the monster, it caused a powerful explosion that released immense black energy around the place. The intensity was so strong that made the cavern to shake as if there was an earthquake had occurred. Zeran made a jawdropping expression and dropped his golden claw, as he witnessed the amazing explosion right in front of his beady eyes. The place was engulfed by a thick black fog but, it dispersed quite fast later on. As he opened his eyes and his vision became clear, he saw the humongous monster turned to a pile of ashes and a velvet sphere was floating above it. Ru stretched her arms and wore a satisfied expression as she noticed the monster beaten into a pile of ashes in one shot although, Zeran just sighed with a tired look. She went near the thick dust and reached out her hand to the floating stony red sphere. He noticed that the velvet sphere was being siphoned by her hand, that was so entrancing to observe. A little while later, he saw the text on top of Ru's head,

["INSTAMEAT: CRAB skill gained"].

He was in his thoughts,

("Now she can make crab dishes...").

His mouth salivated from the inside and his eyes looked eager for what the dark G.o.ddess Ruhime shall cook for him in the future with the said skill she had gained. As for Ru, she was expressing an angelic smile despite her menacing foxy appearance. Afterwards, Zeran lied down on the ground very exhausted and muttered out words for her to hear,

"Hah...SACRED GROUNDS are places that monsters can't go in right?".

Ru responds,

"Yes...but since a monster came in here..."

"There must be something strange going on outside..."

"Especially...HER place...".

Her piercing eyes were very serious and looked stone cold, void of a smile, as she was finished talking. He didn't mind Ru's dark expression but his face looked dumbfounded. As a longtime pa.s.sed, he regained his lost energy. He stood up and looked around the place since, he hasn't seen the identical plush dolls of themselves, while the two of them were fighting the scary monster. Thankfully, he was able to spot those cute plush dolls at the corner near the spring. He noticed that the Ru plush doll was brus.h.i.+ng off the black dirt riddened all over the Zeran plush doll's face. It made Zeran to wear a stranged smiling cursed expression. He turned his face back to the real Ru and he asks with a curious look on his face,

"Also I know this sounds off-putting but..."

"Why does the plush doll look like me?".

As Ru heard that from him, her face was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with grinning interest and looked towards Zeran. Soon, she went near Zeran and leaned near him and clasped her hands like a shyly maiden. She explained to him that Mai bought the Zeran plush doll on sale for 99.9% off at Celestia heavenly mall. Then, Ru said that Mai gave it to her before she descended as a non-G.o.ddess at Himenea world. Zeran nodded with a convinced expression, as he heard that from the dark G.o.ddess Ruhime, believing her every word she had said. Though, he was feeling annoyed inside since, he heard that the plush doll that looked-like him was that cheap. Soon enough, he asked Ru on why she had been hugging it since then, as he remembered that time where he had seen her lying on her bed and hugging it with all her heart's content. Blank silence was in the air later on. Ru had stopped bending her body to him and her face turned red such as a tomato with embara.s.sment. Not only that, she turned her face away immediately since, she was filled with grave shamelessness for herself, while she was fidgeting, even though she was exposing her shameless self to him for a long time. Thereupon, she tries to confess her deepest secrets,

"Mmmmmmm...I can't believe I'm gonna tell you this...but I collect...err...hero plush dolls..."

"And I have a thing...for...heroes...".

A long winding silence filled the whole atmosphere again. Zeran looked disturbed but he wasn't shocked or anything. Suddenly, he shouted with all his crying lungs out, that was so strong and his face was filled with intense rage,

"WHAT THE h.e.l.lS?!"

"B-but you're an evil G.o.ddess!".

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The b.u.t.terflies had flown outside with a huge crowd, as they heard his scanadalous revelation. Though, Ru wasn't fazed or anything, but she looked like a little girl who was exposed for her creepy acts. Though she still tries to reach out a faking smile and agrees with him, while she was still fidgeting and blus.h.i.+ng,

"Yeah...I know it's weird right?".

Zeran breathed-in very deeply to control his irritated self and compose his unnerving feeling. Then exhaled, to let all of his frustrations out in a non-violent way. He delved inside his thoughts and a.n.a.lyzed Ru's unusual actions,

("So I'm really in her ZONE!")

("But I've been wondering...where are her other hero plush dolls then?")

("Maybe I'll try an indirect way of asking her...").

He sighed and went near the embara.s.sed Ru. More than that, he noticed that her ears were twitching relentlessly although, he still opened up a question mercilessly,

"So if there is another better hero doll...will you buy it and choose to hug it instead?".

While she heard his question, it made her to calm herself down and her foxy ears twitched one last time. She wasn't fidgeting anymore. She had her daring appearance and intensified look back in her form. Later, she responds back at him,

"Not really...I'll still choose the doll I still cherish..."

"Unless...he...err I mean it..."

"Nevermind...".

Though, she went back to her fidgeting self and the embara.s.sed feeling was coursing throughout her body yet again, since she doesn't want to talk about the sensitive topic any further. Zeran was p.i.s.sed-off in his thoughts since, she had stopped telling her inner confessions, in which he was very much curious about, for some reason,

("And again she shunned off the topic...")

("Darn! Why is Ru so secretive!")

("Heck! Why am I even annoyed over her plush dolls?!")

("What's wrong with me!").

He was filled with a mix of confusion and curiousity. He was even questioning his own motives of asking her that trivial topic, making him to isolate himself in his own mind with an irritated look on his face. Sooner or later, Ru's embara.s.sed self had ceased and her divlike aura and form returned. Her cheeks were no longer red. She went to the two plush dolls and grabbed them. She went back to the confused Zeran. Then, she bent her body to him, she tried to offer the plush doll that looked-like her and said with a tease,

"Feeling crabby hero?".

He had snapped-out of his convuluded thoughts and took the doll. Ru had stopped leaning her body to him. Zeran was looking at the Ru plush doll with a kinda creeped-out look. She brought out her signature smartphone from in-between her huge cuddly melons and said with a cheering optimistic energy,

"Now that we're done here..."

"Time to see Ange!"

"The light G.o.ddess!".

Zeran was filled with great surprise yet again and said,

"WHAT?!".

Though, in his thoughts were much deeper in sense, as if he was trying to a.n.a.lyze the whole situation not only on a personal level but on a global scale too, linking his past experiences in his previous worlds, connecting the dots of the occurences, like his mind was a veteran on fantasical events,

("Okay...this really boggled my mind...")

("I know that they're G.o.ddesses...but those two are complete opposites...REALLY OPPOSITES...")

("Or maybe...it's like they're negotiating...with each others demands...")

("Heck! If a normal hero or person saw these two being like this...")

("I'm sure it'll b*tch slap him/her...").

Meanwhile, in another area, A matured queen was lying down on the ground at the holistic throne room. She was gus.h.i.+ng out blood and there were other scattered men in blue plated armors leaking out their crimson blood aswell. The whole place was streaked in deep crimson puddles and tainted splatters of death. Though, the queen tried to utter her last words before she loses her dear life,

"I'm sorry Mai...but you'll be on your own now..."

"Our kingdom has fallen...".

Afterwards, Queen Fae stepped on the dying queen's head. Not only that, Queen Fae brought out a black rapier with her magical ways and struck the clinging to life matured queen straight to her skull, penetrating until the back of her head, ending her sorrowful end. Soon, Queen Fae cracked out a demonic smile that proved her crazed-off ambitions coming true and expressed with great satisfaction,

"Finally! The old hag's gone!"

"Thanks a lot my new lover Na.s.sus!"

"NYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!".