Limo ride…

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Roughly one hundred miles from the Viper Maiden Wors.h.i.+p Hall…

Julius just wanted to go . Jump, be free again, get back to the outside world . How did he get stuck in this situation—bonded to the Viper, forced to do his will . The Momo girl understood the gravity of the situation . Olivia seemed to hate Aunder, but hid behind a neutral expression most of the time . Su Yang had no hope . Sure, Aunder has saved more lives than anyone he'd ever seen in his life . He liberated some nations from giant monsters, freed slaves, fed many hungry, even ended wars but the man was ruthless too . That motherf.u.c.king night, Julius possibly witnessed the peak of it .

The dark G.o.d came with an intention to help him, even if at a price, the Viper still wanted to go home . He could've turned the G.o.d away…but he took it one step further . Julius knew what it was like to do what must be done to further yourself, but he'd never wiped out all life on an entire f.u.c.king planet . Those people didn't deserve to die because of the ruling G.o.d acting on his own accord . At least Julius believe it was on his own . He never heard of a dark G.o.d giving a s.h.i.+t about what their people thought . They…didn't deserve that .

Julius observed the group, the Forgotten Party . A stupid, insulting name . The adventuring community couldn't forget someone as impactful as him . It was Fuyoko's fault for acting as if her own party was some kind of cult . Such a bossy b.i.t.c.h with a goal that the man wanted no part of . He did for himself . A real adventurer .

Julius knew that many of them vanished over the years, s.n.a.t.c.hed up by militaries, a few cults, and other toxic groups . Just like he was currently . The rumor that they were taken by monster girls was just stupid . Any competent adventurer could deal with a single monster or even a group of them . This is why they are seen as higher tier than gifted . Gifted, who don't go out to put their abilities to use . Idiots .

Princess Dire perhaps frightened Julius more than Aunder . At least the Viper had a sense of humor and honor, which insured the group that he wouldn't suddenly backstab the party . The kid on the other hand, was virtually unreadable . That cheerfulness couldn't be real . Did she not know what the Viper's existence meant? He knew the kid that was not a kid had real power, but come on . Then again, the general public really had no idea about the stone-viper games .

Adventurers travelled the nations, some the globe, learning and exploring, discovering treasure . They pa.s.s important information through the community . This included the t.i.tle known as Hero . The hero's the ultimate adventurer and the only one capable of taking on the Supreme . Too bad no one wanted to do so anymore . With the numbers dropping, it was no surprise that speculation of the Supreme having something to do with it, floated around .

He painfully wished for anything to happen . Squeezing and holding, face red, he wiggled a bit then finally, the man just couldn't take it anymore .

"f.u.c.k! Aunder, can we pull over," he snapped . "I've got to take a p.i.s.s . "

Aunder looked at him with a blank stare then chuckled .

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"Alright, but next time, hold off on the cola . Driver, pull off at the gas station . "

"Yes sir," the man said, obeying the order .

Julius strained to not roll his eyes .

"Food! Food!" Dire chanted then hopped into Aunder's lap . He tossed her back to Momo with a single hand .

"Buy her whatever she wants," he said . "And of course that goes for anyone else who's hungry . Then again, there's a fancy restaurant fifty miles from here . "

"Do you have a problem with my cooking?" Olivia snapped, eyebrow raised . The Viper put up two hands, laughing . A bead of sweat fell from the back of his head .

"Not that I don't appreciate the healthy living, but where I come from, meat is a must," Aunder said then poked the woman's stomach . "Red meat . Not fish . There aren't any Norosaurs or Horus birds or Death-Slitters in this world to make a good meal . " Everyone cringed, giving him the disgusted stare, even Su Yang . "You outsiders wouldn't know a good meal even if it bit you in the a.s.s . Which Double-bladed Flying Octo-gators are known to do . " He laughed . The party continued to stare at him blankly . "Oh get out of here and take care of your business . You've got fifteen minutes . "

Julius dashed to the bathroom, Momo following him for some reason . He almost made it inside, but she grabbed the back of his s.h.i.+rt .

"I will p.i.s.s all over you if you don't let go of my s.h.i.+rt," he said darkly .

"Judging by the way you've been acting all morning, you know what he did," Momo said .

"So what," Julius snapped . "It's not going to change anything . "

She shook her head .

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"We've got to make a getaway while we have a chance," Momo said .

"We can't, idiot," Julius said . "Do you have any idea how difficult it is to bind me . I'm one of the best when it comes to mental magic, yet this guy stole my will like it was nothing . And we won't be able to drift off more than a mile from him . "

He shook her hand away and almost took a step, but Momo's next words halted him .

"Do you not know where we are?" Momo said .

"In a gas station wasting precious minutes," Julius said .

"No, moron, we're in the dead zone," she said . "Feel closely . His contract is dormant, magic is at its weakest . I locked the soul bind in a secluded corner of our magic to deal with later . We can always find someone capable of dissolving it . "

Julius forked everything he had into activating a Jump . He'd finally be free . Eat whenever he wanted, sleep whenever . No one over his head . No Fuyoko, no Aunder, no one! He could catch up on some missed shows, browse the internet for off-brand shows—whatever . HE was done with this s.h.i.+t . Out! No more magic, nothing . As soon as he got Aunder's mark erased, he'd throw in the towel, become a normal human . Find a job . Ironically, he had a degree in teaching, for science…Nothing happened, his heart breaking . He almost wanted to howl . Momo flicked his nose .

"What part of magic at its weakest do you not understand?" she said . "Let's go, now! You can pee later . "

"Are you leaving your sisters?" Julius said as he bolted for the back exit, Momo trailing .

"They'll be fine," she said . "I'll have to find the Stone and get him to help . "

Julius said nothing . He knew the location, but had no intention of revealing it . This group held him hostage . Well, two can play at that game .

When they were outside, the two noticed Dire, picking daisies . She looked right at them, innocently smiling .

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"I'm getting her out of this," Momo said . Julius saw the trap or at least what seemed like a trap and sprinted with all of his might .

"Only the fools divert their own goals," he said, spotting his query ahead . A man starting his motorbike . One quick kick later, he hopped on, laughing . Someone got on the back of it .

"You a.s.s, leaving me behind like that," Momo said .

Julius shrugged .

"I play for myself . "

He was annoyed as they drove off with a kid who kicked and cried, calling for her master . Just what kind of sick s.h.i.+t was this . She…actually brought her . f.u.c.k! The idiot .

Well, it didn't matter . He…he was finally free . And they had to get as far away as possible .

Aunder chuckled .

"They took the bait . " He sighed . "This is what happens when you try to do everything in the name of honor . "

Clyde's house…

Melody covered her face with the pillow, stomach full of b.u.t.terflies . She was so happy, so nervous, but so happy . Now if she can just break her own sh.e.l.l…She felt thankful that Clyde didn't bring up the embarra.s.sing thing she said . Marriage . They still had to give each other soul-oaths . If only her mother could be trusted, she'd go to her for advice . Tear . But what if she told her to do something weird again . Melody was no good at the seduction thing . Maybe Yuki . Maybe the demoness could teach her everything she needed to know about making a man happy . And best of all, her G.o.ddess powers overrode her trickster side . She'd be so useful to the team, bettering herself . Goals, goals .

To spend so long with him, even hold his hand . She blushed .

She'd love to indulge in her happiness, but the bad feelings she got could not be ignored . Were her friends okay? Toru, Matsume, Ruri, Nina? Clyde sent them to trail them as a safety measure, but what if they encountered Matsuko? The fallen angel could go toe to toe with Tear, a candidate for the Supreme demon lord, and win . Melody…just wanted everyone to be safe . This was her family .

She crawled out of bed, unable to take the nagging feeling any longer . Her active G.o.ddess half came with so many senses . Despite being born from her father, Platus the dark G.o.d—he who people are afraid to name and her mother, She Who Dawned Time, Melody didn't carry any dark alignments . Maybe traces of it in some of her magic . But the dark element didn't mean evil . Even the Leaf carried way more of the dark element than she did . Same for Harumi, though…the fox ent.i.ty—maybe borderline deity—carried many mysteries that she herself probably didn't know . The kitsune were a well-respected race of deities and ent.i.ties, all flowing with the bloodline of the Nine-tailed fox .

Melody hurried to the living room, where Clyde said he'd be . He wouldn't sleep until Matsume, Tear, and Ruri returned with the news . The redhead hoped it'd be good, but her gut told her something happened . Her G.o.ddess senses were tingling . If only the prophet was at full power . She'd befriend Ming, let her know that she was loved too . Maybe then, she'd open up to everyone .

What she saw in the living room confirmed her bad feelings ten times over .

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