This time I wasn't even able to even resist.
Just opening her "real eyes" resulted in an ungodly pressure crushing me into the ground with all those around undergoing the exact same pressure. Although that wasn't even as bad as it got. Even without checking my HUD I could feel my spiritual points quickly decreasing with just that passive aura.
I couldn't even necessarily blame her as it was clear that she wasn't trying but just her presence was more than enough to snuff out life. And, as I slowly turned my head to look behind me, I indeed got to witness as my men slowly pixelated before erupting as their avatars died just from this scary girl's presence.
They weren't even able to groan with how quickly as well as crushing this pressure was.
The only brightside was that most of those regular customers that milled about seemed to have long since escaped so were spared from this.
Strangely there was one thing completely unaffected by the aura.
A familiar butterfly fluttered inside the bar; though it still seemed aggravated based on its movements.
"If you still can't control that power of yours then close your damn eyes." Once more the monotone droll of the bartender's voice came out with just as much calm inference as she always held. Seemingly not affected a single bit; even the knights previously hidden in shadows were doing better than me.
Not that they were as unaffected as she was (those knights were no longer in hiding) as a dozen of them suddenly became obvious to me. Somewhere only standing due to using their lances to push themself up off the floor. Others simply used whatever they could to support themselves; such as tables or walls.
Fortunately that crazy goddess seemed satisfied with merely turning me into a patty on the floor with her warning getting across. Closing her eyes as reality shimmered once more - her prior pupil-less eyes once against appearing as she spoke up. "Clearly I'm far better at controlling it as nobody got erased~♥"
I'd ask why god has forsaken me but the problem is that she's interested in me.
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<< True God Giveth True God Taketh >>
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So… We both agree she is likely that goddess, right?
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<< Crazy One Who Got The Position of Mother After Fighting In Some Huge War Then Macro-Managed Discord To Keep Order? >>
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Honestly she kind of did nothing wrong if you look at it from a subjective point of view.
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<< Really {user}.[Armor-Cordis]? >>
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Greater good and all that.
"Now~ time to set the record straight; I can do pretty much anything that little relic I half heartedly created could do so why would I want to reclaim it?" Complaining while waving her hand about as if to get across just how little she cared. "It can't even directly influence me so that has nothing to do with it."
Hearing that I couldn't help ask the one question that really mattered; the question that would answer why things got just so chaotic at the start of the beta. "So why did you attack the demoness?"
"Felt like it." She said while looking me directly in the eyes without so much as a second of hesitation.
For a moment I could only blankly look at her as if doing so would reveal some grant secret that I had somehow not recognised until then. Nothing seemed to change so I could only speak up with far more hesitation than she ever had shown me. "Is… That all?"
"Yup~!" She didn't even grace me with more than one word.
A sigh brought me out my stupor as that familiar bartender had her gloved hand resting on her forehead as she had previously begun to slowly move to her bar again. Eventually giving up on going all the way around so instead jumped up onto it. Giving me a glorious look at that wonderful ass of hers…
"Those idiots have always had a kind of rivalry due to the nature of their strength having many parallels yet ultimately different at the same time. One just continuously grows stronger without effort while the other has to literally shed blood for every boost she receives." Pinching the bridge of her nose.
"So they hate each other?" I asked with a faint tilt of my head as I pushed up off the floor.
Her words got me to actually look up at her instead of at her badonkadonk. Her somehow finding another lollipop which she promptly unwrapped before popping in her mouth. "You would certainly assume that the ex-head of the mortal realms gods and ruler of the demon realm would hate each other, wouldn't you?"
"You speak as if we are just a bunch of troublesome kids…" That terrifying dictator/goddess plump lips cutely pouted with her chubby cheeks puffing out even more with. Pressing her two index fingers against one another while swaying her hips side to side like a child who had been told off.
Seeing her like this almost made me forget about her pancaking me; she just looked so adorably forsaken that it was hard not to take her side… Maybe she wasn't that bad?
Though the bartender apparently wasn't easily taken in by her cute appearance as they continued with a level of coldness that I could practically feel. "I could not have expressed my feelings any more succinctly than that. Two children playing around in the sand pit; flinging sand to see whose sand castle is better."
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<< Ouch >>
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Yeah… That is an appropriate reaction.
"So then… Why are you after that relic?" Deciding to just upfront as the bartender as well as the goddess who both clearly knew each other far better than I knew either one.
Both of them proceeded to look at each other for a moment before the bartender spoke up first.
"Well it is kind of funny…" Amazing how she can claim something to be funny without a slight change in her cadence or twitch on those gorgeous lips. "The god hunters received a request from someone else to both protect those dragons as well as the legacy they hold until they can destroy it."
A hand shot up from the true god as if asking if she could answer now - like she was just an obedient child requesting their teachers permission to talk. "My reason is way cooler than that. I just don't want the current mother to get her hands on it due to being a failed experiment in making my replacement~!"
… Well that isn't a bombshell.
"See there are three bloodlines that are recognised as belonging to the strongest families; one of them is my own Venus bloodline. We wanted to try to make the bestest body by merging the three bloodlines into one to try to save my dumb first child!" Throwing her hands out wide as confetti randomly appeared.
I didn't expect her to actually care about her own children tho-
"It was really inconvenient for my descendents to die before I gave birth to one with my ideal partner so I thought it best to nip the problem in the bud with the first one." I fully take back any compliments I considered giving her. At least she wasn't the worst parent I've ever seen in the world?
Regardless she continued on (much like she always does) without caring about anyone else's opinion on the cruelty of her words. "While we succeeded in merging the bloodlines artificially… It resulted in her being not only too weak due to a lack of emotions but also too straightforward to be a good ruler."
Lifting her arms in a shrug, shaking her head, almost as if asking what else she should have expected from a half baked test tube baby.
Now I kind of felt bad for this new mother.
"So I kind'a just threw her towards the Indigo's after setting up an agreement that she'd make for a wonderful manager at the very least. Keeping numbers doesn't require one to actually think too much so it worked out well until all other mother candidates poofed." Clapping her hands as if to get the point across.
"As such I had to come out of retirement early to make sure she didn't get her hands on the mystical wish granting orb that could give her the power to alter reality to a scale previously unobtainable to her." At that she proudly puffed out her massive chest. It was quite obvious she wanted to be complimented so…
"Well done?" I simply gave in while now at least resting on my knees; after our initial training it didn't feel too weird to be looking up at her so it didn't bother me. "But why do you want to prevent her from using that to such an extent you'd give up faking your own death?"
The smile on her lips faded back into that "kind & motherly" smile that sent shivers down my back for some totally unknown reason. At least she answered my question. "There is nothing I dislike more than stagnation and that is precisely what complete order is; that is also what she wants by proxy."
So the old CEO who made the company what it was waltz's in to prevent the new one from fucking up everything in some poor attempt to upstage everyone.
One almost had to feel pity for that upstart Mother.
"That is why we must find that orb as it is quite literally better in anyone else's hands than the Mother of this generation. Meanwhile the Wolf bastard couldn't give less of a shit so I don't really have much clue on what he is doing other than maybe finding you?" Tapping her chin as she hummed.
Idea of that creepy bastard not only being my father but trying to find me after traversing the realms for the milk is more unsettling than the current Mother being a rejected scientific experiment…
Just as I was about to ask more I noticed a figure sneaking up behind the "unaware" nameless god who was eagerly waiting for my agreement in continuing the search. Before I could answer either way a fist suddenly launched out. Appearing to connect with the goddess' head as a roar echoed out.
"Not so tough now, are you bitch!" That voice, of course, was my poorly timed sister who had thought it in everyone's best interest to clock the strongest known goddess in the back of the head. I didn't know whether to be proud or mortified so I promptly settled for the latter.
The goddess in question didn't so much as flinch or be pushed one way or the other; using my range finder skill I was promptly able to realise why… A small "invisible" barrier I knew was her "scales" blocked the punch with zero effort. Scales that technically existed on a higher plane of existence, apparently.
Slowly turning her head around to look my sister in the eyes with closed eyes and a big bright smile as hands moved up so quickly that me & my sister didn't see them. Pinching Alexis' cheeks as she spoke up in an overly sweet voice. "Well aren't you just the cutest little lion club~!"