Shannon couldn't stop smiling as she gazed at the handsome Half-Elf in her arms.
'You're finally mine, Will,' Shannon thought as he brushed her fingers through the teenager's red hair, which felt silky to the touch.
She had carefully planned everything from start to finish, and patiently played her role as a support to assist everyone in "saving" the Half-Elf from the Darkness that stained him, and the Light that coveted his existence.
The Fox Lady had been treading on a very delicate tightrope, and didn't do anything that would put her in the spotlight. She had made many plans, and chose the most efficient among them.
Because of her desire to succeed, she even reached out to Wendy, Estelle, and Belle, in order to make her wishes a reality.
Ever since she had witnessed William's exploits, she had become enamored with him. She couldn't count the days she would dream of him, posing for her, as she painted his kind and warm smile that was only directed at her.
'And now, that smile belongs to me as well,' Shannon mused as she caressed William's soft lips with her fingers.
"Is this really fine?" Erinys asked as her hand moved to touch the white gem on the Half-Elf's chest. "This isn't part of the plan, right?"
Shannon smiled as she looked at the little Half-ling whom she had dragged into her plan at the last minute. Although William hadn't made it clear what his relationship with Erinys was, she understood that the Half-Elf held the Half-ling dearly in his heart.
Because of this, she decided that it was a good opportunity to bring Erinys into her fold, and have her assist her in "kidnapping" the Half-Elf and taking him to a far away place, where no one would know who he was, and where he would be free from those who wished to use him for their own goals.
"No," Shannon admitted. "This wasn't part of the plan. But, what of it? As long as Will is safe, that is all that matters. Don't you want him to be safe?"
"Of course I want him to be safe."
"Good. Don't worry, the two of us will take good care of him."
Erinys fidgeted as she gazed at the Half-Elf who was sleeping peacefully in Shannon's arms.
"What about the others?" Erinys asked. "Why did we leave them?"
"Them?" Shannon chuckled. "Don't worry about them. They will find us, eventually."
"What will we do when they find us?"
"Nothing."
Erinys blinked in confusion. "Nothing? What do you mean nothing?"
"Like I said, we won't do anything," Shannon smiled. "Erinys, my little Erinys, William is loved by many women. While he loves them all, he doesn't love them equally. That is an impossible thing to do. Naturally, he has favorites among them, but that doesn't mean that he didn't love the others any less. Just like you. Do you know? William also loves you?"
"E-Eh?" Erinys became flustered after hearing Shannon's words. "H-He does?"
"Of course," Shannon replied. "Well, I don't know how much he loves you, but he loves you nonetheless. I have seen how he looked at you in the Underworld. I'm sure that you felt it too. Although his gestures were a bit subtle, he truly cared about you. Even going as far as to anger your father, just to bring you to the Surface World."
"H-How do you know about this?"
"Do you really want to know?"
Erinys nodded her head. She had long been curious about the mysterious girl that always wore a mask on her face.
As if amused by the Half-lling's curiosity, Shannon removed the mask covering her face, and allowed the Half-ling to see her true beauty.
"The truth is… I am Lord William's greatest stalker," Shannon said with a mischievous smile on her face. "I watch him everyday."
"Y-You watch him everyday?" Erinys stuttered. "Even when he goes to the bathroom?"
Shannon chuckled. "Don't worry. I don't watch him when he goes to the bathroom."
The Half-ling placed her hand on her chest and sighed in relief. Seeing her adorable reaction, the fox lady reached out her hand to caress the side of Erinys's face.
"You know, Erinys, both of us have something in common," Shannon said softly. "Just like you, I am a daughter of the Gods. Unlike ordinary mortals, I have encountered hardship all my life. Just like you, living a lonely life in the Underworld. Our lives are far different from the norm, and we suffered because of our identities. That's why the two of us are allies."
"Allies?"
"Yes! Allies."
The Fox Lady smiled. "From now on, we will take good care of Will. away from those who want to hurt him. Away from those who want to use him, and away… from the Gods who toy with the lives of mortals for their own entertainment."
Shannon paused as she gazed at the Half-Elf who was sleeping peacefully in her embrace.
"At least, for a brief moment, let us let him experience happiness before the entire world… falls to ruin."
—----
Palace of Light…
All the Pseudo-Gods under William's control stared hatefully at the Pope, who was inside the barrier of the Altar of Light.
They wanted to break the barrier so badly, but doing so would endanger the four ladies who were currently unconscious inside it.
All of them were aware that three out of the four ladies where Wiliam's lovers. Although Shana was still in the gray area, Chloee believed that she was only one push away from falling into the Half-Elf's bed.
"Surrender," Wendy said as she pointed her spear at the Pope, who no longer had a place to run. "I promise that we will not kill you, only imprison you."
"Surrender?" the Pope sneered. "Do you think I am a gullible child that you can coax with your lies? Since it has already come to this, come and get me! Or, are you perhaps worried about these sluts? These whores who have opened their legs to let that filthy Half-Elf defile them, and take their chastity?"
Astrape snorted as lightning streaked at the depths of her eyes. "It seems that you are misunderstanding something here. I don't care about those four ladies. What I want to do is torture you until you beg for me to kill you."
Without another word, Astrape fired a black lightning bolt at the shield to break it, but the white-robed person blocked it with her sword.
"William will hate you if these girls died," the white-robed person said. "Has your anger clouded your reason? Don't do something that you will regret in the future."
Astrape clicked her tongue in annoyance, but she no longer tried to destroy the barrier that was protecting the Pope.
Seeing that everyone didn't want the four Heavenly Virtues to get hurt, the Pope sneered and walked towards Lira, whose breathing was rather shallow due to her Divinity almost being completely depleted.
She then grabbed her hair and pulled her up, while looking at the Pseudo-Gods with a crazed expression on her face.
"How about all of you back away, or I will kill this slut?" the Pope sneered. "I will count to ten, and if all of you still haven't left, I'll break her neck, right here, right now."
"Old hag, don't test our patience!" Chloee growled as her fists glowed with power. She was already distressed that William had been kidnapped right in front of her eyes, and now the Pope was using blackmail in order to prevent them from capturing her.
"Test your patience? Let's see which of us is patient enough," the Pope replied. "One… Two… Three…"
The Pope had started counting, and all the Pseudo-Gods were at a loss on what to do. They knew that they must capture the Pope no matter what, but it would be in exchange for the lives of the four Virtues, whom the Half-Elf cared for.
"Five… Six… Sev–ah!"
The Pope shrieked when she felt something bit on her hand. Although she couldn't see anything, she knew that something was indeed biting her, which made her mad with rage.
"Cherry, you traitor!" the pope shouted as he smashed her scepter against the invisible girl that was biting her hand.
A pained cry was heard as a little girl materialized in front of everyone. Her forehead was bleeding because the Pope didn't hold back when she smashed the scepter in her direction, making the latter cry out in pain.
"After everything I've done for you, you still betrayed me!" The Pope's maddening gaze locked on the little girl, who was holding her forehead with tears streaming down her eyes. "You little b*tch! You have also joined that filthy Half-Elf's side."
The Pope kicked the little girl away, making the latter utter a pained cry as she skid across the ground.
"I'll kill you first!" The Pope pointed her scepter to Cherry as the powers of her sisters gathered into the scepter to give it power.
"Not on my watch!"
Celeste appeared and smashed her fist on the Pope's face, sending her flying towards the barrier. With a thud, the pope's body fell on the ground, and the scepter in her hands rolled several meters away from her.
"All of you whores are ingrates!" the Pope shouted. "What Heavenly Virtues? All I see are Heavenly Sluts!"
At that moment, Belle passed through the barrier and stood beside the Pope. Seeing that her Champion had arrived, the Pope hurriedly clung to her as if she was her only hope of escaping this place alive.
"Belle, quickly! Kill them!" the Pope ordered. "These women are all part of that Half-Elf's harem. They needed to be purged."
Belle nodded her head and said, "Okay."
However, the next minute, the Pope felt something stab her body.
The old lady stared at the sword, Dainsleif, which was firmly embedded on her chest in disbelief before painfully looking at the black-haired beauty, whose hands held the handle of the blade.
"W-Why?" the Pope asked. She couldn't believe that the Champion whom she had summoned from another world was the one that would end her life. "Is it because of what I did earlier?"
"No." Belle shook her head. "This is for trying to hurt my husband."
"H-Husband?"
"Yes. I am William's wife."
"Lies," the Pope replied as her life slowly faded away from her body. "You're lying."
The black-haired beauty cooly gazed at the Pope's body that had crumpled on the ground.
"Rest in peace," Belle said. "Because of you, this world now stands a chance to fight against the Army of Destruction that is almost at its doorstep."
A confused look appeared in the Pope's eyes, but it only lasted for a brief moment because she had already drawn her last breath.
The Pope died with her eyes opened, as if staring at the world that had cast her away.
Although Belle hated the old woman, she found that she pitied her more than she hated her. She knew that killing her was better than letting William's subordinates capture her, for she knew that the Pope would suffer a fate worse than death.
The only reason why Belle killed her, and saved her from eternal suffering was due to the fact that the black-haired beauty had also used the Pope's influence and resources to save her husband.
She needed the power of the Holy Sword of Light in order to purify the darkness that stained William's soul. However, getting the sword wasn't an easy task. Belle needed to have the Pope's absolute trust, so the latter would bestow the sword upon her, instead of giving it to the other Pseudo-Gods, who were intent on killing William with its powers.
In short, Belle played her role as the villain in order to get her hands on the only weapon that was capable of saving the Half-Elf from the Primordial Goddess' control.
At the end of the day, Darkness could not be driven out by darkness. Only the Power of Light could do that.
And in order to get that Light, the Goddess Freya had schemed behind the scenes.
In order to fulfill the thousands year promises she had given to the women that had fought side by side with William during Ragnarok, she needed to pick someone from another world.
Someone who loved William and, yet, was not part of the karma that had followed the Einherjar during his lifetime.
"What now?" Belle asked as she turned around to face Wendy, and Estelle, who were originally part of the plan to save William.
"There is only one plan," Wendy replied. "Find our husband, and bring him home."
"And the fox girl?" Belle inquired.
"I am in need of a fox pelt for winter," Estelle replied as she held her sword in her hands. "She would suffice."
Belle and Wendy smiled as they looked at the silver-haired beauty whose love for William burned just as bright as theirs.
All three of them were dead-set on finding the mischievous fox, who had dared to use them as pawns, in order to monopolize the handsome prince, whom they held very dear in their heart.
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