“Y-You? How did you co in here without notice-“
The knife inside Seraphina’s chest was twisted and then pulled out in an instant. She gasped, trying to reach back toward the woman who had dared to touch her but her hand passed through her body.
The non-solid body looked and felt like air as Seraphina’s hand passed through her but even the magic she used was not enough to help her grasp the person behind the illusion.
“Finally you’re here. What took you so long? She was pushing us past our limits here.”
Zoe sounded annoyed at Asami’s complaining tone before she turned toward Clove as well. Clove had taken her sweet ti outside.
“? I was just trying to capture our other target and it took quite a while to secure that package. But it looks like you had everything under control here.”
The cave was a ss. The walls were showing signs of having been abused by sothing sharp and even the floor had broken parts of swords lying all around them.
But the most prominent sign of the deterioration was the specs of blood Zoe and Asami had shed throughout the battle.
Their bodies might have healed in the end but that did not an that they were alright. Fighting Seraphina had taken a lot out of them.
“Man, this sucks. Who knew fighting another goddess while trying to hold back would be this tiring? We could not even go all out because that would have increased the chances of Seraphina’s core going out of control.”
Asami sounded anything but tired even after having won the fight. The smoke and that sweet scent that was filling up the room was sothing that she was not immune to either.
Both she and Zoe had taken precautions beforehand to prevent themselves from inhaling too much smoke. But prevention could not substitute for the cure they currently lacked.
“Step aside. I will harvest Seraphina’s core-“
Clove’s hand hovered right over the unconscious goddess’s chest as she reached out into it.
On the other side, Zoe already held i’s core close to her chest and tried to feel any power in it. But it did not respond to her.
And it would not respond to her until it was contained in another body. A core was dormant outside of its host and trying to use it forcefully would cause it to explode.
Clove diverted her eyes from what Zoe was doing to what she was supposed to do. The chest beneath her hand was letting out rigid breaths.
‘This is not good. I need to stabilize her now or Serpahina’s core would rebel against the introduction.’
The chest beneath Clove’s hands was letting out a rigid breath. It was difficult to tell how long she would last at this rate.
Normally it would not have been a problem but it was in this case. Her injuries were causing Seraphina’s fight-or-flight instincts to begin acting up.
Unlike the other gods, Serpahina’s survival instincts never went out since she was living an unsafe life. That was what made her the worst and also the easiest goddess to start their harvest with.
Clove dug her hand deeper inside Seraphina’s chest but she retreated her hand as soon as it touched the core. The static she felt warned her to not even try.
But still, Clove knew she could not sit ideal and allow the core to do what it wanted with her. She needed to show her dominance with it and demand the respect she deserved.
She needed the core to accept her.
“Zoe, get the first aid kit ready. I feel like my burn would not heal on its own.”
Since it was a burn that was given to Clove by the effect of divine power, it would naturally not heal as fast as it should otherwise.
But Clove at least hoped that she could pull the core out in exchange for her injury. She warped her hands around the core and pulled.
The core budget just a little before it threw Clove back with a vengeful force. That force caused Clove to see double for so ti.
“Clove, what’s wrong? Did the core not co out? Should I try-“
“No, don’t. The core was triggered just now so we should not be foolish and force it out. For now, let’s go back to what we have. We can co back for this core later.”
Asami was the one who proposed this deal. For the first ti since Clove had known her, there was no smile on her face.
“You can’t be serious. It took us a lot of ti and effort to get her out this once and you want us to do that again later on? It would be just better to risk killing her and having her core explode.”
Zoe did have a point in saying that. Seraphina was a force to be reckoned with and she would be extrely dangerous if she was left unchecked.
But at the sa ti, no one wanted to travel with an unstable core that could go off anyti. It was not only a liability but also a security threat.
“I understand your concern but if Seraphina’s core goes off, so would i’s and ours. These cores have a resonating frequency that will end up killing us all if we are not careful with what we are doing.”
Asami’s voice sounded experienced and that was what made Clove finally listen to her.
They were carrying Aurora’s unconscious body back with them as well and an unstable core would be a problem for her.
The only way to make things safe would be to place this core inside Aurora’s body for safekeeping and then proceed back.
But that was a problem in itself because it would put unnecessary strain on Aurora’s body as a result.
“Fine, let’s leave Seraphian alone for now. I have a feeling she will co after us herself to retrieve sothing precious we stole from her. We can lay out a trap for her then.”
“And we will also have certified help in regards to this from our benefactor. See, it would be a win-win situation for everyone.”
Asami finished Clove’s words with a happy smile. She finally seed to be going back to her usual mask of being a goofy joker.
Zoe seed to be the only one who had a problem with this but even she sighed and agreed in the end.
She had nothing more to say or to add to what these fools were saying. If they were confident with their decisions then Zoe would not beco a burden for them.
===========================
Seraphina was barely conscious when she felt her three attackers leave the cave with i’s core. The only one Seraphina had known the identity of was Asami.
But for Asami to agree to participate in this scenario was a big deal. As far as Seraphina knew, Asami didn’t even listen to Minerva most of the ti.
And then there was the problem of who that last attacker who had tried to take Seraphina was. The only remarkable thing about her was the presence of a semi-core in her body.
Seraphina would have taken her as a similar existence to Aurora if not for that half-ford core’s familiarity. Feeling its presence was an experience in itself.
“It’s all too much. What happened here—i, i are you alright?”
Seraphina’s body protested her sudden desire to move around. Her core did not feel like it was in the right position and that sweet scent from before was still persistent in the air.
But Seraphina still forced her body to move and reach i’s unconscious body.
“i, are you alive? Tell you are alright?”
Fear gripped Seraphina’s body as she felt the cold and limp body in her grasp. i looked far too fragile and tired to be alright. She was lying cold and limp in Serpahina’s arms as if she was dead.
‘Is this a joke? Tell this is a joke. But even if this is a joke, it’s not even funny.’
Breath beca difficult after that. Seraphina’s vision blurred as she tried to make sense of what to do next.
She was not apt at healing magic and i no longer had a core. It would not be long before i eventually kicked the bucket for good.
‘I cannot allow that to happen. i cannot die. Anyone but her.’
Seraphina felt the grief overwhelming her. i was one person she had not minded in this world after she had felt abandoned by the world.
She had been so young and the only one her age in the sa boat had been i. They had shared sothing special between them that no one else had.
Seraphina could still rember the first ti she had t i all that ti ago. It had been such a happy ti when they had no other worry than to live another day.
It had been eight of them back then and it had been such happy tis.
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