*** Goddess of Power ***

  That didn't go as pnned—a bit of an uatement, but true. I did find that her angels no longer disobey her or try to trol her. Actually, I did get everything I wanted and then some—just not in the way I wao do it. But now I wonder if she's gohrough and figured out who all her children are. She would get a nice following of her children if she reached out to them.

  The bigger problem will be telling Justice that dear Mother is pissed and w on something. I doubt she did that ritual for my be. Sure, it shows she is using her pain and f me to carry her child. But getting anoddess to walk into her domain again will be hard. She wouldn't waste a ritual using two Goddesses like that.

  Well, whatever, I've got my answers. I'll let Justiow and back off. Thanks to Mother, I'm going to be a Mother. It's not something I be too mad about. It's hard foddess to get pregnant without my Mother's help. So if you get one offered up, you've got to take it, even if it is a bit painful.

  Mother couldn't you have gone a bit softer on your daughter's first time?

  "Justice I got the answers you wanted," I shout out. This time, I stay on the edge of the domain. I don't feel like being subject to anoddess's ritual today.

  "Good, e on in. There's o act like strangers here," she says, appearing before me.

  "I'm fine right here. Mother is more active, as you likely felt. She got her angels in trol now, not eveating to start up the ritual. Now I'm going bae. I've got a o build."

  "She got ynant?"

  "Yes. I expect you to not get in the way of my temples. Your quest is what made them appear in the first pce. Goodbye." Without waiting for a reply, I leave.

  *** Yuki, a few days after ***

  "Have you scoped out the branch this time? They have muards now, it seems," I say.

  "Yes, two guards. Still, just six assassins are stationed in it. Dumb strength mage to run it. Single handler," she rattles off as we walk through the city. I use a little sound magiask our versation. It is getting te, so there aren't many people on the roads, but there are also fewer random o cover our versation naturally. We've already disguised ourselves as normal wood elves.

  "Good, mine is the same, just ah mage instead. oal here is to get it done quickly but make it look like we wanted information. We ..."

  "I know Yuki. I know. You've repeated this every day. I'm not Alzi. Hell, even Alzi remember basiformation. I've dohis before. I just o do the same thing, just py around a little less in case there is an overseer who es by to che the branch."

  "Sorry, I just don't want to mess this up."

  "I'll get mine done. Just worry about your own. I'm to the right here. See you after this, Yuki."

  "I will. I've dohis before as well. Good luakuma." We go our separate ways down two back alleys. Not that we are sneaking into the buildings. This was just the best spot to split up if we were going to walk together at the beginning.

  We both have about fifteen miill we make it to our targets. I really am the oo worry about in this mission. I only have sound magic I use. We still don't want to make it obvious that the attack was from Kitsuhere are only two in the capital right now. The pn for the headquarters will have us using it in a way that ented items could be the cause, letting us not be the default ao who killed the protectors and ransacked their archives.

  ing out of the alley I tur down a main road. I use the main streets for the rest of the way. My target is a warehouse on the edge of the mert district. The base is run in the back half and has a small basement.

  The easier target by a long shot. I should be able to kill the guards and an assassin before they figure out they're utack. Maybe get the handler before the leader pops her head out of the basement.

  The worst case is an assassin runs. I'll o pce a fes first to hopefully stop any escape attempts. We 't let them know we didn't ask any questions and just started attag. It would ruin our entire pn to spread the old bitches out to get poisoned or just not be there to defend.

  The warehouse has no batrance, just some windows I trap. I bought some explosion ruins for this ahem to go off if a window breaks. They'll make a lot of noise when they go off, but explosion runes are on enough that they won't be able to track them back to us. They are used for mining, stru, and adventures.

  I pce them just below the five windows they could run through and make my way to the front. I block the sound of the door so I slip in.

  The warehouse isn't too big—about a story and a half tall. The inside is filled with wooden crates stacked ly up to the ceiling. The orderly rows let anyone see from oo the other, but the guards don't like to waoo far from each other, so I should be fine.

  The door opened up to the side, so I just had to walk down this side aisle and make sure I attacked whoever saw me before they called for help.

  I make my way dowen rows they have set up before the divider, stantly searg for the guards. During my scouting, I found they normally stick around the back door. They only ever make it two rows away at most before cirg back, w about getting picked off by themselves.

  It does make it easy for me to get to the sed to st row and wait for one of their checks. It takes a few minutes for oo split off and start the check. Unfortunately, she goes to the wrong side.

  Not wanting to wait longer, I pn to surprise the guard at the door. I should be able to kill her fast enough to get around the er and surprise the uard.

  I shield the sound i row so no one hears the otion. I pull out a short sword and run full speed at the guard. It takes the guard a few seds to realize I'm ing. The guard is another elf, a mage based on her looks and ck of a sword. I just o close the space, and I'll easily kill her.

  "FIREBALL!" she shouts out. How is a guard of a branch this weak? Needing to shout her spells out to use them. The guild must be smaller than I thought to have such weak members.

  The shout makes it easy to cel her magic with a simple dispel skill. She started her spell when I was already halfway to her, so with her one spell gone, her life was quickly taken as well. I let her fall to the ground as I reshaped the sound barrier to include the entire front ste area. , I use a skill to have my footsteps be silent for the hirty seds. Using this time to chase dow guard.

  I run into her as I turn the er. She was on her way back. The buff elf didn't have a ce to draw her sword before I cut her head off. I quickly check her body for a ring or anything of value. Finding nothing, I head bad search the mage but e up empty.

  Turning to the door, I enpassed the back area with the sound barrier aered. The handler was staring right at me wheered.

  "Hello, Miss. Are you here to report a delivery or rent some space?" She asks with a small service smile. She's behind a ter. A few tables and chairs are pced to the sides of the room. The ter is empty. The assassins gather off to the right side by the door leading to the basement. A single assassin is he handler.

  "Rent some space. Room for two crates should be enough." I think that reply means the tract is for two people to follow. I wasn't able to map all of the answers out beforehand, but it just o get me to the desk.

  "Good, I help you here," she said, her smile staying still. It seems that is a possible answer.

  I didn't hesitate to just cut the poor woman's head off and rush to the closest assassin. The half-orc is fumbling with her sword as I reach her. With a single swing, I get my goal of an assassin and the handler dead before the leader charges up from the basement.

  I rush once again to the arget hoping to surpass the goal, but the basement door burst open before I make it two steps.

  I dive into a roll as spikes fly at me from the newer. The assassins rapidly ahemselves: three mages and two warriors, fes, including the leader.

  "Bitch why are you here killing us?" the leader spits out, joining her assassins.

  "Why do you kill others?" I say as I activate another skill. Oo remove all sounds in the area. The only thing we hear now are the sounds our internals make. Blood rushing through our ears with each heartbeat. Our lungs expand with air.

  I had to practider this dition for over a year before I could move around easily. I'm able to close the distao the warriors. Their skills are enough to keep me from getting a killing blow in—just some cuts and scratches. Taking a hop back, I return everyone's hearing and follow up with a loud sp, f everyo the leader to their knees.

  I dodge another spike and take another head; just one more warrior left. I start my sleep skills up, letting out a little lulby. All of the mages are able to cel the spell with some version of dispel. But the st warrior is hit hard by it, givihe opening to finish her off.

  Just fes, three of which have failed to use a single spell in all this.

  "How have three of you failed to use a single spell or skill against me?" I ask. They've been bag up the eime; only their leader stood her ground. Do they even have a css? They do look a bit ft.

  "Shut up bitch!" one of them screams.

  Some spikes get sent my way again, followed by a spike trap, where I nded from my dodge, catg a bit of my leg. Painful but does little else to me.

  I send out a scream, causing the background girls to cp their ears in pain. The leader once again stands strong. I keep the scream up and rush the leader, careful of any traps she may have pced between us. She unches back a steady stream of spikes at me, keeping me away from her but letting me slip past her and to her useless backup. They've fallen to the ground, so I just pick them off, leaving just me and the leader.

  "Why did you let me kill them?"

  "They were in my way just as much as they were in yours, and it's better you do it than me."

  Her stupid spikes start up again. A steady barrage of spikes sent at my head forces me to move stantly. They move fast enough that I 't close the distance, and without my illusions, I'm limited in tricks to fuse her.

  In the middle of my pnning, I find what she means by in the way. Spikes start shooting out from the walls, going every which way. Each praying, I run into them. All the while, the bitch just sits there, waiting for a spike to hit something. Blood still flows out of my first injury, though it is just a dull pain right now.

  While dang has gotten my endurance quite high, I 't keep this up forever. Somehow, I've got to make progress towards the mage. I guess we could see who st longer, her mana or my stamina. But that seems like a dumb gamble. I may not even make it long enough to find out who sts. Plus, she may get back up.

  I guess I just send random shouts at her and hope ohe spikes to stop.