BXBX NOVEL Chapter 128: Let Them Come.
"Dina I-"
"Let her be." Sol pushed the back of her head. "Why would you ask her something like that?" He raised a brow, and she stared at him with the same expression.
"Did I say something wrong?" Ikaris asked, and Sol smiled at her, standing and resting his hand on her head. "She did not even listen to me."
"Unfortunately, that\'s not something I can explain given my disposition in the whole subject, you should think it over." He kissed her forehead and walked down the staircase as well meeting Arla at the bottom and her new shadow waiting for him. "Yes?"
"Master Vestic, there is something troubling me about your decision, I seek your council." Arla stared up at him expectantly, and he stared at her for several silent seconds and then looked at the girl behind her.
"I won\'t change my mind, everyone dies." Sol went to the meat of the issue rather than start a back and forth conversation.
"Just like this child-" Arla gestured to Sri, but flinched and stood between her and Sol when his eyes locked on to her. "J-just like her, there are innumerable innocent civilians that have nothing at all to do with the demon-gods, Zola prime itself is a world apart from them!"
"A world full of demons; but let\'s say I did show mercy, even after all I\'ve endured, evalen after everything I have been through because of their kind, Sri, how do you suspect the Zolan people will respond to me destroying Hāl?"
"Zola has been through hundreds of thousands of years of wars, nuclear holocausts happen every few thousand years, in the demise of their precious Hāl the Zolan empire would wage a suicide war against you and use every means necessary to get even, Lord Sir." She replied, and Arla looked around at her appalled at how calmly she had reacted before his question.
"Do you believe there is any chance of them trying to attack this village once they know what happened?" Sol asked again.
"If word of your existence gets out you and all the other gods here will be targeted without fail, Lord Sir." She replied again, leaving Arla speechless.
"One of the reasons I like you is because despite everything you\'ve endured you still have a pure heart, Arla, but don\'t for a second think that they\'re worth saving, if you stand up for them you will die by their own hands, even this girl you saved, if she ever finds a reason to kill you she will, it\'s in their blood, even if she\'s a good kid she is still a demon, their very existence is evil itself, they were born from evils beyond your imagination and it resides deep within each and every one of them."
"Sri...?" Arla turned to her taking her shoulders and shaking her. "Would you?" She asked.
"Milady, I am a demon, if I find a reason that you deserve to die, I will personally challenge you to a fight to the death." She replied causing Arla\'s mouth to hang open as her shock caused her to freeze.
"You can\'t be serious, I could kill you without moving a finger-"
"I am aware, I will try my best to not find a reason to want to kill you milady, you are my benefactor." Sri smiled at her.
"That settles that." Sol said no more on the matter and just walked pass her, resting his hand on her shoulder and tapping it. "Be careful, Arla."
.
"Would you truly?" Arla asked Sri again in Sol\'s absence.
"Yes Milady, I am grateful for you saving my life, and I hold no animosity toward Lord Sir for killing my clan, rather it is peaceful here with the gods who do not war with and abuse each other." She smiled again, taking Arla\'s hand and pulling her along.
"Come, we have to teach the gods how to complete the tasks of those they are replacing, but first you and I have to go to town and buy more food, otherwise we will be out within a week-"
Sri stopped when Arla pulled her hand away, but upon turning she was greeted with a hug, it was her first hug, she was too shocked to speak.
"What is this?"
"I realised last night that there\'s no mention of hugs on your culture, this is what a hug is." Arla held her tightly, dragging her fingers through the girl\'s hair and holding her face against her breasts.
"It is nice..." Sri stood awkwardly.
"You\'re supposed to hug me back." Arla replied. "I refuse to see the evil in such a sweet child, you are not, do you understand?" She smiled when Sri\'s arms slowly held her.
"Milady, you are shaking."
"I hate being touched, the only one who touches me and causes no discomfort is Master Vestic." Arla admitted.
"Then, why would you h.. hug me?"
"Because, I see good in you, and I am willing to go against his beliefs and prove him wrong."
"But you said you love him."
"More than anything else." Arla released her and rubbed her eyes. "But it is one-sided -"
"Then why would you not try to find another mate?" Sri began walking again. "There must have been many suitors where you come from."
"I chose to be his attendant when I was given the choice, as I said before, I do not like being touched by others, but as you have seen, he is comfortable touching me and his touch causes no discomfort, rather it is quite pleasant.
"Then, I will not ask again." Sri stopped before a large storage shed and took out a ring full of keys. "You said you were interested in the car yesterday, so today I will teach you how to drive."
"There\'s cars too?" Dina came to a halt over their heads and landed, staring awestruck at the modern vehicle in the shed. "Holy shit, does it have an alarm?"
"Yes."
"Electric or Gas?"
"Electric, but it can also use gas on low energy."
"Whoa," Dina stepped into the shade of the shed and pressed her palm against the truck before her. "This is so cool, I haven\'t even thought about cars in a few months and now... I\'m staring at at alien car... Wait, does it fly?" She snapped looking around at Sri.
"Do you not hate me?" Sro stared at her confused. "I was told that you spent the last two weeks trapped in a royal cell being abused by demons-"
"Abused?" Dina scoffed. "Nobody could even touch me or Ikaris, I\'m super strong you hear." She puffed up her chest and crackled her knuckles, but she did go quiet afterward and sober up. "But yeah, I absolutely despise demons, my friends...
my brothers were killed by demons and I haven\'t hand a single night of peaceful sleep since that day." She mentioned Han and Bruce, and upon doing so Arla released a deep sigh and shook her head.
"However, if Sol is leaving you alone then I\'m not going to harm you either."
"You call him by name?" Sri seemed shocked at this, even Ikaris seemed to revere him more than this girl, and she was his wife.
"He\'s my friend, what else am I supposed to call him?" Dina retorted, kicking the truck and causing the alarm to go off with a smile while she covered her ears never imagining she could ever miss the annoying sounds of vehicle alarms.
"Also!" She yelled over the alarm before Sri disabled it. "Also... Arla is my teacher, she is also my close friend, I absolutely refuse to leave her in your presence knowing that she has dropped her guard and is being stubborn, so I\'m coming along."
"Others will see and become suspicious of your appearances, there are only demons in the town.
"Meh." Dina waved her hand and her appearance shimmered, and Arla did the same changing their appearances to resemble hers.
"Ah, magic." The demon stared in awe, but her surprise only lasted a few seconds before she walked pass Dina and opened the door. "I already have the funds, we should make haste."
***
[Master Vestic there is a gathering of demon-gods approaching Zola-Prime]
The system alerted him, but he was already staring at the planet in the sky when she said it.
"I can sense them, Sitri is doing a good job of spreading the word," He flew off into the air and went sailing toward a random point on the horizon.
[You praise that being?]
"She\'s my messenger pigeon with a knife at her neck, her time just like everyone else\'s will come." Sol looked up again. "How are they travelling that fast?"
[Strange vehicles called hover pods] She replied in voice. "The estimated distance is closed through collapsing space and travelling through the ripples it creates]
"Interesting."
[Their estimated arrival is within the next ten minutes]
"Good." Sol took off like a bolt of lightning leaving the sound of thunder across the skies as the gods all went into hiding and Ikaris stood on the porch with her mana suppressed.
"Let them come."