NOVEL SIMPLE 67: A New Debut
With the wind picking up as they got further and further from shore, Astrid squinted and tightened her ponytail while coming to a stop next to Joanna and Sylvia. “Joanna! You look so pretty!”
“Why thank you. I didn’t expect to see you out here,” Joanna laughed while raising an eyebrow. Her carefree demeanor made the carefree mindset of the Primordial Deities clear. They weren’t worried about losing.
“I... I felt like helping...” Astrid looked away as a faint tinge of shame crept into her voice. “It didn’t feel right watching you all fight without doing anything.”
“Even if that means revealing your existence to the entire city?” Sylvia asked with a worried look. Motioning towards the crowd that had congregated on the outermost ring’s edge.
Hesitating for a moment, Astrid steeled her will before giving a few solemn nods. “I can’t just hide behind Cia forever can I? I have to contribute something...”
“I admire it,” Sylvia smiled while patting her on the back. “I assume you’re here to heal and not fight though, correct? Let me retrieve Rainier real quick then. Solomon, keep an eye on the scorpion if you could.”
Getting an “affirmative” from Solomon, Sylvia extended a mass of vines out from her hand. With Rainier groaning and floating in the water, Sylvia plucked him upward. One express return shipping journey later, and Sylvia had hoisted Rainier back to their little group.
Situated in a cushy bed of vines, Rainier’s blood stained it a crimson red as he gave a weak thumbs up.
Astrid, taking a deep breath, clasped her hands together while calling for her divinity. She hadn’t performed this technique in years...
By the shore though, bystanders were wondering who the newcomer was. They saw her appear on the broadcasted screens some organization had put up—it wasn’t the Library of Truth, so it wasn’t clear who. She wasn’t a Primordial Deity, for sure. She was just some random blonde woman as far as the onlookers could tell. One with some connections at the minimum if she was getting escorted by Solomon though.
One audience member, Eugene, felt his jaw drop as Astrid flew out there. That... that was his friend! The art person!
Well, he knew she had powers, was a deity, that whole whatever, but he, honestly, had kind of forgotten that. Watching her clasp her hands together though, Eugene could only chuckle to himself as expectant murmurs broke out amongst the crowd members.
Not a second later, Astrid’s divinity exploded as she glowed like a beacon and began shining like a second sun. Sending a blast of refreshing wind outward, all the onlookers lurched and did a double take as the light faded.
Whispering “Blessing” to herself, Astrid smiled as her hair came floating back down. She kept it quiet, so nobody else heard her say the technique name, but it helped with focusing her mental image when casting the technique.
Having sacrificed a chunk of energy to pull off the technique, Astrid inspected her insides and... wow! Everything was fine! She wasn’t immediately hemorrhaging! Turning her attention outward, she gave the others an expectant look as they looked over themselves. “Not bad, right?”
“Holy...” Rainier gasped while inspecting his now hole-less body. He still looked disgusting, but now he felt... alive! For him, it wasn’t a big deal to fight while laboring through pain. His ‘normal’ soared high enough that a minor decrease didn’t matter. He had honed his willpower to push through over the centuries, but it was certainly nicer to fight with a little more gas in the tank.
Joining in with a “My goodness,” Sylvia looked herself over as she felt her organs stitching themselves back together like a team of rapid surgeons were inside her.
The bystanders now, having their doubts silenced, broke into cheers as they saw Rainier get up and crack his back. With burning questions on their mind about who Astrid was, hushed whispers spread through the crowd like a wildfire.
“Who is she?”
“Is she a secret Primordial Deity that we’ve never seen before?”
“Is she Solomon’s secret lover?”
“Why the hell would Joanna be okay with her then?”
“Is she Estelle’s secret lover?”
“Obviously not, Estelle’s dating Sylvia.”
“Is she... Sylvia’s secret lover?”
“My guy you need to shut the hell up, Sylvia is dating Estelle, we just established this! Basic knowledge! THINK! USE YOUR BRAIN FOR HALF A SECOND!”
“What about Rai-”
One vicious slap later, and the crowd’s murmuring died down. Shocked at the scene of violence, everyone moved on as the person stood back up with an angry huff. “I was just trying my best, man.”
Laughing from his little corner, Eugene ensured he didn’t draw any attention to himself as he took notes on the battle. Astrid was... amazing. Certified deity for sure!
And... she truly deserved her title as the Goddess of Dawn.
Giving his friend some mental congratulations, Eugene felt the battle’s momentum hadn’t just swung to the deities’ side, it had barreled through the wall and laid into the deities’ beds. Now, the only person left who hadn’t gotten healed now though was, well, Valencia.
Crossing his fingers, Eugene hoped the two didn’t decide to start being lovey-dovey in the middle of battle. The second-hand embarrassment would be unbearable! Even if he knew the two people in question didn’t feel a thing!
Rainier, though, now back in mild fighting condition, nodded towards the scorpion while making eye contact with Solomon. Flying off to relieve Valencia for a moment, Rainier unsheathed his two katanas and restrengthened his storm.
Sending down a roaring wave of lightning, Rainier drew a line through the air as he crashed down on the scorpion. Causing an explosion of ice, Rainier encased the scorpion in a small glacier as Solomon rocketed his spear through the half of the scorpion.
“Back off Valencia, your girlfriend is here to heal you.” Rainier pushed her away while motioning backward. “I’ll occupy the scorpion for a moment.”
Giving Solomon and Rainier a “thank you,” Valencia flew off as a long sigh left her lips. Covering her mouth, she whispered “I’m tired, my love” to herself before she got within earshot of the others.
Coming to a stop in front of Astrid, Valencia hugged her while letting out a long sigh. “Sorry in advance for getting you covered in blood. Why did you come out though? Weren’t you safe in Solomon’s guest room or something?”
“It got stuffy... and I wanted to help out,” Astrid confessed with an awkward cough. “Sorry for not listening, yeah...”
“It’s fine...” Valencia slumped against Astrid for a second. “I trust you, and it’s nice to see you right now.”
“You’re not over the moon to just be fighting? I thought you’d be having the time of your life.” Astrid teased while patting Valencia on the back.
“It’s become a slog after all these hours. The scorpion isn’t fun to fight either. It doesn’t understand taunts, after all.” Valencia lamented while separating herself from Astrid.
Astrid, giving Valencia a couple encouraging pats on the shoulder, reached up and cupped Valencia’s face. “Just like the old days. So, stay still for a moment.”
With her hands glowing golden, Astrid’s divinity came forth in a flood as Valencia let out a sigh of relaxation. Keeping it up for a couple of seconds, Astrid smiled as she pushed Valencia away. “Now, go. Fight hard, okay?”
Flying off, Valencia blew a kiss towards Astrid while shouting. “I will!”
Spitting as she turned away from the group, Valencia couldn’t help but sigh. “I should not have kissed whatever this disgusting fluid on my hand is...”
