Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

'As if those two critters weren't enough trouble, they've woken up the zombie nuns too!' Peering through the gaps in the door behind the priest's podium, the holiest man in the church scrunched his nose in anger. 'Just go away and let me do my work as the council has ordained!'

Leering at the men and women readying themselves to face the monsters, the man's eyes quivered at the insolent fools about to ruin his ruse of a lifetime. He could not let that happen, for the council deems the land godless, and thus, it shall remain so, for it has been spoken.

While the priest's mind urged him to interfere, Raven and everyone in his party capable of fighting gathered behind him. His hand clutched at the doorknob, they awaited his order to unleash a flurry of attack in the zombie hoard's direction.

But as he turned the knob just a little and the door pushed towards him ever so slightly, the slamming of the door from behind the podium turned everyone's attention to the church's priest.

Folding his hands neatly together, the man looked around at the many confused faces before him. Holding his peace for a moment, he calmed his heart before finally speaking.

"Leave now, forget what you saw and you'll live through the mercy of the council gods!" Puffing his chest, he stepped forward. Turning his gaze from the standing members of the party to those injured and recovering, he added. "By the grace of the almighty, their wounds will recover on your departure, as for you girl…"

Turning his attention to the spirit standing in the corner next, the priest squinted his eyes and stared at her angrily.

"You've overstayed your welcome, you better leave on your own accord or I'm gonna make you…"

Silence loomed over the dusty church hall for a minute, none had a clue exactly what was happening, only the gurgling of zombies echoed throughout, but everyone present in those halls had already tuned their voices out of their minds.

"And who are you exactly?" Letting go of the door, Raven turned to the priest and began slowly walking towards him. "And what do you know about these zombies? Hell, I'd love for you to explain what the fuck's wrong with this island in general."

"Again!" With a commanding demeanor, the priest turned to the group's leader. Jerking his hands to the side, he wore an expression fouled with anger. "Leave now or I'll make you leave too!"

"You know what?" Reaching to his sides, Raven conjured a pair of dark blades and brought them forward to face the disgruntled priest. "I'm done being nice, you mother fuckers don't deserve it."

Tilting his head to the side, he gave the priest one last chance to answer him.

"Now tell me what you know about these zombies and whatever the fuck's wrong with this place, or I'm gonna pull it out of your head as you're dying…"

'Isn't that supposed to be the deceased's husband and father?' Both Liliyana and Amedith were thinking the same, but sensing something wrong with the man neither of them voiced their concern about it.

In the meantime, staring down into the mage's eyes from the podium, the priest shook her head, seemingly disappointed by the mage's answer. Sensing something wrong in the man as well, Moxy, Maria, and even Reina quickly hurried to the very back of their group.

Although Reina would've loved to bash the priest's face in, she left the fighting to the adventures and instead decided to look after the more vulnerable duo. Your journey continues at empire

"Such hubris, no wonder the gods warned me about you and your perverse goddess!" With his hands stretched wide the priest's screams made the very foundation of the church tremble beneath him. His eyes stretched wide and his mouth gaping open, a blinding expanse of golden light emerged from deep within the priest's body.

Forced to shield their eyes from the brightness, everyone present in the hall was baffled by the unexpected display of holy radiance by the otherwise corrupt priest. But as their hands lowered from their eyes and their head lifted back to the man, their doubt quickly cleared at the sigh of a monstrous angel.

Opening upon itself the face of the priest had turned into a flower with flesh petals and a gaping hole in the middle. His body too had conformed into an unfolding flora with his ribs stretching outwards and fluttering around like leaves on a branch. Most notable of all was a massive eye at the center of the creature.

Its eyelids were lined with small pencil-sized teeth that closed into a pod like a flytrap.

Dragging its bloody root-shaped legs towards the mage, the angel glared at Raven again.

"You're not welcome here, not in this church nor on this island," the angel whispered, menacingly.

"What's an angel doing here?!" Rushing towards Raven, her eyes set on the halo floating above the angel's head, Erika wore a bothered scowl at the angel. Stopping beside her man, she stared back into the building, eyes staring down at Raven and her. "And if you're here then how come this island is filled with criminals, with every sin under the gods!"

"I have no answer to give to an outcast's chosen!" Barking in Erika's face, the angel attempted to grab her by the collar, but with swift movement, Raven stopped the angel with its bloody hand. Turning to him with a jolt, the angel's pupil widened with rage. "How dare you touch me!"

Slapping Raven's hand with his other hand, the angel jumped off the platform and finally set foot on everyone's level.

"You've caused enough trouble, the chance for negotiations is over!" Stretching his hand towards Raven to hold him in a bind, but with Raven jolting backwards, the creature couldn't get a hold of him and thus turned to Erika instead. "You'll do!"

The angel tried once again, but with an arrow pinning his arm to the platform's wall, his attempts were thwarted by the woodland elf. Irked beyond reason, the angel spread its eyelids as far apart as it possibly could. Then came a screech loud enough to draw blood through everyone's ears.

"THAT IT'S BY THE HEAVEN'S WILL DECREED ON ME, I SHALL RID THIS WORLD OF YOUR PLAGUE!" Yet another blinding light of gold shot through every pore in the angel's body, resulting in the blinding of everyone around him while their ears were still ringing from his screech.

"Fucking hells, someone put a muzzle on his mouth!" Asmodia screamed, being the only one who couldn't cover her ears since her hands were joined with Will-O's body. Had she been free of the burden of healing the fairy, the devil had done so herself, but for now, that responsibility lay with Raven and his party.