CHAPTER EIGHT – THE GODS COME OUT TO PLAY (2/2)

All the thoughts of her past ran through Liana's head, as she stared at her ceiling, remembering the incidents that transpired the previous day. She had lost everyone she was fighting for, but she wasn't going to stop now. Would it be worth it in the end? Amidst her thoughts, someone appeared on her window. "Hello, Liana," he said.

Even though she wasn't aware of when he arrived there, Liana wasn't startled by his voice, neither was she moved by it. "Oh, Zora, you're back," she said apathetically, without even turning to see him.

"I would say that I've seen you in worse shape but I haven't. They didn't take your actions so well did they?" Zora said, as he let himself in. Liana simply nodded. "Well, that's not so surprising. I don't think anyone would have taken it well. I came to tell you however that I've done what you asked. Everything is in place."

"Oh. That's good," she replied passively.

Zora was bothered. He had never seen Liana like that. "She must be really down", he thought to himself. "I've never lied to her. Not once. So, I understand how you feel. The thought of having her think you betrayed her must really hurt. But she'll come to understand when it all works out. She has to," Zora tried comfort Liana. But he could see she wasn't really up for the small talk.

"I'm not a hero, Zora. That had always been Heress's thing. Taking on everyone's pain. I never knew it weighed so much. She must have gone through a lot," Liana sighed. "By the way, I'll need you at Erica's. I gave her the heads up that she might be a target now. Hopefully, she took the necessary precautions."

"Where did you take your parents to?" Zora asked.

"Somewhere that's not here. I explained a bit to them though, but not too much. Let's hope Erica could do the same. We'll have a lot to explain after this. If we survive that is," Liana chuckled. It was a lot to take in, for someone who was hearing it for the first time, but her parents trusted her. And they obliged without too much talk. But she would have to explain a lot to them later though. If she made it out alive.

Zora picked up a foreign sinister presence. "We're not alone," Zora worried.

"Oh, they're finally making a move? I think you should take your leave. Things could get messy. You need to get to Erica."

As Zora attempted to warp out of the room, he was forced to come to a halt, as a wave of water closed the window shut. And out of that the wave, came Esther. "I'm sorry, but no one is leaving," she said, with a smirk.

"Don't get cocky, Esther. You're in the presence of the gifted," Liana proclaimed. She stood in front of Esther with furious eyes. "I'm currently not in a good mood, so forgive me if I go overboard," she blustered. If there was ever a wrong time to pick a fight with her, it was now. She was sulking from the thought of losing her friends and she needed a way to rid herself of the ill emotions bottled up within her. She may just have found one. And as a testament to her rage, the house began to tremble.

"You can hold your own alright. But, what about your friend?" Esther teased. Zora started to make some strange movements against his will. Esther had taken control of his body. No matter how he fought back, it was all for naught. Slowly, but steadily, a seal crept around the house, expanding itself to cover the entire building. Esther frowned as she saw it. She knew that once it was complete, she wouldn't be able to leave. She couldn't leave without Liana. But if she didn't leave immediately, she'd most probably not be able to again. While she thought that holding Zora captive would be a good bargain for her, Liana didn't even as much as budge. And then she realized, Liana just did away with the person that mattered to her the most. Almost without a second thought. What did she really expect to gain by holding Zora hostage against someone who thinks she has nothing to lose anymore. At that realization, she relinquished her hold on Zora, who immediately took an offensive stance as soon as he caught his breath. He panted in panic, knowing that their current situation couldn't get any better. They were facing one of the five elder gods after all. Probably the most sinister of them all.

"Leave now while you still can!" Liana declared.

"Oh, are you sure you want to be threatening me? Does 42, Old Way ring a bell?" Esther goaded. Liana was furious. That location was where her parents were hiding at that moment. And she knew Esther's threat was as real as it got. Without much of a choice, she dropped her seal and stretched her hands out to Esther in defeat. "I'm glad you're reasonable. I was asked specifically not to fight you. I can get carried away sometimes. You know, like killing someone I'm supposed to capture." Esther teased. Deep down, she really wanted to fight, but Leo was very clear about his instructions. And there was nothing worse than going against his orders. So, she had to be diplomatic and end things as quickly as possible.

"You got what you wanted. Take it and leave. You're disgusting me right now," Liana snapped. Yes, she had lost. But she needed to leave so that Zora could head over to Erica's as quickly as he could. But unknown to them, the gods were already on the move.

"Fine. Let's go," Esther said, suddenly disenchanted. She coated Liana with water out of the wave behind her, sparing only her face. And she left with Liana, floating behind her. "Give Erica a kiss for me. Although I doubt, she'll be able to return the favor," Esther teased. She entered the wave with Liana and it entered the sewers, taking them with it.

Zora smiled when they were out of sight. "Right according to plan. Liana really is a genius."

***

About the same time, Erica was oblivious of the fact that she had a visitor. Not the kind to bring you presents or check on your wellbeing, but the kind that would knock on your door to tell you, "I'm afraid your contract has expired and you have to be disposed of," kind of visitor. And that's exactly what Kai was. He knocked on Erica's door, barely unable to control his glee. But Kai is never gleeful, not unless he's about to kill someone.

"What do you want, Kai? You can't just show up like this. We don't have any meeting scheduled," Erica said. Even though her and Kai worked together at that moment, she was always very cautious of him. Liana had mentioned to her that he was the most pretentious of all the gods.

"Won't you at least invite me in?" Kai had his usual chivalrous smile on his face. He thought himself attractive, which he was actually. As long as he smiled, he could get anyone to do anything for him.

Well, not this time. "No, I'll feel much safer with you outside," Erica interjected. And she definitely wasn't wrong to be cautious. She noticed as Kai struggled to keep a straight face. Something that he is usually very good at. A gleeful smile on his face only meant one thing. He was up to no good.

"Oh, skeptical much? I can see no one else is home. Were you expecting me?" he said peeking into the house. "Liana also moved her parents. Did she anticipate this and warned you ahead or did you warn her instead?"

"Are you insinuating that I double crossed you?" Erica snapped. She felt so much fury at that time that she almost jumped right at him. "I did everything you asked. And here you are, accusing me of being as low a creature as you are. If anything is wrong, it's---"

"I never said anything was wrong," Kai interrupted. "But that's of little consequence right now. Did you know that two people can't hold the same perk at the same time?"

"And? How's that got to do with anything?"

"The hunter's perk is 'nullify'. Same as yours actually. He should have been reincarnated like the rest of us. Heress's second circle was more than enough for him to break out. But he didn't. Well, only his consciousness did. His power is still sealed, no thanks to the seal anyway, but your existence."

"Leo, right?" Erica responded.

"You saw through that too? You've really adapted to your perk." Kai chuckled. "But I'm sure you know what that means." And at this point, Kai could no longer contain his grin. And it spelt death!

Before Erica could react, a large gust of wind pushed her all the way through to back, wrecking everything in its path. Erica got up without any hesitation. She wiped the blood off her lips and as she stared at her blood-stained hand, she smiled. "You picked the worst opponent Kai. I'll make you regret this," she said, taking a lick off the blood on her hand.

"God killer or not, you're no match for an elder god. I happen to be the third most powerful---," Kai said, but no sooner than he could finish, Erica closed the space between them in less than a second. Her speed was such that, it was as though time stood still. But Kai reacted just on time. he pushed her all the way up, through the roof using the air below her. As she landed on the side of the road, Erica looked to hide, trying to catch him off guard, but little did she know that elder gods connect perfectly with their elements. Everything is covered by air, and anything that moves around him within a hundred-meter radius, Kai can detect.

Reach. From behind her, wind pushed Erica through her house again and back on the road. Reach. Without giving her a moment's rest, she was pressed against the ground with an intense amount of wind. It almost felt like gravity. Resistance was futile as the force was too great. It pushed her until she caved into the ground. A moment of silence tricked Kai into thinking he had subdued her. But Erica smiled. She was all bloodied up at that moment, but she hadn't lost the fight in her.

She slowly took something out of her pocket. She was in pains but the fight was far from over. She pushed through the pain with only one thing in mind. Kill Kai. From her pocket, she pulled out a weird looking ball. It was about the size of a pin ball. She threw it towards her house and from it, came a high frequency wave. It disrupted Kai's connection to the surrounding air and it affected his mind greatly. Elder gods are so connected to their element that disrupting it affects them. And Erica knew that. She was more than prepared to deal with the threat that was Kai.

As she walked closer to him, she dropped more of those balls around him. Kai was almost losing his mind. But that wasn't enough for her. She kicked him repeatedly and he howled in pain. She knew she had won, there was nothing Kai could do if she was disrupting the air around him. Or so she thought. Kai got a hold of himself and using the air around the balls, he destroyed them. Erica knew she was in trouble. She tried to take advantage of his uneasiness but it was a failed move. As she rushed towards him, he stopped her midair and she moaned as the air around her tightened. The air became thinner and breathing, more difficult. "You are one naughty little girl. And how do you deal with naughty little girls?" Kai teased as he turned his head repeatedly, trying to relieve himself of the pain. Blood dripped from his nose and ears, but didn't matter much to him. His price was right in front of him. He compressed a large amount of air in front of her. "You take their breath away." And with that, the compressed air went through Erica's stomach leaving a hole big enough for someone to pass through. The deed was done. Erica dropped to the ground. Dead.