Chapter 4

Right, a meat shield. Use its armor physique to my advantage, allowing it to defend me from incoming attacks relatively safely.

Putting the plan into action, I shifted its position to stand in front of me, floating more or less a metre ahead. Taking a slow and deep breath, I ran as fast as I could around them, drawing a wide circumference between me and their group.

It didn't take long for them to catch up however, with a burst of green light, their speed doubled, blazing through the distance with horrifying ease. A shot of adrenalin surged my spine as I saw this, moving my legs faster than I ever in my life.

Over the course of a few seconds, the Quicksilver blitzed passed me, blocking my only escape and forcing me into combat.

Bullocks! They had a buffer ready to help them at a moment's notice. Now, there was just one option left open, but the chances of it succeeding were excruciatingly low, negotiating. Damn it! I knew I should have listened to father's lessons.

"W-what brings you here, Quicksilver? None of your folk have ever wandered into our territory before, so what are you planning?" I questioned cautiously as the rest of the bunch rolled up from behind me.

A cunning grin revealed itself on her luminescent face as she spoke in a nauseating tone of voice. "Nothi'n much dearie. My boys over there caught wind that some pixie bitch was running out late at night. Thought we should investigate a bit, maybe even get a little snack while we were at it." Her snide remark echoed snickers behind my back, a good sign that things wouldn't go too well if I stepped on the wrong toes.

"Is that so?" I said in false surprise, using this brief period of time to charge up a strong magic attack. "If that is the case, then I must really be going. Who knows what kind of dangers could have befallen my subjects in my time of leave, I am responsible for them after all. And, it would be a cruel misuse of my power if the very people who support me are suffering because of my lack of experience."

A delight raised in her eyes as her smile only shone wider, a full light show practically bursting from her face. "And if we were to help you? I mean, look at your appearance, none of it seems fit for this kind of weather, better yet, a rescue mission. Would truly be a shame if something were to happen to you, wouldn't you agree?"

Ransom. Or something close. I've fallen right into their trap, having grown none the wiser to the scheme. A maddening set of circumstances that would have gotten me steaming like a kettle, with the only thing helping me keep me cool being the baser instinct of survival.

"Indeed," I say through slightly grit teeth. "and it would also be most shameful if you weren't compensated for your work. Tell me, Quicksilver," Spinning the ball of magic in my hand, I achieved maximum rotation. Giving it just enough 'oomph' to slice through even the thickest of boulders. "how would you… like to die for me?"

Curving the ball around the corpse, I threw it with immense speed, sending my opponent cascading towards the greater trees. Taking this moment to my advantage, I quickly breezed past all my aggressors, using every trick in the book to get myself to the nearest village before they caught me.

Even with my vastly superior speed, they were still catching up with the aid of Sukukaja, boosting their sluggish movements to absurd levels, at the cost of trailing the rest behind. Nevertheless, I made it without so much as a scratch, though, the Gremlins were close to catching me, the little buggers failed to see the long-ranged spells flying from the heavens.

Swiftly, there were dispatched, leaving nothing more than red motes of energy in the air as their vile existence ceased to exist.

"Interesting of you to pay a visit, Rosaria. Though, with the way you have that angel wrapped around with your magic, I assume it's in good reason, no?" A familiar feminine voice asked. Turning my head to the figure, it was a scantily clad blue-skinned woman, who sat on a floating bed of water, wielding a pristine sword of high quality.

"Mother. Yes, it is of the utmost of importance." I answered, bringing the machine between us. "This Power suddenly flew from the sky and ruthlessly killed everyone at my settlement. Weren't it not for their efforts in helping me escape and a divine stroke of luck, then presently, you wouldn't have a daughter standing before you, but instead, a coffin. "

Everyone around me gasped in horror upon hearing my words. The Holy Order would never do such a thing unless provoked. It begged the question, to what extent was that act for it to have had such a profound hostile effect on the once peace preaching angels?

"That demon…" Mum muttered(cursed?) under her breath. "A demon recently took shelter near the centre of the forest. She wore a blue veil, and her skin was as dark as night."

"Water lady-ho," A Jack Frost called out from the back. "You wouldn't hee-pen to mean-"

"It may be a theory with little concrete evidence. But yes, Black Maria might have a hand to play in this." She explained, resting a hand on the sword.

As the collective group stayed in shock, it was at that point a small insect managed to free itself from the angel's foot.

Where did that thing come from? There was no way it could have crawled in during my travels. Even then, non-magically assisted bugs will do little more than mildly inconvenience zombies and other lesser demons of the like.

Unless… Blasting it with a blunt Zan, it launched with more force than lacerations. Sending it into a wall and crashing down onto the hard ground, laying lifeless before the people around me sent over looks of sheer confusion.

It was only until they turned towards the opposite direction that it became partially clear to them. The not so odd sight of a cockroach twitching sporadically on the floor. Still, for it to have come out of the body would mean to have the strength of at least five adult human males.

Taking the lead, Mother inspected it with a flash of magic through her fingertip, coming out surprised as her eyes widened in shock. "Divine sponsor from a God?" She exclaimed, much to the shock of those close enough to hear. "What are you all doing crowding out here? Get back to your station before an enemy attacks us." She demanded as they quickly averted their eyes and scattered to different places. "Rosaria, follow me to my quarters, these are matters best left out of prying eyes."

Nodding along, she collected the insect with a locket of ice, tucking it into her water sphere. "Come now, it's getting late after all."

Letting out a sigh once more, I tiredly walked along the clear path, feeling the rain pelt my skin, and my previously spiky hair finally falling down, as my body deflated from the day's stress.

In a world where daily life is dominated by both law and chaos, there was very little in the way of safety. Proof of this can simply be seen in the anarchy filled hellscapes that cover the better part of the world outside of pocket dimensions various pantheons use to stay safe.

But even then, could you really call that safe when both factions constantly lay siege on one another's bases 24/7 all throughout the world? It's gotten to the point where their ideologies mesh together, becoming one and the same.

Perhaps there was another way out of it? A path left unchecked and undiscovered. A neutral route. Frankly, this was a childish idea, but one that held some ground. Maybe there was more to it than just fence sitting. Maybe, just maybe, it could be the path to true freedom.