Fumiko’s Lordship (1) (Revised) – Rising Up Arc (13)

It had been a day since we took care of Rei. Fumiko took it better than we expected; she hates Rei a lot more than she used to.

Now, I am standing outside with Fumiko, and Hana is close by. Something feels off about this.

"Hikaru, come here and take a look!"- Fumiko dragged me to a tree. The tree looks weird; I can't say what was strange about it.

"What is it now, Fumiko? " - I leaned forward, looked at her, and then glanced at the tree.

"Well, you see that tree. It looks weird doesn't it?"- Fumiko pointed at the wavy tree. It looks more like a chip to me.

!Hiakru, the tree has illusion magic built into it. Some people are using illusion magic to conceal themselves. Dispell illusion?!

"Yes"

The tree turned into one of our classmates. It isn't one of the people from my class, but I will be glad to see it in our situation. She looks visibly brainwashed, and the Goddess Ifrit's symbol is on her arm.

"So you 2 are alive. I heard her calling your name. You have a lot of explaining to do to me, Hikaru."- She is Hanako, and by the looks of it, she isn't brainwashed but is at the same time. What is this strange condition that she has? Stuck between not being under the Goddess's influence and at the same time listening to her will?

"What pray tell are you doing here?" I drew my shadow sword. She won't be able to see it as long as she doesn't have shadow magic.

"I am hunting, wanting to, bring a messege. Until it's too late, the only self control I still have. That Goddess is interfering too much with my mind, help me!"- For a safety measure, I wrapped my shadow tendrils around her so she wouldn't be able to do much when she moved.

"Sia, can you do something about it?" - If she can resist the control of Goddess Ifrit, maybe Sia can help her.

!Let me try. Forming a connection with individual Hanako, blocking spiritual and mental pathways Ifrit can use to control her... successful!!

"Are you ok now, Hanako? " I extended a helping hand toward her. She took my hand and stood up from the ground, looking at me.

"Look, I can't be here for long; thanks for the help. One thing that I discovered is that you 2 are innocent; the brainwashing of Goddess Ifrit only works if you are oblivious to the truth, once you know the truth, it will be harder to believe it. That's why I was in that state. And please, play along, the team leader sent here will be here shortly, we need to find a way to explain all of this and for you two to get away," – Hanako spoke so fast that I could barely understand her, but she made sense.

"Pretend you have mistaken me for someone else. I will put up my disguise now." – I used my skill to disguise my appearance, which we had when we were at Welcia Academy with Fumiko.

"Hanako, what are you doing there?"- Akatsuki, I knew it, that's her voice, I shapeshifted just in time.

"Do you think we will surrender to you?"- I began acting as Hanako instructed me to.

"Yes, that's the best-case scenario. You won't be hurt at the castle; you will be kept in prison until the king decides that you are not a threat to the people of this nation!" - She was ready to charge me with a dagger. But before making a dash for me, she winked and left herself wide open on purpose.

!Warning: She is charging up her Legendary skill named Execution, an evolved form of the skill Assassination. She is a level 5 assassin class adventurer. But you won't have to worry; the way you two talk to each other, she won't use her skill!

"That's more like it, get him!"- Akatsuki shouted in a zombie-like tone from behind Hanako.

I made the shadow tendrils very tight around her legs and arms.

Moments later, when she tried to use her skill, she plummeted face-first into the shadow fist I had created for her, knocking her unconscious.

"Stop this!"- Fumiko intervened between us.

"Miss Fumiko?"- Akatsuki looked at Fumiko with her mouth agape.

"Yes, your friend tried to attack my advisor and defender; what was that for. If you don't believe the rumors about the fugitives being dead, then I can confirm them myself! And your friend is coming with me for questioning!"- Akatsuki fell to her knees.

"Please, don't kill her" – That zombie-like tone of voice she has and the bloodshot eyes of a brainwashed person. It appears that some people still retain their empathy after being brainwashed.

"She won't be killed, but she will be punished. Now, get out. I have official business here." - Akatsuki nodded, and then she ran away, leaving Hanako behind.

"Well, that is out of the way, but how do we make sure we can protect Hanako from them. She appeared to have more lucidity than that other girl, and, I am sorry for calling your name out loud Hikaru"- Fumiko apologized to me.

"No problem, you couldn't have known it either.

"I want to try something. I don't know if I can."- I looked at her body that lay on the ground. That skill is useful to have.

!Answer. You can steal skills with Predator without devouring the target, but it's very hard to do. You will need my guidance on this one, Hikaru. Also, by stealing the skill, you can make her immune to the control of Goddess Ifrit; her skill was bestowed by Ifrit in order to control and enslave Hanako!

"Ok, Sia. Do your magic."

*Use skill: Predator*- The skill's aura engulfed her.

#Skills gained: Execution#

"Good job Sia!"

!Anything to help you, Hikaru!

"What did you just do now, Hikaru?"- Fumiko looked over at Hanako; she was on the ground and seemed not to breathe.

"I stole her skill with my skill."

#Due to his achievement, the individual Hikaru Tanaka will receive the skill Plunderer#- I can hear the same voice talking again. It sounds similar to Sia

"Sia, I forgot to ask you, but what is this voice that I always hear?"- It's strange to hear it, even tho I only hear it when I gain a skill.

!That is known as the Great Voice, the entity that is responsible for giving skills to people in this world. She also announces important events that have to do with the world. For example, the birth of a new Hero or Demon Lord can trigger the Great Voice to speak to the world as a whole and announce it.!

"Ok, I think I got it. Thank you, Sia."- So, if we want to become demon lords, we must plan ahead of time, since it will be announced to the whole world. We need to take everything into account before then. But then, King Wieka already planned this for us.

"You are good with your acting. But why did you know knock me out like that? And thanks for. It seems like I no longer hear Ifrit in my head." Hanako is starting to wake up.

"Fumiko, run to the cabin, I will grab Hanako and come there with you two,"- I leaned in and whispered to her.

I wrapped Hanako with my shadow tendrils, and then Fumiko and I ran to the cabin; Hana saw us, and I explained the situation to her.

"This is bad. It will affect Fumiko if she is discovered sheltering us. Maybe we should change forms. People may not recognize us if we do that."- Hana is looking at the ground, trying to come up with a plan.

"Well, it's no use; those that are brainwashed will attack you even if you remotely look like Ifrit's targets,"- Hanako chimed into the conversation.

"Wait, Hikaru. I have an idea. Why not use my skills to manipulate people? I will go to Akatsuki and try to modify parts of her memory." - Hana looked at me suddenly. I nodded and went with her.

"Well, that might be a good idea, but sealing skills may also work. And…"

"What are you four doing here?"- Akatsuki's voice boomed from behind the door.

"Well, fuck me. She got new orders from Ifrit it seems like. Well, will leave it to you two."

"You three!"- Akatsuki wanted to break the door to the cabin with her foot but opened it in time to make her trip and fall; immediately after that, I got my shadow tendrils to crawl toward her and restrain her.

"Hana, Sia, you two should be able to do this," - Hana said, looking at me and nodding.

After five minutes, Akatsuki looked around confused and began walking toward the royal palace. She ignored Hanako and didn't even know who she was.

!Successful. Memory modification succeeded. The individual Akatsuki will likely not bother you again.!

"I have to go. You two, thanks. One day, I will return the favor. Now, to avoid suspicion, I need to get back to Welcia Academy. See you two around." Hanako ran away from the cabin and left just the three of us.

"Ok, good that this is taken care of. Hana, what is our next step?"- I rather leave some things to Hana as well. I chose with the local lords, but now, she knows what's best.

"Yes, Hikaru. We should go with Fumiko to her Ceremony of Lordship. From this moment onward, we should try to live as quietly as possible. Maybe we can research how the summoning was done to see if we can send our classmates back home." - Hana sounds a little bit sad. It's hard to make out emotions over the telepathic network. And it's even harder to look at the road, talk, and be aware of threats at the same time.

"Ok, but why would you worry about most of those people? Half of them are trying to kill us, Hana! More than a thrid of Wieka is brainwashed by Ifrit."

"I know, but if we can send them back home we will be able to get rid of them without killing them. It will be the best for the 2 of us as well. We can't return to our world and they give us problems in this world, so it will be better to return them to their world as well."- Hana looked around, and Fumiko did the same. Something is up.

!Warning: Someone with High Magic Density is stalking you. Calculating target...... The most likely result of the target is White Fenrir!

"Fenrir? Wait, the monster that holds the Demon Lord sprouting?"

!Yes!

........