Godslayer Lysette: Chapter 249

Chapter 249: The Diminutive Demigoddess

Lysette rolled her eyes as she looked down upon her would-be adversary with suspicion.  The woman’s irises were the same shade of scarlet as her short, pixie-cut hair, and her youthful face belied the incredible strength she possessed.

“Alright,” Lysette said.  “I don’t suppose there’s any way we can discuss whatever reason you have for threatening me like civilized adults?  Or at least tell me who you are, give me a name to work with?  Something?”

The woman squinted.  “Do I look like a civilized adult to you?”

“No,” Lysette said flatly.  “However, I know you are way stronger than you look, and I suspect way older than you look or I am.  Probably just using some shapeshifting technique to make yourself look like a teenager.”

“Well, you’re no fun at all.”  The woman pouted.  “I mean, you’re right, but the way you say it, all nonchalance and no surprise.  You really spoiled the big reveal!”

“Okay, but you still haven’t explained why you’re still looking like that.  And don’t make up some lie about ‘that’s just how you look’ or that you can’t help it.  I know from personal experience that deities’ physical appearance is a lot more mutable than it is for mortals.”

“You really are no fun,” she said.

“A name?” Lysette said.  “Otherwise I’m just going to call you Scarlet.”

“Hmph!”  The woman stuck her tongue out at Lysette and offered her an obscene gesture with her right hand.

“Well, Scarlet, I can't say I’m in the mood for fun and games and tricks today.  The last time I fought a deity, a lot of people died in the struggle.  Including a good friend we recently cremated. All of us are still recovering from the scars that battle left in our hearts and minds, so I’d ask that you please stop harassing us and go back to wherever you came from.”

“Wait, your friends?”

“I mean, I didn’t know her as well as her brother did, and maybe it’s too presumptuous to call her a friend.  But I considered her one.”

The woman— whose name she still hadn’t given— floated up to Lysette and stared into her eyes.  She glared, getting entirely too close for comfort, and eliciting a harrumph from Mirae.

“She’s also mine,” Mirae said.  “And I would appreciate it if you kept to an appropriate distance.”

“I wasn’t talking to you, Mister!  And–”

“They’re not a ‘Mister’ anything,” Lysette interjected.  “They are also my partner, and I think both of us are getting frustrated with you, barging into our cottage, demanding a fight, and then not telling us who you are or anything else about yourself.”

“Your partner?”

Mirae sidled up behind Lysette and kissed her cheek.  “My partner.  My fiancée, actually.  And you were interrupting our couple time.  I cannot say I am pleased by this.”

“Huh?  But I was told she was a demon lord… or demon lady or… I’m confused now.”

“I haven’t misspoken this entire time, Scarlet.”

“Aurella.”

“Thank you, Aurella.  Now, I am the demon lady in question.  I could certainly demonstrate as such to you right now, although I’m as yet not convinced that we are enemies.  At least, not more than the whole ‘All of Aimarion will be my enemy’ that the last demigod I fought told me before he died.”

“Huh?”  Aurella rubbed her temples.  “I’m confused.  I was told that demons were merciless agents of destruction who know nothing but killing and death.  You don’t seem much like that.”

“Oh, I assure you, I’ve killed plenty.  I won’t say I’m proud of most of those.  A few of them are fond memories though.  Although, now I’m confused who told you that.”

“I’m not telling!  Also, you never told me your names!  You don’t get to whine about me not telling my name when you won’t do the same.”

“I’m Lyse, and my partner is Mirae.  Aurella, do you still want to fight, or would you like to come inside and talk for a few minutes?”

“No, I still wanna fight someone strong.  I came all the way from Laquella to the absolute boonies, and there is, like, nothing exciting going on here.”

“Did you fly across the ocean?” Lysette asked.

“I mean, yeah.  It was either that, or I take a boat, but it’s not like I’m exactly on Thosse’s good side so I didn’t wanna do that.  Plus it was going to mean two weeks of seasickness and boredom and no good food to make up for it!  So yeah, I flew.”  Aurella shuddered and stepped back.  “Don’t tell me you can’t fly!  You’ll never be able to beat me if you can’t fly.”

Lysette rolled her eyes.  “If you want a sparring match, I’ll give you one.  But I warn you, I won’t go easy on you, either.  I just got done explaining that to some of the other Cultivators here during their sparring match, and I don’t want to set a bad example.”

“Well, you’re certainly full of confidence, Lyse.  We’ve just met and you’re already acting so smug that you can actually beat me.”

Lysette smiled.  “I have to carry a little bit of Hope that I can come out of a battle alive.  So far, I’ve had a pretty good track record of success.”

Mirae licked their lips.  “My love is truly amazing.”

“Yeah, and that’s why I prefer to look like this.”  Aurella’s voice dropped to a whisper.  “Like, tip just between us deities, but you have no idea how old being leered at by crusty old men gets after a few decades.  So yeah, I prefer to go around looking like this to avoid drawing that sort of attention to myself.”

“Does that even work?” Mirae asked.  “In my experience, even looking as I did before I ascended and making clear my disinterest wasn’t sufficient to deter all of them.”

“Oh, Celestials above, no!  As much as I wish it were.  But at least this way you know that anyone who continues is the worst kind of skeeve and deserves any and everything that comes to them afterwards!  Oh, and looking like a kid is the absolute best way of getting out of almost every adult responsibility.”

“Almost?”

“Well, I’ve been fighting with my mother for the past two months about having to come out here and fight this terrible demon lord.  I kept telling her that I wanted to stay home and that if she cared so much, she should do it herself.  But no, I have to ‘take responsibility’ and ‘start thinking of people other than just myself.’  But that’s like… completely the opposite of my Domain.  You two both know how that is, right?” 

“Actually, I was just thinking about that a bit ago,” Lysette said.  “That if I act in accordance with my Domain and strengthen my connection to it, I might do things that don’t work out so great for everyone around me.”  She sighed.  “In any case, let’s take this to our training grounds just south of here, okay?  It’s rather awkward having conversations right outside our front door.”

“Well, lead the way, oh great menacing one,” Aurella said, no small hint of sarcasm in both her voice and the bow which accompanied it.

The three made their way through the town at a leisurely pace, sharing pleasantries with a number of the townsfolk throughout the village.  Many of the adults and older teenagers were eager to show off the new abilities they had started to develop, while the younger kids among them were pleading for more air rides.  A request which Lysette had to decline, after explaining that they had to spend some time with their new friend.  At least, Lysette hoped that Aurella could be persuaded to be an ally.

It was high noon by the time the three had arrived at their training grounds.  Serrena and Rayleigh were nowhere nearby, which surprised both Lysette and Mirae.  A mental message to the Demigoddess of Ambition confirmed that they were training up in the Spire Mountains, and the two would keep an eye and ear down on the situation below in the unlikely event that circumstances deteriorated.

“So, what do you think of Ciricu so far?” Lysette asked.

“Meh.”  Aurella crossed her arms.  “The people seem fine, but it sure is boring around here!  And I still haven’t smelled or seen any good food anywhere in the village!  Like, I could kill for a nice lemon custard right about now.”

“Uh–”  Mirae clenched their teeth.

“You and I both, Aurella.  I mean, I probably wouldn’t literally kill anyone for one, but back when we lived in Domark, there were these custards they served at the Academy there and they were about the most delicious thing I’ve ever experienced.  I wish I could go back and have one at some point, but there’s the whole war thing still going on and I have responsibilities to everyone here.”

Aurella rolled her eyes.  “I know.  Responsibilities are the absolute worst.  No fun at all whatsoever, no ma’am, count me out!”

Lysette looked upon the quirky demigoddess before her, to be polite about it, and wondered what sort of Domain Aurella really had.  Something to do with childhood or immaturity, it seemed, considering her aversion to duty, appearance choice, and general attitude with life.  Nevertheless, as Aurella stared down Lysette and took a stance that could very charitably be called ‘stable’, Lysette conjured multiple thorny whips which all undulated at her side.

“Ooh!  Oh boy!  Are we actually going to fight now?” Aurella asked.  Her eyes had begun to sparkle— whether refracting sunlight or some internal luminescence, Lysette couldn’t tell. 

Lysette waited for several seconds as a courtesy, and to see how her sparring partner intended to fight.  She noticed the change in Essence flow about her, although she couldn’t ascertain exactly what Aurella was doing.  Her aura flared out to its maximum range, but there was still no sign of any attack incoming.

“Are you not going to attack?” Lysette asked.  “I thought you were going to make the first move.”

“Nah!  It’s more fun if I watch what you do first.  I might learn a new trick or two if you do!  Don’t worry about holding back; I’m tougher than I look!”

Lysette walked forward, closing half the distance between her and Aurella.  Each of her vines split apart, forming maws that chomped toward her opponent.  She clenched her fists, cloaking one of them in fire and one in ice.  And then she teleported, appearing behind Aurella, punching her in the back with the flaming fist, then grappling her by the neck with her icy fist and flinging her to the ground.

She stood over Aurella and shook her head.  “You are tougher than you look, yes.  But fighting isn’t just fun and games.  If you joke around and make a spectacle of yourself, you could end up getting hurt.  Or worse, get someone else hurt.”

“Ow!  No fair, and no fun either!”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you, Aurella.  If you really had meant to harm the people of Ciricu and had fought me truly, rather than just because it would be fun, the best case scenario would be that you’d be severely injured.  Worst case, you’d be dead right now.”

“You know, you’re a real spoilsport!  I had a super fun fight planned and everything, and here you go ruining it for both of us!”

Lysette rolled her eyes and retracted her techniques.  She considered healing Aurella, although it seemed the demigoddess was recovering nicely on her own.  After a minute, she looked good as new and turned to Lysette, all smiles and good cheer despite the events which had just transpired.

“Anyway, I guess I should formally introduce myself.  The name’s Aurella Barone, and I am Aimarion’s Demigoddess of Whimsy.”

Lysette rolled her eyes.  “Yeah.  That about checks out.”

Chapter 248: https://www.patreon.com/posts/114617204

Table of Contents: https://www.patreon.com/posts/101896170

Chapter 250: https://www.patreon.com/posts/114722198