Godslayer Lysette: Chapter 269

Chapter 269: A Night Without Worry

Mirae turned to Lysette with gritted teeth as Zarielle’s messenger left the cottage and closed the door behind him.  Their eyes filled with indignation as they glared at her, completely bereft of any amusement or their usual warmth.  The air around them chilled, though Lysette wasn’t made uncomfortable and Aurie didn’t seem to notice.

“You’re going to trust Zarielle?  After all that?  Lysette, I will always love you, but I am not in love with your judgement right now!  She isn’t worthy of your time!  We need to be building relationships with our community and working to bolster their strength, not trying to build a so-called alliance with someone who is going to stab us in the back the instant it becomes more convenient to kill us than leave us alive.”

“You’re right, Mirae.  She doesn’t deserve and will not receive my trust.  However, we are sorely in need of allies and–”

“And you’re going to fly out there with nothing but a letter and… what… promises that aren’t worth the fabric they’re printed on?  I’m putting my foot down on this one, Lyse.  This is a terrible idea, and I am not going to allow it.”

“Mirae, I’m going to send my avatar, not the real me.  If my avatar is destroyed and I lose that Essence, it will be a setback, but not a fatal one.  I agree that if Zarielle isn’t willing to meet us in-person, then she doesn’t deserve the same from our seat of power.”

“Well–”  Mirae stood up and marched Lysette to the bedroom.  “We need to have a talk before then.  Aurella, can you keep yourself entertained for a bit?”

“Of course!  You don’t mind if I eat and pick up, do you?”

“No, that would be wonderful.  We’d very much appreciate it.”  Mirae grabbed Lysette by the ear, yanking her inside and all-but slamming the door behind the couple.  They threw her against the wall and sneered.

“Okay, seriously, what in the Infernal realm is wrong with you right now, Lyse?  You are always, and I mean, always, one of the first to seek judgement whenever others have wronged you or those who are under your protection.  But now, of all times, you’ve finally decided to show mercy?  And to a god who, and I shouldn’t have to remind you of this, ordered us to kill the residents of this town down to the very last child!”

“I know.  And I have three reasons for that.”

“Well, Lyse, I’m listening!  Go ahead!”

“Alright, my first reason is that she let us off far too easily.  And even though she could’ve come back at any time or sent further servants after us to punish our defiance, she never did.  I hesitate to say that Zarielle is sadistic, exactly.  But she’s not one to forgive and forget a grudge so easily.”

“Exactly, Lyse.  That’s exactly right.  And after we defeated her here in Ciricu, she turned to deception to claim her revenge on you, just like you would do if you were in her position.”

“Except, I don’t think that’s what’s going on.  If she really meant to harm us, why wouldn’t she have done so by now?  Asterion did.  Bionco and Luminia both did, in their own ways.  But Zarielle, who knows me better than any of those three, didn’t?  Didn’t strike back when I was weaker and less able to defend myself and all of you?  That doesn’t make sense at all.

“She knew I was a demon, long before even I did, Mirae.  She might not have known back the moment she rebirthed me, but I’m certain she did by the end of that night when I absorbed my first Sparks.  That was a decision on her part.

“She deliberately gave me— someone who harbored wroth against the gods— divinity, specifically because she wanted to create a demon.  If she were concerned about stopping me by force, waiting for me to get that much stronger would be the absolute last thing on her mind.  My current hypothesis?  Everything that happened that night happened exactly as she foresaw it.  She gave an unreasonable demand, we rejected it.  We fought, and Zarielle feigned defeat.  Then she took away my blessing, all as part of a ruse to pretend to cut ties with me in a way that was believable to other deities watching.”

“That doesn’t make sense at all.”

“It does, if you know that Asterion stole a portion of Zarielle’s power, and she wants it back.”

“He’s… also a demon?”

“He desires an end to Omnia’s system and to create a new system with a single deity— himself— on top.  I’m not sure if that desire alone caused him to awaken demonic power, but it’s not a possibility we should ignore.”

“So, if this is true— and don’t try to change the subject on me, Lyse— why aren’t the other gods banding together to stop him?  Like they supposedly did with Lilit?”

“Maybe they don’t know.  It’s not like they have a lot of reason to believe Zarielle, given how she loves keeping everyone, including us, in the dark about her real plans.  I admit, that’s the weak part of my hypothesis.”

“So, what are your other two reasons?”

“The second reason is that we are in desperate need of allies.  Or, if not allies, at least someone we can point to as allies to deter any other parties from getting any funny ideas.”

“Who do you think is going to attack us beyond Terea?  Elithria is still reeling, Solise is on the other side of the continent, and Valdora is famously neutral in all matters.  Or do you think Laquella is going to launch an overseas invasion.”

“No.  I think the most likely threat is neither of them.”

“Then…  You think Domaria is going to attack us.”  Their tone was flat and unquestioning.

“I do.  Saffron was quite clear that the next time we met, it would be as enemies on the battlefield.  And I harbor no delusions that that time won’t come, and sooner than any of us want it to.”

“I–  I don’t want to fight Saffron,” Mirae said.  “She is a friend.”

“I also don’t want to fight her.  And I don’t think she wants to fight us either.  I think if it were up to her, the two of us would have a distant but cordial relationship as… comrades, I guess.  And I think she’d be content to keep it that way for as long as we both live.  But it’s not her choice to make.”

“Because of Domar.”

“Exactly.  And we need information about what’s going on in the Celestial realm.  If we are to do more to proactively build alliances and stop threats before they literally knock on our front door, we need to know who we can trust and who’s likely to stab us in the back.  And right now, there’s at least the potential to get some information about that from Zarielle.  Potential enough that I think it’s worth the risk.”

Mirae took several seconds to pause.  Lysette leaned in to kiss their cheek, but was rebuffed and met with stern eyes.  Acknowledging the gravity of the conversation, Lysette sat down on their bed and waited for Mirae to do the same, all while her avatar sat motionless in the corner of the room.  Another minute passed before Mirae sat down next to Lysette and took her hand.

“I’m not going to say that you’ve convinced me.  I still think this is a terrible idea and that there are more dangers to this trip than you’re assuming.  It’s not just Zarielle.  It’s the fact that you’re going to have to travel across the ocean and deal with whatever Thosse has planned for you there.  Not to mention anyone else who might want to cause you harm.

“And even though you’re sending your avatar, that still means our fighting capacity here in Ciricu is that much lower.  As is our ability to respond to threats elsewhere.  Rayleigh is gaining strength rapidly— something I attribute to receiving the constant attention of a demigoddess who herself eclipses even my own strength.  But she’s still–”

“Human?  Is that what you were going to say?  I thought you were the one who felt most strongly about sticking to the plan of empowering the people of Ciricu.  Part of that means giving them opportunities to develop their new skills.  I think this presents a great opportunity for Rayleigh to showcase the results of her training.”

“I hate how convincing you’re being, Lyse.”

“I love you too, Mirae.”

“I know you do.”  Mirae’s stern expression turned to a smirk.  “And I think you said you had a third reason for all this.”

“In the letter, Zarielle mentioned someone who was excited to see me again.”

“You know that’s a trap, Lyse.”

“It might be.  But what if it’s not?  What if Nightshade really is there, waiting to meet me, to fly back with me after I’m done with my conversation.  I–  I miss her, Mirae.  She was my first and only companion for a good while.  Yes, I had you and Dani and Serrena eventually, but she was the first true confidante I had.  The first one I could turn to like I am with you and just air out all of my concerns and listen to her advice.”

“I understand, love, but–”

“Let’s say we were apart for several months, and you didn’t have any idea when or even if you would get to see me again.  And then, out of nowhere, someone knocks on the door and says that you can see me again, but you have to fly out to another continent and meet me there.”

“I–  I’d not let us be separated,” Mirae said.  “But I see your point.  If I were in that position, I’d do whatever it took to be by your side again.”  Their gaze softened as they looked toward Lysette’s lap.  “Yes, I’m a selfish lover, Lysette.  Such is the nature of my Devotion.  To want you for my own and have you and keep you and never share you with anyone else.  Which is why I don’t want you to go.  I don’t want you to risk yourself, or for something to happen to you where I can’t be there to support you.”

Lysette wrapped Mirae in her embrace, and to her surprise, they did nothing to resist as she leaned back and the two sprawled onto their bed.  It was faint, but the bedsheets still smelled of the activities from two nights ago.  Mirae seemed to notice the scent as well; their eyes widened, their pupils dilated, and their heart beat just a bit faster as they pulled Lysette in for a slow yet passionate kiss.

Lysette’s arms wandered down Mirae’s back, pulling them in closer still.  “Will you let me go?”

“I don’t think I can stop you even if I wanted to, love.”

“Say the word and I don’t go.  I tell Dennell that we had a change of heart after talking amongst ourselves.  All of me stays here and we find some other way.”

“I won’t stop you.  But please, promise me two things.”

Lysette nodded.

“First, you’re going to keep me informed of the goings on there.  You will be communicating with me at all hours, sharing any detail you find.  Honestly, if we weren’t so busy, I’d like to link with you here and watch for myself the whole time.  And secondly, if you find yourself in danger and you have the opportunity to retreat, you will do so.  I’m not going to try to stop you, but it’s not your responsibility to be a hero and sacrifice yourself for a goddess and people who don’t have your or our or the people of Ciricu’s best interests at heart.”

“I understand, Mirae.  If I’m attacked, I will defend myself, but if I can’t defeat my adversary and retreat is an option, then I retreat and regroup.”

“Acceptable.  And though it’s not one of my conditions, I would like to have this night for myself.  Because I am a selfish, worrying lover who sometimes needs to be reassured that everything will work out.”

Lysette kissed Mirae’s forehead.  “We can worry about everything else tomorrow.  Tonight, let’s just enjoy our night together and not worry about anything but ourselves and each other.”

“Thank you, Lyse.  I would like that very much.”

Chapter 268: https://www.patreon.com/posts/115845852

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

Chapter 270: https://www.patreon.com/posts/115926034