With a glum face, I exit the Titan's holding cell. Not being able to find the parasite has put a sizeable damper on my mood.
Hmm, now that I think about it...
This definitely reminds me of a very common pattern that's present in a lot of the stories that I've heard about in the past.
To add more excitement to the tale, wouldn't the enemy pop out of nowhere for a sneak attack when the protagonist least expects it?!
I twist and turn my head dramatically from side to side, my eyes narrowing as I remain vigilant for an ambush.
Hmm... Wait a minute.
'When the protagonist least expects it, eh?'
Bringing the back of my hand near my mouth, I try to cover up my slightly goofy grin.
Me, as the 'protagonist', huh? I won't lie and say that it doesn't sound good to me, 'cos it does, actually.
We're the heroes of our own story after all, right?
I snicker quietly, but then, I realize that this is probably a weird thing to think about. After shaking my head to get a hold of myself, I try to redirect my thoughts back to what's important.
Well, unluckily for this pesky creature—I hate surprises!
I hate it so much, that I will make sure it'll regret it as soon as it thinks it's got the first jump on me.
All my senses are on high alert. I'm feeling very determined to not let this monster catch me unawares.
If it ever comes out from the side, I'll make sure to evade it first by spinning at the same direction it's coming from. Then, in one smooth movement, I'll take my staff and swing it overhead.
The force from my strike will make the staff embed the more pointy end into the rocky ground.
While it's feeling dazed, I'll start with the next phase—by trapping it inside a cage of Phoenix fire.
It needs to burn for the next three days while it's encased within a ball of fire. I'd have to make sure it's no longer alive though. These flames are very different to the ones people are more used to.
Depending on the user's needs, and in this case, to cremate something—it has to be done very slowly for it to work properly.
There's one reason why I need to make sure it's dead before I start cremating it, however. It's because it's actually possible to burn this creature alive, for at least two out of the three days. If it happens to be living, everyone'll be hearing its cries for three days straight.
It's not possible to stop the process or else, something might go wrong in the middle of it. So, it can be quite unnerving to whoever isn't used to hearing something like that.
Unfortunately, I don't have much options at the moment. Eternal phoenix fire is one of the two flames that's capable of burning hellworms to ashes.
I need the ashes to complete my third and final task—to present the charred remains of the parasitic hellworm that the Fates have ordered me to bring back.
I've still got one more issue though, now that I think about it.
This is going to go on for three days. There is no way I'd like to stick around doing nothing, while this is all going.
I'd like to be able to leave it a place where I can burn the monster to a crisp, without having to keep track of it 24/7.
I also need to figure out where's the best place to leave it unmonitored. I'd probably need a break every now and then.
I scratch the side of my head roughly in annoyance. This is quite a pain. After resting one of my hands on my hip, I let out a sigh.
... I don't know why, but a sudden feeling, like I've forgotten something arises from my chest. Yikes! It's Yren! I've forgotten all about him!
I've ended up tuning him out. Oops!
What sounds garbled and distant at first, now comes back to focus once again. Wow. I'm really lucky. He's STILL talking!
The old man has been rambling on and on this entire time, not even noticing that I'm not even paying any attention to him anymore.
At this point, I've no idea what Yren's talking about. It's been far too long since I've stopped listening and became lost in my own thoughts.
I'm feeling a little guilty, so I decide to hone in on whatever it is that's he's currently talking about at the moment.
Yren's voice is more nervous than usual, "Soooo... I'm not quite sure if you'll like this, but here we are! It's going to be your new home from now on."
Like a butler, the old man beckons me over to a room he just opened. He stands next to the door, bowing slightly as he gestures for me to go inside.
I chuckle and respond, "Hahaha. I know you're being quite hospitable, Yren. But you're being far too polite. I don't need to stay here overnight."
... Wait, a minute, didn't he say it's going to be my NEW HOME? HERE? IN TARTARUS?!
Impressive as it may be, but it's still a prison, and I'm not going to let myself be a new inmate!
What in the heck just happened in the time that I tuned him out?! I definitely don't recall being okay to such an arrangement!
With full intent to get to the bottom of this, I try to calm myself and ask, "... You must be joking, right? Yren?"
"Oh my. Why would I joke about something like this, War Goddess? This humble demon dares not do such a thing." He bows even deeper as he reasons placidly with me.
He then looks upward and mumbles out an incantation.
His eyes focus where both his hands start to glow, as he conjures something in between them.
A small object begins to appear as he continues to speak, "Goddess Khirelle, these are the restraints that have been used by His holiness, Zeus, whenever he incarcerated anyone. I've been tasked to create one whenever he didn't want to be the one to put it on the convic—I mean, prisoner."
It doesn't take long at all until the spell is done. He begins to step forward, while still politely trying to basically put enchanted fancy-schmancy handcuffs on me.
Out of anger, I avoid his touch and swing my hand to the side.
In my haste, I accidentally slam it into a wall—damaging it. It wouldn't be an exaggeration if one could mistakenly think that I'd have no problem destroying this entire structure and obliterate it, if I had chosen to.
An enormous crater appears right where my fist has hit. Plenty of cracks form and falls off from the solid wall. Fortunately, this is Tartarus, a first-class penitentiary, so this much damage shouldn't affect the insides.
I've already lost my patience, and my voice booms, shaking the entire vicinity, "Then how do you explain WHY this is to be my NEW place of residence?! EXPLAIN YOURSELF TO ME! NOW!"
The poor elder starts stuttering and is clearly confused as he begins to speak, "W-Well, it's been a while since we've had any n-new inmates here and..."
He pauses, checks my expression, and continues his ramblings, "I assumed that with her highness Melaina here... that perhaps you were a new one... a-and... I've been talking about it the entire time, but you've said nothing along the way... and there was no mention of your reason for visiting... normally, h-high profile Gods or G-Goddess never come here, so I was assuming that's definitely why you're here... Oh no... my greatest apologies for misunderstanding everything... I am truly sorry! I am so, SO sorry!"
He throws himself in front of me and prostrates as he begs for forgiveness. Yren's entire body is shaking—his voice cracks as he gulps big globs of saliva down his throat.
I groan as I massage my temples. I need to calm down, or this poor old demon's going to piss himself if I don't. It's just an honest, idiotic mistake.
Behind me, someone moans as they stretch their limbs while lazily asking, "Ooh... Why are you guys being so loud? What's going on here...?"
A yawn follows as I look behind me, snarkily replying with, "Good morning, princess. Had a great sleep? I was wondering if you were ever waking up."