Bogart needed me to hold Sacchan while she and Slayn worked on repairing it. The first thing they did was fasten the three metal bands she was banging earlier onto the bat. Slayn gently pressed the dryad seed into the crack, then tightened the last band over it. None of what they were doing made any sense to me even though Bogart explained it before starting.
The seed was supposed to repair the crack by embedding itself into Sacchan and regrowing the wood. The magic ore that the metal bands were made of was supposed to stimulate the growth. All the while I held Sacchan to make sure it remained strong and sturdy enough so as to not break during the process.
It fucking hurt my soul to see Chika's gift manhandled like that. But all of this was to save my only memento of her. If it made Sacchan stronger in the process, then even better.
"How about the bell? Where does that come in?" I asked Bogart and Slayn.
"Any number of things can happen. Godly relics contain magic that can create miracles," Slayn said.
"We're in luck because it's the Celestial Bell. They say the vibrations it emits can resonate with enchanted items to temporarily empower them," Bogart added.
Sitting on an anvil behind me, Anya and Yui were bored out of their minds. The dryad girl sat on Yui's lap, and had roots from her legs dipped into a bucket of water to slowly drink from.
"I ain't the religious type, but I can't imagine a god is going to be happy we stole from his worshippers," Anya chimed in.
Slayn chuckled. "The gods have taken a backseat for centuries. Their relics swapped hands more time than an Ash'tar prostitute."
"Whichever god the Celestial Bell belongs to can suck a dick for all I care. If we need its magic, I'm taking it to fix Sacchan whether they like it or not," I said.
At the end of the day, this was all to get back on my feet to face off with Bishamonten again. Once Sacchan was all fixed up, there was still the issue of finding a way to cleanse my body of the azure viper venom's effects. I didn't want to rely on Anya forever with her enhancements. Fighting with this god damn crutch would just end in the same way as last time.
Bogart wiped the sweat from her forehead and said, "We're just about done. Just need to strike the Celestial Bell a few times and—"
"Who dares defile my sacred relic? You mangy mutts are unworthy to even lay eyes upon the Celestial Bell, let alone make use of it for your own ends!" a deep voice bellowed, spooking everyone inside the forge.
A gust of wind swept through the room even though we were indoors. Flames gushed from the five faces of the central forge, licking the ceiling and almost incinerating a nearby worker. Then, as though turning into molten sludge, the fire dripped from the ceiling and formed a small pool of lava from which someone emerged from.
Bogart and Slayn backed away in terror. Other workers fled from the room.
"You're joking… that is a god…" Slayn muttered.
The tall man had a full white beard that came down to his chest. He was dressed in white and gold robes, like some god right out of greek mythology. All I could make from his face were two golden eyes and his bulbous, rosey nose.
"And who the fuck are you supposed to be?" I asked him.
"Little mortal, I am Fade. One of the eighteen gods that preside over this plane. You insulted me by desecrating a sacred ground that worships my kin, as well as stealing my divine treasure!" the god boomed.
It felt like I should be trembling and bowing for forgiveness. But the tone of his voice was getting on my nerves.
"Look, buddy. I don't see the big deal. We just need to ring your dinner bell once or twice, and we'll give it back to your baldie followers," I said.
"Dinner bell— baldie followers?! The offenses continue! Your transgressions will not go unpunished. I shall smite you where you stand!" Fade pointed a finger and unleashed a thunderous shock that bounced off my body.
"That all ya got?" I brushed the dust from my jacket.
The surprised god stared at his own finger, wondering what went wrong.
It was always the cunts who talked a big game that couldn't back up their bark. That or we really were cut from a different cloth if gods couldn't hurt us.
"I can shock, too! Let me show you how it's done." Yui discharged a localized, electric explosion at Fade's feet, causing him to jump and yelp in pain. She continued her onslaught of ranged attacks while cackling. "Ahahaha! Dance! Dance!"
One shock knocked him to the ground. Anya was cracking her knuckles and standing over him when he looked up.
"You know what time it is?" Anya asked.
Yui put her nunchuck away and pounded her fists together. "Yankee diplomacy, banzai!"
"Wait a minute— you can't do this. I'm a god!" Fade cried.
The two of them started wailing on the god, kicking him in the stomach and chest while he was down. There was nothing he could do except crawl into the fetal position and shield his head from the unrelenting blows. I gave Sacchan to Bogart so I could join them in the beatdown.
"Ya got something to say, ya pitiful shit?"
"Groveling is a good look on you!"
"Ora ora ora! Where's all that grandstanding, huh?"
We forced Fade to sit on his knees on top of a pile of hot coals. He cast his head down, nose bloodied, and clothes dirted from all the soot and ash, looking more like a homeless man than a god now.
"That's what ya get for being a little bitch. Coulda just turned a blind eye and let us work," I said, shaking my head.
"I'm going to be honest… This is not how I expected things to turn out when a god appeared before us today." Bogart walked no further than up to my back as she stared at Fade with pity in her eyes. "Believe us, we won't do anything more than we need to with your relic."
"Oh, go on. It's not like the world cares about the eighteen anymore. All we wanted was to be revered again…" Fade grumbled.
Bogart and Slayn went on to finish repairing Sacchan. The beastling breathed magical fire onto it to soften the metal bands, then dipped it into a bath of water, causing them to tighten and clench.
"Strike the bell!" she yelled.
Yui tapped the bell, causing it to create visible ripples in the air. The metal bands on Sacchan shattered. The seed inside the crack began to grow, filling the space until it looked like an old scar on skin.
"Is that it?" I asked Bogart.
"It should be," she answered.
Nothing felt different. However, when I squeezed Sacchan it was like a heartbeat responded to me.
"Well. Only way to find out is to go all out with it, and I got just the target dummy." I pressed the bat right against the side of Fade's head.
His eyelids fluttered. "Uh. Hold on— I didn't consent to this!"