"So you are not going to tell me who you invited, old man?" Marduk asked once more.
"And where is the fun if I tell you?" Kayden said, laughing loudly.
"All right, whatever, I already have an idea on who you might have invited…" answered Marduk, "Anyway now or in the future the outcome will be the same." he whispered.
"What did you say? I couldn't hear you."
"Nothing. I'm going to say hello to the others. See you later, old man." said Marduk running away.
'I'm sorry Marduk but sooner is better than later. If it wasn't for that fool of a son! He will hear me when he arrives.' Kayden said while stomping his feet on the ground.
After greeting Dorran, Braum and Telia's family, Marduk went to Jane's house.
It was a tiny house in a secluded corner of Mint, it gave out a strange feeling of safety that gave Marduk goosebumps.
'What is this ominous feeling? I can't feel any danger with "Deity's eyes", let's stay on guard.'
"What was that? Why did your eyes change colour that way?" Jane suddenly said from behind.
"How did you do that?" Marduk was visibly confused by the situation.
"Oh, it's the first time I Have seen you make such a cute face. That was one of my original spells. I call it "White Flash", I came up with it while watching your friend, the Raiju."
'She moved much faster than Lord!' Marduk thought while rapidly recomposing himself.
"Anyway, why are you here, kiddo?"Jane asked.
Jane was a redhead woman in her early thirties, with freckles on her nose and cheeks, and large green eyes. She was a tomboy but had always had a thing for Kayden despite the age difference and the fact that he was already married when they met. She was enthralled by genius and magic, and spent most of her time researching magic or sleeping.
"I'm here to ask a favour of you... or, if you prefer, we can make an exchange."
Jane's face immediately changed from a teasing expression to a very serious one.
'Is he thinking of teaching me his fusion magic?!'
"Come in, do you care for some tea?" Jade said as she opened the door of her own home.
Marduk followed her silently.
The silence continued while Jane prepared the tea. They sat facing each other, sipping their tea and observing each other's every move as if it were a game of chess.
"So, what do you need?" Jane's brilliant voice cut through the endless sillence.
"Well, Zarke has started learning magic and I want you to teach him light magic."
"Hmm, and what would you give me in return?" asked Jane, unable to suppress her excitement.
"Zarke is learning fusion magic from me and Lord at the moment, so you would have the opportunity to learn it by watching him. If that's not enough, I could even give you a few pointers."
"Less than I expected, but good enough if you tell me what you were doing with your eyes outside my house earlier." Curiosity won out over Jane.
"Aren't you being too greedy? Well, let us put it this way: it's a very useful ability that can help me improve you."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, it must remain a secret... if you have some kind of magical secrecy contract and sign it with me, I will not only tell you what it is, but even teach you directly about magic fusion..."
'Mmh, would it be worth while? It's a really rare magic object rewarded only by the most high level dungeon…' Thought Jane, taking another sip from her cup of tea.
Marduk understood the value of such an object and the difficult position he had put Jane in, so he patiently waited for an answer. Half an hour and a couple of cups of tea later, Jane finally decided.
"Can you assure me it will be worth while?" She asked one last time,
"Trust me, it will."
"Ok then." Said Jane, bringing a scroll out from her dimensional ring.
It was a visibly old artefact, with the typical yellowish colour of old paper and some kind of strange red glyphes of some unknown language from a past civilization.
She also took out a couple of fifteen centimetre long silver needles.
"Prick your finger with this and let the blood flow until I say so." Jane said, handing one of the silver needles to Marduk.
Marduk didn't hesitate for a second and thrust the needle firmly into his finger.
Jane watched the scene with her eyes wide open.
"What is your skin made of? Iron?"
"..." Marduk's silence was worth a thousand words.
"Well, the contract first."
The needles started to emanate a red, blinding light. At that moment Jane moved her hand making the needles and the scroll float right between them. As the three magical objects stopped in the centre, two beems of black dense mana came out from each of the needles' points. The beems hit both their targets, right in the chest. The beem produced by Marduk's needle went through Jane's chest reaching her heart and there it stopped and the same happened to Marduk.
"I, Jane Libis, vow, in front of Fortis, Goddess of luck and fate, to never mention anything Marduk van Licht is going to tell me about his abilities, martial techniques or magic to anyone except himself." Jane said in a solemn and confident tone.
"I Marduk van Licht, vow, in front of Fortis, Goddess of luck and fate, to teach Jane Libis my fusion magic with care and commitment." Marduk said in his usual plain voice.
Then it happened, the moment Marduk blinked, he found himself in a white space, devoid of anything except a peerless beauty with a blindfold. She was floating in mid air, with her legs crossed and her silver hair fluttering, even though there was no wind in the white space. An invisible aura of regality emanated from her body.
"Welcome Marduk van Licht or shall I say Marduk Griffith?" The lady said with an elegant and charming smile.
Marduk's face didn't even flinch at the woman's statement.
"How do you know that name?" said Marduk while leaping towards the apparently defenceless lady.
'Right now, I'm moving at the same speed Lord showed me the first time we met, no, even faster thanks to "Battlemaniac", but if I'm right…" Marduk was now only a couple of inches away from the lady's beautiful figure. However, when there were only a few millimetres left between his fist and her stomach, she vanished without a trace.
"Like I thought, you are a Goddess!" Marduk exclaimed, yet maintaining his plain expression.
"You are as clever as I thought, good you'll need your intelligence in the future."
'Another god has gone out of his way and interfered with the land of mortals to mess with me, something is off.'
Marduk was already scanning his surroundings, but with little success.
"Oh those eyes are very interesting, one day they will help you a lot. But right now they can't perceive divine power or the presence of a God." The lady said.
"It's the second time today, well whatever…" Marduk mumbled.
"Who are you? What do you think you are doing interfering with a mortal like this?" Marduk asked with an annoyed tone.
"Regarding my identity, I am the Goddess you have sworn on a couple of seconds ago. Instead of answering your question, I would first like to know, how do you know about the laws of the Land of Gods?" The Goddess asked, tilting her head in confusion while touching her chin with her forefinger.
"I know nothing of your laws, I only assumed it to be forbidden for gods to be messing with mortals because otherwise, mankind wouldn't enjoy such happiness and freedom, since you all are just a bunch of selfish beings."
"AHAHAHAHAHAHA." The laugh of the Goddess this time wasn't as elegant as the first time.
"It's the first time I have come across a mortal insulting all the gods directly in my face!" Fortis said as she recomposed herself.
"Don't misunderstand me, they indeed are a bunch of selfish beings and that is why I'm here."
This time Marduk's face showed the genuine confusion he felt.
"We have a lot to talk about. Come, let us go and sit in front of a cup of tea and some snacks."
Marduk followed the beautiful lady, all the way to a little wooden tea table.
They sat on large red cushions and started their conversation.