'Nemesis?' Ethan asked himself in disbelief. 'Where the hell did my nemesis come from? I just started my reincarnation story and barely had some fun with a few girls.'
'Why would the fantasy world pit me against the big boss? I am fighting for survival and haven't had a chance to get stronger! This is unfair!'
[System advice: Run!]
Ethan exhaled, trying to calm his anxiety. 'I guess I have no other choice. If I had reached my full potential by now, I would have loved to hang around for this untimely event and meet my nemesis. But as vulnerable as I am now, staying alive is a higher priority than satisfying my curiosity and pride."
Ethan did not waste another second and turned to leave. While backtracking his path, the boy was reminded that he left behind an innocent child playing under the maple tree. Nemesis-level entities were typically savage and cared little about collateral deaths. Therefore, the child's life was in danger.
'Why should it matter to me?' Ethan asked himself. Even though he couldn't care less about the survival of NPC characters, his conscience acted up and pricked him annoyingly.
The boy stopped in his tracks. It wouldn't take much time or energy to return a few paces and pick up the minor child.
Ethan sighed and rushed to the shade tree. He reached for the kid, lifting it by the waist. It was surprisingly heavy, and he could tell it was a girl by the touch. That much was a given since Promiscua was a woman's world. Children were more likely to be female than male in the 10:1 ratio.
"Aaaaaaaa!!" the child screamed as it was carried away. Perhaps Ethan's rude intervention disturbed the silly game it was playing. The voice was characteristically shrill and almost deafened the Cromwell heir. But he still held onto the girl and turned to flee.
Out of curiosity, Ethan cast a fleeting glance over his shoulder. His supposed nemesis had already climbed out of the garden pond. It was a beefy womanly figure over six feet tall, covered with duckweed, moss, and ferns.
Was the boy's nemesis an aquatic wereperson? A human-shark hybrid, or something of the sort? The entity was too far away to make out its outline. The only characteristic feature Ethan noticed was its eerie, glowing-white eyes.
Regardless of what creature his nemesis was, the boy's only concern was escape. Maybe the castle guards could defend him?
Thud! Ethan's stomach turned as he saw the impossible happen. As if in slow motion, the reed-covered monster grabbed the nearest garden statue and wrenched it from its foundations. With a heaving grunt, the creature launched the six-foot-tall sculpture across the garden.
"Oh, shit!" Ethan exclaimed as the giant statue came hurtling towards him. He was standing on a narrow path with trees on either side. The boy's first instinct was to use the ghost hands skill, but there wasn't enough time to navigate his system. Weak and slow as he was, there was still a chance to survive. If he could dive to his right the very next moment, perhaps only his legs would suffer damage.
But then, Ethan was carrying a child in his arms. It was a tough choice, so he let his instincts take over. The Cromwell heir cradled the little girl in his arms and turned his back towards the projectile.
Regardless of his heroic action, the child let out another shrill protest and rebelled against his grip with renewed energy. She was like a possessed squirrel, thrashing her tiny arms and legs.
"Calm down! I'm trying to save you!" Ethan chided her. In the scuffle, the girl's solid fist rained down between Ethan's legs.
Bump! The random attack landed square against his balls. The boy's anxiety and concerns vaporized instantly as he saw stars in broad daylight. He dropped the girl and slumped to the ground, rolling into a groaning ball.
On the other hand, the child stood fearlessly before him, facing the incoming statue. "Get away…" Ethan groaned, fighting excruciating groinal pain.
"Athena can go overboard sometimes," the little girl said calmly. Her voice was childish and impish, as expected. However, there were intones of an adult's temerity.
"What are you talking about?" the Cromwell heir demanded from the ground.
The girl did not respond but held up a hand and muttered a few inaudible words. Ethan figured she still thought it was a game she was playing. Her childish innocence would cost her life.
Boom! The next moment, the massive sculpture found its target! Flutter! Instead of crushing Ethan and the girl into a pulp, it magically turned into flower petals, showering the two with nature's fragrance.
"What just happened?" Ethan snapped, fighting his way out of the heap of petals. "Little girl, are you okay?"
The boy's scrotal pain had receded, so he gradually got to his feet.
The child turned towards him and dropped her hood, revealing locks of ash-colored hair. She wore a black gothic robe, stockings, and fishnet gloves.
Ethan realized the four-and-a-half-foot stature under the cloaked hood had fooled him. The little girl was actually an adult with a wholesome cleavage.
"Call me little girl once more, and I'll turn you into a frog!" she warned him.
"Who are you?" the Cromwell heir asked in exasperation. "And do you know that savage monster which tried to kill us?"
"I'm Beatrix Galore, the cutest witch in the world!" the little beauty replied with a naughty wink and a charming smile.
She turned towards the reed-covered entity that was rapidly gaining on them. "That's my colleague, Athena. I have no idea why she attacked us, though. Athena is normally harmless."
Ethan raised his brows in anxiety. Was Beatrix his witch tutor? That would make the brutal, statue-hurling monster, his warrior tutor?
"Athena!" Beatrix called out. "Have you lost your mind? Why are you trying to kill us?"
"And more importantly, you went into the pond to bathe yourself! Why are you more disgusting than before? Let me clean you up!"
Beatrix approached the maple tree on whose bark she was etching symbols and touched the surface with her open hand. "Nubes Lavari…"
A section of the tree foliage dried up all of a sudden. On the other hand, a small rain cloud appeared right over Athena's head. Splash! A torrential shower rained down from it for ten seconds.
Ethan's jaw appeared to drop to the ground, not only because Beatrix's magic was impressive. Her true appearance was revealed as the rain cloud washed Athena's body. The duckweed, moss, and ferns had made the warrior appear like a monster.
Actually, she was a tall, muscular woman with long, blonde hair. The magical torrent washed down the filth, covering her naked body. However, a few weeds still persisted over her nipples and groin, as if nature was censoring her nudity.
"You must be the Cromwell brat," Beatrix snapped in her cherubic voice. "Why don't you put the royal manners to some good use? Don't nobles turn their eyes away when they see a naked maiden? My friend has no clothes on!"
Ethan was so shaken by the events that he turned around obediently. The warrior Athena was still far away anyway, and all he caught were glimpses of her overmuscled female body.
The boy couldn't see anything explicit from the distance but could draw a few inferences from the woman's outlines. Her breasts were definitely huge with zero hints of sagging, and the female warrior's thighs were perfectly toned like Greek sculptures.
Now, Ethan's conundrum was how to react. Was Athena really his nemesis? If the answer was yes, why was he still standing there instead of fleeing? Could he depend on Beatrix's protection?
"Move away from him!" Athena growled from a distance. "Let me end his life!"
The warrior's voice was heavy for a woman but was strangely alluring. It bordered on the erotic, triggering Ethan's suppressed fetishes. The boy shook his head vigorously to snap out of the libido trance. Athena, the muscle freak, wanted to kill him! Getting turned on by her made no logical sense!
"Calm down, girl," Beatrix said. "First, let's put on your clothes! Fembellator vestis!"
The medieval knight attire and armor set lying by the maple tree shivered and clinked. The pieces rose into the hair and rushed in Athena's direction.
"No peeking," the little witch chirped at him.
Schling! Twang! Ethan wished to God he could see the hulking woman get dressed through a magical spell. It would probably be one of the most exhilarating sequences a fantasy world could produce—an amalgam of metal and nudity. Alas, Beatrix watched his movements with a hawk's eye.
"Can I turn around now? We are standing in my own damn castle! I'd rather face my attacker than show my back!"
"Yeah, she's proper now," the witch replied dryly.
Ethan faced Beatrix and Athena with an expression of wonder. One was an adult loli, a chibi witch who could summon rain clouds and levitate objects. The other was a tall, sinewy woman who could hurl a five-hundred-pound statue across two hundred feet like a doll.
Athena, particularly, was an impressive sight to behold. At six feet four inches, she had chiseled feminine features that reminded Ethan of Amazonian goddesses. She had blonde hair like Elves, but her musculature was more human. Overall, the female warrior was quite attractive.
"I'm sorry for rushing in naked, Bea," Athena told her friend apologetically. "How unknightly of me! I will make myself suffer penance later. However, stand aside and let me end this creature before it is too late!"
Beatrix's cheeks puffed up in anger. "What nonsense are you blabbering? This boy is Ethan Cromwell, the heir of Fondel County! His mother, our boss, promised gold, food, and lodging! What possessed you to try and kill our golden goose?"
Ethan was offended to be referred to as a commodity. However, the little witch was his only friend under the current circumstances. Therefore, he let the bitter pill slide down his throat.
Athena clenched her jaw and glowered at the boy. "No way this thing is what you claim! It is an imposter!"
Beatrix's expression softened when she noticed how confident her colleague was. She turned towards Ethan with a suspicious look. "What are you talking about? Who is he really, according to you?"
Athena formed a fist and spat on the ground with disdain. "He is the evil spawn of Lucifer and Alaric! He is Asmodeus incarnate!"