"Ahem! My name is Merlin. The Mage of Flowers. Please ignore what the dumb red head has said"
"Hey!"
With the sudden appearance of Merlin, the three of them forgot about the collapsing buildings and the people in them. Alise and Ryuu remembered and turned around to quickly save the people only to have already been beaten. Ais had already dragged the people to safety.
Alise breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, little girl"
Ais nodded before returning back to Merlin's side where she introduced Ais. "And this is my student, Ais Wallenstein" Ais did a small bow but said nothing.
More Evilus members showed up, witnessing the Evilus members chained up in magic and Valletta knocked out cold. They quickly turned around to retreat.
"Oh no you don't!" Alise and Ryuu gave chase.
"Ais, after them"
Ais nodded and unsheathed her sword. "Tempest!" With a burst of wind, she shot forth.
The Evilus members saw the three girls quickly gaining on them. They realized that running would be impossible, so they decided to fight.
The Evilus members who were primarily level one and two stood no chance against the three of them. Ais brought down the blunt end of her sword to knock out one.
Another ran at her. She sheathed her sword and used her hands, swiftly landing three punches before pinning him to the ground. Alise and Ryuu were also making quick work of the others.
"...To see my family once again..."
The man Ais had pinned down started speaking. He turned his head, the look in his eyes was nothing short of chaos.
"FOR THANATOS!" The man yelled out, his body began to glow. Before Ais could even register what was happening, she was pulled back by something and a magic barrier formed around the man.
The man blew up but damaged nothing but the spot he was in thanks to the barrier. Nothing remained of him.
Ais sat there shocked by what she had witnessed. The look in his eyes, as he willing blew himself up, just to kill a child. Merlin walked up behind Ais.
"These guys are crazy, reminds me of a certain terrorist group" Merlin muttered, then she helped Ais on her feet. All the Evilus members had been either killed or apprehended.
"All clear!" Gareth shouted, he turned to a young man who appeared to be a rookie. "Raul, ask Diancecht and Miach Familia for backup! NOW!"
"R-roger that!" The rookie ran off to complete his orders.
An hour later, the surviving adventurers who could help, gathered the injured and started tending to their injuries while waiting for the Diancecht and Miach Familia's. Both Familia's specializing in medicines and potion making.
"Crap! How many people do they have to hurt?!" Lyra said as she bandaged a woman's leg.
"Lion! Use your magic to heal those in need!" Kaguya said.
Ryuu was already casting her magic on the people. "I know, I'm doing it already! But my magic isn't good enough to heal all these people at once! We need more healers!"
Merlin walked into the center of everyone and raised her staff. Ryuu looked over and saw the magic circle forming under Merlin. What surprised her was the beauty of Merlin's voice and her words. The chant was short, and the magic circle activated, the injured people begun to heal rapidly, even those with severe injuries.
"Umu, as expected of me!"
Ryuu walked up to Merlin and did a small bow with her head. "Thank you, Merlin-san, for helping us"
"It's no problem" Merlin replied casually, she didn't look at Ryuu, instead her eyes were on someone else. A god who was helping a little girl, slowly approached them.
Lord Ellen" Ryuu respectfully called out to him. The god nodded and looked to Merlin.
"Impressive magic, Mage of Flowers"
"Hohoh, to be praised by a god, thank you" While Merlin acted friendly, in reality she was cautious against this man. She was well aware of the fact that gods could detect lies, something she learned with Amaterasu and the other Far East gods when she tried to lie. Also, something about this man didn't sit right with her, she couldn't quite tell what.
The god then turned to Ryuu. "I must apologize to you"
"Huh?"
"I tried saving that child so that I might understand what you guys are going through, and I actually did. I never knew that saving the weak could make you feel so satisfied! It's pleasing, and highly addictive!"
"What..."
"Forgive me for saying "free services without demand of return". This isn't meaningless at all! It does have value! Saving others makes you feel superior. It feels great to be thanked! Giving you satisfaction! And you know what? You could have told me about it earlier! Nothing about this is oddly unhealthy"
Merlin stood off to the side, listening to their conversation. 'Is this guy purposely trying to piss her off?'
"I knew it. Just because I'm a mighty god, I can't pretend I know anything. Experiencing is an important essence too"
"...Take it back" Ryuu muttered.
"Pardon?"
"TAKE BACK WHAT YOU SAID!" Ryuu was quickly losing her temper.
"Which part?"
"All of the insulting things you've said! We do not use justice for self-satisfaction!"
At this point Ais returned to Merlin's side, Merlin had given her the task of doing a quick run around the area to check for any more disturbances. Finished with her task, she stood by Merlin. Ais wanted to ask what the elf and god were talking about but Merlin gestured for her to remain silent.
"Whaaaat? Seriously? Then what the heck are you all fighting for?"
"Shut it! We fight to restore peace in this city and keep things in order! We're here to stop the madness we're witnessing right now!"
"...And isn't that self-satisfaction?"
"What the--?"
"It's not like you're getting paid, right?"
"Silence..."
"You don't even get a loaf of bread and a bowl of soup for doing this"
"Silence..."
"Not only do you not expect, gold, fame nor even a little appreciation. The truth is, your concept of justice is loneliness"
"SILENCE!"
"Don't get mad at me, elf child. I'm just a god saying whatever the hell I want. Ask the question to yourself and listen to your heart. What is your definition of justice? If you don't have an answer to that... The justice you are referring to is a twisted thing that is worse than any evil one can imagine"
"How dare you!!" Ryuu went to slap the god but was stopped when her companions called out to her.
"Lion, get focused!" Lyra called out.
Kaguya went to Ryuu and pulled her aside. "This isn't the time to play! If the god is trying to mess with you, you ignore him!" Then Kaguya pulled her away, distancing themselves from the god.
"Wow, you really know how to get under her skin" Merlin said.
"Hmm, I'm simply stating what I think. The elf child just has a quick temper"
"Well, I can agree with that. May I ask what god you are?"
Ellen smiled as he looked in Merlin's eyes. "Whatever do you mean?"
"What is the domain you preside over?" Merlin said bluntly, she didn't care about disrespecting a god. She had already done such a thing many times, what's another god added to the list.
Ellen remained silent for a brief second but the grin on his face grew.
...
...
Merlin watched as the god walked away. "What a bullshit answer..." She muttered under her breath.
"Teacher?"
Merlin looked to Ais who was confused.
"It's nothing, lets head home"
Merlin was naturally suspicious of the god named Ellen for two reasons. The first reason is that his character just screamed villain. How did she come to this conclusion? From the large amounts of anime and manga she had consumed in her past life.
The second reason is his name, Ellen. Every god she had interacted with or has heard of in this world, have all had names that can be found in the mythological pantheons on Earth. She has never heard of a god that didn't have a familiar name until now. Ellen was a name that didn't belong to any mythological god, she suspected that Ellen was a disguise and that he was hiding his true name.
"Ais never interact with that god without me around. If he tries to talk to you, immediately come find me"
"Okay, Teacher"