Conniving Tricks And Smirking Goddesses

"Why are YOU of all people protecting him!?" Dues grits her teeth as she asks.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" As if to give her a taste of her own medicine, Jom-e-wah replies with a cocky attitude and punches her right in the face – or at least, he tries to. She dodges him pretty easily and punches right at his right cheek, knocking him a few steps back.

While I am stunned by this whole thing, I am not so stunned that I didn't use this opportunity to get away from her. I have run as away from her as I can – which is still not much but, I might have a second or two before she can get to me.

Using this time that Jom-e-wah bought me, I have also used Image to change my appearance. I look like a Frost now. Although I am pretty sure that Dues would be able to see through this ability, others around her won't.

So come, Dues ex machina, attack me – the me who looks like an ordinary Frost – and show the entire populous around that you, the oh-so-great 'God', would actually attack a person like that.

"What a conniving little trick you have got there!" She remarks as she closes up the distance between in a matter of a second. I stay still as a normal Frost would, making sure this looks like I am just an ordinary guy who this 'God' is going to beat up.

The only other way I could have taken was trying to run away but I know it wouldn't have worked unless I got really lucky, which, seeing from my experiences so far, is not very likely. Something like taking a Frost or two as hostages to stop her would never work because I know this bitch doesn't actually care about these people. This is why this strategy is the best as it at least plays into the purpose of destroying her reputation among these people.

"Well, I guess we'll see then." She says with a disgustingly wide smile and punches me right in the eye. I fall to the ground and barely my stop my reflexive attack on her. She smirks and stands where she was, looking down at me.

"Not so fast!" A particular dark elf shouts from behind and comes to tackle her. She easily stops him with one hand, without even looking back, and says,

"As you wish, we'll take it slow!"

I act like I am terrified of her and am trying to get away. She causally trips Jom-e-wah and almost disappears from my sight, appearing right behind me. I try to get up but she foots her foot on my shoulders and almost ends up breaking my collarbone.

"AAAAHHH!!!"

If only I was a masochist, I would be enjoying myself right now. But, I am not one.

"W-why are you doing this, God?" I ask, using all the acting skills I have acquired over the years to look afraid and wronged.

"Oh, you know why." I glance at the people around. I made sure to not let them notice that the human they were seeing before – me – changes his appearance into a Frost. And so, to them, it would look like their God is beating up a simple Frost. And so,

"What's wrong with her!?"

"How can she do this to one of us!?"

"Is she really a God, or is she a devil!?"

These kinds of gossip should be spreading. If only this was true though.

"That asshole must have it coming!"

"He probably is a heretic like those Temple of Temur guys."

"At least, whatever he did has given us a chance to look at the majestic God Dues herself."

"Yeah, she is SO pretty!"

What's wrong with these people!?

"Well, well," Dues says mockingly, "looks like someone's plan backfired!"

Tsk!

I suppose it did backfire. That doesn't mean I failed completely though.

"Ha!" I laugh, deliberately. "Hahaha! Hahahahaha!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

As I laugh, all the gossip around us quiets down. Dues stops smiling and only look at me curiously, as if wanting to find out what I am cooking up in my brain.

"What kind of 'God' takes so much time to punish a person? You are pathetic!" I say, mockingly, "Don't you have anything else to do! Aren't you delaying all of it just to have some sadistic fun here!? Millions of lives could be lost in some corner of the universe because you are too busy-

The ground change shape as Dues' leg (the one that wasn't on my shoulders) trips and makes her fall.

"Falling for me!"

With that, the Frosts all around us starts to look at us with confused and anxious expressions. It looks like these idiots really don't realize how ungodly this bitch is.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Deliberately clapping thrice, Dues gets up and shrugs the dirt of her clothes – her black clothes that are basically that of an aristocratic woman who would definitely like the 'darker is better' phrase.

"Falling for you, eh? That's a good one." She says, and raises her palm to show it directly to me. In the next second, I get thrown to the side by Jom-e-wah. As I turn back to see why he did, I find the dark elf turned to bones.

"…" I am unable to come up with anything. All this time I was thinking Dues' limitation is that she won't go so far as to kill me. But, if she intended to do that to me … no, wait!

"You bitch! You saw him coming and knew he was going to save me!"

"Well, of course my darling little idiot, why else would I use a lethal mage-craft?" She says without batting an eye, "He was nuisance and so I dealt with him."

"…"

"Now, where were we?" She asks as she bends down to look me in the eye. "Ah yes, the 'falling for you' part."

She snaps her fingers and … and … nothing happens.

"Ow, are you so afraid of me that you think even snapping my fingers would be something dangerous? That's cute." She remarks as she gets up and look at the right – at some bushes.

"I can't sense what's beyond those bushes." She says. "And so, there's a very high possibility that the man responsible for me not being able to Scry on you at times should be there.���

What!? That bird-brained idiot didn't run away. What the hell! Come to think of it,

"You finally realized?" She asks with a condescending look, "That big, fat mercenary who has no reason to help you was helping you because someone was controlling him."

And – that someone was Cartel Hopkins.

"Quite similar to your Earth Authority, your 'friend' there might possess an ability called Life Authority."

*****