9 Chapter 9: Arlette

Zephyr returned to the forest with Sherine. The blistering heat was opposite of the artificially cooled room in the Soul Keeper House. A part of him yearned to go back and sleep more.

Suddenly, a cold and gentle wind brushed them, and the heat gradually cooled down to a pleasant temperature. A black figure emerged from the back of a tree. A cloak covered them to their boot tops, the cowl tugged well forward so no part of them showed.

"I'm Arlette, the goddess of forests. I've been waiting for you to return."

The voice was unmistakably female, but of a different quality than Sherine's. Whereas Sherine's voice was soft as silk, the figure's voice was steely stern and cold even.

Sherine clenched her fists, her eyes hinting a dangerous glow. The enigmatic figure was a goddess. Not any goddess but the Goddess of Forests, the one who carried vengeance against them for slaughtering animals. She couldn't let the goddess harm Zephyr. So she reached for the spatial pouch that held her gauntlets as well as Zephyr's scythe.

"Do not think about that, young dragoness," the hooded goddess predicted Sherine's intentions. "I'm not here to challenge you."

Zephyr remained observant from his position. His silence stemmed from the goddess who abruptly showed and the faint gray around her figure. It was his first time stumbling upon these strange features, but he instinctively knew what to do.

"Dismantle mind illusion," he muttered.

[Emblem: Soulmancy dismantled Gold-rank skill: Fairy Illusion.]

The illusion skills counted as mental skills; he didn't know about it until now. Or that the Soulmancy could dispel these illusions.

Arlette's hood suddenly melted away, and Zephyr got a full look at the tiny goddess, who hovered with colorful, fairy-like wings. With forest green hair and elf-like ears, she greatly resembled the pixies of the legends.

"How is a goddess so small?" he whispered.

"Small?!" Arlette lost control of her composure as she finally realized the demise of her illusory self. "What did you do?! How did you stop my Gold-Rank illusion skill?"

A low level human deconstructed her skill without batting an eye. She admitted his flames were special, sparked by a divine power. It still didn't make sense for him to wield a power capable of canceling her Gold-rank skill!

Sherine, who hadn't inherited this aspect of her father's divinity, was in awe. She was uneasy facing the cold, mysterious goddess. It wasn't the same case with the goddess shorter than her hand.

"I dispelled your illusion," Zephyr spoke in a confident voice. "Why are you using the illusion of a mysterious figure? You wanna act cool?"

Coming off weak was the worst thing one could do in a confrontation, unless acting weak was a strategy to catch opponents off-guard.

Arlette's cheeks reddened when her intentions were seen through so easily. "N-No, I wanted to scare you… away from my forest." She assumed a serious expression. "You cannot kill my children and consume their souls! You'll stop them from reincarnating ever again. If you use your flames again, I-I'll fight you to death."

She didn't sign up to fight an outer goddess when she inherited the goddess position. But they left her no choice. She was the guardian of all forests and protecting her children's souls was her duty!

Zephyr wasn't having a battle to death with a goddess, even if she was the size of a fairy. "Then what do you want me to do when your children attack me? Let them eat me?"

Arlette pointed at Sherine. "Take off her ring. You'll pass the forest with no trouble."

Sherine ran her thumb over her ring and frowned. "Make me."

Arlette didn't hear the challenge, but she saw the provocative look in Sherine's eyes. The challenge was something she wasn't willing to take on her own.

"Let me handle this." Zephyr stopped his companion from taking any impulsive action. "Arlette, you said you're the goddess of the forests, right?"

Arlette unconsciously nodded her head. "I am."

"Then guide me to places with the brood-type monsters. We'll slaughter those monsters instead of your animals. I propose a fine deal, won't you agree?"

The special skill of the Brood Queen created the brood-type monsters. She and her army were the enemy of all humanity and the world itself. Dwindling the parasitic monsters' numbers would do them a favor.

Yet…

'Why do I have this feeling?'

As if she was being played… Arlette couldn't shake this uncomfortable feeling. Only the Council of the Divine ever made her this wary.

Zephyr crossed his arms with an impatient smile. "I don't have all day."

"Fine… I'll do it."

Arlette extended her hand, and the fallen leaves flew towards her. The leaves crumbled and created a thick sheet of paper. Arlette flicked her finger, and the parchment drifted to Zephyr's hands.

"It should help you."

Zephyr unrolled the sheet to find what seemed to be the map of this forest. The colorful markers and legend on the side gave him enough insight to locate himself on the map.

"Great."

Arlette showed a frown on her cute face. "What is your motive in coming to our world?"

Zephyr gave a friendly smile. "You seem insightful. I'll give you a chance to guess."

Arlette's frown deepened as she concentrated. After a long staring contest, she pointed at Sherine. "That dragon goddess over there fell in love with you, a mortal. And her father rejected your relationship. You are out for an adventurer to increase your strength, so her father can't reject you." Arlette's breathing hiked as she rambled her delusional story. "I'm right, right? Right?"

Zephyr's smile became cold, even if his eyes smiled. "I take back everything I said."

Seriously, who elected her as the goddess of the forests? He regretted he was ever scared of facing this goddess. He regretted giving her a chance to spout her fantasies and taint Sherine's innocent mind.

He wanted to spout so many insults at her face but controlled himself. She was the goddess of forests regardless of her stupid acts. Provoking her into a battle won't do them any good.

"Why are you looking at me like I am an idiot?! I'm the wisest spirit of the court!"

'Good lord, she ruined all the expectations I had for gods.'

If the other gods were just as bright as Arlette, this world's demise at the Brood Queen's hands was destined. No Chosen One could help them.

Arlette puffed her cheeks. "I used to be an elegant lady, taller than that dragon lady. Then something… happened, and I became like this."

He remained silent, but his eyes conveyed his skepticism.

"Hmph! I don't need your trust."

"Sherine, let's go."

Zephyr held Sherine's hand and led her away before Arlette's foolishness infected his dragon companion. The half dragoness seemed lost in thought as she recited Arlette's "romantic" story in her mind.

"I won't tell you about human explorers now."

Zephyr shook his head in utter disappointment. Arlette may as well shout those words out.

'Explorers… What should I do if I run into them?'

Talk, cooperate, or ignore. He'd give the first option a try. If the results were good, he'd proceed to the second option. The last option was only reserved for unreasonable assholes.

He followed the map. It wasn't long before he arrived at a cave, which was similar to the one Riven chose for their transfer.

Sherine pointed at the cave. "Five or six fools…"

"Ah, we have to be careful. Sherine, I'll count on you if I can't beat them all."

Sherine patted her chest with a soft smile. "As you should, my champion."