[68] Proposed with Quetzalcoatl’s Mission

Chapter 68: Proposed with Quetzalcoatl's Mission

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I left Akane behind and roamed the area for a bit more. My [Jade Perception] told me that the Mermaids in that cave very far from here have increased in number.

I really wanted to go and take a look, but since the Dragon Goddess was protecting them, I didn't feel like going there. Until next time, Mermaid meat.

Speaking of the dragon woman, I ended my lone venture and returned to the filming site. The kids were still there, and so was Quetzalcoatl. She was lying in her beach chair, and chatting with Mem-Cho much louder now, laughing and giggling. Odd to see such an old Goddess get along with a young devil.

"Hey," I waved my hand as I approached them. "What's so fun that you guys are laughing?"

"The little boy from before," Quetzalcoatl shot me a look. "Do you know him well, Mem-Cho?"

"Ah, yes," Mem-Cho nodded, looking at me. "You asked what faction I belonged to, right? It's the one he's part of. I forgot the name, sorry."

She forgot the name –Nexus of Eternity– the greatest of all time? I shot her a dirty look that she received with a wink.

"Uh-huh. So this faction of yours deals with not only talented young humans, but devils too. Who's the leader? They must be some big shot." Quetzalcoatl truly believed that, from the looks of it.

It's better to play along, I suppose. "I don't think you'll recognize him; he goes by the title The Venerable One. He lives on some secluded mountain in the mainland."

"Mainland?"

"China."

"Ah."

The Goddess nodded to herself. Since she thought my Sect had a superpower leader leading it, there was no reason to tell her that I was the leader myself. She'll know someday if she doesn't die all of a sudden.

"I didn't know that," Mem-Cho looked at me. "I thought-" I shot her and she went silent. "Ah right, I did join recently. So it makes sense I don't know."

"Hmm," Quetzalcoatl looked at Mem and then back at me. A mischievous glint ran across her eyes. "Hey, I have a mission for you. You can choose to reject it, but if you accept and succeed, I'll reward you. In fact, if you do a fantastic job, the Aztec Pantheon might back up this 'Sect' of yours in many ways. Deal?"

Oh, what is this now?

What sort of job could a Goddess possibly have for me? Hmm….

"What's the juicy details? I can't agree to it before you tell me about it." I looked at her and she raised an eyebrow.

"What audacity to ask this God King for details. You should be grateful that I am even honoring you with a mission," she said. She's cute. "Anyways, no, I can't tell you the details. It's kind of a secret. Unless you agree, I can't tell you. You just have to trust me on this and accept it. I can assure you that you won't die - if you're worried about that. Your power level should be just about enough to deal with this."

Given she could only feel my aura and not my other powers, that meant I was more than enough for the little errand she had for me. I should just agree. It's not bad to create a connection with the Aztecs and its Chief God. Also, I like her.

Being a hot blondie in her human form and a serpent in her dragon form, even though she was not an Azure Dragon, she reminded me a little of the Azure Dragon of the Eastern Cosmos from my 6th life.

"Sure," I agreed, and all of a sudden, mist burst from beside me. It wasn't done by the Goddess but by a third party.

"What the," the Goddess looked at the figure that emerged from the cleared mist. "Hero Faction?"

It was a man, who was a member of the Hero Faction. 

Mem-Cho froze, and I moved over to protect her just in case.

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"There are cameras all around here, you know?" Quetzalcoatl looked up from her chair and stared into the eyes of the man who wore a mage's robe.

He pushed his glasses up and smiled, "It's fine, a mere camera won't catch the mist of Dimension Lost. Besides, I cast magic to make all eyes and cameras unable to notice me. We from the Hero Faction don't take chances, O' Great Goddess."

He turned to Mem-Cho, his eyes twinkled gently before he looked up to meet my eyes. He smiled. "My name is George, I'm a Great Mage and the Vice Leader of the Hero Faction. You must be Aquamarine Hoshino, nice to meet you."

It's not hard to find my name, moreover since I was somewhat of a celebrity now, but I hated how he said it with a tone that said he knew everything about me. And did he just say he was a 'Great' mage? I don't usually judge, but he seems pathetic for the arrogant aura he carried himself around with.

 "Yeah, me too," I kept my reply short and gave him a nod.

The man looked at Mem again, an odd expression passing by his face before he shook his head.

"Why is the Hero Faction here?" Asked Quetzalcoatl with a tilt of her head.

"Not the Hero Faction, just me." George looked away from Mem-Cho and said. "I was a part of the Magician Association in the past, you see before I was scouted by Captain Cao Cao. There is a little incident going around in Hawaii, related to some Dark Mages who used to be a part of the Magician Association in the past. I'm sure you heard this. Shall we talk about this in private?"

"Dark Mages… you mean those guys who call themselves Dark Pirates are Dark Mages? Should have figured from the name. And no, you should say whatever you want right here." Quetzalcoatl said, nudging her chin at me. "This boy is representing me in this exact mission, and I was just about to share with him the details. As a good mercenary of the Hero Faction, you can do that in my stead."

The Hero Faction, from the little I knew, was famous all over the world. They were not the strongest, but they were at the top. Their leader Cao Cao could even clash with a Chief God and walk out alive. So they were useful mercenaries used by many Pantheons to carry out tasks. Even Aztecs had hired them in the past, and that's why Quetzalcoatl knew him to begin with.

George shook his head with a smile, used to being ordered around by living Nukes, as he turned to me. "Well, the explanation is for both of you. I am here to notify you to stay out of this and let me handle it. I shall stop those bastards and rescue the Mermaid Princess as soon as possible."

"What?" Both Quetzalcoatl and I asked out loud, and the woman continued. "The Princess of Atlantis? That girl has been kidnapped? Ugh, those mage fools."

"Indeed. But rest assured, I'll take care-"

"No," Quetzalcoatl stood up. "You got the mission from the Mage Association, but I got the request from Poseidon himself. If it's his precious granddaughter at stake, I can't let you handle this. I agree that you are competent, but if one of the mages turns out to be an old buddy of yours and you hold back, the Princess might be in danger. I can't take that chance."

"But-"

"And I don't trust you," Quetzalcoatl shot him a suspicious look. "What if you are one of the mages related to this? I am not suspecting you, but it's always possible. So no, I will not handle my responsibility to a mere Mage. You do your job, and I'll do mine. Well, this boy will do mine, but it's the same thing."

I looked at her in surprise and George frowned, "Why would you trust a young man with a mission which you said is so serious? That is baffling."

"He seems competent,"

"I-"

"You dare doubt the Eyes of Wisdom?" Quetzalcoatl tilted her head as her green eyes shifted their color, becoming gold with black lines spinning like machinery. "He will take care of it."

I rubbed the back of my head, "Hey, I appreciate that you trust me so much, but I have acted to do. If it's so serious, you should do it yourself or let him do it. I'll be busy the entire day, so-"

"Do it tomorrow," she said. "It's not that urgent. Otherwise, I'd have received some warning from my subordinate. You finish your episode. I'd feel bad if your episode turned out to be bad because I interrupted it. Do it tomorrow."

"Alright, fine," I agreed. So it's a mermaid rescue mission? Shouldn't be too hard. 

I… wanted to eat some mermaid meat, but it'd be troublesome if I ate Poseidon's granddaughter. So I'll complete the mission as given. She promised a reward, I hope it's enough to compensate for the mermaid meat.

"Alright then," George let out a sigh. "I'm glad you didn't tell me to not meddle with this, at least. So I'll go now and try to fix this before tomorrow comes. Thanks for the time." He smirked and with a burst of purple mist, he vanished from sight.

"He seemed quite strong, Miss Quku," Mem-Cho said, and Quetzalcoatl turned to her.

"He did? He's a twig. He can only cast a few powerful spells, but that takes time. I can snap him in half before he can say a single incantation. Mages are weaklings."

'Hey lady, don't insult my-'

Never mind. She does have a point. Mages don't usually have strong bodies, so they are easy to deal with if you're a berserker like Quetzalcoatl.

Also, did Mem just call her 'Quku'? Whoa, and she didn't look like she minded that. 

On another note, the camera was finally on us again. Now that George was gone, his magic lifted and attention shifted to us.

The three of us realized that around the same time and decided to drop the topic.

Quetzalcoatl yawned and stretched her arms, giving birth to a sight that'd live in the memories of all the viewers rent-free.

She flipped her hair to the side and looked at me. "I did say I trust you, my eyes are special, but I still want to make sure just in case. But at the same time, I don't want to take you away from the camera. So…" she smiled. "Wanna swim with me?"

Mem-Cho's eyes widened as the Goddess reached out a hand. I stared at her and then accepted it. She grinned.

Then, I was violently pulled to the water. With all cameras focused on the two of us, I was thrown to the sea before 'Quku' jumped and dragged me under the sea.

I didn't call forth my Tiger Icon, which made me unable to breathe. But there were many Cultivation Skills that allowed me to replace actual breathing by just absorbing the Qi in the air. It was a little stuffier than what I did last night, but it worked.

The two of us locked eyes, with the water shimmering around us, and Quetzalcoatl let out a laugh seeing me unable to talk. I could replace breathing, but not talking. It seemed she really liked me when silent.

"Try to keep up with me," she said even though we were underwater. "I know just testing out swimming skills isn't enough, but it should give me enough idea about your energy level and manipulation."

She said, and I noticed her hands were a little transformed, and so were her legs. Her fingers were connected by a thin layer of green skin now.

Tell you what, woman, I can do that too.

As she gave me a last look before blasting away, I used simple Qi manipulation to coat my hands and feet. Then, I followed behind her.

A portion of that day's episode just had my and "Quku's" heads popping up out of the water, every few minutes and each far from the past position. The viewers were left bewildered, wondering how we were moving so fast. Though most would think it was edited.

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