Civilization

Chapter 316 316 - A Kind Gesture

"Selino? Not Mikki or Ian? Nina, what's going on?" - Rebecca

"I don't know. Just… Just wait and see." - Nina

It wasn't strange to hear the two of them question the situation, after all, the last time they saw me would have been the disguised monster, Mikki, impersonating me. However, now Selino and I are now one individual, although, hearing the demon speaking to Selino has been the most surprising thing so far. This means, not only does the demon know of Selino but also the Reaper. How far do her connections extend and to what extent is her power?

"Glad to be back, Bael deary. Is Skelly still okay? The sun hasn't shone in his direction for a while now, right? I do believe… It is unhealthy to be trapped in a location without any sunlight for an extended period of time. Maybe~ Taking a walk will brighten his complexion. What do you say, hmm?" - Selino

"Your silvery tongue still disrespects the master all the same. Why don't I slice it off? I highly doubt you still need it." - Bael

Banging his scythe on the ground, drawing our attention away from the confrontation between Selino and Bael, the Reaper raises his monotonous voice.

"I do not need advice from an insect. Stop the useless chatter. What does the Horde want with me? I'm sure it isn't because my army is disturbing his lands, and if it is then him wiping them out shouldn't be much of a task." - Reaper

"I'm here on my own accord, Skelly." - Selino

"Then disappear. I have wasted enough time on you. Bael!" - Reaper

"Yes, master. I will get rid of these insects and cleanse the castle of their presence." - Bael

Clapping his hands, Bael smiles sinisterly as numerous black balls wrapped in a dark purple aura appear around him. Purple lightning sparks around them, zapping the area as a deep indigo miasma is exuded from Bael's body. David and Devel, get into a defensive position, protecting the rest as they quickly bunch up together, anticipating the attack.

"SELINO!" - Ian

"Still so impatient, Skelly. Silver Cocoon!" - Selino

Leaping off the throne of webs, Selino stands in front of the group, spreading my hands out as a silvery thread starts to weave a cocoon quickly around us, forming a barrier as the black balls start to collide with it. Each ball shakes the cocoon violently, with some even creating small holes in it, only to be mended immediately.

"Selino? What are you doing in Ian's body?" - Nina

Turning around, I see Nina approaching me cautiously. Her hand still gripping onto her wand tightly, with Devel standing guard right behind her. It wasn't just him, everyone else was on edge as they observe my movements. However, I still had another 30 minutes before the switch can occur, which means Selino can still do whatever she wants during this time.

"Oh, Nina deary~ How are you? I've missed you." - Selino

Grabbing onto Nina's shoulder quicker than Devel's reaction, Selino pulls Nina in for a hug, grasping her tightly before releasing her.

"It really isn't Ian…" - Devel

"Yes, deary, I'm not Ian, although I do look like him, that is because this is still Ian's body." - Selino

"It isn't Mikki, right?" - Rebecca

"Nope! This is Ian, as well as I, the Queen of Spiders herself." - Selino

"You still haven't answered my question. Why are you in Ian's body? And while you are at it, explain what you are doing here." - Nina

"My, oh, my. You and Skelly would get along so well. Both of you are just so impatient sometimes, gosh. I'm just here for fun, while Ian is here for his task. After completing the union with him, I have found a lot to do with my own world which I have never thought about or seen before. The excitement just keeps on rising! Especially since the task is to defeat The Reaper himself. OH! I can't wait for us to fight him properly, though I must say, everyone here is quite weak. How do you even hope to defeat him?" - Selino

"Wait! That was a lot of information, and a lot of questions popped up because of it. Care to explain what you mean by the union? How you can see the notifications? And what do you mean we are weak? We-" - Nina

"Nina. Stop. We can figure that out later. I would like to ask you one thing. Are you here to help us or to hinder us?" - Devel

Stepping forward in front of Nina, Devel looks Selino right in the eye. Putting on the most intimidating aura he could, Devel faces us, waiting for our answer. Before Selino could answer him, I spoke first, giving Selino insight into my thoughts.

"Selino, we are here to help them, okay? Defeating the Reaper is the task we must complete. Although it seems extremely difficult, we must do it. Tell Devel we are going to help." - Ian

"Ian deary, let me enlighten you for a second. It is impossible for us to defeat the Reaper. What we see right now is merely a puppet. The Reaper hasn't shown himself in front of the Kings before and while it seems like he needs to be the one to summon the Demons, he is able to momentarily pass power through the puppet to summon the Demons. The Bael in front of us isn't the real Bael either, but only a fraction of his power.

Surely you didn't think that this skill of mine would be able to hold up against an attack by one of the strongest demons? I only have a fraction of my own power while inside you, which means I am already significantly weaker than myself from before the Union, yet I am barely defending against this onslaught. Your task, given to you by the higher beings of this world is to eliminate the puppet that is residing in the place of the Reaper. What happens after it, well… Let's just hope we don't see the real Reaper." - Selino

"If that is how it is then all the more reason for us to kill the 'Reaper' in front of us. Completing the task will allow us to grow stronger to the point where we would be able to defeat the real Reaper." - Ian

"Hmm… Is that so? Then I guess I will lend a helping hand." - Selino

Reaching out to Devel, Selino places my hand on his shoulder.

"Hmm, deary. I'm here to help. Although, you guys are weak. OH! I know. Nina, deary~ You and the rest of the humans will deal with Bael here. I'll run off to Skelly and deal with him. Okay?" - Selino

"WHAT?! What do you mean, deal with Bael? Shouldn't you deal with him?" - Nina

"Oh please deary~ You guys don't stand a chance against Skelly as you are now but this deary here… Might be able to do significant damage to Bael." - Selino

Licking my lips while eyeing Devel, Selino's gaze eventually falls to his sword.

"The Lightning from Zeus… Deary, you haven't unlocked its full potential yet, have you?" - Selino

"What do you know about it?!" - Devel

Jumping up at Selino's interest in his sword, Devel grabs my shoulder's tight, looking deep into my eyes. Placing a finger on his lips, Selino winks at Devel.

"That is for you to find out~ My cocoon will be destroyed soon, so let me give you a bit of information on how to deal with Bael. The Demon has 3 heads as you have already seen, each having a different role.

The cat head excels in illusion magic and dark magic. Be careful with what you may see, as it may not be as it seems. The human head is the main head, being able to expel magma out of its mouth as well as several other types of magic breath attacks. The toad head houses an extremely long tongue, capable of snatching and holding onto its prey at lightning-fast speeds. Even when you think you are outside its range, it will find a way to latch onto you.

However, despite having 3 heads, it doesn't mean Bael is 3 times smarter. The two heads on the side act mainly on instinct while the main head tends to think too much. He is intelligent, but at the same time unintelligent. Attacking with multiple different skills will invoke a more instinctual response, so attacking slowly with few skills will make him think deeper into your actions. Combine the two, and he may find it difficult to deal with you.

ALTHOUGH~ That is just my thoughts of Bael since the last time I have seen him. He may have changed his approach as well as acquired more skills. So take what I just said with a grain of salt, deary. Don't worry too much about Skelly, I'll deal with him off to the side, so just focus your attention on Bael." - Selino

"... Fine. Thank you for the information." - Devel

Turning away from Devel, Selino walks to the front, my trident appearing in her hands like magic. It seems she had a way of transporting it without carrying it, like an inventory system in other games. The thought did cross my mind when I realized she didn't grab onto my trident before swapping with Mikki.

Hitting the butt of the trident on the ground, Selino smiles at everyone else as she tilts her head back.

"Well, then my sweet little babies~ Deal with the big bad Demon in front of us." - Selino