Goddess Collector: Every Hole is a Goal

Chapter 725: City of Lemuria

The group of 'humans' looked at the procession making its way towards them. The jet had barely landed safely with the land being quite uneven but this particular grassy plain was the only location that Reed actually got permission to land on after communicating with someone. That, someone, was probably the one making their way towards the group.

Men were half-n.a.k.e.d and led a small carriage while grasping spears tightly. They wore colorful skirts with leather boots and long, feathered hats. Skin bronzed out probably due to the tropical nature of the land despite the icy continent surrounding the thicket behind the jet.

Much to Johnny's heartfelt emotions, the carriage was being pulled by a horse-sized triceratops, making him wonder and expect the cuisine he would be welcomed with shortly as he swept his hair back to give off a good impression. Of course, by doing this, he had already denied the more barbaric hairstyles of the land as most of the warriors grew cautious the moment the golden-haired outsider adjusted his hair.

A few bold gazes also happened to have lingered upon Janet and Susan. Janet's outfit was rather standing out. After all, she wore a pair of yellow-tinted glasses that acted like a band with her hair short hair not needing any extra attention. Meanwhile, she wore a sleek costume that stuck to her body, black in color, with a yellow jacket over her torso. Black strips marked the jackets, similar to her yellow boots and gloves. Although, around her wrist, Janet also wore some form of contraption with unknown function.

Henry, on the other hand, wore a slightly steampunk styled outfit with metal headgear with two flexible and short antennas sprouting from the top. Meanwhile, his outfit was dark maroon and leathery with dark grey boots and gloves sewed onto the outfit itself.

"Be on your best behavior, everyone," Reed whispered as the person who stood out the most— Nik— with a devilish face and terrifying jaws that even made the poor ride of a Triceratops shiver, shrugged. It's not like behavior is the most appropriate thing to take care of at the moment. If this city could allow the landing of the jet, this already implied that this city was not unaware of the outside world and with how public the fantastic four is in their action, the leader of the city might even know the four heroes.

*Ggrrrr*

The procession came to a stop 10 feet away from the group as the door of the carriage opened up.

"Sweet lord..." Johnny whispered, much to other's chagrin as a woman barely wearing anything, walked out. Just like the warriors surrounding her, she wore a long leather skirt with a feathered crown while a bikini barely covered her b.r.e.a.s.ts. As the woman attracted the attention of every single one of her guards, she, in turn, gazed at the group of heroes. Her dark hair reaching to her waist while she held a small staff— a stone scepter— in her hand.

"Not now, Jonathan!" Susan hissed quietly as she looked towards Nik but she finally realized something. With the black patches on Nik's face acting as his eyes, she couldn't really follow his gaze. He could either be looking towards her from the corner of his eyes or examining the woman in front of them.

"Welcome, heroes. Call me Leanne, the queen of Lemuria," the woman introduced herself, "I have been in contact with the outside world and understand the gravity of your arrival. Please, follow me. Your aircraft will be guarded right here."

"Is it really necessary?" Before Reed could speak, Johnny walked out with a smile, his hair attracting Leanne's attention for a moment, something that Johnny caught on quickly and grinned, "Instead of walking, why don't I give you the ride of the wind?" He inquired while turning into a fire and taking off to the air.

"If he's going to give her a ride... won't she get burnt?" Nik inquired Susan, "Or does he have a way to control the fire around his body?"

"Ugh... that idiot," Susan shook her head, "He can generate fire and heat... but not completely control it. If he could have controlled it, he would have taken out the fire damages caused by his actions at times."

"So... why would he hit on the queen of the city without knowing if she has a king or not with an ability he cannot perform..." Nik wondered softly as Susan blushed in shame for her brother. Meanwhile, Janet and Ben chuckled.

"My humble apologies for my friend's rude behavior," Reed stated while bowing slightly, "We will follow you to the city. Although we wish to save the island from whoever that grasps the paradise, we also need to hear things from your side."

"It's quite alright," Leanne smiled as she looked towards the Human Torch flying in the air, making loops of fire in his wake.

"Oh... he's flying somewhere else..." Nik noted as others looked up while Henry frowned, "He's... rushing towards the Savage Land."

Leanne frowned and looked towards the being of fire flying towards the barely visible barrier a few dozens of kilometers away from their location as Ben shouted, "Get back here!"

However, his voice didn't reach the flamboyant youth.

"Reed, we need to go after him!" Susan stated as Reed nodded.

"Nah, let me get him back," Nik shrugged and snapped his fingers as the group saw a purple dot suddenly appearing above them and Leanne noticed a purple circle appearing in front of the flying human torch.

*Shooo*

Instantly, Johnny appeared right above the group, looking around in confusion before he glared down at Nik.

"Not cool man!" He groaned while Nik smiled, however, Johnny realized that he liked Nik before. Nik's smile simply sent shivers down his spine.

"We should leave for the city. We have attached the barrier ourselves and failed to achieve anything. It won't be long before you can try it too but we have other matters to discuss, I believe," Leanne called out.

Her words seemed to work on Johnny as he finally flew down with his flames extinguishing away.

"Anything for the queen," He smiled, making the group roll their eyes.

"I shall be your guide for the time being. Not many in the city speak other languages so consider me for any queries."

Leanne gestured the group to follow her and they did as the guards gave way but Nik could easily feel the tension getting higher. After all, outsiders couldn't easily be trusted yet Leanne held a firm control over her group.

"Then what do they speak?" Johnny inquired. His attempts to gain Leanne's attention was quite clear to almost everyone as the woman smiled, "Most of us still respect our ancestors and speak our mother tongue— Atlantean. Although the capital city has disappeared ages ago, we are the few remaining beings whose ancestry is connected to the previous Emperor of Oceans."

"Atlant...is?" Johnny furrowed while the others continued to listen silently, "Yes. Before the rise of sea level, Atlantis was part of this land. However, it's been many years and we still couldn't find any traces of the lost city..."

"I apologize if I offend you with my question," Henry spoke up, his gaze following the spear tips, "But your city is clearly advanced enough to produce firearms. Why not use them?"

"Because we have better things to create, of course," Leanne replied. Her gaze then fell on Nik.

"Although I have seen the footage of Fantastic Four... I'm not sure about you. May I inquire your name," She smiled.

"Call me Vanish... although, I did go quite viral on the net once my dance video was uploaded..." He mumbled.

"Oh, yea! I saw that. Good work," Ben laughed, his large palms smacking Nik on the back which instantly made Reed worry only for Nik to take the patting without any trouble.

"It's nice to have a tough back to pat for once... Reed's felt like it has no back while Johnny is just plain weak," Ben chuckled while Nik nodded.

"Vanish..." Leanne mumbled, "I remember now. It was during the collective attacks of villains in a building. All the hosts were evacuated instantly," she spoke up while referring to the hunt of Captain America for his involvement in the losses of quite the multinational corporations, making them hire villains in secret. It was even the Avenger's first mission.

"Instead of walking the distance, I'm more willing to experience the act of walking through a portal," Leanne smiled, "If it's not troubling, could you transport all of us near the city gate?" She inquired while pointing towards the large gold gate in the distance.

Nodding, Nik instantly created small portals above everyone as Leanne spoke something in her language, which made the guards calm once again. Making the portal move down on everyone, Nik shifted the procession in front of the gate with portals appearing on the ground and making the guards 'sprout'.

All of them looked dazed for a moment as Leanne was the first from Lemuria to gather her bearings.

"It's a useful ability," she commented with a smile while Johnny looked towards Nik enviously.

"Man... you're so lucky..." he grumbled softly after getting close to Nik, making him snicker. "Don't worry," Nik replied, "If she actually got interested in me due to my current outfit, then there must be something very nasty about her. Not that I want to busy myself in a mission."

Amazed, Johnny rubbed his eye, "You're... a good friend. When we go back, I'll invite you to clubbing... although, we would have to do something about your age. I have this guy—"

"Oh my god, you two!" Henry was the first to groan, "Johnny, you should at least act serious. Putting stupid ideas in a child's mind is—"

"Give it a rest already," Nik sighed, "It's not like I'll really go clubbing. After all, the music is too loud and so unnecessary."

"But you can meet some fun girls," Johnny frowned.

"And? I know many fun girls," Nik smiled proudly while crossing his arms, making everyone speechless.

"The less you know, the better," Reed chanted softly while Janet moved forward and looked towards the gate, to be precise, the mural on the gate as Leanne walked towards the guards to speak with them privately.

"Why would the draw a trident on the gate?" Janet inquired while the others shrugged.

"Their sacred weapon or something. She did say that they are Atlantean offsprings, right? Trident is supposed to be the weapon of the God of Ocean or something," Johnny traced his chin, "Although," his gaze fell on Leanne, "She could really pass as a mermaid..."

"Get your mind off the gutter," Ben coughed, "And she isn't that hot."

"What do you know, rock eyes," Johnny snorted as Ben gritted his teeth, the sound of which echoed quite loudly, attracting the attention of the guards.

"But Ben is right," Nik held his chin with his index and thumb, "Leanne is more like... wild, you know. The kind of image that models pose just for the cover of a magazine. She's a queen who follows ancient customs, right? Maybe she has her own room of young boys or something like that."

"You don't say..." Reed sighed while Janet and Henry looked towards each other.

"Might I add," Henry spoke up, "We're not here for vacation... so why are we even talking about the queen in such manner? If she heard us, it might affect our mission."

"I agree with Hank on this one," Janet nodded.

"Finally, the voice of reason," Sue huffed softly as Nik looked towards Johnny and Ben. The human torch still wasn't satisfied with the argument, well, Nik noted that persistence might even pay off. After all, Leanne seemed more interested in blondes for some reason.

"Ehm," Leanne finally returned, "Excuse the delay. I needed to make preparations for your arrival. Everything is done, please follow me," Leanne smiled as the gates opened up, revealing a posh city. The streets were built from some unknown rocky material while the houses looked tribal and modern at the same time. Instead of mud and haystacks covering the roof, the small houses were built from rubber-like material with, well, Nik definitely sensed even the tiniest of houses having all sorts of facility.

"Although we have kept the structure of the past," Leanne spoke up as the procession attracted a lot of citizens, a lot of them n.a.k.e.d at that, making the 'outsiders' feel uncomfortable. Well, some of them at least.

"But the facilities in the city may even surpass one of the best cities of the outside world. However, in such a warm city, we don't like too much clothing, so you must excuse our dressing sense."

"Not at all," Janet smiled, "It's refreshing to see such a city. I might even get bold enough to get one of the dresses for myself." Her words surprising others for a moment but Henry took no note of this peculiar request of Janet.

"Of course, it would be my pleasure," Leanne smiled towards Janet before looking at the group of bowing citizens. The group's attention finally turned towards the large castle made of glowing gold rock but one observation from Henry denied the presence of any gold. Instead, the castle was simply formed of a material unknown to him but Nik was quite familiar with this one.

'Rock castle... coated with gold-tinted Vibranium...' He touched the outer wall of the castle in admiration as Leanne let the outsiders observe the castle as they saw fit unless any damages occurred, which, fortunately, did not take place.

Finally, Leanne broke off from the procession and led the group to the inner courtyard of the castle. Like any castle would have it, the inner courtyard was full of wonderful and aesthetic decorations which even included the exotic plants unknown to the world. Taking a seat near the marble table, Leanne gestured others to sit with Johnny snatching the chair next to Leanne, much to Reed's frustration while Ben simply standing awkwardly.

"Is something the matter?" Leanne inquired while looking towards Ben as Reed explained, "It's just that his mutation has severely increased his mass and density. So he will probably end up breaking the chair..."

Leanne furrowed.

"We can't have one of our guests standing during the entire discussion. Let us all sit on the ground instead," she stated while standing up and walking towards the grassy section of the courtyard, making others look a little surprised while Ben only felt appreciation for the queen.

Once settled down, Leanne finally began, "While our chef prepares a banquet for the heroes, let us discuss the main issues of your arrival."

"First and foremost," Reed began, "We hope to free the savage land from whatever contraption that has currently covered it. Our agents are still inside that portion of land and might be in danger."

"And the next point of focus is setting up a trade route that can access the City of Lemuria by water," Leanne completed. "I have had the pleasure of meeting quite a few agents and denizens of the Paradise," Leanne smiled, "One of them is hailed as the hero of Paradise— Ka-Zar, however, it later came to my attention that his real name is Kevin Plunder. And, I have discussed plenty trade with the agents of the headquarter based near the tribe of fall people."

"Whose Ka-Zar?" Susan inquired.

"He's..." While Leanne thought of a better way to describe the man, Johnny spoke up, "If he's called a hero, then he must be an awesome guy. What else do we need to know about him? Oh, does he have any superpower?" He looked towards Leanne as she shook her head.

"He is a slightly stronger human. Once... I was almost caught by the other tribe but he saved me back then," Leanne smiled while Nik seemed to have finally realized why Leanne was into Blonde men. One of the kind saved her, after all.

"I see, it must have been a harsh experience," Susan stated, making Leanne smile weirdly, "In a way, yes."

'Ah... I know a dirty smile when I see one,' Nik realized while Susan looked a bit confused.

"She means she rewarded the hero handsomely," Janet leaned towards Susan and whispered.

"Oh, ehm," Susan nodded while looking down.

"Can you tell us about the barrier? What might have caused it?" Henry inquired.

"We don't know the cause of barrier but we do know of the source. The ancient text of my predecessor describes their travel to this land and the discovery of a civilization called Nuvali. They found that the entire Paradise was artificially built and modified to... preserve the prehistoric lifeforms and even enhance some of them. The barrier is probably a function left by the Nuvali men who once arrived on this planet."

While others furrowed at the revelation, Nik inquired with curiosity. He now controlled the alien tech but there was no journal or any information on the lifeforms that left the island itself. Heck, he even understood the Nuvali language through the temple but knew nothing of these lifeforms.

"Why were your ancestors so sure that Nuvali came to the planet and simply did not originate here?"

"I don't know it myself," Leanne smiled, "And I cannot give out too much information written in our sacred texts. But this pertains to the survival of our land. So, what I am willing to inform is that deep within the Paradise is an old temple noted to have the environment control function that keeps the island tropical in nature. So... if there is anything about the barrier, it must be there."

Nik nodded at her words as Leanne continued, "Although I understand the need of protecting one's identity, it would still be pleasant to talk without any masks or helmets covering our faces. If it isn't any problem, of course."

Henry thought for a moment and took his helmet off while Nik shook his head.

"I'm more comfortable like this," Nik replied as Johnny gratefully turned towards him, a happy expression on his face for reasons even unknown to Nik as he didn't wish to even respond to such a look.

'He's probably interested in you...' Lola muttered, her gaze a bit interested as Nik furrowed, 'Really? I always thought that I couldn't land a guy like Johnny.'

'Of course, you can,' Lola replied.

'Honey, he's pulling your leg,' Asmodeus snickered.

'Oh... I see,' Lola mumbled with a soft hum before going silent as Nik smiled to himself.

'Maybe he's grateful that you didn't show your utterly bewitching face and seduced the woman he is trying to aim for,' Pickle resounded a sound judgment as Sky hummed curiously.

'Bewitching is a strong word... I mean, Asmodeus can be bewitching.'

'Thanks,' Asmodeus chimed.

'She's a slimy s.l.u.t,' Lilith growled.

'Sigh... who wants to be called bewitching. I'm just godly,' Pure sighed, 'With no one to match my appearance.'

'Pfft!' Every other being within Nik chuckled simultaneously.

'Not that godly... you're like a—' Before Asmodeus could continue, Nik instantly shut her up.

'Woah, don't you describe Pure to me. I'm this close to completing her first test.'

He sighed as a group of female servants quickly brought covered plates full of dishes with the thick aroma wafting out as Ben sighed once again, picking a nearby rock and munching on it as the workers realized that the cuisine is needed to be set on the ground.

***

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