Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 81: A Phantom Army Of Friends

"Ey, Mino, you there? We've arrived at the place," with the farm finally in view, Raven tried to call out to Mino who'd been unusually quiet inside the bracelet. Oftentimes, she would get tired of staying in and request to be let out, and if not that, having to use the restroom was something she'd never been shy to demand.

But ever since the incident at the cave, she'd been eerily quiet and at this point, it has even started to creep Raven out a little.

'Should I use my new ability to remove the memories of the incident from her mind?' Summoning his screen of stats, Raven glanced down the list until his eyes laid on the skill that had replaced the gift of charm.

[Gift of Absolute Control] - Just the name was enough to relay what it did, however, without testing it on someone, he had no way of knowing how effective the new ability was or if there were some limitations that could cause problems later.

"Nevermind I guess," putting his hand down, Raven decided against using the power on Mino just yet. "Let me know when you wanna come out though."

With that said, he made his way further towards the farmhouse. Walking through the only path between the cornfields, he felt a strange sense of calm wash over him. Being surrounded by greenery as well as the hint of corn toasted under the sun, his mind cleared up for once since leaving Aerin's house in the woods.

But like all things in life, the calm didn't last too long as the moment Raven was out of those fields, he noticed his party members standing between him and Rose's house. Their weapons clutched in hand, they seemed ready to unleash a flurry of attack over any sudden movement.

"What's wron–" Before he could finish his sentence, an arrow came flying at his face. Catching it via his swift instincts alone, Raven just stared at it for a spell before turning his attention to his party again. "What the fuck?!"

'Heightened senses: Agility!' Casting a quick spell, he slid his left leg back and lowered himself into a defensive stance.

"Are you guys out of your mind?!" He screamed, conjuring a shield of pure darkness in his hands. Despite knowing that he could defend himself without it, he didn't want to hurt his companions with a weapon and so he'd resorted to using a shield to bash them instead. "Say something!"

Drawing yet another arrow, Mel got ready to shoot it at Raven while Aria stepped forward alongside Amedith. Providing buffs to the group, Erika remained at the very back, not just to stay out of direct action but to make sure she could keep an easier eye on everyone as the group's only healer.

'Fine, have it your way!' Zooming around Amedith and Aria, Raven slammed the shield against Mel's face. However, instead of falling or being disoriented, she took the blunt with a straight face and remained unfaltered.

'What the–' Sensing a trickle of magic swirling around his back, Raven swiftly moved away before Amedith swung his sword.

Getting a safe distance away, he looked around their faces for a quick spell and instantly realized what was wrong. The way their eyes looked empty, and a lack of reaction from being attacked, it all pointed at one and one thing alone.

"Clones, or maybe shapeshifters," holding his hand forward, he tried to cage them the same way he'd done to the vampire before, but simply walking out, the clones began encircling him. "Bubble shield."

Creating a bubble shield around him, he stood there cautiously watching their every move, and from the stiffness of their movement, it was clear that they didn't match his party's real skills. After all, just like the monsters in the forest, they kept trying to attack him inside the bubble even though the shield kept reflecting all their moves.

Thankfully, however, before long having sensed the trap going off, Erika as well as the rest of the real group came rushing out of the house. And the moment the priestess noticed who it was, she quickly deactivated her spell.

More than a little frustrated with what had happened, Raven walked up to the group and glared at their awkward expressions.

"What the hell was that? Why would you even put a trap like that here?" He asked, doing his best not to lash out too hard.

"I'll explain that later, but tell me are you hurt first!" Grabbing Raven's hand out of nowhere, Erika angrily glared at him like a mad big sister. Quickly checking Raven over with a flush of mana, she made sure he wasn't hurt before pulling her hands off of him.

"You act like our mom sometimes," his temper slowly soothing up, Raven no longer felt like complaining especially when Erika's first reaction was to check him for any injuries.

"Mom or not, I'm the oldest so I need to make sure you're safe," closing her eyes, she moved her fingers in a flit with a trail of holy magic oozing out of her fingers. "There, the clones should recognize you now, but still work to protect Rose against burglars and such while we're gone."

Hearing the last part, things became slightly more clear to the dark mage.

'A clone of the hero's party to protect the property, sound strategy, except for when someone familiar visits and the clones mistake them for an enemy.' Raven thought to himself, just moments before the sound of rushing steps turned everyone's attention back to the house.

Waving her hand as she approached, Rose was rushing closer with a beaming smile. Stopping right in front of the group, she leaned forward with her hands resting on her knees to quickly catch her breath. Completely unaware of her breasts being exposed to everyone with her leaning so low, she kept on panting for a bit before standing up straight with a deep breath.

"I'm glad you're finally here, now we can all enjoy a few more days together before you have to go!" Chuckling lightly to herself, she grabbed Raven's hand and began leading him towards the house. "But first, let me show you to the hall where you'd be staying!"

Unintentionally diffusing the situation real quick, Rose not only showed Raven to the hall, but also gave him a tour of the house while the rest of the group followed them around. By the time the tour was over, the dark mage was left alone with his party so they could all pass their time together while Rose prepared a meal.

"Took your time to regroup," Aria shot at him.

'I would've preferred if he hadn't come at all!' Thought Amedith, reminded of the night when he'd jerked off in the Inn's hallway while watching Raven fingering Brenna's pussy to mush.

"Aria let him rest, no need to start a fight," not wanting yet another quarrel, Erika shushed the dark elf's mouth.

In the meantime, watching Raven from a corner, Mel couldn't help but think back to the time she'd been with Amedith in her room wondering exactly how the mage made those girls moan out of their lungs all night.

'Stupid don't think about that stuff, just rubbing my pussy against the cage feels good enough!' Shaking her head, she tried clearing up her thoughts. 'Thankfully, the magic on the chastity is getting weaker, it should come undone tonight so I can put a bigger one on Amedith tonight.'

Her heart racing to the thought, Mel wanted night to come as soon as possible.