Chapter 26 #2
"Well, then they die. Duh," Amanda answered quickly, as if it were the only plausible answer.
"We're here to make sure everyone becomes very anti-demon, and in doing so, hopefully, we can help build a long-term space as free of demons as it can be.
That way, after Bran kills the Demon Lord, there can be relative peace on Earth. "
Venthra paused, staring at the woman. "Do you really think Bran is going to kill the Demon Lord?"
"Yes," she said plainly, without blinking. There wasn't a single drop of doubt in her features.
Venthra wondered, not for the first time, how nice it must be to have such certainty.
"Anyway," Venthra said, hooking a thumb, "let's get this over with.
" She finished the walk into the central square amid all the churches.
Her large group caught eyes. Not only were there plenty of them, but they all were wearing matching outfits.
A good number of the onlookers, men and women alike, stopped with their jaws dropping to stare openly.
"Yeah, we're not conspicuous at all," she said dryly.
"I believe part of our goal was to get attention," Jenny said, stepping forward and into the stares rather than away from them.
Venthra had no idea how they did it. The few times Simone had forced her to walk around in the Mul Branova robes, she'd felt like she was walking around half-naked with some sort of exposure fetish. These women didn't so much as blink at the attention.
"Excuse me." One of the true nuns stepped forward, catching Venthra and her group, shooting a scathing glance of recognition at Venthra before turning an even darker one on the women walking with her. "I'm afraid it's not safe for all of you dressed like that. It will attract danger."
"That's fine," Jenny said, pulling out a long, curved sword. "I'd be happy to teach an idiot some basic manners. For the rest of humanity, of course."
The nun's patient smile cracked. "While I would welcome teaching such men humility, I would also prefer there be no loss of life or limb over such silly reasons.”
“But we've come because we've heard there's trouble with demons in this area." Amanda had a massive machete out and resting on her shoulder, smiling at the nuns in a way that made Venthra think she was more than a little excited to spill blood.
The nun narrowed her eyes, and it was obvious the Mul Branova had let her inspect them based on the way her eyes suddenly went wide with understanding at the level of power the women in front of her possessed.
The area was far too weak, in general, but the Mul Branova were far more powerful than your average person.
"Forgive me. I was rude enough not to introduce myself. I am the mother superior of this small place. Might I ask what's brought you to our home?" The nun clearly did not enjoy having to give so much respect, but she had not survived this long without knowing when she could not win.
Amanda hooked a thumb back at Jenny. "Demons," she repeated.
"We are the Mul Branova. We serve Lord Bran, may his blessing and power flow through us all," she intoned, clasping her hands together in prayer—which was a little awkward with a machete in hand.
"It is through his grace that we obtain the power to hunt demons. "
Venthra watched the nuns' faces twist in utter horror.
"Is this Lord Bran a real figure?" the mother superior challenged, and the Mul Branova were more than happy to answer with eager nods all around.
Venthra understood then why Bran hadn't wanted to be here for this and judged him ten times more for leaving her to deal with this mess.
The nun was quickly joined by two others as they saw the group gathering on their territory, beginning to form a natural display of force.
"I'm afraid we aren't aware of this Lord Bran, though it's the same one your classes are based on?" Mother Superior asked.
"Oh, yes," Jenny answered. "He is the one who will challenge the Demon Lord in the coming days."
"All hail Lord Bran," the Mul Branova behind her said in unison, and Venthra wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
The nuns went stiff at the sharp declaration, their eyes tracing over each of the Mul Branova, filled with dangerous skepticism.
"And he has all of you dressing like that?" one of the nuns asked.
"No, this is of our own volition," one answered quickly while the mother superior watched on silently with her gathering forces behind her.
It wasn’t just the two forces; onlookers began to gather, though in a much wider circle, feeling the tension in the air.
"There have been many false idols since many of the good men and women of this world departed. Ladies, you should be careful not to worship someone who asks you to dress in this style,” the nun stated.
Several of the Mul Branova laughed at her words, and Venthra could only watch as her own face twitched.
"They mean no disrespect," Jenny said quickly. "Though it is funny, because Bran would desperately wish that we not dress this way."
"Yet you do," the mother superior added.
"Yes. He will not touch us," one said, then shook her head. "Perhaps in time we can get him to regret that choice." More of the Mul Branova giggled.
The nuns were clearly out of their depth dealing with the shamelessness of the women before them, yet at the same time, they were doing the math on what would happen if this conversation shifted towards conflict, and not liking how it worked out.
The weakest of the Mul Branova present was in the eighties; the most powerful was over level one hundred. Should a fight break out, they would crush the nuns.
"How do we know you won't call someone a demon just to kill them, and then do whatever you want with them?" one of the nuns asked.
"People and demons may lie, but blood does not," one of the Mul Branova intoned and held up a spear before charging into the crowd of onlookers, hoisting someone up on the end of it, and then throwing them to the ground.
Another Mul Branova split them open, and their human illusion faded, revealing the demon beneath.
"For Lord Bran!" the Mul Branova shouted again, and Venthra tried to fade back into the crowd while they celebrated their kill.
Unfortunately, the nuns had seen her arrive with them, and several gazes fixed on her, along with the not-so-subtle request in their eyes to get rid of the Mul Branova. One managed to slide up next to her.
"You arrived with them. Is there any chance you might depart with them? I would consider it a personal favor," the nun said, clearing her throat and keeping her voice low.
"You and me both," Venthra murmured, then shook her head. "I'm afraid they're as crazy as they sound, but they do and will hunt every demon in the area."
The nun gave her a flat smile. "I am not worried about that. I am worried about that," she said, pointing to where the Mul Branova had begun decorating themselves with the blood of the dead demon.
Venthra sighed. "Look… since they've found a demon, I'm fairly certain they're going to stick around for as long as they can find more to hunt.
" Her eyes searched for Merlin, but it seemed the other woman had smartly disappeared after dropping her charges.
Venthra had absolutely no idea what to do with that and could only smile at the nuns.
"If it helps, they're a pretty choosy order. They don't recruit that broadly," she offered.
The nun scowled, staring at the scantily clad Mul Branova. "I can see that they have a type."
"Yeah." Venthra's words weren't helping. Rather than continue arguing with the grumpy nuns, she pulled a Mul Branova robe from her spatial ring, put it on, and dismissed her other clothes back into the ring right in front of the nun.
She performed the wardrobe change so openly that several of them looked scandalized, as if she'd just betrayed them.
Venthra didn't care. She would far rather align herself with the Mul Branova than continue to have the nuns think she was here to satisfy their needs. She knew the nuns were never really going to be satisfied either way, and quite frankly, she couldn't bring herself to care.
"To Lord Bran," Venthra stated, kicking off another round of calls across the Mul Branova as they joined in.
Venthra glanced down at the blood, pausing and then ultimately deciding she wasn't quite dedicated enough to the bit to join in.