Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Has there ever been a lie that you believed for a long time? Something that shattered you by the core as the truth finally came to light? If so, that feeling of betrayal, that moment of shock and the creeping anger, that very same feeling began to bud inside Choux's heart.

"H-he's not here…" Kneeling at the edge of her brother's grave, she looked inside the empty crate. "It's empty."

Reaching into the hole with her muddy hands, she touched the base of the casket to attempt to move the wood planks to the side and continue the search for her brother's corpse. In doing so, she felt a chill run up her arm and the magic runes carved inside that crate began to glow before discussing the very next moment.

"Wh-what was that?!" She asked, turning her head to Linkle with a sudden jerk
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Peering into the crater, the witch knew the answer but wasn't entirely sure if she should relay it to the girl. A facade kept for years, the weight of it would crush the little girl–and that wasn't something Linkle wanted on her conscience.

"The king, he lied to you about your brother being here," even though she was telling the truth, clasped within her fists were secrets she didn't want Choux to know. Looking into the eyes of the young girl, the witch gulped those very secrets and tried to move past the truth. "Did you see him being buried yourself?"

Shaking her head fervently, Choux turned back to the grave and stared at that crate with a quivering gaze. Thinking back to the first time she had visited the place, she remembered him already being buried with a tombstone on top.

"He was never here?" As the tears strolled down her eyelids, the fox's mind drifted into a cold and dark place. It drew her in like a devil, and with every passing second she was ensnared deeper and deeper in. "Then where is he?"

Having heard the tale of how the girl ended up on this island, Linkle as well as Raven had already figured out the truth. But keeping it clenched at the heart, neither could bear unloading on those tiny shoulders, the burden of truth.

'He left her brother behind and created a facade to keep her obedient, didn't he?'

That much was clear to those who knew the girl's tale. She asked and asked and even clung to their clothes crying but neither had the heart to tell her the truth just yet.

Young in mind and body, Choux couldn't figure things out herself–hells, being surrounded by adults who did want to be around her, she was for the first time since her brother's death searching for a guardian who could lead her through her sorrow by the hand. But alas, that rifle holding a history of trauma and bloodshed, its curse was truly working its way through her fate to ruin her, bit by bit.

There had been doubts in everyone's minds about this alleged curse, but after how things had transpired and having the girl quivering and crying at their feet for answers, nobody questioned it anymore–for whatever devil was in that had made itself be known by its actions. And the proof of that was a girl howling with tears running down her face.

Standing still while Choux kept pulling on their clothes, demanding an answer, demanding them to speak, both Raven and Linkle stayed quiet while the others slowly stepped away from the fox girl.

"W-where is h-he?! We can f-find him, ri-right?!" Peering up at the two with her silver gaze dripping tears that turned to ice, Choux shook the two violently–however, they didn't wanna tell her for at least until she'd calmed down.

"The island that you lived on…" Even so, Linkle decided to nudge the little girl to that answer so she wouldn't have to tell it to her by herself. "Where is it?"

Grabbing Choux by both hands, Linkle tried to draw an answer but as upset as she was and as eccentric as she was being, the witch couldn't get what she wanted for the adult in that kid's body was overtaken completely by her emotions.

"TELL ME! WHERE IS HE?!" Shaking the witch some more while tears continued to fall and her howling sorrow echoed through the cemetery, Choux couldn't be contained, at least not until the fact that her brother was truly gone had settled into her head.

'We're not getting anywhere with this.'

Touching the monster holding stone and then Choux, Raven sent her inside the bracelet and then connected his mind to Arche.

'Look after her will you? We'll talk to her once she has calmed.'

'Another birdie back to their momma, you'll owe me this time again. I have to receive my reward so don't keep me waiting for too long now.'

Listening to her response, Raven made a mental note to spend some time with Arche once things had begun to calm down a little.

"This fucking trip was a scam, no treasure no revival nothing…" Speaking up from behind, Regalia said what everyone else had been thinking–even Moxy and Reina, both of whom had little idea of what was going on.

"Well," turning around Raven gestured for everyone to come closer so he could teleport them where they needed to be next. "We did learn a few things, mostly that this island is no less fucked up fucked up than the rest despite the deceptive first impressions."

"Maybe we should hurry and leave, what if we get cursed by staying here too?" Unsure how things worked with curses, Moxy moved closer to Raven with her hands nervously rubbing her sides. Pushing against her man, she kept close ensuring that she wouldn't accidentally be left behind as the party teleports.

"Let's just get this whole thing tied up quickly. I want to get my body back already." moving closer as well, Linkle had slipped back into her selfish demeanour.

'What a mess.'

Looking up to the sky as he activated the necklace, Raven called out to Athenia before teleporting away.

'Find us a major land mass that won't be as much of a headache if you can, because I'm tired of these islands!'

And although he didn't know at the time, Athenia was busy with that very task–even eying a handful of chosen that might put up a fight against Raven and his party. However, as she realized that most of the members were girls–a smile flicked over the goddess of mockery.

'That gift I gave him, it should work wonders on this place.'

She thought, even though before arriving there, there was a named devil to be taken care of.