Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

A magus–a creature of pure mana and capable of anything, even the spells adorned by the gods. Necromancy, healing, and even the most devastating of assaults, nothing was beyond them and with a lifespan that neared immortality, there was no one who could stand against them–that is if they weren't hunted before maturation.

Most magus died in the womb because of genetic complications, and those who made it into the world were often hunted by zealots of gods who had no clue why they were ordered to kill these children. All they knew was that their god had decreed it so and thus it shall be. Nothing else mattered, not even the cries of children as they drove a spear through their chests.

But there were some who lived to adulthood, barely keeping their race alive in hiding. With no time to harness their powers, they led simple lives with little use of magic, and yet like witches to an inquisition they drew the people of gods to their secluded living. Unless nearly every one of them was lost, and the only child born in a hundred years was being cradled by a woman who was also caring for her sick magus husband.

"Go to sleep, Maneja. I'm fine," laying on the bed, his body sizzling with a fever, the horned magus brushed off the touch of his wife. His once resilient immunity had almost fizzled away into nothing, leaving behind a living carcass that drew breaths and barely ate anything.

"Tiyael, I just want to wipe your body with a cold towel. It'll help lower your fever," grabbing the towel from the cold water bowl laying by a window next to the bed, Maneja began wiping her husband's face while also holding her kid in the other hand. "You've been stressing too much lately, why don't you just allow me to take care of everything, hmm? Including you."

Hissing lightly to the cold touch of the towel, the emerald eyes of the magus turned to his wife. He didn't like seeing her taking care of him one bit, and not because of pride or anything that shallow, but for the fact he knew the moment of his death would devastate her.

"Leave me alone, will you? I didn't bring you all the way here to spend your days taking care of me," turning away from her, he closed his eyes and let the fever take greater hold of him. "Go on, move to that city up the hill, I don't want you here in my house!"

"I wonder where I've heard that before," smiling as she continued to wash his back with the towel, Maneja was reminded of her confession to her husband. Her eyes closed, she chuckled at the thought before saying in a whisper. "I don't want you tagging along with me everywhere, go away before I make you~"

Their days as adventurers were over the moment people figured out Tiyael's true nature, even so–just like she'd promised to him on the day of her confession, Maneja was willing to follow him till the end of the world, if it meant she could wake up to his face next to her in bed.

"I should've never brought you here," he whispered, his head turned away still and his mind consumed by the thought of him ruining her life by his mere presence. "That kid, you need to take him to Athenia before they come find me."

"Then you come with me," pulling away from her husband, Maneja dipped the towel in the water with her eyes still glued to his scarred back. "You've saved me enough times, why don't you allow me to do the same for you at least once?"

"Because I want you not to be here when they eventually come for me, you hear?!" Screaming and then coughing for a while, Tiyael curled into a ball to retreat from Maneja's touch. "G-go away, let me die; I'm going to die either way whether you stay here with me or not…"

"You're not even thirty, you shouldn't be talking about dying you idiot," wringing the towel of excess water, Maneja continued to wipe the rest of Tiyael's body. "Besides, I want your son to know his father, I want him to live with you."

"Him staying with me will only make him a target, just take him from here and let the magus name die with me."

"But he's your blood, he's a magus too–"

"I hope he wasn't."

Finally, growing upset Maneja pulled her away from him and threw the towel into the bowl of cold water. Then after glaring at his back for a while, she turned her gaze to her son and a smile quickly lifted on her lips.

"Don't believe him, Amedith. He's just a prude~ " Playing with her son with a finger and tickling his belly, Maneja jumped with a pep and began walking away from the bed. Many tasks needed doing and with Tiyael bedridden the responsibility fell on him and her infant son Amedith.

As she headed out of that log house that day, however, she never knew that it would be the last time she would ever see her betrothed. For the men of god were already prowling around their house for a week and finally confirming that Tiyael was alone and sick through that bedside window, they were ready to set fire to him as he slept.

"But your mother realized what was happening as smoke began to rise through the trees, however, by the time she got to the house, your father was not just burning but was also struck with arrows. In his dying breath, he cast a spell to teleport Maneja up the plateau of my city, unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough to save your mother and you from burning."

An abrupt end to a story, Athenia knew that it was far from what Amedith would've liked to hear, but the night was waning and she had to finish the rest of the tale before everyone woke up from this dream. Fortunately for her, unlike the elves, Amedith was too consumed by what he'd heard and simply explored the story without uttering a word of dissent.

"Now then, I guess it's time for me to tell you your story." Turning to Erika, the goddess once again cast a spell and drew the party back into a story.