"Don't be like that to Mama Heli! Just come over here and sit on my lap and let me have a good feel! I can see you didn't wear your wrap today and you're jiggling around! Don't be such a tease!" Healia said as she rushed me.
I pushed Lesha towards the fireplace and dug my heels in.
[Red Blood] Activate!
Clasped hands with Healia, stopping her in her tracks, a clap of force echoing from us. I was standing toe to toe with a god! Then I was tossed into the table that Gram had just stood up from. The old man had an uncanny sense for danger, and always was wherever it wasn't.
I smashed through the table, barely feeling the impact and catching myself, and sliding back. Healia was going for Lesha, but she had already grabbed the fire poker and had just landed a hit to Healia's face, good girl! But the poker just bent like a sick joke, and I bolted for Healia.
The fire poker was normally enough to fend her off, but if the fire poker bent that meant she was using more of her power. The gods never were at even a fraction of their true power or this wouldn't be possible, we would be killed like insects. Healia must be worked up now, but I wasn't going to let her touch Lesha.
I threw her chair and smashed it into bits against the goddess, but all she did was flick the splinters from her hair, but she kept moving towards Lesha. That was fine, I was already there, and I plowed into Healia, knocking her over and taking her to the ground, only to get kicked back off like a rag doll, but I was back on my feet. I rushed forwards, but this time, I pulled at Lesha, draining some of the sweet strawberry juice, the blood flowing to my mouth like a thin stream that chased me as I closed on Healia.
"So, it is true, you did get something from the Core! Come at me then, my sweet little child! Wait!"
Lesha slammed into Healia with more force than should have been humanly possible and was lifted off her feet and slammed into a corner, but Lesha was on her before I could get between them. Sparks flew and I could barely hold Lesha's arm, but I took deep breaths, in my mouth out my nose, and her arm relaxed. Healia was already standing in the middle of the room, glaring at the two of us, but Lesha collapsed, and I was just able to catch her.
"What are you, or is she? Did you make her? Why is she so brutally strong, I almost had to make a mess!" Healia said dusting herself off, but there was a thin red line in the back of her arm where Lesha had smashed the iron poker into her arm.
"You tell me, I got this power from the Core, and then I found Lesha about to be raped. I saved her, but then I bit her and took her home with me! You stupid woman! You could have just had a normal conversation with me from the start, now I've used up most of my extra's!"
"Wait, you bit her? Can I come closer? I will keep my hands to myself for now," Healia said, waiting.
"Fine, or I'll bite you next!"
"Dear, your teeth would break, and you couldn't hand all of this. As for my motives, I wanted to get a feel for your power level, and I have to say, with just the two of you, I almost had to break my third gate to keep from getting injured. I still got a slight mark from deflecting that stab. Remarkable, and this all happened after you drank her blood through these little holes? What does it taste like?" Healia asked with curiosity.
"She goes into a frenzied state when I take her blood, and then she feeds of our emotions. Her ability or her Service is red blood, strengthening, and I also have that ability and more. What do I do with this? Now, that I have it, what am I supposed to do?"
"Start by bringing out a new table and four chairs, you're strong now, I think you will be able to get it. Then we will talk about what your next move will be. Don't worry, I won't touch your girlfriend, I would be scared for her to wake up!" Healia joked, waving me away.
I got up with some hesitation but decided that Healia seemed to have calmed down, and she was usually good after that. Still, I was surprised but how much I had changed overnight. It was just yesterday that I was fighting for my life and on the verge of death, now I was almost forced into the hand of a god.
I walked to the back storage room where there was a large stack of poorly made tables, and I grabbed one taking it back out, and then grabbed four chairs, and after my last trip, Lesha was sitting up, but Healia had left the room. I put the chairs down and walked over to see how she was feeling.
"Lesha? How are you feeling? You passed out."
"Mmhmm, I'm sorry, I lost control, is the goddess Healia mad at me? She left the room as I was waking up!" Lesha tried to get up, but I held her door, and then kissed her out of instinct, pulling away quickly.
Her face had a look of surprise, but then it turned into a warm smile.
"Healia is perfectly fine, but you left a mark! Good girl! I am actually impressed, that strength you get is enough to make a god turn up their defense!"
"Yes, well I didn't want to kill you before you got a chance to let that power grow, so It was nice of Kiada to stop you. Cute blondes like you are so hard to find! So, let's get down to business! Come join me at the table girls, I will be civil this time, god's honor!" Healia laughed.
"So, the party was killed, and you finished off the boss? Then you touched the Core and got tossed out, bit this one on the neck, and then had a sleepover. Then after you snuggled, and came to see me?" Healia asked from across the table.
"Yes, you have already asked me this," I said with exasperation.
Healia was going around in circles, putting my questions off. I was starting to get annoyed, but Lesha put her hand on my arm, and then I automatically put my free hand on hers, smiling. Healia noticed this right away, like a snake sensing a mouse, her eye locked onto our hands.
"So you are a pair?! When did this happen? What was wrong with me?" Healia asked with a hurt look.
"ENOUGH! Can we please get to the point that I have been asking about?"
That was the moment when Guild Leader Gram came from a side room carrying a tray with papers and a closed ink bottle. The walking mothball set the tray down on the table and pulled a quill out of an undisclosed place on his body and then went over to sit beside Healia. She had a strange smile on her face, but she still waited until Gram was settled.
"We are putting you in charge of this guild, these papers will sign Hawk Vision over to you and you will become the Guild Leader. From there…"
"No," I said.
"What? No? You just asked me…"
"Make one of my brothers the leader, I have things to do!"
"Like what? Finding more girlfriends? Don't answer that! You can still galavant around and your brother can help you, but for now, your job is to stabilize these girls, and after you leave you will receive a Blessed Quest from me that will help you earn guild points. You will need these, along with many other things that we will go over later, but for now, I need you to sign the document, then we will go over how the guild works and why it has to be you, if you haven't already figured it out," Healia said pushing the paper at me.
I looked over at Lesha, and she was studying the paper, and then she started to smile, looking up at me.
"Kiada, I think this will be fun, and we will still have to go in the dungeons once a month for guild raids. This is good right? There is something about a point system that you get as the guild leader, but the rest is blurred out for me."
"That's because those are Guild Leader secrets, but you can go over them at anytime, they are just instructions on how to access the Guilds System. This is why you have to be the leader at least until this guild is fully built and you can take over the next one, and the next, finally controlling the city. After that, you will start expanding your influence, but you will have to defeat the other two dungeons here in the Tella nation. Then you must kill Giyadel and Dyster. After that is done we will plan for more, Kiada, you are my champion and all I need is for you to sign, and then a new life begins."
This was a mouthful and brain overload, so many things I would have to do, but this is what I wanted, to change how people kept getting fed into a meat grinder. I looked at Healia one last time, and then back to Lesha. She gave me a nod, but at this point, the decision had already been made for me.
I picked up the quill and then dipped the tip in the now open bottle, then I wrote my full name, Kiada Crest. I then picked up some sand and sprinkled it over my name to dry it. Dusting it off, I handed the sheet back to Healia, but she pushed it back to me.
"Seal it with a drop of your red stuff to activate the contract."
Fine, there was a small pin on the table, but I bit into my own hand letting the pain bring me back to focus. I didn't skink in far, just enough to get the blood to come to the surface. Then I took my finger and smeared it across the page, making the writing all light up in red.
Bands of empty red squares ran around my wrist about one by one centimeter wide. I looked at Healia, but she just smiled back and me, but then began to explain when I started to get an irritated look on my face.
"You will earn points from finding members and finding artifacts in the dungeons. The more artifacts a guild controls the more power the members have. The points you earn will allow you to upgrade the guild and guild your member's special minor abilities to help them out. To thwart the gods, we must work together. They believe the only way to win is to have everyone be killed, and the last god standing will be the winner. I believe there only has to be one god standing and not everyone has to die, does that sound reasonable to you?"
"How do I know this isn't all just some big elaborate game or trick?"
"What if it is? Does it really matter in the end? This isn't your game, we the gods were sent here as our final test was sent here to find out who is meant to ascend to Aihalla! I give you my word because I have nothing else, I am here to work with you."
"Fine, so I believe you, now what? I'm a guild leader, am I just going to sit and drink here all day?"
"If that's what you think is truly the best use of your time, then yes, sit down and get drunk with me together and I can feel you both up, or, you can go out and get the quest I told you about and get started on this. You won't be the only one with this power for long!"
This was not what I had expected, but that didn't mean that it was a bad thing. Guild Master Kiada, weird, but if I could help save more lives, then I would shine this place up!
"Fine, but we need a new name. Crimson Legion, that should make people want to join right?"
[Author here! Please vote if you like the book! helps me out more and I will release more chapters if we can get up there! Thank you in advance!]
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