Chapter 27: Chapter 26 : The Goddess of Insects
Arriving in Nimbu's Sighzen village, just outside of it, Satoru went inside and looked around as he was never here personally until now.
The village had very tall buildings, that looked quite different from Ember's regular housing, as well as large wide streets. It's surrounded by mountains of both regular ones and pillar-like ones made out of clay and such.
It was an interesting sight, fascinating even, but sight-seeing is not why he's here.
"Would be nice to have water manipulation..."
"Perhaps it'd help against the bugs."
Knowing a hand sign with his hand, one that initiates an ability from water manipulation, Satoru performed it and to his surprise...
He was able to fire a weak beam of water.
"What the... I shouldn't be able to use it if I don't have it, which I don't... So why..."
Choosing to ignore it and quickly embrace it, Satoru went on about to search for the 'hive' of Varuna around the edges of the village.
For a time he had no luck finding it, even expanding to the forest which was dense with it's very tall trees.
No harm in checking it out, he went ahead and entered the forest, wasting 10 minutes just by rushing through it and checking it until...
A hive, similar of a bee, the size of a boulder was hanging from a tree branch above.
Satoru leapt up there carefully, trying to remain silent. He found the entrance to the hive which was large and a frame and upon entering it was much larger inside than what it appeared from the outside.
He quickly drank the potion he swiped and activated Storm Cloak, having his stats 15% higher with the additional mode state he was in too.
Carefully walking around, going from room to room, which all were on the ceiling, randomly on walls... It was like a beehive, to an extent.
Going through the hive, he eventually found Varuna sitting on what appeared to be a throne made out of insects. She wore a long black dress with a bracelet and necklace out of pure gold. Black hair like a raven and black eyes.
Not letting a single moment pass, Satoru lunged at her, going to impale her with his tanto blade through the chest. To say the least, he was surprised that she dispersed into insects, into flies, bees and such only to appear from where he stood previously.
"A mere child that came to kill me. No.. You're not human nor elven or giant or any such race. But a God child.. Interesting, truly interesting. Unfortunately however, I cannot let you leave this place alive"
"The feeling is mutual." replied Satoru, being calm and facing her now.
The entrances to the throne room were entirely locked up now, with there being no way out unless one of the two opposing Gods win.
Satoru leapt at her once more, aiming to strike her yet the insects acted as her shield, not allowing direct contact.
He performed a sign with his other hand, using the water beam and making an opening to strike her now. However before his punch could entirely land, she dispersed into insects like earlier and appeared slightly further away.
"Aren't you persistent?" she said as a cloud of poison began emerging from her and going towards her opponent indirectly by beginning to entirely surround the room they were in.
Satoru responded by rushing at her and letting his aura deal with the poison, while making a sign with his hand.
From the ground below him, multiple insects appeared in a pillar shape emitting poison from touch/sting. Still doing the sign, Satoru performed a frontal single arm hand spring to dodge it and with his free arm launched his ability. Thunder Circus.
It traveled very quickly at Varuna, making her disperse once again and appear right at Satoru, going to grab him as he was getting up but as she appeared he formed 2 signs with his hands and vanished. Stormstride.
He appeared above the Goddess and went to slice her head with his tanto. Responding to his attack, she sent out highly toxic insects at him but he vanished...
Appearing behind her, going to stab her through the back, she turned to him and dispersed into insects once more, emerging a few feet away.
And yet... Satoru emerged after her and cut her shoulder as she tried to weave.
"Impressive... You may be a God but you've not entered the mental HQ. Is it on purpose or do you simply lack the knowledge to do so? Even so, you're undoubtedly very strong even for your age. I now wonder who's kin you are, seeing as I cannot view that by gazing at you. And not to mention your resistance to my poisonous cloud... So that leads me to the question - what is your name?"
"That's none of your concern." he responded quickly, sheathing his tanto blade for the moment being and taking the axe off his back.
"I see." the instant she responded, multiple larger insects the size of humans began to come at Satoru, forcing him to quickly block and cut them down.
Taking the advantage of the situation, Varuna emerged in front of him and went to grab his throat, but only ended up tapping it as he jumped back just barely and fired a thunder beam at her. She dodged it.
Unnoticeably, smaller insects pierced through Satoru's arm and caused multiple smaller holes out of which blood didn't start dripping just yet.
Quickly moving, he clashed with Varuna and cut down swarms of insects coming at him simultaneously.
Chunking the axe at her head, she dispersed into insects and emerged in front of Satoru, exchanging blows with him, showing that she's skilled in hand-to-hand combat too, despite relying on her actual abilities.
She struck Satoru multiple times as did he her, but nothing too significant as each party was countering and parrying most of each other's blows.
Finally, Varuna cloaked her punches in poison, expecting them to wound the white haired boy but to her surprise, it was quickly nullified. Is this something that he's doing himself whilst holding his own in combat or is this some type of automatic resistance or perhaps even the effect of a potion or maybe, just maybe even something long lasting that falls into the same category.
Satoru sensed the incoming insects from behind him, leaving him to evade her next strike barely and jump to the side.
The insects were relentless so to vaporize them he cast the ability of Thunder Ball, killing them and immediately into True Thunder, having the waves of lightning quickly traverse to Varuna before she could recognize the ability and stun her.
As she was getting continuously zapped with thunder, she was unable to disperse, so Satoru used his open arm and used Thunder Circus, hitting her with that and burning her more.
What seemed numerous insects, they came up all around him and forced him to release his ability and react to them.
Multiple of them pierced him through the arms and legs before he was able to cast Thunder Ball.
A humongous wave of water, no... A humongous wave of very bubbly, almost fizz like water that took up the entire throne room went at him.
"Hollow ability!"
Satoru launched 4 large fireballs at it before coming to the realization that that won't cut it..
He performed a subtle uppercut motion with both of his arms but with them being flared out to the side. When stone abilities are performed beneath or with actual stone/earth, they take up only a little amount of energy, though one can use their own energy to create the stone required but in doing so, it'll consume more energy than 'little'. Nonetheless, this wasn't an issue as of right now.
A cube like barrier, covering all sides and the roof surrounded Satoru now. The hollow water shatter through it and hit him despite blocking.
His arms began to be burnt from the acid element of the hollow beast water, as Varuna's insects were swarming around him once more.
Rushing at them, being able to avoid them, he cast the same signs with his hands. Varuna recognized it as the pattern for the teleportation, getting ready to strike from wherever he teleports.
He appeared in front of her with his axe in his hands, aiming to strike her stomach. Sending out highly venomous insects, to which his body cannot resist, she turned to expect him to teleport behind or above her but...
Allowing himself to get striked by bugs, he didn't teleport anymore and cut off her hand and hit the axe in her stomach, quickly applying his own energy to it, making it supercharged.
Due to the applied energy, Satoru could control the thunder and whether or not he wants to target zapped whilst the axe is struck inside them. He didn't overdo it at first and instead but a low electrocution temp, just so she couldn't control her insects.
On top of that, the way he used Stormstride made it arise question her on whether or not he can teleport to one target 3 times of if he teleported to her once and afterwards to the insects surrounding her body...
Quickly sweeping her to the floor, she fell as he drew his tanto blade and went to stab her in the head without any further exchange of dialogue, when suddenly a voice yelled out from behind him.
"That's enough, Satoru! You can go back to Ember. I'll wrap it up here." it was a familiar voice, very familiar.. Karoi's voice no doubt.
What they haven't realized during their fight was that the hive was beginning to crumble from the outside so Satoru pulled out his axe, gazed at Varuna for a moment and destroyed the floor, dropping below with the intent of returning back to Ember.
"Satoru... You.. Karoi... Why. Just why?" her expression was filled with concern, relief and sadness at the same time as anger.
"I'm sorry Varuna, I couldn't bring myself to do it.."
"So you sent him.. Our son.. What Zeus and all the Gods did.. Why did you mess with that and not leave it be! Now of all times too!" she yelled at him, screamed even.
She was bleeding out, there wasn't much saving her and her hollow beast was still required for the end goal, but Karoi wanted to see her again. One last time and even deal the finish blow to her."
He approached her slowly and got down, held her in his arms as he removed his mask, seeing her eye to eye and faintly saying : "I'm sorry"
"Just... Don't let Zeus get him, whatever you do.." she said, with her voice becoming quieter with each word.
"I'll try." he said as he let down a tear from his eye and stabber a kunai through her neck whilst still hugging her.
He took out a jar from his coat's pocket and collected the energy of the hollow, afterwards leaving to return back to Ember and meet with Satoru.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone