Once everyone arrived back at Linkle's shop, they were greeted by a peculiar bloodlust. It tasted rancid down their throat and yet somehow they knew it wasn't directed at them at all. Even so, having already had an encounter with the devil's work once today, the priestess was far from welcoming about the gauntlets stuck on Aria's hand.
"I told you I'll heal your hand if something breaks, just pull it off!" With rage-squinted eyes, she yelled in the dark elf's face. Grabbing hold of her arms herself, Erika tried to get them off of Aria but was quickly shoved away by the elf. "You know you need to take it off, then why are you making it so difficult!"
"Cause it hurts like hell!" Aria screamed back, folding her arms safely together.
"Demonic or not we should ask Helga about them first before doing anything rash, for all we know taking them off might cause us more trouble than just keeping them on for now," Raven interjected as he got ready to teleport everyone back to the edge of the corrupted forest.
"Yap and yap and yap, can you guys leave already? I have a lot of work to do!" Linkle complained, her dainty little disguise glaring at them from her work desk.
Wasting not a second more, Raven grabbed the necklace in his hand and looked around at everyone. Getting their attention, he had them move closer and put their arms on his shoulders.
"We're going, you don't have to always be so pissy about things," giving Linkle no time to retort Raven activated the necklace, and the next thing they knew the entire party was back by the corrupted forest.
Once the initial haziness of the jump had settled, Raven retrieved the teleportation ring from the ground and put it away. Then while looking around the campsite they were staying in, he tried to spy out where Helga was, but there was still no sign of her anywhere.
'Maybe she'll be back in the morning?' Chalking things up for later, he along with the others simply decided to go even though Erika was apparently not done talking about the demonic gauntlets.
Being a priestess of the goddess, and having to share the same tent as Aria, a vile look of disgust had taken over her face. She didn't want to be around her, at least not until that demonic piece of equipment was taken off of her hands.
'First nun being sacrificed by the head priestess, and now this? There's no way I'm dealing with this!' Before they could even settle inside the tent, Erika got off her straw bed. 'I need some answer from the goddess now!'
She demanded to know exactly why she was allowing such things to happen, especially to those so devout to her. Sure Helga may have lost her faith in her goddess, but when she used to use those gloves, she must've believed at least somewhat, then how could she allow her Valkyrie to even touch such an accursed piece of equipment?
The answer, while quite simple, was far from Erika's grasp as what she'd read in 'The tome of divine grace' was merely a list of virtues and not a true testament that needed to be followed.
"I've shown you faith, now it's your turn to reward me with some answers!" Walking up to the very middle of their camp, Erika got to her knees and clasped her hands in prayer. Casting her gaze to the heavens, she heaved out doubts. "Answer me! Where are my sisters!? How could you allow the priestess to grow so corrupt under your wing!? Why did you let your Valkyrie use demonic powers!?"
But alas, there was no answer. The goddess did hear her pained words, but in her eyes, Erika was not yet ready for the harsh truths.
'I'm not the goddess you think of me to be.' Was all the priestess heard, and it completely shattered her belief. Despite her being truthful to her followers for once, Athenia's words cut Erika into her deepest veins.
She wasn't her goddess, she wasn't Aphrodite, but that truth she couldn't admit to, or else her influence, her power that has helped her keep the other god's tyranny at bay, would be washed away leaving an endless cycle of holy wars until one god reigned supreme.
Even so, as Athenia watched Erika's gaze falling to the ground, she decided to grant her one last gift, something or rather an ally who could help her in such low times.
"Asmodia," she called, seated on her heavenly throne.
Emerging through the shadows came the mirage of a burning woman, smirking and joyous.
"To call a devil out of her slumber? You sure must be desperate Your Majesty ehehe," chuckling to herself with her mouth covered behind her hand, the glowing silver eyes remained glued to Athenia's body.
"Just do as I say," washing the screen in front with a brush of her hand, Athenia turned her attention to the devil. "As the commanding god, the heavens, the earth, and the Infernal heed my decree, and just like those before me, I intend to make use of every resource I can squeeze to prevent the power balance between the three from toppling."
Giggling again with an ear-piercing voice, the devil's frame disappeared for a moment. Reappearing not seconds later by Athenia's feet, the devil of carnal lust slowly wrapped her hands around the goddess's feet.
"Shaking hands with us devils, not even gods can resist the temptation of our deals, can they?" Looking back down at Athenia's wax-like feet, Asmodia stuck out her tongue and began suckling on her toes one after the other.
'A pain as always.' Thought the goddess, her face contorted in disgust.
"Help my follower to grow stronger, and perhaps I'll throw my brother's carcass in Inferno for you to do whatever it is you please," kicking Asmodia off her feet, Athenia brushed her hand in the air and cast her far away from her prison.
Tired of dealing with the mess of recent days, Athenia leaned her head on the side of her palm. With a sigh, she shook her head, hoping that everything would work out somehow.
'You're supposed to use Athenia, they're part of the heavenly cycle. Without Inferno, heaven means nothing, and without both, the mortal world doesn't exist.' Having made her very first deal with a devil, something the other gods before her were a master of manipulating, the goddess of cunning, was starting to question her abilities.
"Better a devil you know than one you don't," taking solace in the fact that Erika's lost faith would've been exploited by someone or the other, Athenia shut the matter for now and instead moved back on to regaining trust from the other party members.