Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 437 A Death Trap - Part 2

"Where's 'Galia?" After checking the camp outside the church three times over, Raven finally began questioning everyone about the missing wolf-girl. Moxy and Linkle instantly informed him about her departure for the ship, but none had seen her come back which worried him to no end.

'We really should have a way to communicate over long distances for situations like this.'

Running into the church to ask Erika about Regalia, he stormed through a crowd of people who'd gathered to hear the priestess read out Athenia's gospel.

Although surprised by the sense of urgency in his stride, Erika kept her emotions from showing for the sake of the people looking up to her already. To them, she was the only person who could connect them to this radiant god full of blessing, and with their fields bearing harvest in just a day's time, they wanted to grow closer to Athenia themselves.

"Is everything okay?" Erika asked in a whisper, her hands grabbing Raven by his arms.

Staring into his eyes as he panted for a second or two, she knew that whatever he had to say couldn't have been good.

"Regalia, she didn't return from the ship last night," slowly moving Erika's hands off his side, Raven peered back at her face with a stern expression. "Have you seen her?"

Shaking her head in denial, Erika turned Raven's doubt into reality. Something was wrong, Regalia wasn't one to wander off without telling the rest of the group. Being a war general and a royal guard, she had more sense than to head off somewhere without informing others of her whereabouts.

"You want me to come with you and look for her?" Closing the gospel's copy, Erika set it aside on the podium. "She has a ring, right? We can just teleport to her, no?"

"Yeahhh, but..." Reaching for the necklace, Raven took it out from under his shirt. "If she's in trouble we should take the rest of the party with us, just the chosen though. I don't want the others to teleport into a trap or something."

Raising an eyebrow at his presumption, Erika moved her hands closer to her chest and asked.

"She was probably knocked out and taken back in..." As precise as his assumptions were, the mere possibility of it being untrue kept him on edge.

Looking back at his party members with that explanation, he urged them to get up and follow him to the ship. Spanning wings of darkness, he suggested Amedith and Liliyana do the same and carry the others directly onto the ship. Once on board, he conjured more rifles since the ones they'd brought had sank into the ocean. While handing them off, he could hear the sound of someone walking around downstairs.

Trying to avoid making the sound of their footsteps, Mel led the group forward with invisible steps just above the ground. Following her tracks, the party managed to slip inside the hull undetected. But then came a grunt from Regalia that stopped them in their tracks.

"Let them come, I'm gonna make them suffer just as Amber and Gunther had!" Hearing Baylee's voice from the inside, everyone's eyes widened in shock.

'Fuck...so she was just waiting for an opportunity to take revenge, huh?'

Thought Raven, reminded of her indifference to her siblings' deaths before starting the repairs. Her emotionless tone and expression–they'd helped her keep the act authentic.

"What should we do?" Asked Erika in a whisper, her eyes darting back and forth between the door and Raven.

Deep in thought Raven ignored the priestess's worry, for deep in his mind he was already brewing the best possible strategy to get Regalia out of that death trap. The room was filled with black powder barrels and dare they attempt a fight inside, it could easily turn their bodies into scrap. So what exactly was the answer? How could they free her without a head-on fight?

'We're sneaking in and that too fast...'

Turning his head towards Aria, wore a devious smile while relaying his plan.

Note: Rest of chapters coming in a few hours(last minute edits and such remaining)