Peace Or War

Everyone was looking at her; disputing four members already in such a short span was definitely putting them in a rough situation.

Crystal shot: I can hit people with incredibly hard crystals, but at the cost of my hand slowly crystallising. Useless ability

The gel underneath her feet slowly vanished as she turned around, meeting the gaze of the rest of the so-called group.

“If you all offer your lives to me, I will make it painless.” She didn't even blink, just a firm assessment of the difference between her and the rest of them.

The four members she had already consumed seemed to calm her down a bit; they weren't weak by any means, but the beasts still outnumbered them by at least five times more.

A black-haired, short boy approached her, his gaze rather terrified. “Why are you killing us all? We didn't do anything to deserve this sort of killing.”

Shina scans his body; he has the same sort of uniform as the girl before. It was something she didn't know, but it was obvious he was mad at the sudden disappearance of his teammate.

We were in a death game, and he's asking me why I killed them. I guess a branch doesn't leave its tree very far after all.

She doesn’t reply; she takes a couple of steps towards him. They were silent and deadly as the orb in her hand beamed an otherworldly power threatening his very existence.

His voice raised higher, “Don't do this; don't kill us, please.”

He was shivering; nobody behind him even dared to move. Their confidence was as good as lost compared to the monster they were facing; what chance did they have against a mortal destined to ascend her status?

Shina's ability activates once more, her instincts taking over as she jumps back suddenly despite nothing happening.

They all looked in shock until three mysterious bystanders decided to grace their presence:A purple gel-like orb floating in mid-air, a black cloaked figure that had three red eyes glaring straight at Shina and a golem-like beast made of pure crystals towering over everyone.

Shina looks at them with anger at their interruption before taking a look to the side, seeing that the entire group was kneeling for these so-called intervenors.

“Are you a member of the group? Will you stand in my way?” Shina spoke firmly; she didn't want a made-up answer.

The gel-like orb floats forward towards her before stopping a metre away from her face. She had her orb ready if anything were to happen.

“Were the deities of this group you decided to target, we could not intervene, but I want to offer a solution to your predicament.” The orb's voice was watery; it was annoying but soothing at the same time.

I should hear it out, but accepting is a betrayal of my beloved goddess.

“Speak.”

The black-cloaked figure takes a step forward, putting out its arm in front of the gel, preventing it from continuing.

“She made her choice already.” His voice sounded like a broken record player.

A deity that could read my mind is a dangerous one. I wonder if this orb would work on it.

A growling laugh is heard from the cloaked deity. “It would; that orb is the power of a goddess that could instantly wipe the three of us.”

“Step aside, I'm going to wipe the rest of them,” Shina demanded.

Without much to rebel against, the cloaked figure and gel orb move out of her way. The only one who decided to stay to stand firm was the crystal golem blocking her path, its size at least triple hers.

“I will let you consume me if you let the rest go.” His pink crystals spiked up before his hand lowered down towards her, offering her to finish it right now.

Taking his magic would make me near a deity; it would also make the rest of these fools useless to me. I will also have a majority in whatever this thing is made of, meaning I might apply some of its characteristics.

Shina takes in the golem; it was protective for sure, sacrificing its life for their representatives, but also it saw them as equals; it was a gamble if she would benefit from such traits. These alone went against most of what the goddess had been teaching her all this time.

“I reject it; taking your magic would be an irreversible mistake that I would never recover from. Your group should be enough substance for me to be balanced.” She knew without a doubt that this was a trap.

I will take your power, cloaked figure.

She turns her gaze towards it, staring into the three red eyes within the hood as they stare down at her with amusement at the proposition.

The broken record player spoke, “I will give you some of my power under a contract.”

Taking on this calculating and mysterious god's power should definitely be beneficial.

The figure laughed to itself, listening in to her thoughts.

“I will give you the ability to use ten per cent of my power; you will have the ability to get an idea of what others are thinking; you will see everyone's abilities and what they do. In exchange for leaving this group forever, the exchange seemed pretty balanced, with the high power yet high cost.

Shina smirks before nodding.

“I will take it, but the condition is that I will be allowed to harm them if it comes to the last of us; however, I will limit my abilities to match their combined strength. That way you can know there is a chance they can win.”

The cloaked figure didn't say anything. It reached out its hand out of the cloak, dragging it, a symbol carved into its gloved hand. It had three eyes, the middle being the highest one, while the others were lower beside it; they all glowed red.

Shina puts her orb onto her palm before she notices it gains a red circle on top, floating just above the orb. It was a clear sign that the contract took its place within her powers. A strong sense of magic overtook her as well in the next moment, like the deity was entering her deepest parts.

This is the perfect amount of magic.

She lets out a sigh before allowing herself to regain the balance that was displaced such a long time ago. The group was still looking in amazement at how a mere mortal could strike a deal with a deity; it was mesmerising.

“Now that we're even, I will be leaving.” She turned around towards the forest she came from, and just before she started to float into the sky, she gave the group a final look.

Telepathy, thought manipulation, power copy, gel cloning, healing gel, dome barrier, acidic enchant.

She notes the powers that knew would cause trouble for her next phase of the plan. With everything done and new powers attained, she jumps up into the air towards where she came from, the campsite.