Lydia: The Role Of A Big Sister, Part Three

"What? Mr. Kitty, you can talk?"

Back in the streets leading up to the Adventurers Guild, Lydia stood with the rest of the girls, staring in disbelief at the large, demon-like creature they had once known as Gustav, the little house cat.

"Yes, Mistress Lydia," Gustav answered, rising up to sit on his hind legs as he spoke to them, his towering frame looming over them.

"It appears the communication spell worked. But we must make haste. I have to go help my lady."

"Wait, Mary?" Leafy stepped forward, her sword still in hand. "What's wrong with her?"

"Yeah, what's wrong, Mr. Kitty?" Lydia added.

"My lady is currently locked in battle with the Queen's Guard," Gustav replied. "Elite demons who once served as her sworn protectors during her time on the throne, but now serve Lady Emilia, who wants to eliminate her."

The girls all gasped in unison, Lydia included, but she was also a little surprised by their reaction. It seemed, deep down, they still really cared about Mary, despite who or what she might be.

"But isn't she, like, the strongest person alive?" Maria asked, walking ahead andcoming face-to-face with the towering demon cat as she looked up at him.

Gustav nodded gently.

"Yes, that is true," he replied. "But the Queen's Guard are powerful warriors, trained to assassinate the Queen herself if she were ever to step out of line. And for quite a while now, I have been picking up this faint smell of my lady's blood in the air. She must have suffered enough injuries as it is. I fear she won't be able to last much longer."

"Then we must help her," Snowpoppy said as she moved closer, brandishing her needle.

"I agree," Lydia replied. "But how? You heard Mr. Kitty. She is the most powerful demon around, fighting other powerful demons, and she's struggling. What do you think we can do?"

Despite the growing fear and panic, the group began deliberating on how best to help their friend and sister.

Seeing this, Gustav spoke up.

"I cannot allow you mistresses to partake in a rescue attempt," he said. "My lady charged me with keeping you safe. I must guard you back to the Adventurers Guild and ensure you are unharmed before going to help her."

At the sight of Gustav taking a firm stance, Lydia quickly snapped her fingers, and the girls gathered into a tight group huddle.

"All right, so we're going to ignore everything Mr. Kitty just said and come up with a plan, right?" Lydia asked.

The entire group nodded.

"Any ideas what we're going to do?"

"Well, first, I think we're going to need a lot more holy oil," Leafy began. "It seems to be very effective against the demons."

"Yeah, that could totally work," Maria responded.

"Mhm, I agree," Snowpoppy said. "But we'll need to arm ourselves with more vials and bottles, since outside of Lydia and Chanchan, none of us have really done anything with the weapons we came along with."

"No arguments there," Maria replied. "To be honest, you guys, I don't even know why I brought along a dagger and all these knives. It's not like I can one v one a demon. Not even a low-ranking one."

"I-I think we should bring as much of the oils as we can carry," Minimo said. "If it works against them, we should use it."

"Chanchan thinks this is a very good idea," Chanchan said, nodding firmly.

"Exactly," Lydia said. "If we're doing this, then we all need to arm ourselves with what works."

Eventually, after the girls had finished finalizing their plan, they broke out of the group huddle and turned toward the giant lion-cat.

"Listen, Mr. Kitty," Lydia began, pointing toward the oversized feline as she stomped toward him. "You are going to take us to the Adventurers Guild." She said. "And yes, when we get there, wait for us to arm ourselves with some supplies we can use to help Mary. I swear, if you try to leave while we are inside, I will come out screaming at the top of my lungs, running until some random demon scoops me up and gobbles me down. Is that what you want to happen, Mr. Kitty? Do you think that's what Mary would want? Huh?"

"I told you, Mistress Lydia. I was charged to protect you, not bring you into battle with me," Gustav replied.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. New plan," Lydia replied, brushing away his concern.

She walked over and tried to mount Gustav.

"Mistress, what are you doing?" Gustav grunted.

It took Lydia a few tries, but eventually, she was able to climb aboard the giant cat when he lowered himself further to the ground.

"We are all riding into battle, not just you."

"But, Mistress Lydia..." Gustav tried to argue.

"Come on, everybody!" Lydia said, waving her hand. "Plenty of room to take all of us."

After a moment of hesitation, the girls rushed forward and began climbing aboard the giant lion-cat, except for Chanchan, who already possessed the ability to fly.

"We're riding into battle to help our sister, and there's nothing you can do about it, okay? Now please, Mr. Kitty, help us do this."

Gustav groaned and let out a sigh.

"Very well."

And just like that, the girls rode toward the Adventurers Guild atop the beast of the Underworld, where they would arm themselves before joining the battle for Blendingbrook, and to also bring their sister back home.