500th Time Reborn, A World Only Known By Women: The Karma System

"You were sleeping, I literally just came to check on you like thirty minutes ago, but you are here now," I said, and then looked down at the scowling Melly. "Speak, woman, or I will make you wish you did."

"What if I was? Are you just going to kill me?" Melly demanded, but I shook my head.

"No. Dead people don't talk. I need answers, and you are going to give them to me," I said plainly, and the woman narrowed her eyes at me.

"Then you will kill me after?" Melly asked with suspicion in her voice.

"I am not going to kill you unless you force me to. Don't get me wrong, I will kill you if the need arises, but so far, you are just being obstinate. If that changes and you start becoming dangerous like you would have if I would not stop you, then you die," I explained, and then looked up at the girls in the doorway, giving a head count, and all the Goddesses were missing. "Eliza, please take the rest of everyone back to the carriage and then get us all a place to stay for tonight at the inn. I don't need you all to be watching this."

Eliza hesitated for a moment before looking back at the girls and then finally nodded as she started to herd them back out of the hut. As soon as they were gone, I looked back down at Melly with a raised eyebrow. "Now, are you going to talk or not?"

"What do you want to know?" Melly asked defiantly, and I sighed deeply before replying.

"Your reason for coming here would be a good start," I said plainly, but that just seemed to annoy her more.

"Why do you care? We are just a bunch of stupid women who got tricked into following some crazy woman. Aren't you just going to kill us all anyways?" Melly asked, and I frowned deeply before replying.

"No, I am not going to kill you all. That is not who I am," I said with a shake of my head before continuing on in a firm voice. "Now, tell me what your goal is for being here."

Melly's expression softened for a moment as she looked at me before finally answering in a quiet voice. "We were just supposed to find some fertile women and bring them back for the goddess, that is all."

"And you thought that was a good enough reason to kidnap innocent women from their homes and force them to become sacrifices?" I asked, not bothering to hide the disgust in my voice.

Melly's eyes hardened as she looked at me before finally answering in a cold voice. "It doesn't matter what I think. All that matters is what Joslyn says the goddess wants, and she wants these women."

"And what does the goddess want according to this, Joslyn?" Breya asked, but her eyes were glowing.

"She wants sacrifices to summon the Demon Queen, Bellazibub, and not Rem. She is using Rem as a cover, so we will follow her. Carrie is giving her information about the fertile women in trade for the Cult to put pressure on the villages outside Torrain," Melly said in a flat and emotionless tone but then gasped as Breya collapsed beside me, and I caught her.

"What did you just do?" I asked as I picked Breya up, as she breathed heavily.

"All Angels have the ability to use The Eyes Of Truth, but it takes a tremendous amount of energy to do so. The Seraphs can do it much more effectively and use less energy, but it is one of their specializations," Breya explained, and then closed her eyes and turned into my chest, closing her eyes. I looked down at Melly, and she had a horrified look on her face, but I couldn't tell what it was from.

"W-What?! I had only assumed those things! What have I done?!" Melly exclaimed in a panicked voice, and I frowned. This was information that I needed to know if I was going to save these women.

"Assumptions will get you killed in my line of work, Melly. You need to learn to trust your gut and do something when you know what you are doing is wrong. You assume that we were just going to kill you without the information is a perfect example of that," I said plainly, and then looked down at the still form of Breya, who seemed to be lost in thought. "Melly, where have they been taking the women?"

Melly's eyes widened as she stared at me for a moment before finally answering quietly. "Ruins to the north of Dell, the northernmost town from Torrian. Masked members come to retrieve them, and they just came yesterday since they knew that you were coming."

"How many?" Breya asked, and Melly looked over at her in confusion.

"Three," she said, and I released the pins of light from Melly.

"Come. You are going to lead me to where this place is, and I am going to put an end to this right now," I growled as Melly got up, but she put her hands up to stop me.

"The ones that Joslyn is collecting are for the final summon, so they are being kept until the full moon in seven days. If you go now, they will just divert the one being sent in, and they will become more secretive. I think you would do better to get rid of the Demon Generals that Joslyn Summoned. There is one outside of the town, Grimora, and she has been setting up a spell circle that will soon start to drain the people of this town's energy. It is called a Lethargy Trap."

"A Lethargy Trap?" Breya asked in confusion, and Melly nodded.

"Yes. It is a spell that would normally be used to drain the energy of a large group of people slowly over time, but it can also be used as an explosive if the person has enough power. I am not sure how many people have been caught in it so far," Melly explained and then looked over at me with pleading eyes. "I know that Joslyn tricked us into this, but please don't hurt her."

I frowned deeply before finally replying in a firm voice. "I will need to meet her first; dealing with this Grimora is going to be the first thing that I need to deal with. If she just started it, then it will take some time before she can get enough power from it to reverse it, but she could also be giving her own energy as well to speed up the process."

"Yes, I have seen her do that as well. There is also a second one being set up in the center of town. I am not sure how far along it is, but Grimora has been working on it for some time now." Melly explained and then looked over at me with pleading eyes once again. "Please, just don't hurt Joslyn; she was only doing what she thought was right."

I sighed deeply before finally replying. "I will think about it," and Melly nodded her head in relief before turning to walk over to grab a map of the area, spreading it out in the bed. I walked over with Breya, and Melly showed me where this spell circle that Grimora had been setting up was.

"How has Grimora got into town without anyone noticing? If she is setting up a second one in the center of town, she would have to be there to draw it out," I explained, but then decided that I should deal with that one first. "Point it out on the map as well. If she is only just starting it, I can dispel it without a problem."

"In disguise as an old woman with a walking stick that walks around all over town but adds to the spell as she passes without anyone noticing," Melly said as she pointed to the center of the town; it was an open area that I had passed before on the way in.

"I see. Well, that is going to be a little more difficult. I will need to get everyone out of the area first before I can deal with it," I said as I looked over at Melly, who just nodded her head in agreement.

There was a chance that the spell could be rigged, and since they knew I was coming, it was very likely. While pretty much all magic could be defended against, protecting everyone walking around would be next to impossible for even me. I was used to using more direct methods, but I could see if one of the goddesses had more experience with trap spells because I was used to just setting them off, not disarming them.

"I think we should head back now. When we get back to the inn, I will be putting you to sleep in my carriage until I have this resolved. I might need your help in dealing with the other cult members in the other towns. This will be your way of redeeming yourself and your sisters. If you want me to go easy on them, then you need to teach me about everything as we ferret them all out," I said as I looked over at Melly, who just nodded her head in agreement.

"All right, but you should know that Grimora is also a very powerful demoness. She will be difficult to deal with even if she is not using her full power," Melly warned me, and I just nodded my head.

"That is why I need to get the others and go now before she can prepare for us," I explained, and then started heading towards the door with Breya still in my arms, but she had a small smile. "Do you want me to put you down now?"

"No, I am fine like this," Breya said as she snuggled deeper into my arms, and I just chuckled.

"If you say so," I replied with a smile as I started heading towards the inn where everyone else was waiting for us.