Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

The moment Kara took Raven's hand, she felt the divine blessing of Athenia. But then came a shadow, lurking in the dark–a creature with glowing silver eyes eternally trapped. And as if that wasn't enough to surprise her, a speck of his soul felt vacant–almost as if it had been chipped away like glass.

Although curious at first, she didn't let those thoughts linger. Her task was straightforward and that's what she decided to do without getting distracted any further. Assuming the average strength of the devils in the hells would've left her a pool of imp drowning the graph to the very end of the power scale. Thus Kara swiftly Ignored them all and assumed the average strength of the contracted Monsters like Libyan working under the new primordial devil.

"Upper ranking amongst the strongest of the monsters will give you some trouble, but the fight would be on equal footing. Lest you meet a named devil or a primordial, that is. Apart from that, the only thing you have to worry about is that their numbers are far superior. I'd advise caution and to be clandestine, but in the end that's easier said than done."

Letting go of Raven's hand with a smile, Kara moved on to Amedith next. In an instant, she felt his noble resolve to protect the weak, but within it also hid doubt, self-doubt that is. He was broken in his own ways, unsure of his worth and that insecurity is what drew him to protect others to make up for his own inadequacy.

"You're a magus, I figure you've learned that by now?" A bit surprised that the priestess knew, Amedith's eyes widened for a moment. But quickly giving her a nod, he allowed her to continue what she had to say. "Then what's stopping you from making use of your near-divine powers? A magus, if you're not already away, is capable of casting any magic with no need for mana. Even the gods feared your race, so don't be so timid and bring shame to your lineage."

It was hard to believe that even the gods feared the magus, but even Erika–the priestess of the party couldn't help but agree that somehow Amedith's magic worked many multitudes better than hers. She'd witnessed it first-hand while trying to heal the corrupted minds of the people back in the nameless city. While she was struggling to keep up with everyone, Amedith's holy magic worked miles better than hers without tiring him even.

One after the other Kara continued to read everyone's palms to gauge their strength. The elven sisters were just as remarkable as the men before them and despite having no special lineage for the most part, their ability to keep up with both a magus and a dark fae was remarkable.

"Your woodland magic would be of most no use in the hells, the creatures you summon, the vines you conjure will burn in an instant so I'd advise you to make use of spore poisons or fumes instead." Turning her attention from Melicia to Aria, Kara gave her a stern look while also giving her a smile. "As for you, those gloves can keep you going forever, but try not to exhaust yourself because then you'd have no way of landing a blow to recover your strength."

Erika came last of the original group and being mostly a healer and an expert in runes, her reading was quite nominal. The ability to heal and cast power in inscribed words, the same she'd sent Libyan to the hells, there was much she could do and paired with Amsodia's powers, she was perhaps the most versatile yet for now, Kara advised her to only focus on support as the party already had enough firepower.

"Two healers for a party so big, you two best load up on mana potions," Kara advised both Erika and Liliyana.

Thankfully the two were already carrying those potions with them, as well as the amalgam made by Jenna that could heal Maria if the need arose. Breezing past Helga who was not in the least interested in being touched by Aphordite's priestess, Kara checked Regalia next.

"A warlock, eh? You can't rely on your patron's power in hell, knowing that you still wish to accompany this group?" Kara asked. Enjoy exclusive content from My Virtual Library Empire

"Most of them have never been in a true war, someone has to be their steward, no?" Giving her just as snarky of a response, Regalia pulled her hand out of Kara's grasp. Visibly upset that she would even suggest for her to stay behind, the demi-wolf gestured for the priestess to move on by.

Doing just that, Kara read the final person willing to offer her hand–Maria. An ex-queen with little to no battle experience. She'd been learning illusion magic under Asmodia, and although she'd gotten much better than when she started, her magic was far from battle-ready at this moment. Yet sensing her resolve, the priestess felt as though nothing could hurt the woman, at least not in the hells.

"Use your illusion to help everyone escape if necessary and don't try to get into a direct fight with anyone, a swarm of imps can overpower you physically, so be careful." With the last person done, Kara waved at Maria and tried to escape behind the Mistress. But grabbing her hand, Raven stopped her for a question.

"How do you always arrive right when we're about to do something unhinged?" Asked Raven, but Kara too repeated the same words.

The smirk on the high priestess upsetted the party leader, but holding his frustration in, he let go of the dark-skinned woman. Correcting her head veil that had been tilted by Raven's sudden grab, she turned around to face him.

"I told you the first time we met, didn't I?" Smiling, she held a laugh behind closed lips. "I'm always there when someone needs me, and as for you guys, I'm supposed to aid you in your journey."

"Even though we follow Athenia and not the goddess you serve?" Raven asked, still dubious of her intentions.

"What would you rather have me do? Allow the world to succumb to the dark lord's might? Of course not, the goddess eternal wouldn't allow for such a thing and thus it is my duty to ensure that nightmare doesn't become a reality."

"So much talk for a goddess who would abandon her own daughter and exploit her people until the very end by striking deals with a devil," Erika shouted, shooting a glare at both Kara and the Mistress, one a priestess who still served the dead god and the other the devil who'd consumed a portion of the goddess's dying soul in exchange for keeping her name alive forever. "You're both pathetic!"

"Enough talk, the portal is ready," but the conversation finally came to a halt and it was time for the party to carry out the assassination of the primordial.

Clutching the necroflower-powered string tight in his hands, Raven gathered everyone behind him as the Mistress offered them masks to shapeshift into imps once they were inside the same house in the hells. The portal had already been carved on the meeting hall's floor and the only left to do was gather in the middle and cast themselves in the fiery pits of hell.