Chapter 98: A Terminal Penalty

The bunny’s ears pulled back as he looked up at her with his big eyes. "Yes! Can you help me, pretty hare girl? My paws are so slippery; I’m so nervous! My mistress is watching, and I don’t want to disappoint her—she’s so kind to me, even though I mess up and slack off watching anime or reading manga..."

"Unbelievable," Dionysus sighed before bringing his cup to his mouth. "Haaa. This...embarrassment is your servant, Eostre? Tulpa truly are low-class. And is that your second two in a row, Rachel? Haha. Quite unlucky..."

Dionysus: 1

Rachel scratched Moongmor’s neck, lifting an eyebrow as Dionysus’ casually tossed die landed. "Who...was unlucky again? Heheh. That comment kind of bit you in the ass there, didn’t it?"

"I suppose it did," he said with a sheepish laugh, playing it off. "Is this your influence? You cannot roll for him."

"Alright," she said with a grin and a wink at the curious and flustered rabbit as she held the dice in the palm of her hand. "I’ll just hold it for him then. Give it a good kick!"

"Oh! Oh! Blow on it for bad luck," he giggled, twisting in circles as he hopped up and down, excitement building again.

"Okay," she snickered, puffing out a soft breath.

Dionysus held up a hand in confusion as all the other deities cried out with laughter; Rachel couldn’t even see his kick, punting the die so fast that it bounced off the walls several times, ping-ponging around before hitting the dull-eyed Dionysus between the eyes and dropping to the ground.

Crowd: 20

"And... Haha! Hey, you deserved that for your comments about Eostre," she laughed.

"Perfect score!" Moongmor cheered. "Item! Item! Anime sailor outfi—"

"Moongmor," Rachel hissed, her glare making the moon rabbit jump back and Conner double over with laughter.

"Hey, I think you’d look great in that!"

"Eh-hehe. Uh, military sailor outfit?" Moongmor tentatively asked.

Rachel’s gaze lifted to the giant display overhead as the one-minute timer counted down; the images that showed weren’t the worst. Cerridwen told her to trust him.

"Just...something that I wouldn’t be embarrassed in," she groaned, rubbing between her eyes. "Please..."

"Okay! Okay!" He jumped up and down. "Count on MoonMoon, Major!"

The timer continued to count down as he spun through options like a madman with a fever, laughing and cheering as he went so fast Rachel couldn’t follow it with [Mental Acceleration].

"Gloves—fighters like gloves... Super-fitted military sailor outfits look so badass on light-pink-haired girls! Black—black-and-red themes are cool! Yes! Awesome! No-no on cute pink earmuffs... Yes! Captain hat, and can’t forget absolute territory! White formal undershirt and black tie—overcoat and black square heels... A bunny spirit Living Denier for infinite growth!"

Five seconds remained, making Rachel nervous as he hadn’t even gotten to the attributes besides this Living Denier part; from her mother’s obsession with clothes, she knew denier had something to do with the quality of clothing and guessed it had something to do with fabric.

"Can store Lunar Energy in multiple pools—oh, that’s all I can do... Complete!"

Rachel breathed out a heavy sigh as half a second showed on the clock. A shimmering light came on around her frame, adding the items; warmth wrapped around her as invisible arms hugged her tight.

A red glow made her breath catch in her lungs as it separated to reveal a smiling, adult bunny girl with slightly shorter ears than her. "Hello, Rachel. I’m Nia."

Moongmor gasped, left foot rapidly tapping the platform as he looked her up and down, marveling at their twin outfits. "Nia! Nia! Yes! Rachel, she’s the best Living Denier; she’s like you—tough and cool and intense—"

"Okay, okay," Nia laughed. "Calm down, soldier."

"Ma’am!" Moongmor chimed in, stiffening to attention.

"Like me, huh?" Rachel hummed, examining the young woman; she had a similar build to hers, if a little less curved. She saw a reflected look in her appraising stare, and it then hit her how helpful Nia could be if she could store multiple lunar energy types for her to use. "Having a second pair of fists might not be so bad... If you can follow orders."

Nia’s head tilted to the side, her ears twitching, and she smirked. "In terms of rank, you’re the major, and I’m the captain. I’ll respect your lead...if you can keep my respect."

Rachel grinned. "And just like that, I already like you."

Dionysus studied their exchange as it became Conner’s turn, Moongmor dancing around them and admiring his handiwork; it didn’t take a second for Conner to grin and make his choice, causing Nia and her smile to vanish.

"Penalty, Item: Living Denier."

Nia hissed, scratching her neck and glaring at him. "Well, shit."

"You’ll become friends, and—n-no!" Moongmor cried in horror. "You can’t—you..."

A pressure embraced Rachel as Dionysus appeared behind Nia, a black sword plunging into her chest. "Too bad... In rare circumstances, a penalty to an item can cause some real damage, such as a crippling disease, and there are such illnesses that can strike Living Denier."

"Bastard," Nia grunted, showing a strained smile as she started to sparkle and fade away. "That scared of me, huh? Well, I’m luckier than you know."

"I hope so, bun... I don’t see you surviving this bug for long."

Rachel winced, her hand going to her chest as the warmth hugging her slackened; a cold chill ran down her spine as tears came to Moongmor’s eyes.

"Y-You’re killing her slowly... T-That’s not fair..."

Dionysus bent down to pick up the crying bunny. "Too bad. A soul item is really such a powerful tool, and to think you’d go straight for it. Well, you had your chance to have a good time. Off you go."

He tossed the sniffling rabbit away. "Rachel, it seems you’re now wearing a deathly sick soul item. What are the chances? Yikes! Hehe. So, what is your choice?"

Rachel frowned, running her hand down the military overcoat to the short skirt; damage was starting to show.

Nia’s strained laughter resonated within her mind. "He infected me with a rare virus that affects living cloth... I’ll probably be mostly dead by the end of this next round. Kind of pathetic, huh? Got any bright ideas?"

Nia’s presence was drifting further away by the second, but the cold, calculating energy from the Black Moon drew Rachel’s gaze from Nia to the tortured, practically dead figure of Nike. Actually... I do have a plan.

"I’ll do what I can to get us there. What’s the plan, Major?"

Level and surpass expectations.

"That virus is unfortunate..." Rachel muttered aloud, studying the display that popped up in front of her. "Monster: A Challenge."

Her gaze drifted between the many options that cycled in front of her until she landed on an image that made her pause. A bloody-clawed, white-eyed, werewolf-like figure snarled a laugh in the picture. It wore a leather-like vest, and a stuffed bunny hung from its neck.

"Mmm-hehe." Dionysus’ teeth flashed. "The dyalitha; there is a rabbit-like race on the planet that they torment—vicious hunters, necromantic in culture, and quite powerful—if you wanted a challenge...this might prove too difficult."

Nia’s sickly voice held confidence it shouldn’t. "Puppies? C’mon, give me a challenge."

Rachel’s smile widened at the feelings rising in her chest that told her these fiends needed to be punished. "The dyalitha, it is."

Dionysus flipped through destinations to land on a frozen hellscape. "Then the best stage would be their home territory; the frozen wastelands of Nylthera, filled with the corpses of the kulina they hunt. Let the battle begin..."

Her vision lingered on Nike’s torn wings, hanging beside her body, Rachel’s mind in motion with her plan. She spared a glance for Moongmor, finding the sniffling, colorful rabbit in the stands, already mourning the Living Denier’s loss; he probably blamed himself for putting her in this position. Instead of focusing on the loss, Rachel flexed her black-gloved hand, testing its elasticity; Nia’s dimensions were perfect.

Misfortune and karma can go hand-in-hand, Nia; I’ll get your vengeance.

"Major," Nia grumbled in a dull tone. "Why are you talking like I’m already dead? I’m still here..."

Haha! My bad. Let’s exploit some pride.