Chapter 90: Ch 89: Way to break in - Part 2

"Someone... anyone... help me out, please. I don’t want to die."

The woman begged with all her might while banging at the barrier to be let in. But it was of no use.

Lumi’s expression immediately turned serious as she watched the demon raise its claws toward the terrified woman. She did not hesitate and immediately sent several jellyfishes through the barrier, surrounding the demon before it could land its attack.

The woman fell to the ground in fear as the jellyfishes exploded around the demon, forcing it to retreat several steps.

"Stay where you are! We will deal with this demon first."

Lumi shouted while maintaining the barrier between them. She wanted to help the woman, but she could not understand why the barrier had refused to let her enter.

"Why did it stop her?"

Sasha asked with confusion.

Lumi did not answer immediately. She was staring at the woman with a strange feeling in her heart.

Something about her was wrong, but she could not pinpoint what.

"T-Thank you for saving me! I-I had no idea what I would have done if you had not helped me out."

The woman was shaking as she spoke, and her fear looked real at least. Lumi was not sure what to make of her, so she remained standing quietly, not replying to the female.

"By the way, is this a barrier? I cannot move forward. I thought I was done for. Look, my legs are shaking so hard that it is even harder for me to move."

The female pointed before she collapsed with an awkward expression. But Lumi did not let her guard down even after that.

"So, what did you do for the monster to come after you like that? It must have been scary, right?"

Sasha tried to make light talk, and the other female let out an awkward laugh.

"What did I do? I-I don’t recall. I was just walking and I... was being followed by that thing. I was here to meet Priest Aiden on behalf of our village. May I come inside the barrier?"

The female asked, showing her intention clearly. But neither Lumi nor Sasha showed her any grace.

"I am afraid that the barrier is rejecting you, so we cannot allow you inside. But if you give us a message, we can try and get your entry approved..."

"I see. That is not good. Then, can you at least take something else for me inside? Here, this is an accessory. It will serve as proof of my identity."

The female extended her hand and showed a butterfly-shaped accessory.

It was so well-made that it almost felt real. Lumi felt like those beautiful wings would start fluttering any second and fly away, and that made her hesitate to grab that butterfly.

"Come on. It’s just a charm. You said that you would at least ask your leader about me."

The female tried to convince Lumi once more, and this time, it worked. Lumi hesitantly grabbed the charm and brought her hand inside by holding it in the middle of her hands, not allowing it to come in contact with the barrier.

But the second she did, the butterfly fluttered in her hand and started to multiply until it covered both her and Sasha.

The multiple butterflies slowly began to converge until they formed Goddess Paphelia’s body.

"Ah, these kids were so easy to manipulate. Aeloria, you did a good job. Now come inside."

Once inside, it was easy for Goddess Paphelia to use her power to force the barrier open and allow one person entry.

Aeloria entered the barrier but looked at the swarm of butterflies holding Lumi and Sasha hostage.

"Goddess Paphelia, what are you going to do with these kids?"

Aeloria asked, causing Goddess Paphelia to smile at her in her sinister way.

"You know what I am going to do with these kids. I am going to propose a deal. Two lives in exchange for one. Well, three if I add yours as well, right?"

Goddess Paphelia asked with a smile on her face, and Aeloria sighed at her goddess’s stubbornness. She knew this was going to happen, so she was not even surprised, just disappointed.

Still, she chose to follow Goddess Paphelia so she would see it to the end... until she had a way out.

...

"How weird. I cannot feel Lumi or Sasha anywhere. I sent Caelion to look for them some time ago, but there has been no message."

Aiden muttered to himself, trying to calm his anxious heart. He was not sure why, but he felt like something bad was about to happen. Especially with both Lumi and Sasha missing.

Goddess Apophis was finally sleeping, so Aiden did not want to wake her up. But he did not want to go against her words and leave the temple either.

So all he could do was wait around for someone to bring him the news of what was happening.

Finally, after waiting for another hour, Caelion did come back. But not with the news Aiden expected from him.

"There has been a batch of demons spotted inside the barrier space on the south. I checked it and cleared it out myself, but I thought I should tell you about this before it becomes a problem."

This had never happened before. Rather, this was not supposed to happen.

Demons would not spawn in spaces protected by a god or goddess’s barrier. The most they could do was cross the barrier, but even that was almost unheard of.

"Caelion, did you see the demons spawn in yourself?"

"No, but I did see them inside. Should I have waited to see if they spawned outside or inside?"

Caelion asked in a worried voice, but Aiden shook his head.

"No, that’s fine. You did good. I will check this situation out myself. Can you stay beside Goddess Apophis and look after her—"

"I should accompany you—"

"I want you to stay here. And in case I am not back in two hours, wake Goddess Apophis up and tell her what happened."

Aiden felt a little bad about breaking Goddess Apophis’s order, but this matter was far too important to be left unattended.