158 Resolve (2/2)

”Right... What makes you think we would trust you? You only care about your own interests...” Marcus mentioned.

”Damn right I do! I'm clearly the most sane person here, so of course, I'll focus on my interests before any of you!” Detra admitted while raising her voice.

”Excuse me??” Lilith said.

Detra then stood up and looked at everyone present.

”You, are nothing but an idiot whose eyes are too blinded by your desire for revenge who got so focused on your own mission that didn't even realize that your moronic leader was suffering from mental health problems and never considered using your future sight to keep an eye on her and try to see if she would do something stupid,” she said while looking at Lilith.

”Hey!! Don't you-” Marcus tried to defend her, but the woman then pointed at him next.

”YOU, are nothing but a crybaby who can't get over your issues with me and pay attention to the mission at hand! If you weren't so unfocused you wouldn't have used a metal form against an enemy that uses goddamn lighting attacks!”

Xadi raised his head when realizing that Detra was talking about him and noticed that this was the first time he had been reunited with Marcus in a long time. He was impressed with how much the lad had grown.

Detra looked at Leona next.

”And you!!”

She was about to say something but then realized something that made her completely unable to criticize the fire mage.

”... I actually have no idea who you are... But I'm sure you're a moron as well...” Detra said bluntly.

Leona glared at her wondering just how someone so rude used to be the former goddess of the east, ”Well... Aren't you just lovely...?”

”What about us...?” Joseph asked with his hand raised, acting as if he was in some kind of game where everyone was taking a turn to be insulted by Detra.

”I'm sorry, who are you again...?” Detra asked.

”We are students from miss Evlin... You were saying she was a mage or something? We were kinda wondering if that meant we also could get some kind of superpowers as well? I wanna have the power to turn invisible!!” Joseph explained.

Detra rolled her eyes and replied to the kid, ”Wonderfull, I hate you already! Moving on...”

”Huh...? But...”

”This brings us to you, young miss!” Detra ignored Joseph and looked at Ellie next.

”East!” Lilith warned her while holding a heavy glare, ”Be careful with what you say!”

”Why?? Because our poor little flower is going through a rough time and might cry if I spout some harsh words? Unlike everyone else here who just looks like they're about to party on the beach?”

”I'm warning you East! She's just a kid!”

”Hell if I care! This situation is her fault just as much as anyone else, if not more!”

Ellie just remained completely immobile on her chair. Detra began to walk towards her.

”If you had just listened to me instead of following the advice of a stupid frog with a tophat, then maybe we would still have your dumb aunt here to eat breakfast with us right now and could have devised a better plan!”

Lilith heard that comment and looked a Xadi. Sometimes, if he didn't move much, it was easy to forget he was actually possessing the doll right now.

Evlin twitched a little as the sensation of guilt from her mistake stabbed her.

”If we wanna clean up this mess, you will need to do your part and help us take down Mia... Though you clearly can't do it as you are now...” Detra mentioned, ”But... Since I apparently am more hated than country music around here... I can't properly help you polish your skills without you trusting in me and my guidance. So, I'm just going to ask you once... Are you going to place your trust in me? Or them?”

Ellie finally raised her head, still looking like a corpse, and stared at Detra who was now right in front of her with her arms crossed.

She also looked at the rest of the table and realized that Lilith and Marcus were very nervous about her answer.

”You don't have to listen to her, Ellie... We will find a way!” Lilith stated.

The girl then realized that Detra was right. Everyone else was an absolute mess right now, and Detra was the only one who was thinking with clarity and precision. Plus, it was true that Detra did turn Marcus into a great weapon for combat.

”If I go with you...” Ellie finally spoke. Her voice was weak and frail, ”Can we save my aunt...?”

”I can't guarantee that...” Detra shrugged, ”I'm not an expert in cursed energy... I'm still trying to put together how Mia even took over her body in the first place...”

”...”

Ellie then sadly came to terms that maybe she was hoping for too much and switched her question.

”If I go with you... Can you make me defeat Mia?”

”Ellie!” Lilith tried to call her attention, but the girl just ignored her. If Ellie tried to speak with Lilith, she would only try to comfort her. But Ellie didn't want comfort, she wanted a solution.

”That... I can give you my word that I can do... But you will need to pull your own weight as well.” Detra explained.

Ellie finally made her decision and looked at Detra with her depressed eyes. For the sake of stopping Mia and getting revenge for her aunt, she would need to follow the former goddess of the East.

”Ok... I'll be your weapon...”