World Keeper

Chapter 944: Red Handed

Lily’s figure followed behind the two thieves after quickly catching up to them, once again disguising herself. Although the strange girl she met seemed able to see through her disguise, it was clear that the two of them did not have such ability. After ten minutes, they ducked into an alley, and Lily could hear them exchanging a quiet conversation.

“How much did you get?” One asked excitedly, the other smiling and opening his inventory to check. The first thief saw his partner’s face going pale, his brows furrowing. “Don’t tell me you’re holding back?”

“N-No, it’s gone.” He said, adjusting the privacy setting of his inventory to show his partner, who couldn’t help but curse under his breath.

“Did someone else spot us along the way?” Although he let out a sullen sigh, the two thieves were used to being robbed just as they were used to robbing others. If they managed to keep their spoils long enough to secure them, then it could be said that they had made a gain. Otherwise, if someone else saw them as a good target, they could only chalk it up to bad luck.

“You think it was Ghost Hand?” The second thief asked, the first merely shrugging his shoulders.

“I didn’t see that guy while we were out today, but if it was him… it’s possible. Anyways, we’d better make the delivery quick and head back.” With that, the two of them once again walked out into the streets, quickly navigating to the high-class residential district. 

Before turning onto a certain street corner, they applied spiritual energy and mana to their bodies, a simple anti-recognition technique to prevent them from being identified by wards or natural energy. It didn’t take them long to find their target, a lavish house three stories tall.

One of the thieves took a wooden spoon from his inventory, placed it inside a small box, and quickly rushed to the door. He stayed only long enough to place the box at the door, before rushing back and disappearing with his partner.

Lily’s eyes narrowed, wanting to retrieve the box herself. However, following the two thieves was more important. Before the two could get far, Lily was back on their trail, ducking through alleys and shadowed streets. In the back of her mind, she was urging the two of them to hurry up, wanting them to reach their destination as soon as possible.

Thankfully, they seemed to be in a hurry themselves, soon arriving at a run-down house in the back of the slums. There was a poor-looking man sitting out front, who gave a simple nod to the duo as they entered.

Finally! Lily thought to herself, about to make a move. However, before she could, she saw a tall woman in a black dress appear from nowhere, walking to the shack. The man’s eyes twitched wide for a moment, before he started to rise. Before he could reach his feet, though, his body vanished like a cloud of dust.

Lily’s eyes widened at the sight, before the black-haired woman turned to look at her, her lips tugging up  in a small smile. “If you’re going to come, now is the time.” She said, before turning back and walking into the building.

She noticed me? Lily was still hidden, having been prepared to infiltrate quietly. When she saw that she was spotted yet again, her eyes flashed with divinity. Five domains? And… the same as the girl from earlier…

Disregarding the fact that Lily had never seen another god with five domains, encountering two in the same day, with the same domains, it was obvious that they were the same person. Lily rushed over next to the woman, lifting her disguise. “How do you keep seeing me…”

“I have the Identity domain. I see the true identity of any who enter my field of vision. Unless your divinity were more powerful than my own, your disguise is useless against me.” The woman answered crisply, not having the same shyness that she showed in the form of a child. “Now, hurry along. I do not wish to stay in this place a second longer than need be.”

Lily nodded her head in agreement, sharing the sentiment. Given the scale of this operation, it was impossible that they had a god-level figure backing them. At most, they could have someone who had recently comprehended a martial will. Otherwise, there would be no need for such shady practices.

The moment that they entered the shack, three figures rose up from their chairs, one of them being one of the thieves Lily had followed. However, just as with the guard outside, their bodies faded away before they could even make a sound. Lily’s eyes narrowed at that. While she didn’t approve of instantly killing criminals, she would show no mercy to kidnappers and traffickers.

She closed her eyes briefly, nodding her head. “There’s a basement. I hear eight victims, maybe nine. Three breathing easily, one in excitement. And two sleeping.”

“Oh?” The black-haired woman turned to look at her in surprise. “Your senses are sharp if you were able to make out all of that from the sounds of their breath. If they’re downstairs, then there’s no point in looking any further.”

She snapped her fingers, and the floor turned transparent. Beneath them, they could see a dozen makeshift cells. Each cell was occupied, most of the occupants curled up on themselves with shaking shoulders. They were little more than rags, their personal belongings having been taken from them upon their capture.

Additionally, there were two more criminals that jumped up at the sight of the floor vanishing. Their legs and arms vanished as they tried to stand, their eyes going wide in shock. However, their screams were muffled as their mouths sealed shut.

Lily rushed down to the cells, not caring for the horrors that the thieves were being subjected to. She broke open the cages, taking a moment to look over each of the victims. As she did, she let out a soft sigh of relief. All of the victims seemed to be in good health, any injuries inflicted on them healed afterwards. However, that said nothing of the pain that they went through, evident by how most of them were still crying from just the memory of it.

“How are they?” The other woman asked, her eyes focused on the two criminals. She seemed to be reading something from them, but Lily couldn’t be sure from her gaze.

“They’re not injured. Once we get them out of here, we can get them all home.” As she said that, some of the captured victims flinched.

“H-Home?” One of them spoke up, their voice hoarse.

Lily’s tone immediately softened, rushing over to look at the one that spoke. “That’s right. Would you like to go home?” Because of her tendency to help troubled children, she was used to speaking in a comforting tone.

The victim simply gave a small, shaky nod, the black-haired woman finally speaking up. “This is an isolated operation. I’ve discovered where each of them lives, as well.” After she said that, the bodies of the last two criminals faded away.

She only kept them alive to get the information out of them? No, given the look on her face, whatever she learned only made her want to kill them even more. I’m… not going to ask.

Lily nodded her head, taking a moment to calm down each of the victims and comfort them, assuring them that they would be going home soon. As she did, the other woman began writing down a series of addresses.

“You’re not going to take them back with me?” Lily asked with a raised brow, the other woman’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

“I can’t be out too long. There’s… something else that I need to take care of. I’ll leave the matter of returning them to their homes to you. Whether you wish to claim credit or payment for this deed, it does not matter to me. However, I would ask that you leave me out of this matter.”

“You haven’t even told me your name.” Lily retorted helplessly, the woman tilting her head.

“I suppose I haven’t. That’s for the best, then. I have no desire for this kind of attention.” As she said that, she ripped off the page, setting it down on a nearby table before her body vanished.

There was a gentle laugh from the wooden house on Sanctum, Aurivy’s voice drifting out through the window. “Looks like it’s my win again, Jules.”

“Of course it is.” Julia responded softly, rolling her eyes in a playful manner. “We should get some of the newer games that have come out. It’d be a more even match.”

“Maybe--” Aurivy’s voice suddenly cut off, brows furrowed. “Be right back, Jules.” She said in a serious tone, before standing and walking to the door.

Outside the door, a black-haired goddess in a black dress stood, looking down and watching her. “Aurivy.” She greeted with a brief nod, treating her far more casually than almost any mortal god dared to do.

“Mara? And… in this form? What happened?” Aurivy knew just how much Mara hated to assume this form, and how she would only do so when something serious had happened.

“I recently encountered a trafficking operation. I will not say more than that, but I assume that you have your methods of discerning the truth. As the renowned Goddess of Love, I am sure that you will take action once something like this is brought to your attention.”

Aurivy’s eyes narrowed, seeming to unfocus for a moment. Afterwards, her face distorted in a rarely seen rage, her divine power surging out from her body. Inside the house, Julia’s face paled from the energy she could feel Aurivy releasing.

Mara nodded her head in approval at such a response, turning and starting to leave. As she did, Aurivy’s voice spoke up behind her. “What were you going to do if I didn’t act?”

Mara’s steps halted for a moment. “I don’t have enough time to handle things carefully. Within the hour, all parties involved would have disappeared from this world.”

As Aurivy watched her leave, Julia came up to the door, looking at Aurivy cautiously. “Rivy… are you okay? What’s going on?”

Aurivy turned to face Julia, surprising the latter with the stern glare on her face. “It appears that this is long overdue. It’s time for a crusade. Deus vult, and all that.”

“Is… there anything that I can help with?” Julia asked tentatively, but Aurivy shook her head.

“No, you don’t need to see this. I’m mobilizing my church to clean up some filth.” As she said that, divine revelations were sent to hundreds of priests in various worlds. A call to arms against a select group of people engaged with trafficking, whether buying or selling. For each target, a list of their crimes was given. This was the first time that the servants of Aurivy had lashed out to this degree in hundreds of years, yet the church knew what to do. Their pleasant robes were discarded, replaced instead by white cloth bearing a red handprint over their chest.