Chapter 273 51.3 Debuff?

SHIZU

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Shizu held her breath as she stated her intentions. She knew that pushing her desires would more than likely backfire on her. After all, who in their right mind would talk back to their Gods? She most certainly wouldn't think so, especially having seen their power firsthand.

Still, she somehow managed to find the courage to finally reveal her feelings. True, she might've been already asking the two of them to let her join them on their bed, but this was the first time she actually told them why she wanted to do so.

"W-Well, this is kind of sudden, isn't it?" Moriya awkwardly chuckled.

"I-I'd say," Lady Guidance followed right behind him with a chuckle of her own. "This is... yeah..."

Shizu felt her heart hammering in her chest as she waited for her two Gods to give her the answer she was hoping for. All of a sudden, it seemed like her friends being in mortal danger was inconsequential when compared to the prospect of serving her Gods in a more intimate manner. Sure, a part of her knew that what she just did was highly inappropriate for the current situation, but what was done was done.

Besides, she was pretty sure that they'd still be able to save them despite taking up too much time just talking like this.

"Shizu, this kind of talk should probably wait until after we're firmly back on the [Rig]," Moriya faintly smiled, a slight sigh escaping his lips as he replied. "Can we at least do that?"

Shizu inwardly scoffed. She already knew what her God was trying to do. "No."

Even as she cringed as soon as the word left her mouth, Shizu pressed on. She wouldn't take no for an answer. Until she got what she wanted, she was fine with stalling for time.

"Shizu..."

The princess did her best to fight against her instincts to back down. Even as Lady Guidance gave her a look that bordered between pity and want, she refused to budge on the issue.

"We're wasting time here," Lady Guidance sighed after a beat. "We have to save our friends before we can even think about all of this."

"So once we get out of here, you'll consider my request?" Shizu probed.

Shizu waited with bated breath as she saw the two Gods share a look. After a while, they both let out a collective sigh before they turned to look at her once more.

"You know what? Fine," Moriya shrugged. "Guidance and I will talk about it more seriously."

Her eyes widened. That wasn't what she hoped their response would be. "But-"

"No, Shizu," Guidance quickly shut her down with a stern gaze. "We won't be giving you an answer until after we've all talked about this in a more proper setting. It won't be here, and it certainly won't be in the battlefield, alright?"

Shizu sighed. "Okay... I guess that's more than what I'd get for now."

She couldn't help but feel anxious and excited at the same time. On one hand, she had been shut down. On the other, the window for her to properly serve her Gods hadn't been completely closed shut. They said that they'd consider her offer, that they'd possibly talk to her about it more closely after all of this was over.

And just like that, her motivation and energy levels shot through the roof.

"That's more than what you should've gotten, you know," Moriya exasperatedly sighed before he chuckled. "Anyway, where were we before we got sidetracked yet again?"

"We're supposed to be making our way to the rest of our party," Lady Guidance reminded her fellow God. "We can see them holding their own against our enemies, but there's no saying how long-"

"So why don't we just go and jump to help right now?" Shizu interrupted, a wide smile on her face as she stood up. "That's the plan, right?"

She couldn't help it. She was so full of energy right now that she felt like she could fight against the entirety of Marquee all on her own. On top of that, the sooner they got done with this whole fiasco, the faster she'd get to possibly serving her Gods.

"Shizu, we can't just-"

"But that is the plan, right?" Shizu insisted, her giddiness making her more excitable than usual. "If we have to save our friends, then punching a hole through all of that should be our top priority."

"Well, yes, but-"

"Then it's settled!"

"Shizu, wait!"

Before either of her two Gods could even stop her, Shizu jumped up and out of cover, her body having seemingly miraculously recovered from her previous ordeal in order for her to sprint straight into the enemy lines.

"I just have to make a path for them to escape," Shizu told herself, her eyes already prickling as she prepared herself to use her power. "[Code Watcher]"

With the world blurring black and green, the princess rapidly assessed the situation in front of her. Just a few seconds of sprinting away from her, Shen and the others were currently fighting for their lives against an onslaught of enemies. They were surrounded from all sides, and she could clearly see that there were still more enemies that could easily replace anybody that their group could possibly cut down.

The massive pillar of light erupting from the crater still blinded her, of course, but it didn't stop her from trying to peer through the rest of her surroundings. There were a few standout people from within the crowds that her power told her would be more trouble to handle if they weren't being careful. Still, if they managed to escape quickly enough, they wouldn't have to fight in the first place, right?

Reaching what was nominally the first layer of the enemy forces, Shizu used her superior speed to duck and weave through the masses, avoiding any and all confrontation in the hopes that she'd be able to better conserve her energy for the breakthrough that she had to manufacture later. Besides, she could tell that her Gods were already hot on her tail, the two of them cutting a swathe through the enemy forces that she had handily ignored.

"What the-"

"She's so fast!"

She couldn't help but chuckle at these Marquean heathens. Unlike them, she was sure that her natural talent was nothing short of exemplary. She didn't need their blasphemous technology to be this strong. All she needed was to pray to the Goddess, and the world granted her the power to defend both her friends and her homeland.

The source of this content is nov/el/bin[./]net'

"Stop right- URGKK!"

Shizu smirked as she landed a straight punch at the poor guy that tried to stand in her way. With all of the speed that she was going, coupled with her own natural strength and technique, the heathen flew from the force of her punch, toppling down a sizeable number of her enemies along the way.

"Hah! That's for even trying," she couldn't help but taunt.

Shizu stood still for a brief second before she spun her heel on a dime. Despite being surrounded by targets, she couldn't afford to be sidetracked yet again. She still had friends to save, and who knows what her Gods would say to her once they found out that she had stalled just when she had bolted before they were even done speaking.

Yes, she was aware of what she did. That didn't mean that she was still above her impulses, however.

Pumping her legs once more, Shizu bolted. Passing through enemy after enemy, she briefly saw a lady glaring at with the intensity of razor-sharp daggers at the periphery of her vision. But before she could even completely note the particular woman, she was already on her way toward her friends. She didn't even manage to linger on the view for long as she inevitably found herself in the thick of all the fighting.

"S-Shizu?!"

"I'm here!"

Jumping into the air, Shizu stepped on the nearest enemy she could spot and began wreaking havoc on the enemy lines. Shen's relief when she saw her almost made her break out into an even wider smile as her eyes glowed with a fiery intensity. Numbers upon numbers told her where to aim and how to dodge, easily making her journey to join her friends as basic as lifting a finger.

Maruki quickly noted her arrival. "Prin-"

"Don't say that out loud!" Shade hastily interrupted as he trotted to her side, his [Manifest] still glowing in his hand. "La- Shizu, I take it that Moriya and Lady Guidance aren't far behind?"

"Yep!" she beamed, her fists already tightening as she assumed her usual stance. "I'm here to break you guys out of this encirclement!"

"Just you? Not Moriya or Lady Guidance?" Shade incredulously asked.

"I'm sure I'll be more than enough," Shizu smirked, her gaze already aimed toward where her two Gods were currently fighting their own battles. "Just hold on tight and give me some space."

With a small breath, Shizu channeled the same energies that she used just moments prior. She knew that she really shouldn't use such a [Move] in quick succession especially after she just said she was going to reserve it for emergencies, but wasn't this an emergency anyway?

"Maruki?" she called out, her fists already glowing.

"Yes?!"

"Catch me!" Shizu ordered before she then executed her [Move]. "[LIMIT BREAK]!"

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