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Chapter 55: Into Thin Air "I don't see any way Artemis being an adult could hinder our mission." Jakito shrugged. I nodded, got up and looked over myself again. I saw Sevin's face turn red and looked at myself. "Sorry." I apologized. My blouse somewhat revealed the top part of my chest. I still wasn't quite used to my new height. For some reason, I couldn't use my demon powers. "Why'd you buy those anyway?" Kagome gestured at the mini-blouse and the miniskirt on the bed. "Maybe for some times when we're going somewhere hot." I shrugged. She looked suspicious. "Attract men, more like." She snorted. Come to think of it, I had spotted a few men gawking at me from outside the shop when I came out of the changing room wearing that particular set to show Alexis. Ah well, that wasn't relevant to the subject. I wondered how Roy and the others back at Kerning would react when they saw me. They probably wouldn't recognize me. I went out for a walk along the market district later that day. The mess Saevio and I had created had been cleaned up and people were going about their business as usual, although some paused to glance at the patchy spot on the ground where a crater had been. Alexis was tagging along, looking quite like my daughter to the locals. There was a small crowd gathered around one of the shops, and it composed mostly of women. I decided to check it out and I elbowed my way to the front of the crowd. There was a salesman trying to sell off some weird cream. I sighed and walked off. However, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a dangerous glint in the salesman eyes. Before I could blink, I was strapped onto a chair beside him. "Wha......" I gasped. "Why don't we have a little demonstration?" He shouted. "Hey, let me go!" I struggled. "Now, now. Don't all women want great bodies?" He wagged his finger at me. What the heck? I stopped struggling for a minute and took a good look at the tube of cream. "This is great stuff! One use and you're guaranteed great breasts! Special offer, 1,000 mesos per tube!" The salesman continued advertising as he screwed open the tube. I groaned. Why does stuff like this always happen to me!? "Now, this woman here's got a big chest, but does it have a good shape?" The salesman continued on. He seemed to have the crowd in some sort of trance. Where were my demon powers when I needed them...... I tried to break free again, but the straps were tight. I noticed a few policemen among the crowd. Maybe they had tried to stop the guy, but were caught up in his trance. I relaxed and closed my eyes. "Enhanced Sight." I whispered, then opened my eyes. Some kind of blue clouds were hovering amongst the crowd. Just as I suspected. The spell I performed earlier allowed me to actually see mana. I blinked and my sight returned to normal. Alexis was nowhere to be seen. The salesman slowly unbuttoned my blouse and the male members of the crowd 'Ooohed.' Can't blame them, they're under a spell. No matter how hard I tried to break free, I couldn't. The salesman then took off my bra. I sighed. "I knew it. Your breasts are big, but they're not in good shape." He crooned and held the tube over me. I held my breath and closed my eyes. All I felt was something comfortable flowing around my chest. I felt myself relaxing. When I opened my eyes again, I saw white creamy stuff all over my chest. My chest felt ticklish as it flowed, but I was too busy trying to get free to bother about it. "Aaaand...... A great example of perfect breasts!" The salesman announced as the cream flowed off my chest. I was surprised. "Fidelo's Perfect Breast Cream! Get it now for only 1,000 mesos!" He shouted. FIDELO!? No surprises they made something like this. I resolved to punch Hugo Fidelo in the face if I ever saw him again. The straps released themselves and I quickly put on my clothes, looking rather embarrassed. Several women crowded around the salesman, throwing out sheets of money. Honestly! There were even some men claiming to buy for their wives. I'll eat my hand if a quarter of them really were. Some men in that crowd were most probably rapists. I sighed and looked around for Alexis. She was gone! I stumbled through the crowd, hoping to find her. "You want some more? I'll give you a free sample!" The salesman suddenly crammed a tube of the cream in between my breasts and went back hawking his stuff. Maybe this would come in useful though. You never know what you might need on a journey. I pocketed the tube and resumed my search for Alexis. "Alexis!" I yelled. A passerby walked up to me. "Looking for your daughter?" He asked. "Well, she's my sister." I replied. "Maybe I can help. What does she look like?" He nodded. I told him Alexis's description. "Waist-length blonde hair? That's not common in Leafre. I think I saw someone matching your description being led into a dark alley." He scratched his head. "Which one?" I hurriedly asked. "That one." He pointed towards an alley between two shops constructed out of stone and smack beside the perverted salesman and his crowd. I was off before he finished his sentence. I was panicking in my heart now. What was going to happen to Alexis? It would be an insult to Jullian's memory to lose her now! After all, he was the one who saved my life 19 years ago! "Alexis!!!" I called out. My voice echoed off the walls. Suddenly, I got that weird feeling that people were staring at me. I whirled around and instinctively reached a hand to my back for a weapon. No one was around, but I didn't lower my guard. I kept glancing around as I moved. A blurred patch of air moved around on the ground beside some shadows. I knew it. A Thief in Dark Sight. I stopped and clenched my hands into fists. I whirled around just as a deep voice cried out, "Assasinate!" I dodged the dagger slashes and stabs without much of a problem, but my taller body offered a larger target compared to my teenage body. Dodging the dagger gradually became harder as the unknown assassin used my height to his advantage. Several times I got cut, and the front of my blouse flopped open from a slash that narrowly missed me. The assasin chuckled and I launched a fist towards the source of the sound. I missed. "Come out and fight like a man!" I shouted. "Honor is unimportant. I just get the job done no matter what." The assassin laughed and continued his assault. All I could do now was dodge, the assassin somehow maintained Dark Sight even while attacking. The sleeves of my blouse were sliced off, my skirt became a miniskirt and I received an injury to my wrist. Hope was running out for me. Suddenly, there was a cry of "Assaulter!" and a Chief Bandit appeared in front of me. He was armed with a Kandine and had a Seclusion Wristguard strapped to his left arm. "Let me handle this." He said and launched off into battle. The invisible assassin, who previously had the upper hand, was now on the defensive. I could tell because I could see the blurry patch of air that represented him. My saviour was now stabbing the air so fast, pools of wind formed where his hands previously were. "Assaulter! Pickpocket! Mesos Explosion!" The Chief Bandit was unleashing skills so fast, his hands were a blur. Several mesos dropped from nowhere and exploded. Eventually, I saw the blurry air patch move away from us. "Are you okay?" The Chief Bandit helped me to my feet. "Yeah, thanks..." I replied breathlessly. "Women shouldn't venture into dark alleys, you know." He sheathed his dagger. "I'm looking for my sister." I looked around for any sign of Alexis and winced. The Chief Bandit caught me. "You're hurt." He looked at my wrist. He reached a hand into his jacket and pulled out a roll of bandages. He wrapped my wound in it. "Thanks." I smiled at him. "No prob." He smiled back. At that moment, I noticed the front of my upper torso was exposed. I looked around for a needle and thread, and the Chief Bandit produced one out of nowhere. "You actually bring stuff like this around?" I eyed him. "I get wounded often. That's the trouble with Bandits." He shrugged as I sewed the severed cloth back together. It wasn't a good fit, but it would have to work temporarily. I eyed the remnants of my once long skirt. It was now as short as the length of my foot. "Thanks for saving me again." I gave him back the needle and thread. "Hey, men are supposed to protect women, right?" He winked and pocketed the items. "I think you need to get back. It's getting late. More thugs will be out in these alleys soon, and then you'll be in deep trouble. Even I can't stand up to a mob of those." He shot furtive looks around. "I need to find my sister first." I sighed. "Can you find her if your bones are scattered around on the ground?" He stared into my eyes. "Good point." I groaned. "What's your name anyway?" I asked. "Just call me Peps. Your name?" The Chief Bandit winked. "Artemis." I replied. "Artemis...... The name of the Greek goddess of archery...... Nice name." He smiled. Hold on. There was no Greece in Maple! "Thanks." I grinned. "Hmm. Some Artemis's I talk to just ask me 'What's Greek?' You're the first one not to say that." He scratched his head. "Oh?" I eyed him curiously. Was it possible? Was he sucked in like Timmy too? "Ah well, I'd better get going. Maybe your sister's back home or something." Peps suggested after walking me out of the maze of alleys. I nodded. "See ya on the flipside." He took off, jumping around the rooftops. I hurried back to the inn, hoping to find Alexis. |
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