Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

What difference does a battle model and a regular model of automatons have? The overall engineering? The protocols? Or is it something deeper? The answer was complex, and yet it was easy to explain using simple words. An iron dragon's scales were used to make the iron core isolator, within which a soul rests dormant until it is time for the host to take control of the inorganic organism.

Unlike regular automatons, the souls used in the battle model must belong to the living or at least a sane undead. For otherwise the protocols control the body, not a rational thinking person. Excising her heart and placing it in Avarice, Mono did the very same, and thus retained her memories and all of her past experiences, it didn't take long for her to master the flex of her new body.

And now, having gone through the entire process, Shamisha presented the waiting audience to Hayley–the spirit girl who once belonged to the lighthouse at Lantherem. With Erika's permission and the spirit's willingness to be alive once more, she'd repeated the same steps as she had while managing Mono after her heart was taken out of her body.

"Is that?" Getting off his chair, Raven was the first to ask. "The battle model? She looks just like Avarice…"

"That girl was a pain to deal with," Regalia muttered from behind, still upset about losing a spar against her a long time ago.

With a smile on her face and her chest all puffed up, Shamisha placed a hand on the automaton's shoulders. Gently pushing her forward, the bunny girl left the introduction to the automaton herself.

Bashful since it was her first time being seen in a long time, the once lingering spirit stuttered her words until she forced herself to take a deep breath and calm herself down. Closing her eyes, she focused only on herself. What was used to be isn't her anymore, and what will be has yet to be explored. Thus this was her chance to truly decide how her destiny goes.

"I'm Hayley, the spirit girl that's been accompanying you since Lantherem," those who knew already were struggling to grasp how a spirit could be brought back to life, and those who were only now learning about this, were baffled beyond belief. "I finally remembered my name once my soul was put inside of the iron core. It was…a surreal experience, scary; but I felt that fear too was necessary."

Lifting her head and looking through the many faces focused on her, her sapphire eyes–the only distinction between Avarice's body and her, light up with an insurmountable amount of joy. Smiling, she held back the urge to chuckle out loud. She was alive, she could breathe if you would believe it! Her heart–although mechanical was pounding, and the mana coursing through her body made her truly feel blessed.

"T-thank you for bringing me here, so far away from home, but I wouldn't wanna be anywhere else…" Feeling heavy at the throat, Hayley wanted to cry but no tears would form. Her body was as barebones as possible for now with only the required battle protocols.

"I had to use everything to make her work, but the scales and the ring you gave me, truly were the stars in making it all work," stepping up beside her, Shamisha placed a hand on Hayley's shoulders. Proudly presenting her work, she smiled at the audience and ran a hand from Hayley's crown to the top of her toes. "The first ever Shamisha battle model Automaton, all with Kaleidoscope, Aegis, and an infinite amount of mana flow. She's right at your service, dukes and duchess of house 'Phordite."

Laughing along, Shamisha took a deep breath and puffed up her chest some more. Surprised faces surrounded her, but what she failed to realize was that everyone present in the hall was more concerned about an Avarice clone than impressed by it.

"Are you sure she can handle it? That body I mean," Linkle asked, dubious of Shamisha's claims.

Hearing that question, the bunny's girl's expression froze up. She was so excited to finally make a battle model automatons that she never stopped to consider what they would do if the machina went haywire like Avarice.

"Well…" Nervously scratching her chin with a trail of sweat dripping down her forehead, the sorceress conveyed without words what everyone already feared.

"Let's just hope that doesn't happen, we don't have the liberty to run any tests or train Hayley right," stepping up as the leader, Raven turned to the duo standing by the entrance. Conjuring both of them a chair, he directed them to take a seat. "Sit down, we're gonna leave as soon as the mistress arrives. I'll detail everything we've discussed so far in the meantime."

As the two took their seats, Raven began relaying the rest of their plan to them. A few minutes or so passed, and finally, the Mistress arrived. But surprisingly enough, she wasn't alone, walking beside her was Kara, the high priestess of Aphrodite. Appearing only ever when absolutely necessary, she loved watching the look of surprise on everyone's face whenever she emerged. Continue your journey on My Virtual Library Empire

"You again?" Ravened breathed, not too enthused about meeting Kara since every time she arrived there was always bad news.

Yet with a smile on her face, the priestess walked in front of the Mistress. The succubus was far from happy for having to accompany such a nuance, but for some reason, she wouldn't say a word.

"Won't you wanna know how you'd compare against the devils you'd be fighting soon?" Just like the very first time they'd met her, she was offering a reading, one that would help them figure out their standing against the devils of the hells.

The offer would give them a better chance at survival and thus, shaking away his reservations, Raven got off the chair and offered her his hand first.

"Fantastic, I'll take my pay later~" And with those words, she started giving everyone a rating. All the while the Mistress had the table moved from the meeting hall and inscribed a rune to a safe spot in hell.

All of a sudden, this journey to hell felt much more real than it did just yesterday, but trying not to discourage themselves, everyone focused on their readings instead.