Arpious of the Planes

"Change back into your clothes, and we'll remain here for one more day before leaving, okay?"

"As you wish," Bella and Amelia respond.

"HUFF HUFF HUFF… A-as you wish. HUFF HUFF HUFF…" Anna responds after my other two maids.

I need to loosen up my muscles, so maybe a massage will do.

For the rest of the day, I tried loosening up my muscles with various exercises, stretching, and even soaking in a hot bath of water that I created.

All it took was using my newly acquired skill, [Weak Celestial Bone Creation], which essentially created the same type of stone that currently made up the dome-shaped room and hallway.

And if I focused enough, patterns would sometimes appear on the stone… so I used this to create a beautiful large bathtub filled with [Grand Water Magic] and asked Bella to heat it with [Fire Magic], which she happily complied.

"I'm taking another bath just to wash the remaining tension and exhaustion from my body, so I want Anna to massage my back, and you two will massage my legs and arms," I order my maids, who quickly run over to me as I take off my dress.

"Would you like me to wash your dress, Mistress? It'll be ready by the time you get out," Bella asks.

"Do it after the bath," I say while stepping into the warm tub.

I melted in bliss as I felt all the exhaustion wipe from my body. Also, the remaining tension seemed to dissipate as Anna dug her fingers into my back while Bella and Amelia gently massaged my stomach, legs, arms, feet, and hands.

I was truly in paradise…

"Being the queen is so nice," I mutter.

"Is Mistress happy?" Anna asks.

"Of course,"

"I'm glad,"

My maids all smiled as they continued to massage my body, but a few questions began to rise within my mind once again.

"How did you escape the gargoyles?" I ask my first question.

It didn't matter who answered. I just wanted answers as even I, at my top speed, could barely escape them.

"This room was much closer than you might've thought, so we were just able to escape the gargoyles by flying and running into here," Bella responds.

"Huh? So the gargoyles didn't chase you into this room?"

"They didn't, and I'm guessing it's because the gargoyles that reside within here are either much stronger or they didn't want to get into a fight they knew would cause a lot of casualties… which shows how intelligent they are…."

"I see…"

Judging from what I know about goblins… they are not that smart, so if I had to guess, maybe a gargoyle is an evolution path for goblins? Also, maybe certain requirements need to be met for them to evolve into a gargoyle… yeah, that would make sense-

"Wait, there are gargoyles in this room?" I ask, just realizing what Bella said.

"That's what I'm guessing, but they are extremely good at hiding themselves and blending in with any stone background… if I had to guess, I would say they're near the very top as they can swoop down on you with their wings and tear at your flesh," Bella responds.

"Then why haven't they attacked us yet? I'd understand if maybe they were asleep, but we were here for like 3 days, and still, nothing attacked us," I say, trying to focus on my godly senses.

I first closed my eyes which didn't do much as I could still see everything around me, but the feeling of closing your eyes helps you relax, which is why I started with it.

I then silenced my maids with one gesture of my hand before Bella could respond as I was now trying to find any gargoyles near the top of the room.

"Do they have hearts?" I ask while still trying to focus on my senses.

"Yes, they do, and it works just like a normal heart," Bella responds.

"Okay,"

… Bum Bum…. Bum Bum… Bum Bum…  Bum Bum… Bum Bum… Bum Bum… Bum Bum… Bum Bum… Bum Bum… Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum.

Suddenly I heard the heartbeats of thousands of creatures, and my skin instantly erupted with goosebumps.

"They're coming," I mutter before opening my eyes and standing up.

It seems my maids felt the thousands of eyes looking at us, so they immediately summoned their weapons and went to change into their clothes.

But I, on the other hand, just activated Araes Dress as that was much easier than putting my clothes back on.

FWOOSH

A gust of wind blasted from Anna's palms which wiped all the water from our bodies. We all then took a fighting stance as soon as red eyes appeared all over the top of the room.

Did I activate them somehow? Is it because I tried to figure out their location? I'm so confused, but there is no time for hesitation… these things are dangerous, and without special caution, we might all end up dying here.

"Have you figured out a weakness?" I ask my maids who just changed into their maid clothing.

"Yes, they have a leader, but he looks like every other gargoyle, but if you manage to kill the leader, then all the other gargoyles will die," Amelia says as she slides her foot back and brings her sword handle next to her ear.

I try to focus on my senses once again as I activate both of my weapons before gripping them so tightly I felt blood draw.

Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum...

"AH! SHIT! SO MUCH INFORMATION!" I shout, feeling my mind almost go numb as I hear the thousands of heartbeats that rampaged over my senses.

"Mistress! Are you okay?" Anna asks, turning her head while readying her wooden bow.

"Yes, I just tried to figure out how many there were and from what I can listen to, I assume there's at least 2000 here, so be careful!" I shout as I activate [Throne World: Purgatory].

All four of us suddenly appeared on a flat dirt plane with our surroundings disappearing and getting replaced by a black sky.

Monsters made from dark mist suddenly appeared all around us, and I immediately knew what they were… the souls of all the monsters I had killed; and unsurprisingly, no humans were present as they didn't count as monsters in the first place.

"This is my throne world, so don't panic-"

My throne world started to crumble into glass shards once again, revealing the gargoyles who suddenly appeared right in front of us.

SHING SHING SHING SHING SWOOSH

With a few swings and one arrow, we wiped out the ones who potentially posed a threat as they were too close before I activated [Divinity Domain (.05/100)] and [Forbidden Magic: Medusa].

And before the full effects were set in, I jumped away from my maids while letting the process change and reinforce my body.

I then injected medusa into my weapons, causing them to turn entirely gray with massive black cracks that released gray mist, petrifying anything it touched.

"Don't come near me unless you want to end up like Anna!" I shout before bending down and swiping my weapons up towards the rain of gargoyles.

SHING SHING SHING

My blades ripped through the stone goblins, but I knew this wouldn't last long, so I needed to find the leader… which was easier said than done.

All of them looked the same, and with the continuous pressure they placed on us, it was almost impossible to find the leader.

[Immovable Army's Frozen Armor]

Demonic-looking heavy suits of ice armor covered my maids, which they gratefully accepted, increasing their power by twofold.

Plus, the armor's defense would help them defend against the gargoyles just in case they got overwhelmed, so it killed two birds with one stone.

"Now… if I was the leader, where would I want to stay… obviously in the back," I mutter before bending my knees even more and launching my body towards the top of the room.

My blades ripped through any gargoyles in the way, and the mist that released from my body petrified any gargoyles that tried to press their way through or tried to sneak attack me from behind.

Soon the floor had disappeared as I was surrounded by what seemed to be starving gargoyles while still in the air, but I didn't lose hope just yet. They basically had created a sphere of gargoyles around me.

[Forbidden Magic: Hermes]