Saving The Unfortunate Villainess: Chapter 8

Atlas

My flames erupted out as I embraced Chloe into my chest, knowing she would be unharmed. At the same time, I saw some flickering of blue light coming from within my flames. The vehicle the three of us were currently sitting in exploded as my fire erupted.

Boom

I became a literal inferno, incinerating everything in our surroundings. The flames burst out as a plume of ash rose up into the sky. There’s no way the Saintess could actually survive this, right? As if on cue, the Saintess stood up unharmed with a translucent circular bubble around her body as she smirked triumphantly.

“Good try!” She blurted it out with a truly nightmare-inducing face. “Now die!” A collection of light particles with a purple tint to it started collecting in front of her hand as she pointed it in our direction.

My eyes connected with Chloe's, who was visibly shaken to her core at the current events. We’re currently no match to deal with this monster, and I’m sure she realized that and is expecting the worst. If only we could have gotten more circles before we encountered her. ‘DAMN IT! WHY IS THIS MY FATE! HELP ME OUT, PLEASE! ‘WHOEVER SENT ME HERE?’ I demanded within my mind, hoping it would reach someone.

Zing

An intricate pattern started to draw itself onto the ground, enveloping Chloe and me, along with the Saintess. It cut off the power that was building in her hand.

There was a very bright flash of light following the completed symbol on the ground. I was still holding Chloe in my embrace before the Saintess was about to attack; that was the only thing keeping me calm at the moment. At least both our fates will have the same result, whatever’s about to happen.

In a matter of a few seconds, I felt the sensation of floating in midair. I have no idea what this represented, but I can only hope we will both survive whatever is happening.

Swish

As the bright light dissipated, giving me the first look at our current surroundings, my mouth dropped in astonishment at what I was currently seeing. Thousands upon thousands of eyes were staring directly at us, sending a shiver down my spine. At the same time, none of them had features that would qualify them as human beings.

With a loud bang, every single individual I laid my eyes upon went full dogeza. It felt like a reverse wave you would find at a sporting event starting at our current location. That was when I heard something that no one here should know.

“By the glory of the gods, Ignis and Aspen have come back to us!” It was a continued chant by everyone in attendance. I looked over at Chloe, who also returned my gaze with a dumbfounded look on her face.

“Atlas, how do they know our names?” She said as her grip around my body tightened in obvious shock at our current situation. Chloe had already secluded herself away from most crowds; being in the middle of one this big can’t be good for her heart.

“I’m just as much in the dark as you, Chloe; I have no idea what’s happening.” Looking around at our direct surroundings, my attention was drawn to a statue of two individuals located in the middle of the square.

It was a practical copy of mine and Chloe’s current appearances with the unmistakable one-of-a-kind set of rings we both have on our fingers. There was also a flag hanging off to the side of the statue that had both of our rings joined together with both gems in the center pointed towards the sky. The colors of fire and ice were very clearly represented within the flag.

I turned the girl in my arms in the direction of the statues, and she once again had an even more bewildered look on her face than before. What are we to these people? The better question is, are we the ones depicted in that art? The only thing I could say for sure is I don’t think we’re in this place by accident.

As Chloe and I had multiple thoughts running through our heads, a procession of multiple well-dressed individuals approached us. There were two in particular who both wore a crown. Could they possibly be the king and queen of this place?

The young man wearing the crown approached both of us, and as he got a few feet in front of our current position, he went down on one knee. Everyone followed his actions.

“Welcome back, God Ignis and Goddess Aspen. It is my great pleasure to congratulate both of you on your resurrection. I’m the Sixth Emperor Maximus Augustus Vespasian of the Brindle Empire.” After his words, he also went full dogeza as if it were normal.

Should someone of their standing really be showing this much respect to us, and also, who in the world are they calling a god? Just this morning I was the inheritor of a dukedom worth billions of gold, and now I’m some reincarnation of a god? How can I ever believe this?

“Umm… Emperor Vespasian, what are you talking about?” I asked to understand our current circumstances. “Also, why are these statues perfect replicas of both me and Chloe here?”

At my words, the Emperor looked up with a solemn face. There was no way I could actually tell his age because I was fairly certain this man was an elf. He had long, pointy ears with a very refined, beautiful appearance, very similar to their depictions in movies and stories of my past life. They didn’t just have blonde hair and green eyes, though. Throughout the group, there was a lot of variety.

“God Ignis, you and your wife Aspen were the ones to create this empire over a thousand years ago. It’s to be expected that you would probably not remember the current circumstances with your rebirth. But I can assure you there are no lies in my words.” Emperor Vespasian spoke to both of us in a respectful tone. Something you would not expect from the ruler of a nation.

“A thousand years ago? I don’t remember any of that.” I can’t help but be skeptical of my current situation. But the blaring fact that he might be telling the truth was very evident with those statues and rings speaking volumes.

“Once you brought prosperity to the Brindle Empire along with defeating all our enemies, you ascended, leaving words of your return. Since duplication of your ring is completely impossible, there’s no doubt you’re the same person.”

“Why is it impossible to copy our rings?” My curiosity was piqued by his words.

“If someone attempts to copy the ring, they will first be engulfed in flames down to the very bone, followed by being frozen in solid ice. After finding one of these individuals, we throw them into a volcano, ridding the trash from our world. Both of you are considered sacred beings to the people. It’s even more blasphemous than talking down to this empire's emperor.”

“I’m sorry… umm… Emperor, but I’m finding this all really hard to believe. Are you really sure we’re the gods themselves or possibly something else?” We could be created by them or possibly be avatars. Maybe some kind of apostle of the gods, but I highly doubt we’re them in the flesh.

“Please refrain from showing me such courtesy, as my position is below yours. Just call me Max or Ves; I would prefer it. For now, why don’t both of you follow me to my home and get you settled in? Max Offered.

“Alright, Max, we will take you up on that.” Even though it felt a little weird calling an emperor by his first name, it really wasn’t a big deal with how my family raised me. Chloe stayed quiet the whole time as she took in all our surroundings, occasionally giving my body a squeeze as she clung to me.

Walking through a sea of people chanting your name and praising you was a surreal experience. I guess this is what it’s like to walk down the red carpet at a Hollywood event, but on a much bigger scale. Seeing all the different animal-type half-humans trying to get our attention was, in some ways, very exhilarating.

It also got me a few pinches to my side as I looked a little too long at some of the beautiful women trying to throw themselves in my direction. I’m not the kind of person to accept a harem, and even if I did, I would have to get full cooperation from Chloe. She’s already obsessed with getting into my personal space on the daily, so I doubt she would ever share me with anyone else. I’m very content with keeping the status quo.

After what seemed like forever because of the cluster of people on the streets, we finally made it to the fantastical castle. It looked to be built into the face of a mountain overlooking a crystal-clear lake. There were multiple spire peaks on top of the massive work of art structure. It easily rose into the sky by fifteen to twenty floors.

They brought us into a room with a large, masterfully crafted wooden table. It sat around thirty people. There were two chairs already set up at the head of the table, where Chloe and I were both encouraged to sit. The Emperor Max was on my right, and the one who was most likely the empress was to the left of Chloe. I assume after them, people sat in descending order of their status in this empire.

The first eight seats on both sides were taken up by elves. Many different types of demi-humans filled in the remaining spots. I couldn't help but stare at a very beautiful fox girl who was almost directly opposite my current location. Something I very much enjoyed in my last life, but the idea of a relationship with such a girl is only a fantasy.

I know this for a fact because of how Chloe is always able to notice the second I stare at anyone of the opposite sex. Taking a quick glance at Chloe, I couldn’t help but smile at the daggers she was sending my way with her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Chloe, I've just never seen such species in all my life and was just in awe of them." She's going to be full-on yandere here in the future; I just know it. I have to be careful about who I give my attention to, or I could cost some innocent girl their life.

"I hope so," she muttered.

"Don't worry; the thrill of seeing species other than humans will wear off shortly. My feelings for you will never fade, so you have nothing to worry about!"

I'm sure I would react the same way to any guys giving her attention, so I can't really blame her actions. All of my thoughts were innocent, though.

Turning away from Chloe and looking at everyone in attendance, I notice that every single person was looking at our interaction. What are we, some kind of sideshow to these people? I couldn't help but wonder what the true goals of everyone in this room are. I've read too many stories in my past life to just accept anything these people say at face value. Politics in any type of story are always a headache, especially royalty.

"God Ignis, would you like to know what our records say about your existence in this world?" Asked Max

Turning to look at Max, I couldn't help but sigh at the title of god. "Could you just call me Atlas? That's my name in this new life, and I don't plan on dropping it. Ignis is my middle name, though. I'm sure the same goes for Chloe." I turn to Chloe, who gives a nod.

"If that is what you wish, I will call you Atlas and Chloe from now on." Max cracked a smile as someone in a maid outfit brought him a decorative book with, of course, mine and Chloe's rings on the front. There is also a depiction of our images on the front cover. The title is "Ignis and Aspen, the Bringers of Fire and Ice."

"Let me start from the beginning with what we know."

"I would really appreciate that because I'm completely at a loss for what happened to us." With my words, Emperor Max started to speak of the past we weren't prepared to hear.