Chapter 466: Issue's with Shedding

"Alright, now that the sickeningly sweet show is over. How about we move on and get to the important things now."

Revenant grumbled, as he let his arms drop and sauntered over to the discarded White Widow shell and finally allowed his Knight to be dismissed, since this little girl was hardly a threat.

Was he going to admit that he considered her that previously, and had been trembling in his boots and cursing himself in fear of what amounted to a tiny spiderling?

Absolutely not. He had a reputation to keep, and an air of respect to uphold.

"Hurry up and get her out of there, so we can-" He started to say, before a piece of shell flew at his head like a cannonball and exploded against his face, splattering him with the cold, green goop that filled the Spiders body.

Revenant froze in his tracks, his face covered in the green slime, his mouth still open to say the next words - a fact he deeply regretted - as his entire body shook with a deep hatred.

"Stop!" Belladonna shouted, ripping another part of the shell off and holding it above her head, ready to lob another slimy projectile.

"Stop right there, and don't come any closer!"

"What the hell are you doing you idiot!" Revenant screamed, desperately wiping his mouth of the viscous, ice cold slime a moment later.

"I'm not going to hurt her. Are you that brain dead?"

"Hurt her?! You're the one that's braindead! She just transformed and shed her skin. What do you think that means?!" Revenant frowned, glancing over what he could see of the girl, who Belladonna was clinging close to her chest.

Once he caught sight of her pale, milky skin as she clung to Belladonna, and followed that all the way up to her exposed shoulder, Revnant's face sank.

Underneath the green, his dead face turned a shade of beetroot red as he trembled with more anger, but he had no choice but to turn on his heels and let out a heavy sigh.

"Fine, Hurry up and get her decent. We've wasted enough time." He said with a harrumph, crossing his arms like a petulant child and stomping his foot.

Belladonna turned her glare to Figg and Raev, threatening to pelt them with the same goopy shell as Revenant, but they learned the lesson from his sacrifice and turned around themselves.

"You too Rattles. I don't trust those empty eyes not to wander." Belladonna said with a scowl towards the Hollow Knight, which tilted its head at her with a strange look.

Its expression was permanently etched on its half destroyed face, a twisted smile that Belladonna was convinced that Kumiko had given the armour, just like she had done with Jinu.

Because of this, it was difficult to tell exactly what it was thinking, but she got the feeling it was looking at her with a mix of disbelief and disgust, as if it was offended that she would even assume it would do such a thing. But it leapt off of the shell nonetheless, strolled back over to its discarded sword and plucked it from the ground.

It stabbed the sword into the ground, standing with its back to the pair of girls, like it was on guard duty.

Once she was convinced no one was looking, Belladonna lifted Kumiko out of the shell and used her old body as cover as she cleaned her off and got her dressed using clothing she had kicking around in her [Eternal Companion]

"Alright, we are ready." She announced after a few minutes, as she led Kumiko out into the open by her hand.

She was a little bashful, not used to all of the attention, as her cheeks flushed with blush when all of the men turned to look at her.

She was wearing a long, slightly oversized black t-shirt that hung low enough that it acted as a skirt. It was emblazoned with the name of some metal band, however it was completely incomprehensible what that name was as it was written in a series of jagged, scratch-like letters with so many extra lines, that it looked like someone had smashed glass with a brick and just drawn around the cracks.

Underneath that, she wore a pair of leggings that fit her a little better, as embarrassingly the young girls legs were not that far off in size from Belladonna's old disfigured, stick legs. But her feet were left to pad against the cold floor, as she didn't have any shoes even close to the right size.

Four long, bone white legs reminiscent of her old legs grew from Kumiko's back, each one tipped with a spear-like point that could easily kill a man in one strike.

She tried to keep them flat against her back, so that she didn't ruin the shirt, but Belladonna had simply brushed off her concern and tore holes in the back of the shirt, so her legs could extend out and be comfortable.

Still, even if it was Belladonna's idea, Some of Kumiko's embarrassment also came from the fact that she had already ruined the first gift that she had been given.

"You... You said you were going to get the rites to the city, right?" Kumiko asked, her free hand playing with the edge of the shirt she was wearing, as she kept her eyes away from Revenant and only glanced at him sparingly.

"Yes, That is right. If you know where they kept the seal, that would save us a lot of time. Maybe even make up for the time that we spent helping you." Revenant grumbled, still annoyed at the goop that he had just got himself clean of.

Belladonna immediately smacked him across the side of his head, glaring at him and sending him silent death threats. At least it was death threats, if he was lucky. There were worse things she could do.

Revenant grumbled again, rubbing the side of his head, before looking at the girl who was pouting and staring at the floor, wringing her shirt in shame and embarassment.

His face softened, and he sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry. I've been informed by many that I am an asshole. Clearly I have an issue hearing it, but luckily for you your new mommy here has a special way of helping me out." He said with a half hearted smile, before Belladonna smacked him again.

"Ow! What was that one for?"

"I just thought you deserved it." Belladonna shrugged, giving him an unapologetic smile.

Kumiko giggled softly, making Belladonna smile wider, before the young girl spoke up again.

"I don't know where it is exactly. But they would have most likely kept something that important in the vault, and I know where that is."

"You do? Can you get us inside of it?"

"I don't have access... But Edwin does." She said with a bright smile, pointing her finger towards the Hollow Knight who was still standing with his hand on his sword. It must have been their imagination, but the twisted smile permanently carved on his face seemed to gain an ethereal smugness.