Chapter 1: An Anomaly, a Witch, a Rabbit, and a Goddess
Chapter Text
When Bell Cranel, orphan and country bumpkin who had been raised singularly by his perverted grandfather, thought back on his original reason for being in Orario, he felt quite silly. Really, going into a life-or-death job to find himself a harem? Sure, that sounds romantic and heroic, but how was he supposed to do that when-
“Husband, I do believe it is time for us to return to the surface.” Right, someway, somehow, he was married. Admittedly, his wife was incredibly beautiful. Enough so that even the few Goddesses and Elves he’d seen couldn’t hold a candle to her beauty.
But still, him, married! And he was only 14 years old!
“Err, sure Morgan… Wouldn’t want to keep Elias waiting, right?” Bell stammered out nervously, following after his wife and Servant. The Heroic Spirit of Madness (who seemed quite well put-together despite her title) nodding in return before leading the way back to the surface out of the Dungeon.
The Dungeon, perhaps the most famous place in Orario, and the place where Adventurers went to adventure. Its origins were unknown, as was its contents (as far as he was aware, no one had reached the bottom yet). All that was known was that it hated the Gods and Humans with a passion, and thus spawned nigh-endless amounts of monsters in order to try and kill them all.
To this end, the Gods descended from Tenkai to live amongst their Children, granting them their Blessing (the Falna) and with it, the ability to grow stronger and fight the darkness of the Dungeon. By granting Children their Falna, the God(dess) and Child become Family, a Familia.
Bell, having been raised solely by his grandfather, had been enamored with tales of Heroes of times past since he was a wee lad. This carried over into his dream which, despite being partially influenced by his grandfather, was to become a Hero in the Dungeon and find love there!
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately depending on your view point, everything went off the rails the moment he left his little home village. Prior to his departure, his grandfather had passed away during a freak accident which made even his body impossible to recover, with the old man leaving behind everything to Bell. With nothing left to lose, Bell had left to Orario to try and make his dream a reality!
Then, he had been ambushed by wolves. While he had been able to fight them off, he had lost his lunch to them (probably why they were attacking him now that he thought back on it). This had forced him to forage for food, which eventually led to him stumbling upon a strangely dressed old man. The old man, who Bell only knew as ‘Old Man Jewels’, had shared some of his own provisions with the prospective Adventurer over a talk.
After a few minutes of back and forth between them, the old man had proclaimed Bell an interesting find, before handing him a golden goblet before vanishing in a flash of colors. Left utterly bewildered by his strange encounter, Bell had nonetheless held onto the goblet since it seemed to be some sort of pricey possession. At the very least, it seemed to be made of gold, so it must be worth something at least (maybe he could show it as tribute to try and get into a powerful Familia?).
Whatever plans he had for the goblets eroded the very next day when, while he was busy packing up his meager camp, the goblet began to shine in a familiar rainbow flash of colors, an act which carved some sort of Magic Circle into the ground and tattooed something onto the back of one of Bell’s hands.
Once his vision had returned, the boy found himself face to face with a duo of strange individuals.
“Hm, I see. So you are my Master, perhaps you wish to be a retainer? Or maybe my Husband?”
Thus, he gained a wife. Their subsequent trip to Orario left them more than enough time to at least get acquainted, which was good considering she had proclaimed him her husband mere moments after their meeting.
A blinding light shook Bell out of his mussing, the light indicating that they had left the Dungeon and were about to enter Orario proper. Once they were standing in the streets in front of Babel, Morgan turned to face her husband, her face set in a familiar blank expression which had initially made Bell worried that she was cross with him. Despite only having known her for a few weeks, he had become quite good at figuring out the subtle tells that came with her facial expressions (however slight they were).
“Husband, I have some business I need to conduct before we return home.” Morgan began, gesturing towards a strange building in the distance, a shop of some kind. “Shall I meet you outside the Guild?”
Bell nodded, not exactly knowing what his wife was up to, but trusting her to take care of herself (realistically, odds were that whoever could accost her would end up severely maimed anyways).
“Sure, I’ll cash in the Magic Stones and talk to Miss Eina while I wait for you!” He proclaimed with unusual confidence, his smile crisping at the edges in embarrassment when Morgan leaned in to give him a quick kiss on the lips. A subtle quirking of her lips indicating that she found his embarrassment amusing or cute, or both.
Nevertheless, he took it in strides- if strides meant babbling up a bit and attempting to regain his composure in a very attention-grabbing way- before making his way towards the Guild while Morgan went to do her business.
Internally, Bell wondered what his second Servant and Goddess Hestia were up to…
By the time Bell and Morgan returned home after meeting up at the Guild, the sun had almost fully vanished over the horizon, making way for the moon to make its entrance. The sight which greeted them was vastly different from the one they left this morning. Gone was the crumbling church, instead leaving a relatively bland but nevertheless fixed building in its place.
Apparently, whatever Elias had been doing, it had been successful…
Cautiously entering the building, the Husband and Wife duo were greeted not by a traditional church interior, but instead by a large living room. It seems that, when Elias had said he would completely renovate the building, he really hadn’t been kidding…
Furthermore, the smell of stew permeated the air, leading Bell (and Morgan who was following after him) straight to a relatively simple looking kitchen, and the man standing inside cooking.
Standing at a respectable 6 feet 4 inches of height, sporting crimson hair and a pair of black rimmed frames, was Bell’s second Servant, The Caster-class Servant Elias Archibald Ainsworth. A ‘Heroic Spirit that shouldn’t exist’, according to both the man himself and Morgan, who seemed both disturbed and fascinated by the man’s very existence.
“Stew’s going to be ready in about five minutes, hope you guys are hungry.” The man said suddenly without even turning around to look at them. Bell absently noted that the man had forgone his usual suit and tie affair, instead simply using his dress shirt and rolling up the sleeves. A distinctly striking dress style given Orario’s multicultural sphere, but within expectations given the eccentricities of both the deusdea and the Adventurers that populated the Dungeon City.
“Oh! Sure, erm, I’m plenty hungry!” Bell replied cheerfully, glancing towards his wife who simply nodded along with his words. Glancing back towards the Caster Servant, Bell noted just how strange their little Familia was. The only person missing was-
“Woah! What happened here!? Did Elias finish his renovations!?” Speaking of the devil, here was the Goddess Hestia, freshly returned from her shift at the Jagamarukun Stand. Considering the excitement in her voice though, Bell could hazard a guess that the Goddess was quite happy at the sudden upgrade to their living situation.
“I did! Now get over here if you want some food!” Said man replied loudly to the Goddess, shifting Bell’s attention towards the bowls of freshly prepared stew Elias was preparing. The sound of pitter patter quickly alerted everyone to the Goddess’ hasty arrival as both Elias’s call and the smell of fresh food attracted her right to the kitchen.
Given that everything besides the stew bowls were already set at the diner table, it didn’t take very long for everyone to be seated, with both Morgan and Bell occupying one side of the table, and the remaining two Familia Members occupying the other.
Clasping their hands together as one, the four dysfunctionally functional Familia Members offered a prayer for the food before beginning to eat (quite vigorously in Bell and Hestia’s cases).
“Rub a dub dub, thanks for the grub.”
The food was devoured swiftly, even by the two Heroic Spirits. Given the general state of the World at large, both Spiritual Entities had been summoned within physical bodies, for better and worse. While they weren’t reliant upon Bell for Magical Energy, given that they were inhabiting fully human bodies (or as human as they could be anyways), it did mean that they were forced to eat, sleep, and take care of their bodies in ways regular Servants didn’t have to.
A blessing and a curse, in a way. Still, as far as curses went, being forced to actually take care of yourself was rather negligible all things considered.
Once the table was cleaned up, Hestia slammed both of her hands onto its surface, causing the Anomalous Magic Caster to give her a blank look.
“I struggle to understand what my table has done to earn such treatment from you, Goddess Hestia…” He muttered, to which said Goddess beautifully ignored him, focusing her attention towards the married duo in front of her.
“Now that the house is officially renovated, we need to talk about money!” She proclaimed loudly, reaching… somewhere, and pulling out a rolled up parchment. Said parchment contained their current financial status which, while technically made of black ink, was very much threatening to dip down into the red.
This declaration from the Goddess instantly drew the three mortals (or well, one mortal and two kind-off dead Super Spirits) attention, each of them leaning in closer to the Goddess to listen to what she was saying.
“Now! Since I have basically no marketable skills to speak of… I have no clue what to do to help our finances! Any ideas?” Hestia asked shamelessly, her gaze quickly shifting in-between her three Familia members, each of them looking quite exasperated by her statement. Undeterred, the Goddess kept shifting her gaze between them until one of them cracked and gave her an idea.
Finally, it was Elias who cracked, glancing over at Morgan before speaking.
“Well, me and Morgan are both selling Magic Items. However, it is somewhat hard to create anything potent given our relative lack of quality materials.” He began, pulling out a little notebook and flipping it open, showing a list of sales. “While I’d go down to the depths of the dungeon with Morgan, that would somewhat defeat the purpose, and raise a lot of unwanted questions.” He explained, with Hestia nodding vigorously in the background. Supposed Super Spirits or not, the Goddess of the Hearth wasn’t about to let two of her children delve into the dangerous depths of the dungeon.
“After a bit of consideration, both Elias and I decided it would be best if we opened our own shop instead of dealing with third party interests.” Morgan continued, picking up where her contemporary had left off. “While this would create a temporary loss in revenue due to needing to find new customers, if my Husband and I can advertise Elias’ products through use in the dungeon, then we are sure to quickly build up a customer base.”
Hestia seemed to ponder the suggestion, glancing over at Bell who seemed completely lost given his own lack of marketable skills. After a few moments of pondering, the Goddess spoke up, having made her decision.
“Alright, I don’t mind the idea, but where do we open this shop?” She asked, causing both Servants to share a glance before Elias took the talking stick, reaching into one of his pockets and unfurling a map onto the slightly bruised- courtesy of Goddess Hestia- table. The map itself was of Orario, and possessed a surprising amount of detail, much more than any commercially available map should, indicating its quality and the skill of the maker.
“I took the liberty of scouting out several locations while out this morning.” The man started, gesturing to a group of red marks placed onto the map, each atop a different building which held some promise as a would-be store. “In theory, acquiring the building would be the hardest step, though I’m unaware as to whether or not we’d actually need to put in some collateral or other monetary incentive.”
Hearing the suggestion, Hestia mulled over the suggestion, her eyes glancing towards each of the marked buildings as she observed their location on the map. Quite honestly, Hestia wasn’t all that learned in the art of marketing. Sure, she did well enough on her Jagamarukun Stand, but it wasn’t like she took any major business decisions or anything of the sorts. All she did was sell the thing.
Huffing slightly, she noticed that Morgan seemed quite pleased with the locations presented to her, exchanging subtle glances with Elias in a seemingly silent conversation between the two Spirits. After some silent deliberation, Morgan raised a delicate hand and placed her index on one of the more expensive, but much more attractive, building.
“This one will do.” She declared imperiously, leaving no room for arguments. Nodding, Elias retrieved the map and pocketed it again, glancing towards the very nervous and out-of-place Bell, before giving the young lad a soft smile.
“Don’t worry too much about it Bell. All you need to do is to continue growing stronger as an Adventurer, yeah?” Elias’ lack of formal speech, as well as his reassurance, allowed Bell to release a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding. This entire conversation had gone completely over his head, his meager education leaving him unable to follow the complex topic of economics beyond the very rudimentary understanding that ‘ Red Ink Bad, Black Ink Good ’. Still, the reassurance did much to brighten up his mood.
“Now then, I suppose I have a building to acquire. I’ll be taking my leave then, Goddess Hestia, Bell, Morgan.” Standing up from his seat at the table, Elias inclined his head towards each of the Familia’s members before exiting the household, leaving the remaining Familia members to sit in a comfortable silence.
Or well, at least until Hestia jumped up from her seat, pointing an excited finger towards Bell who gasped as if he’d been physically struck.
“Bell! It’s time to update your Falna! You too Morgan!” It would seem that, despite being married (as unwilling as that was), Bell was forever fated to be subjected to the whims of difficult women around him. Resigning himself to his fate, Bell made his way towards a nearby couch to prepare for the Falna Update.
Now, it wasn’t that he was against the idea of updating his Falna, quite the opposite actually, but the imperious tone used by both Hestia and Morgan left him feeling… less than manly. Dammit grandpa! What use were all those lessons about wooing women in the dungeon if he couldn’t handle them properly!?
Meandering down the road towards the Guild, Elias reminisced on his current circumstances, and the strange events that surrounded his appearance in this world. Chief amongst those events being his incomplete state. Despite his considerable power, he was still deeply incomplete in a manner which left him… not frightened, but concerned.
Then again, he was familiar with the Servant Summoning Ritual used by the Holy Grail, so most probably it was a limitation of his current Class Container… and his patron. Regardless though, he felt a bit peeved at the lack of contact from said patron, but he could hazard a few guesses as to what she wanted out of him in this particular adventure.
Still, his lack of proper armament did feel strange. Not that he couldn’t understand why he was missing some of his more… peculiar items. He would rather not have to explain to the Goddess Hestia why it was that he was wandering around with a black hole of all things. Instead, he was forced to use some lesser, yet still powerful, equipment
It had been awhile since he’d used it, all things considered, but it still felt just as comfortable in his hands, so it was fine.
The clicketing of his cane, a focus created from various Perfected Metals, announced his presence to all around him as he entered the Guild Building before throwing a lazy, slow glance around the various counters until he found the individual he was looking for.
“Ah! Miss Eina! Pleasure to see you today! I’d like to inquire about a purchase.” Still, despite his diminished state, he was still quite pleased with his current circumstances. And who knows, maybe this adventure would be just as stimulating as his previous ones.
But for now, he had a building to purchase…
Sitting inside the newly renovated church, which didn’t really look like a church anymore and instead resembled a proper home now, Hestia mulled over the whirlwind of things that had happened to her life recently.
From complete destitution to having a Familia with three- not one, three! - children, all in the course of a few weeks, things had gone from hopeless to hopeful in record time!
The only issue was the complete and utter weirdness that surrounded her children. Bell was, despite his Magic, the most normal of them all, even with his being married to Morgan. The problem cropped up when talking about Morgan and Elias, both of who completely broke every preconception in Orario. Level didn’t seem to matter to them, and neither did the usual limitations around Magic.
Instead, they were both anomalies that seemed to thrive in breaking preconceptions. Honestly, as things were, Hestia could barely imagine a scenario that would cause either of them to Level Up. Or rather, she didn’t want to imagine such a thing. Something that could force them to Level Up would be horrifying, and probably some manner of world ending event.
Groaning loudly as she collapsed atop her new bed- which was incredibly comfortable, thanks weird Caster Magic!- Hestia decided to just ignore the red flags that surrounded her children and instead focus on the future! Her prospects were going up at high speed, and things were stabilizing at a good pace. Heck, if Elias and Morgan’s endeavor paid off, she might even be able to leave her job as a Jagamarukun Stand! To do… something or other…
What was it that Gods did when waiting for their Familias to do things!? Hephaestus and Miach both worked, but they had actual marketable skills that could be used to do things! What did Loki and Freya do? Just lounge around all day, being nuisances?
Was this the path she was heading down!?
Vigorously shaking her head in dismay, the Goddess of the Hearth and Home decided to seek out her friends later in order to ask them advice on what she should do aside from just… existing within the Familia household.
For now though, it was time to enjoy this new bed!
Bell was used to waking up early, living on a farm made that a prerequisite. Still, he would confess to still being surprised to wake up and see breakfast already served- if the delicious smell permeating the air was anything to go by anyways.
Previously, when he’d still been at the farm with his grandpa, making breakfast had been part of the morning routine. Now, there was someone else that woke up earlier than everyone else and made sure everyone was fed.
Carefully untangling himself from Morgan’s sleeping body, something that still made him skittish and made butterflies flutter about in his belly, Bell quietly slipped on a new shirt before making his way to the kitchen where Elias was currently doing… something,
“Good morning Bell, got anything planned for the day?” Without even looking up from his work, Elias still managed to catch a whiff of Bell’s presence within the room, gesturing towards a plate full of food waiting for the young man to dig into.
“Ah- Yes! I’m planning on seeing if I can get to the Fifth Floor today!” Quickly seating himself at the table, Bell began taking vigorous bites out of his breakfast. As he ate, the smell of food did its job and attracted the rest of the household to the diner table, with Morgan gracefully hovering her way to her husband’s side and partaking of her own breakfast. Hestia was, as was expected, the last to join them, sleep still evident in her expression as the Goddess all but slogged her way to the table, her head colliding with the wooden surface the moment she was seated.
“Mornin’ everyone…” Slowly attempting to rid herself of whatever somnolence was still attached to her, the Goddess of the Hearth gave a loud yawn before also starting to dig into her food. Breakfast was, all in all, a relatively quiet affair with only the sound of pencil meeting paper distracting from the sound of cutlery striking plates.
Eventually the food was consumed and the dishes were washed, leaving everyone ready to start their day properly. Finalizing his notes, Elias stowed his notebook away into one of his pockets, glancing over at Morgan and Bell before beginning to speak.
“Well, I’ve got good news and bad news.” He started, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I managed to get the building we were looking at yesterday, but there’s a catch. We have to give a downpayment of four hundred thousand Valis, and pay the rest of the price in installments.” The price of the building caused Bell to let out a strangled whine not dissimilar to that of a dying dog, his complexion going paper white as he started trying to count on his fingers how many goblin Magic Stones he would have to acquire to pay off 400,000 Valis. Hestia, in much the same camp as Bell, was instead counting out how many Jagamarukun she would have to sell before she could even begin thinking about paying off that sort of money.
“As expected. Still, this is hardly bad news Elias.” Morgan, ever stoic, took the news in stride as she mentally went over their finances and how many Magic Items they would need to sell before they could break even.
Nodding at Morgan’s assessment of the situation, Elias pressed on with the topic at hand.
“Right, the actual bad news is that I need your help today with a shipment of Potions. I’d make all of them myself, but with our new acquisition needing some repairs, I won’t be able to do both today.”
Humming to herself a bit, Morgan nodded at the assessment of their current production capabilities. Given their meager setup, it was only natural that Elias wouldn’t be able to produce Potions and repair their new storefront at the same time. While he could just not repair the shop today, doing so would basically be throwing money out of the window, seeing as the sooner they could use the store, the sooner they could start turning a profit.
“Well Husband, what say you?” Deciding to let Bell decide on the current course of action, seeing as he would be the one expected to go alone in the Dungeon, the trio turned to face Bell, who suddenly returned to reality now that he was in the spotlight.
“Sure! I can do that.” Blinking a bit, Bell nodded vigorously, a smile etched on his face at the idea of finally being able to explore the dungeon on his own. His smile quickly turned sheepish at the amused expressions his three observers levied at him.
“Very well then, Elias. Let us go then, the sooner we finish this, the sooner I can return to my own research.” Giving an imperious nod, the Queen rose from her seat, gave her husband a quick peck on the lips, before leaving the room to prepare herself for the work to be done. “Oh, and do be careful husband.”
Watching silently as the Fairy Queen left the room, Elias abruptly stood up from his chair, excusing himself and leaving just as quickly as the wind, leaving Hestia and Bell alone to finish their morning routine.
“Right! Bell, be careful down there, alright!? I don’t want to hear about anything horrible happening to you down there, alright!?” Grabbing onto his shirt with both hands, Hestia vigorously shook her child, a crazed look in her eyes as she suddenly remembered his stated desire to ‘Go Out On An Adventure’. “Adventurers shouldn’t seek out adventures! You got it!?”
Trying to stabilize himself and escape the tornado that was his Goddess, Bell grabbed onto the table in a futile attempt to anchor himself to solid ground. “I promise Goddess! But really, what’s the worst that could happen!?”
Chapter 2: Chaos, Chaos, Chaos, and Murphy
Summary:
Chaos, Chaos, Chaos-
Apparently, messing with Murphy's Law is a recipe for disaster, even with the Rabbit’s Luck.
But is it really disaster if fortune awaits at the end?----------
In which a Foundation is laid.
Notes:
So, Chapter 2! I hope it's good, I don't have a Beta so forgive any mistakes I make (but feel free to point them out so I can correct them).
Shielder has been added to the list of "Chosen" Servants! So that's fun. Shielder and Archer should make their appearance next Chapter, so expect that.
I hope things aren't moving too quickly? But, well, this is more of a set up chapter before things really happen. Still, I hope things are fun!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“ I AM SO VERY SORRY! I HAVE NO EXCUSES! ”
Eina, despite having witnessed her fair share of incidents due to her position as a Guild Advisor, still felt relatively awkward and out of place watching Bell grovel at his wife’s feet for forgiveness. The frosty and stoic woman showed a stone cold expression that made it very clear that she was none too pleased with her husband’s current state.
Glancing over to her right, where a sheepish Elias seemed equally amused and exasperated, Eina released a sigh of exasperation, sagging with exhaustion as she just decided to let things play out and not get too involved. After all, while she did want to lecture Bell about his reckless adventure, it didn’t feel right to butt in right now…
“What did I say about being careful?” The Fairy Queen’s normally stoic and almost detached stare was now a blazing glare that sent shivers down her husband’s spine, causing the albino adventurer to redouble his groveling and apologies.
“I have no excuses! I should’ve been more careful!” Once again, Bell felt his masculinity slowly die inside, dammit grandpa! How was he supposed to build a harem if he couldn’t even act cool in front of his wife!?
Her glare redoubling in intensity, somehow, such that even Eina and Elias took a few steps back despite not being in the Fairy Queen’s crosshair, Morgan once more laid into her husband, her index finger pointing and gesturing around with the weight of a thousand expectations.
“Forgetting even that, you should know better than to run around covered in blood! It is unsanitary, dangerous, and uncouth!”
Deciding to let the married duo deal with their… issue with some amount of privacy, Elias gestured for Eina to follow him to one of the empty counters so they could talk business. A flourish of his wrist was all he needed in order to leave a sound canceling ward around Bell and Morgan, no need to draw even more attention to them…
“So, Eina, I hear that the Guild allows individuals to post quests for certain drop items?” Giving the half-elf a charming smile, Elias pulled out his little notebook as the guild worker returned to her senses, giving a professional- if somewhat stiff- smile.
“Good, good, so, how much would it be to request those items?” Sliding the opened notebook over to Eina so that she could give him a quote, Elias’ sixth sense tingled, causing him to pull up another sound cancelling ward, this time around himself and Eina.
And not a moment too soon as, the moment Eina laid eyes upon the list of ingredients, the half-elf guild worker let loose a shriek that made Bell’s to shame. A crazed look in her eyes, she took hold of the notebook, jabbing an accusing finger towards one of the items, and shoved it in Elias’ face with vitriol.
“ THE LIVER OF AMPHISBAENA!? A UNICORN HORN!? WHAT IS WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU!? ”
“Mugugugugug-”
Despite having escaped his wife’s lecture and anger, there was still one person who had beef with Bell. Said individual was currently trying to set him on fire with her glare, a glare that was distinctly out of place on her face given that the Goddess was currently shoveling large bites of delicious pasta into her mouth courtesy of their resident cook.
That said cook had taken refuge in the kitchen to avoid the Goddess’ glare went unsaid.
Wilting under his Goddess’ glare, Bell decided to just bite the bullet and ask what was bothering the Goddess of the Hearth.
“Um, Goddess… is something wrong?”
That was apparently not the right thing to ask, as Hestia’s glare redoubled in intensity, the Divine Flame she was known for presiding over leaking through her eyes in an attempt to reduce Bell to ashes… or maybe that was just his imagination.
Finally, slamming her fork loudly against the table, Hestia wildly flailed her arms around before leaping over the wooden surface to grab onto Bell’s collar, forcing a yelp out of the albino.
“Bell! I told you not to seek out adventures! No! Even worse! That Wallenwhatsit girl is trying to seduce you! I can feel it in my bones!” The Goddess raved loudly and with certainty, causing Bell to turn into a bumbling tomato as his not-so-secret crush was revealed to his wife.
To make matters worse, Morgan didn’t even seem perturbed by this news, instead giving a confident nod at the Goddess’ completely outrageous words.
“Of course, however, you must not forget that I am your wife, husband.” Spoken with imperious confidence, Morgan allowed a glance towards the direction of the Loki Famila’s stronghold where a certain Demi-Spirit suddenly felt a chill run down her spine from some unseen adversary. “Perhaps I should seek out this Sword Princess and establish my dominance as your wife…”
Squeaking in embarrassment and panic, Bell attempted to untangle himself from the outraged Goddess in order to comfort his wife.
“T- That won’t be necessary Morgan! I-” He might not be a good boy, but he wasn’t a cheater!
“No, it is alright husband. You wouldn’t be the first to look at women other than your wife. However, if you wish to add her to your harem, a distinct hierarchy is required!” Morgan spoke with vigor and heat that was completely out of place in her usual ice queen demeanor. To say nothing of the fact that this entire topic was completely outrageous!
Looking over at the only other male occupant of the household for backup, Bell felt nothing but betrayal when all Elias did was give him an amused thumbs up before slipping off into the basement of the former church.
‘ Traitor! ’
While Bell was busy being chewed out by Morgan and Hestia, Elias descended into the basement of the renovated church. Despite the building’s small size, the basement had been incredibly large to begin with, and had grown considerably due to copious use of Matter-type Magic.
Hey, if you had Magic, why not use it to make life easier, right?
But aside from just creating a basement that shouldn’t be able to support itself, the actual purpose of this expansion had been rather pragmatic. Despite being the only Caster-Class Servant, both he and Morgan possessed the [Territory Creation] and [Item Construction] Skills. It was how they were able to manufacture Magic Items to sell after all, but without a dedicated Workshop, their overall output was relatively meager.
However, now that the basement renovations were done, both of them could establish proper Workshops from which they could work. That, and they could fortify the church against attacks, as unlikely as they were, you could never be too careful.
Morgan had yet to establish her dominion within the shared space, but that wasn’t about to stop Elias from properly settling down. It wasn’t like space was a major concern given their overall skills as Mages.
Removing his coat with one smooth motion, Elias began establishing his Sanctum within the church basement. The creation of a powerful Hallow was primeval, though he was quite amused to see the construct take the form of a water source. Defensive Spells were layered into the stone foundation, and a primitive forge was created by liberal use of Matter-type Magic to reform the surrounding bedrock into a crucible, with a Supernal Blaze providing a perfect source of heat.
Other bits and bobs were also set up around the Sanctum, mostly utensils and shelves to accommodate for future resources and experiments. The Magic of this world was of great interest to him, though really, his existence as a Servant meant that this was more of a passing thrill than anything deeper. It wasn’t like his ‘Original’ would retain much from this journey. At least, if his current existence was anything similar to a regular Servant.
By the time he emerged from the basement, the situation between Bell, Morgan, and Hestia seemed to have cooled off enough, with all three having returned to their usual routine. Or well, Morgan and Bell had returned to their routine, Hestia was just sulking about something or other.
Sending Morgan a quirked eyebrow, the Fairy Queen silently shook her head, prompting Elias to decide to leave Hestia to whatever dilemma was currently eating her up inside. It couldn’t be that important, or else she would be loudly complaining about it.
“So, Bell, any plans for tonight?” Ignoring the sullen look his Master was sending him, probably for having abandoned him to the whims of the women- as if his interference would do anything but enflame their spirit.
Pouting a bit more at Elias, as if doing so would further convey his dismay at being abandoned, Bell sheathed his knife and dusted himself off as best he could before thinking over his current plans, his expression scrunching up as he thought hard.
“I… don’t think so?” Crossing his arms in pondering, a stray thought passed through Bell’s mind as he laid eyes on an empty bento box near the kitchen sink. Cleaned and ready to be returned to its owner at- “Right! I promised a girl I would visit her pub tonight!”
His sudden exclamation attracted the attention of the two women, who were still inside the church, peeking their heads through one of the open windows to give Bell an inquisitive stare. Doubly so at the mention of another girl, though Morgan seemed more inquisitive than annoyed by the prospect.
Elias, equally inquisitive at the prospect of eating out, gestured for Bell to elaborate.
“...This is really sketchy, you know?”
The sentiment was shared by all the listeners as Bell recounted his encounter with ‘Syr Flora’, who apparently had a Magic Stone that just so happened to be lying around. It could be just a marketing tactic, but still…
Sharing a glance, the trio mulled over their options, before Elias shrugged loudly.
“Sure, why not. Worse comes to worse, we blast our way out. Best case, we get some good food and an opportunity to enjoy the nightlife.”
The Magister’s reasoning prompted both Morgan and Hestia to nod, with Hestia glancing over at the wall clock hanging nearby.
“We should get ready then! You said it’s a pub that caters to Adventurers, right? So it should be open soon!” Running off to her room to get changed, Hestia’s declaration prompted the others to follow suit, if only to get freshened up for their night out. While none of them had any spare clothing to speak off, that didn’t mean they couldn’t make an effort to look presentable.
Soon enough, Hestia Familia’s four members locked up their abode and left for the Hostess of Fertility, though not before Elias jokingly asked a flustered Bell if he was sure this was the name of a pub and not a brothel.
“Well, I’ll be damned. It really is a pub!” Exclaimed Elias as he entered the pub, holding the door to allow the others to enter, his laughter drawing the attention of some of the pub’s patrons, which he carelessly ignored in favor of following Hestia.
Said Goddess seemed intent on finding a table close to one of the windows, probably so she could enjoy the night breeze with her booze.
Seating themselves once they found an empty table, it wasn’t long before a silver-haired young woman jogged up to them, a charming smile etched onto her face as she locked eyes with Bell.
“Bell! I knew you’d show up!” The young waitress exclaimed, clasping a blushing Bell’s hands. While the two youngsters chatted- or really, as Syr extorted a promise out of Bell to spend lots and lots- the two Servants shared a glance at Syr’s unexpected… something.
It was hard to tell what exactly was wrong with the young woman, but there was something that was completely out of place here.
Still, a few discrete Spells returned no ill intentions from the waitress, so neither Servants decided to make their suspicions known. After all, despite the Grail’s ability to give them some surface information about the World, it wasn’t like they knew everything there was to know about everything. For all they knew, the waitress was just some manner of Spirit, or perhaps a demi-Spirit?
“So! What can I get you all?” Having seemingly finished torturing- more like extorting- Bell, the waitress flashed them a professional smile, pulling out a small notepad and pen from her apron to take their order.
“I’ll have an ale and some pasta.”
“Fish and Chips, with some wine.”
“I’ll, err, have pasta and ale too!”
“I’ll have Fish and Chips with some juice please.”
Once the quartet had ordered, silence descended upon their table, mostly due to the early arrival of their drinks prompting Hestia to quickly begin consuming her alcohol.
By the time the food arrived, the Goddess of the Hearth had turned into the Goddess of Drunken Ramblings, with multiple empty mugs surrounding her and a healthy flush covering her face from the alcohol.
As the married couple was seated next to each other, this unfortunately left Elias to deal with Hestia. Mostly by trying to wrangle her wild motions and avoiding being clogged by a stray mug whenever the Goddess threw her hands up while loudly exclaiming just how cute Morgan and Bell were as a couple.
The married couple in question were mostly tame, not that that was very hard to do when compared to their Goddess, with Morgan displaying her usual stoicism in comparison to Bell’s flustered expression at Hestia’s loud drunken rambling. Then again, given how red his face was, he was definitely blushing enough for the two of them.
“Our largest reservation has arrived!” One of the cat waitresses exclaimed as a group of Adventurers, accompanied by a deusdea, entered the building. The sudden announcement caused the entire building to go quiet as everyone tried to sneak a look at the new arrivals.
Hardened veterans coupled with youthful appearances, and an androgynous deity, it was obvious to everyone just who had entered the building.
The Loki Familia was here to celebrate and get sloshed.
However, while both Morgan and Elias were busy assessing the overall threat levels of the Familia’s executives, Bell only had eyes for one person. Possessing radiant blonde hair, emerald eyes, and a figure that could compete with even the Goddesses, it was the Sword Princess herself. Aiz Wallenstein.
Returning their attention towards their table, both Servants watched as two very distinct things occurred. First, Hestia’s previously festive expression turned completely sour as she laid eyes upon the flat redhead currently attempting to drink her Familia drunk. Second, Bell went from tomato to nuclear explosion when Morgan’s inquisitive stare bore into him.
“So this is her, hm? The Sword Princess. I can see why you have eyes for her, my husband.” Imperiously declared in a manner that almost seemed to give consent to his philandering eyes, Bell felt himself die inside just a bit more. He was a good boy dammit! Not a cheater!
Still, the Sword Princess’ figure was still burned in his mind’s eye as she gallantly saved him from certain (maybe) death against the minotaur.
Before Bell could defend himself, a piercing voice broke through the atmosphere. Coming from where the Loki Familia was seated, their wolfman was busy loudly interrogating the Sword Princess about a ‘thing’.
“Come on Aiz! Tell us about the ‘thing’! I wanna hear about the tomato boy that ran away from you!” The loud exclamation, followed by the mockery and laughter from the other drunk adventurers, caused Bell to wilt into his chair. If it weren’t for the fact that Morgan was blocking his exit from the pub, he probably would’ve run out from embarrassment.
Contrasting Bell’s embarrassment was Hestia’s burning anger at the mockery the Loki Familia was laying on her boy. Notwithstanding the fact that the wolfman had loudly proclaimed their hand in causing the minotaur outbreak in the first place! Before she could stand up and shout something at them however, something caught her attention, causing all the alcohol in her system to rapidly burn out as fear replaced the previous drunken stupor she’d been experiencing.
Silent and stoic as ever, Morgan was the picture of an ice statue… If one did not focus on her murderous glare. Fingers clenched around her fork, the Fairy Queen’s grip was such that the utensil was irreparably deformed within her fist, creaking echoed out from the table as her hand, previously reaching for her napkin, was instead applying considerable pressure upon the wooden surface.
As for Elias, the man seemed completely unbothered by the current situation. Instead, he simply placed a comforting hand onto one of Bell’s shoulders, shaking the albino out of his funk and returning both women back to reality.
“Don’t listen to him, Bell. He’s drunk.” Giving the boy a conspiratorial wink, Elias gave a flourish of his wrist before drumming his fingers against the leg of his chair, leaning back into it. Before either Hestia or Bell could inquire as to what exactly this was supposed to accomplish, a loud cracking noise echoed out from the Loki Familia’s table, followed by a heavy thunk as something hard impacted the floor.
Quickly glancing back towards the commission, both Goddess and Child were treated to the sight of Bete Loga, First Class Adventurer, headfirst into the floor of the Hostess of Fertility. If the broken chair next to his unconscious body was anything to go by, the story as to how exactly he’d ended up headfirst into the floor was easy to piece together.
All except the obvious factor that First Class Adventurers typically didn’t go unconscious from hitting wood with their head. Notwithstanding the fact that, drunk or not, Bete should have been more than fast enough to avoid dropping to the floor after his chair broke.
“Oh my, that must’ve hurt. I can only imagine that’ll suck tomorrow morning.” Giving a heedless shrug and an evil smile, Elias gestured for the check. “We should leave before any more chairs break.”
Once their tab was paid, Elias quickly urged Bell and Hestia out of the door, with Morgan following after them, a venomous glare trailing the unconscious wolf and his Familia.
“So… Magic?” Sending a raised eyebrow towards the Magister, Hestia’s question was much more of a statement than anything else. Even if she didn’t fully understand what had happened, she was still savvy enough to understand that sturdy wooden chairs didn’t just suddenly break.
“Just a bit. Don’t worry, nobody will die and nothing will explode… I think?” Sending Morgan an inquisitive glance, Elias nevertheless seemed completely unbothered by the prospect that maybe, just maybe, Bete Loga would spontaneously explode.
“Of course not. I would never do such a thing.” Morgan stated, leaving no room for argument, as the Fairy Queen instead linked arms with her husband, dragging him hastily back towards the church. Bell briefly looked towards the Dungeon, as if considering doing a late night dive, but Morgan’s imperious glare shut down the idea before it could fully germinate.
“...Fine. I trust you two. But this better not bite us in the ass later! Got it?” Glaring suspiciously at both Magic Casters, though said glare lacked heat and was instead more of a pout, the Goddess of the Hearth decided to take her victories where she could.
And hey, if it meant Loki was easier to tease at the next Denatus, then even better!
“By the way, Bell. The Summoning Circle is ready, if you’re up for it.”
Notes:
So, I'm actually not sure if Morgan should do anything to Bete (aside from, like, glaring at him ominously whenever they meet). Also, Elias! I dropped more than a few hints at his main kit, so if anyone can figure out what his main Magic System is, you get a virtual cookie! Character Sheets will be posted with Chapter 3, since (if everything goes to plan) Shielder and Archer will show up in the Chapter, so I can just shove everyone in there.
As always, feel free to leave comments! I'll try to have Chapter 3 out in the next few days, but with Christmas, who knows. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Chapter 3: The Rising Star
Summary:
Fate is a Strange thing,
It brings about troubles and tribulations,
And yet it also brings connections and joy.--------------------
In which The Immovable and The Ego join the Hestia Familia
Notes:
I lied, I couldn't stop myself from writing this chapter. Still, Chapter 3! Shielder and Archer are introduced in this one, hopefully my choices are interesting!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Despite the homely feeling permeating the Sanctum beneath the Hestia Familia’s Church, Bell still felt no small amounts of trepidation as his eyes traced the edge of the encrusted Summoning Circle. He wasn’t quite sure about the hows and whys of the situation, especially since his previous (and first) Summoning had been made without such preparations, but both Elias and Morgan had insisted on making proper preparations this time, so who was he to go against them…
Taking a deep breath, trying to ignore Hestia trying to bore a hole through his back, Bell incanted the words he had painstakingly memorized.
“ Heed my calling. My will creates your body, and your arm creates my destiny! ” Even now, knowing that this was just an incantation, it still felt out of place to ask such a thing from a Hero… “ If you heed this call, and obey my will and reason, then answer my Summoning! I hereby swear. That I shall be all the good in the world. That I shall defeat all evil in the world. The Seventh Heavens, clad in the Three Great Words of power- ”
With each verse spoken, magical energy began gathering within the bounds of the Summoning Circle, creating a gale of wind that threatened to blow him off his feet. If it weren’t for his Level 1 Status, Bell was sure he would’ve been blown off his feet. Such was the strength of the wind that he was struggling to keep his arm outstretched towards the Circle. Even using his empty hand as a brace.
As if that wasn’t enough, a blazing light formed from within the gale, threatening to blind him and forcing him to squint as he finished his incantation-
“ Come forth from the Circle of Wishes, oh Guardian of Wish! ”
Screaming out the last few words over the howling wind, the gale reached its peak, finally blowing Bell backwards into the Goddess who was standing behind him, sending both tumbling to the ground as a horrible noise filled the room. Part stone crushing stone, and part wind crushing stone, it was a horrible cacophony that seemed to have no beginning nor end.
And then, just as quickly as it began, it was gone.
Cracking an eye open from his spot on the floor, Bell gazed at the figure standing within the Summoning Circle-
And, even against the Minotaur, he had never felt so, so small…
Feeling the hair on his neck stand on end, Bell suddenly felt so, so small , his hands balling into fists as his fight or flight instincts screamed at him to runrunrunrunrunrunaway-
“Hey! You shouldn’t scare our Master like that. Pouuuu, he’s so cute! You should treat him with more care!” The tension, which even a Masterwork Sword would have been pressed to cut through, was deflated by a jovial voice tinged with amusement, love, and something he wasn’t quite sure how to put.
Blinking a bit, Bell slowly stood up and attempted to locate the source of the voice. Sweeping the Sanctum with his gaze, he caught sight of a dumbfounded Elias, an annoyed Morgan, the mountainous figure that seemed to have an empty crescent in place of a mouth, and-
“Boop! My! You really do look like a rabbit, don’t you? Well, it’s fine! I’m Elysia! It’s nice to meet you, Master!” The jovial voice returned, this time with a boop of his nose. Blinking to try and focus his vision, Bell was assaulted by a large amount of pink suddenly taking over his vision.
Then, he was suffocating. Not because of the mountainous presence, but instead because someone had decided to give him a hug and had large enough pillows that breathing was becoming a problem!
Flailing in both panic and embarrassment, salvation finally arrived in the form of someone grabbing onto the back of Elysia’s shirt and hauling her off of the panicking Master like a dissident cat.
“Really, Ely. Couldn’t you at least do a proper introduction?” Elias, despite his exasperated expression, seemed to be just as amused as Elysia was. Holding onto her like a cat, the Magister was equally surprised and exasperated by the Herrscher of Humanity’s behavior.
“But Elias~ Normal introductions are boring!” Throwing both of her arms up towards the sky, forcing Elias to lean back to avoid taking a fist to the nose, Elysia seemed completely unrepentant towards her greeting of Bell. “Plus, with miss gloom and doom over there scaring him, how could I not try and cheer him up?”
Elysia’s mention of ‘Miss Doom and Gloom’ finally drew the audience’s attention back towards the silent mountainous presence still standing within the Summoning Circle. Said presence seemed wholly content to just stand there and look creepy, however, now that she was the center of attention, it seemed that she was expected to say something.
“My, to go from one dungeon to another. Fine, I’m Ozen. Shielder.” The lazy drawl that escaped the empty crescent of her mouth sent shivers down Bell’s spine, and yet now that Elysia had dispelled the previous tension, it wasn’t as bad. Or maybe he was just becoming used to this?
“Wahwahwahwah!” Finally making her presence known, Hestia shot up from her spot on the floor to point accusingly towards Elysia. “Y- You! You’re a Spirit of Love, aren’t you!?” Honestly, given Elysia’s general demeanor and divine beauty, it was only natural that Hestia- who had a natural sixth sense when it came to Love Goddesses- would jump to such a conclusion.
Sighing loudly to draw attention back to himself, Elias finally released Elysia before crossing his arms.
“How about we get out of my workshop and into the sun before we start playing Twenty Questions?”
“As I said before, I’m Elysia! Servant Archer, it’s nice to meet you, Bell!” Ever youthful and exuberant, Elysia’s second greeting was just as energetic as her first one.
Seated at the now very cramped table within the Hestia Familia’s kitchen, the newly summoned Elysia and Ozen were busy eating. Or, well, Elysia was busy eating, Ozen was more so gorging herself with everything she could get her hands on.
Compared to the cheerful Archer, the Shielder Servant seemed content to stay silent most of the time, or perhaps she just got a kick out of being creepy… Who could say really. Still, the way she went from over two meters in height, to just a little shorter than Elias by hunching over was incredibly uncomfortable. How she was able to walk around like that, neither Bell or Hestia wanted to know…
“Ozen, Servant Shielder.” Sparse with words, the Immovable seemed content to continue refueling her mountainous frame- “This… Dungeon of yours, it interests me.”
“Does it now?” Quirking an eyebrow at Ozen’s words, Elias nonetheless seemed the least disturbed out of all of them when it came to the woman. While Elysia and Morgan were hiding it best, it was obvious that the bovine-like woman set them on edge to some degree. Not enough to become hostile, but enough to keep an eye on her as much as possible. Bell and Hestia, being much less hardened by circumstances, were easily the most disturbed by her behavior-
No, it was clear that Hestia was the most disturbed out of all of them. Something about Ozen was just… Wrong. It was hard to say what exactly, but it was there, and it heavily disturbed the Goddess of the Hearth.
“Quite so. There is no Curse, and journeys to the deep floors take days or weeks to accomplish, instead of months and years… When can we begin our journey?” Seemingly unperturbed by the stares placed onto her by the others, Ozen continued speaking her mind, causing Elias to simply shrug.
“Goddess Hestia has a ‘Denatus’ tonight, and I believe Morgan and Bell had some shopping to do…” Glancing towards Elysia to see if she had something to do, as unlikely as that was, the Herrscher of Humanity quickly shook her head when she matched his gaze, making her opinion of his unasked question clear. “And Ely wants to do… something or other.” Sighing once more before standing up, rolling his shoulders a bit, the Magister turned to face the Immovable head on. “I suppose it is time for me to actually delve into the depths.”
Matching his gaze with her own, the Immovable Sovereign seemed contemplative of the offer, before lazily shrugging, finishing up her food before speaking up.
“That’s fine. I want to see how far I can push this Servant body of mine.”
With plans finalized and Blessings applied to the new arrivals, the Hestia Familia split up for their late afternoon plans.
Hestia and Elysia would go out shopping for a dress, since the Goddess had to attend the Denatus tonight and last night’s debacle had… soured the night for them, they were somewhat late on acquiring a proper dress.
Morgan and Bell would go out shopping, if the albino wanted to delve deeper into the dungeon, then his beginner gear wouldn’t last very long, so a trip to Babel Tower and its many shops was in order.
And finally, Elias and Ozen would delve into the Dungeon on their own, trying to see just how far they could make it before things got too difficult or, barring that, before morning arrived. It wasn’t like they had the supplies necessary to do a multi-day expedition anyways.
“Hmph. This… Dungeon . I don’t quite like it.” Despite having clearly voiced her desire to visit the Dungeon, it was clear that Ozen was quite unimpressed by it. Or maybe she just found it too… safe, compared to what she was used to.
“Perhaps. I’ll admit to also being somewhat flabbergasted by the amount of effort most Adventurers have to exert when dealing with even the Upper Floors. Still, perhaps it’s just a difference in the Logic of the World.” Giving a halfhearted shrug, Elias followed after the Immovable Sovereign, who had just finished crushing a minotaur into a bloody paste.
Level 1 or not, they were still just as strong as they should be. Or rather, it was more accurate to say that the Falna did not account for anything prior to its inscription upon the wielder’s back. Thus, despite being only Level 1, all the Servants of Hestia Familia were just as powerful as ever.
“So you say. Honestly, if there’s something I despise even more than this Dungeon, it’s your so-called ‘Magic’.” Blunt as a mace, Ozen made her opinion clear, not that he couldn’t sympathize with her opinion. While he wasn’t fully aware of her story, the Grail did give him surface knowledge about her Legend, so he was aware that Magic did not exist in her world. Or rather, what Magic did exist was so esoteric that it may as well be called ‘An Act of God’.
“Fair enough. I can’t say your Cursed Soul is comforting anyways.” Glancing over to the Unmovable Lord, the Magister rolled his eyes as the bundle of Curses that was her Soul seemed to try and bite at him, only to be repulsed by his even darker Soul. Honestly, for a Curse of that level to try and attack him, a Moros Archmage, was insulting. “Still, I suppose we all have our own little secrets, don’t we?”
Snickering a bit as she crushed another monster with her bare hands, Ozen simply flashed Elias a toothless smile before continuing further down the dungeon’s corridor. They were on track to hit Rivira, the 18th Floor.
While they were moving fast even by High-Class Adventurer Standards, by their own standards they were moving relatively slowly.
“Your Legend speaks of a ‘Seeker Camp’, are you going to try and establish something like that here?” Striking down a gaggle of goblins with a well-placed volley of [Zoltraak], even their Magic Stones were turned to ashes. Such was their uncaring nature that neither Immovable or Magister cared to actually harvest the Magic Stones of the monsters they were killing. Even Drop Items, whenever they showed up, were left behind.
“Perhaps. I’d like to see this ‘Rivira’ first.” Ozen admitted easily, making no effort to hide her desire to explore the Dungeon for all its worth. If anything, simply going deeper wasn’t all that interesting to Ozen. Instead, what truly seemed to interest her was uncovering every secret the cursed labyrinth had to offer.
“Sure, just don’t get your hopes up too much. It’s- Huh?” Before he could finish his statement, something attracted Elias’ gaze, causing him to raise an eyebrow in confusion. Both Servants had barely emerged into the 18th Floor, actually they were well on track to entering Rivira, however something was causing a large number of individuals to agglomerate around a building.
Sharing a curious glance, the two Spirits shrugged before going to see what was happening.
“Well, what’s this?” Deciding to ask around instead of just joining the clueless mob, Elias started trying to get some information out of some of the other spectators… while also reassuring them that Ozen was friendly, and wasn’t going to start popping their heads like cherries.
Eventually after a few more interrogations, Elias dragged Ozen to the side so they could speak privately.
“Welp, a murder happened. Can’t say I’m too surprised given, well.” Gesturing halfheartedly towards Rivira as a whole, it wasn’t all that hard to imagine that a murder would happen here of all places. Especially with the adage that ‘ The Rules of the Surface don’t apply in the Dungeon ’.
“Hmph. Well. Any ideas, Mister Moros?” Sending him a sly, toothless smile, it was obvious what Ozen was asking. Despite being largely unfamiliar with Magic, the Grail did grant her knowledge about her fellow Heroic Spirits, meaning she had a good enough grasp as to what the others could and couldn’t do. Nothing substantial, but enough to understand where his true specialty lay as a Magus.
Clicking his tongue in annoyance before waving off something next to his head, as if a bug had been buzzing around him, Elias nevertheless deigned to answer the Immovable, “Nothing concrete. Our guy didn’t know shit about his attacker… outside of the fact that she’s a ‘hot redhead’. Guy didn’t even know what she wanted.”
Pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance, mostly because of how unhelpful the deceased had been in solving his own damn murder, there was one thing in particular that was of note, “He did say that she literally ripped off his face, though. Not just pulverized it to make him unrecognizable.”
Quirking an eyebrow at the news, Ozen seemed more curious than disturbed at the news that someone could be walking around with a dead man’s face in their pocket, “Is that so? My, that’s quite the news. Should we inform our… investigators?”
Gesturing towards the inn where part of the Loki Familia’s executives, and two other men, were trying to gather everyone in town for a ‘mandatory body inspection’...
Sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose at Ozen’s clear amusement at the perversity displayed by the male half of the population, Elias shook his head, “Best not too. As far as I’m aware, Magic that deals with the dead isn’t all that known. Saying we have information about such a fresh case would only draw suspicion towards us.”
Soon enough, after the eyepatch man’s declaration of a ‘Full Body Female Inspection’ was made, pandemonium descended upon the gathered crowd as men attempted to perform ‘inspection’ of the women’s bodies, women tried to flee or get to Braver, or just full on assaulted men that got too touchy.
All in all, if it weren’t for Ozen’s massive frame and intimidating aura that made it clear that, if she had been the murderer, seduction was the last method she would’ve used- nevermind the fact that nobody would forget ever seeing her- the two Heroic Spirits would’ve also been sucked into the chaos happening around them.
Then, before their very eyes, the Sword Princess and the Thousand Elf bolted after a fleeing chienthrope… before also being followed by an armored figure.
Grabbing onto Ozen before slipping into an out of the way alley, Elias quickly moved them to somewhere with a better vantage point over the entire situation.
Grunting in annoyance and roughly shaking her head from the sudden high speed movement, Ozen glared down at her smaller companion, clearly having not enjoyed the sudden transportation, “That. Was quite unpleasant.”
Chuckling a bit, the Magister gave a helpless shrug, “[Jilwer] is a high speed motion Spell. I guess it can be kind of disorienting when you’re not expecting it.”
Not deigning to answer his statement, Ozen instead turned her focus towards the trio of Adventurers below them, watching as the chienthrope latched onto Thousand Elf crying for… help?
“You know, I really shouldn’t be surprised, and yet I still am.” Pinching the bridge of his nose once more as he listened in to ‘Lulune’ explain her situation to Aiz and Lefiya, Elias couldn’t help but feel like this entire debacle was created by a need for secrecy that shouldn’t exist, and a deep amount of mistrust in basically everyone that wasn’t ‘In the Know’, “That thing she’s holding… It’s not of this World.”
Raising an eyebrow in confusion at his words, Ozen watched as Lulune gave Aiz a covered orb, watched as Aiz unraveled the package… and froze up in fright. The sudden change in demeanor from the usually taciturn Sword Princess caused even the Servant of the Shield to be taken aback.
Before she could inquire further about the situation, a stringent noise resonated out from another place. A leaf whistle, followed by large explosions heralding the appearance of green, serpent like creatures began appearing all around Rivira, prompting Braver to begin initiating a defensive formation around the town.
As this was going on, Aiz, Lefiya, and Lulune were forced to split up as more and more of those plant monsters began appearing around them, forcing the Sword Princess to begin engaging them to allow her juniors to escape.
Exchanging glances with Ozen, the two Heroic Spirits began tailing after the duo from a distance, watching as one of Nine Hell’s Spells went off in the distance, probably to try and counter those creatures.
“Oh my, a dead man walking, is it?” Watching as an armored figure approached Lefiya and Lulune ominously, Elias felt quite amused by what he saw, a smirk making its way onto his face despite Ozen’s curious glance urging him to explain his amusement, “Really now, using a dead man’s face as a disguise of all things.”
Another glance was exchanged with Ozen, who simply shrugged before watching on as the armored figure grabbed onto Lefiya’s throat, attempting to choke her, “I still dislike your Spell… But I could do with some combat.”
Lefiya felt frightened and helpless as she weakly attempted to struggle against the hand crushing her throat. Her vision started swimming as consciousness began to slowly ebb away from her, thoughts and wishes that someone would save her echoed throughout her mind even as Lulune was thrown away so easily.
Then, before she could fully pass out, Lefiya watched as her attacker was violently thrown back, a hand grasping onto her shoulder and pushing her backwards.
Coughing and gasping for life giving air, Lefiya wasn’t initially able to catch sight of her savior. Opening her eyes to try and catch a glimpse of whoever had intervened, she was initially puzzled when nothing but blackness entered her field of view. Blinking a few times to try and adjust her vision, she finally caught sight of the mountainous individual that had saved her.
Clad in a black cloak that, despite its billowing in the wind, gave the impression of an impenetrable shield, the horned woman standing before her was massive! Standing at over two meters in height, it was impressive that such an individual had been able to go around Rivira without notice-
“Your disguise is horrible, and so was your assassination.” A mocking voice echoed out from behind her, prompting Lefiya to quickly turn around to notice another presence. This time a redhead sporting a rather chic apparel and a cane. His smile was just as mocking as his tone of voice as he spoke once more, “I’ll give you a two out of five.”
The armored figure, now sporting a large dent in its chestplate, slowly rose up to full height, showing distinctly masculine features behind a broken helmet and some bandages. Yet despite possessing the features of a man, the voice that spoke out was anything but, “And yet it still allowed me to move around unnoticed. This pig was useful even if he didn’t have what I was looking for.” The lazy drawl that responded was distinctly feminine, initially confusing both Lulune and Lefiya… until the figure began ripping off the skin of their face, revealing another face underneath.
As they slowly removed the armor they were wearing, the full picture began slowly forming into the minds of the two Adventurers. This woman had killed Hashana Dorlia… and taken his face to use as a disguise…
The horrified looks the two Adventurers shared only magnified as Ozen’s mountainous figure began laughing deeply, creepily, “My, but you were so, so rash in your decision. I agree with my comrade. Two out of five.”
Unperturbed by the Immovable’s ominous figure, the revealed red haired woman simply took out her weapon, a large two-handed sword, before moving with blistering speed towards Lefiya, “Regardless, you need to hand over that seed!” Her charge would have surely hit, were it not for Ozen handily grabbing the sword with her gloved hand. Despite the weapon’s quality as that of a High Class Adventurer, it still failed to even cut the glove worn by the Unmovable Sovereign.
“Tutut, I’m your opponent, not those whelps behind me.” Ozen tutted as she casually manhandled the red haired woman, easily pushing her back with nothing but a flick of her wrists, “Elias, keep watch over them. I’d rather not be… interrupted.”
Obviously shocked by the display of strength before her, the red head was undeterred as she simply charged once more at Ozen, this time using both hands to try and cut right through her.
As for Elias, he simply grabbed hold of both Lefiya and Lulune, hauling the elf over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes before flashing them a charming smile, “Sorry about that ladies. I’d suggest you hold onto your lunches.”
Before either girls could inquire about his statement, or even protest the rough handling performed upon their person, the entire world around them twisted and bent in unnatural ways, almost causing both of them to throw up from the sudden movement. Then, Lulune watched as a dumbfounded Sword Princess was also grabbed like a sack of potatoes, before space bent again .
This time, all three girls were dropped unceremoniously onto the ground, not that Lulune or Lefiya could complain given that their stomachs had finally had enough of the high speed motion and had decided to empty themselves onto the ground in protest.
Seeing the Sword Princess’ dumbfounded expression as she tried to gauge whether or not he was a threat, Elias simply flashed her a charming smile and a thumbs up, “Sorry about that, I’d just rather none of you get caught up in the Immovable’s crosshair.” As if to punctuate his statement, the ground shook violently as plumes of dust rose high up into the air from the direction they had just come from.
“So, any questions?”
Notes:
So, Shielder Ozen the Immovable and Archer Elysia! Not much Bell in this chapter, but I kind of wanted to setup some more plot stuff. Also, I'm moving some events around to better fit my idea of the timeline, even though I know technically this part should technically come after Monsterferia, and a lot of other events like Bell turning Level 2, I'm moving stuff around.
Anyhow, Chapter 4 should come out in a few days, as should the Servant Stat Sheets and make an Omake of Bete suffering the consequences of his actions! We'll see how my brain reacts.
Chapter 4: Hestia Familia Servant Informational #1
Summary:
Servant Sheets for the Heroic Spirits within Hestia Familia
Notes:
Not a Chapter, it's Christmas so the brain juices are a bit low, but here are the Servant Stats for the Heroic Spirits! No Parameters, because I really can't be bothered to make them since they don't really mean anything anyways. Just Skills and NPs (except for Ozen, because Ozen).
Chapter 4 will release either tomorrow or Friday, depending on how quickly my brain juices flow. Still, I hope this is interesting anyways! Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it btw.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The Queen of Faeries
Class: Berserker
Qualified Class(es): Berserker, Caster, Ruler
True Name: Morgan Le Fae
Alias(es):
- Ruin of the Round Table
- Aesc the Savior
- Viviane
- Queen of Winter
- Morgan the Witch
Species: Servant, Fairy (A-Rei), Elemental, Magus
Gender: Female
Place of Origin: Britain / Lostbelt Britain
Height: 5’6”
Weight: 56 kg
Likes: Faerie Britain, Bell Cranel, Hestia Familia
Dislikes: Faeries, Caterpillars, Loki Familia
Class / Personal Skills
- Mad Enhancement [B]
- Magic Resistance [A]
- Item Construction [EX]
- Territory Creation [B]
- Fairy Eyes [A]
- Thirsting Charisma [B]
- Avalon le Fae [C]
- From the Ends of the World [A]
Noble Phantasm(s)
- Roadless Camelot [The Now Unreachable Utopia] | Anti-Fortress | EX
- Rhongomyniad [???] | ??? | ???
The Lord Magister
Class: Caster
Qualified Class(es): Archer, Lancer, Assassin, Rider, Caster, Berserker, Ruler, Avenger, Foreigner, Pretender
True Name: Elias Archibald Ainsworth
Alias(es):
- Magister
- Archmage
- Moros
- Forge Master
- Lord of the Abyss
- Professor Ainsworth
Species: Servant, Undead (?), Elemental (?), Magus
Gender: Male
Place of Origin: England
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 85 kg
Likes: Research, Magic, Learning, Peaceful Times
Dislikes: Needless Violence, Himself
Class / Personal Skills
Item Construction [A+++]
Displays one’s affinity towards the creation of Magic Items. Not only does this allow for the creation of various implements, but also the spontaneous creation of objects through Prime and Matter-type Magic. In particular, metal-based objects are easily summonable regardless of circumstances.
Territory Creation [A+]
One’s ability to generate a ‘Temple’ within which the gathering of Magical Energy is possible, Elias is a Mage whose connection to the Underworld extends even to this world. Rather, as a Mage, it is better to say that “ His Territory extends to the Underworld itself ”.
Magic Resistance [B+]
The ability to cancel spells with a chant below three verses, this extends even beyond that. While Elias’ passive constitution rejects Magic below a certain Rank, this Skill does not include his own abilities as a Mage when it comes to dealing with enemy Magic. Or rather, this does not include his ability to destroy or disrupt Magic.
Lord of Arcana [A+++ (EX)]
A Skill which is degraded due to his existence as a Servant, it symbolizes his status as an “ Archmage ”. He is one who has forged a Golden Road and seen the Truth of the World, allowing usage of all Practices and Arcana of Magic. At this Rank, even Imperial Magic is possible, however making use of such power is even more complicated than usual.
Core of the Forge [EX]
A fundamental change to one’s Soul enacted by the rituals utilized in the initiation of new Forge Masters, it symbolizes the reforging of one’s Soul into that of a “ Forge Master ”. To be a Forge Master is not simply to be a master smith, but rather, to have one’s Soul physically forged into shape. At this Rank, the creation of ‘Masterworks’ is possible, as is the instant creation of magnificent weapons from Prime itself.
Protection of the Underworld [A+++]
A Moros who has achieved the status of ‘Archmage’, Elias is intrinsically linked to the Underworld and its facets. Such that he can comfortably take the role of God of Death if necessary. As he is not a Divine, this Skill does not reach the EX Rank, however at this Rank, the ability to control and usurp the Underworld becomes possible.
Noble Phantasm(s)
Zeroth Genesis - I Am He Who Knows The End of Genesis [A+++]
An Anti-Fortress / Anti-Life Noble Phantasm representing the ultimate authority of one who has achieved Archmastery of the Ten Arcanum of Magic, it is something which “ unmakes existence ”. The power of this Noble Phantasm rises when dealing with Divine Entities or those tied to the Planet.
Archive of the Void - That Which Knows All [???]
Error- Noble Phantasm cannot be deployed-
The Ego of Humanity
Class: Archer
Qualified Class(es): Archer, Foreigner, Pretender, Ruler
True Name: Elysia
Alias(es):
- The 2nd Flame-Chaser
- The Founder of the Flame-Chasers
- Deputy Chief
- Bearer of the Ego Signet
- Flame-Chaser of Ego
- 13th Herrscher
- Herrscher of Human
- 0th Herrscher
- Herrscher of Origin
Species: Herrscher, Servant, Human (?)
Gender: Female
Place of Origin: Cocoon of Finality (?) | Vladivostok 51
Height: 5’4”
Weight: ???
Likes: Humanity, Mostly Everything
Dislikes: Not Much…
Class / Personal Skills
Independent Action [-]
Lost to Herrscher of Origin
Magic Resistance [A+]
The result of one’s nature as a Herrscher, exotic energies such as Honkai Energy or Magic have very little effect on Elysia. Rather, the amount required to properly damage her is simply ludicrous, such that only another individual of equal, or superior, strength could muster it.
One Who Crosses the Sea of Stars [A+]
The result of one whose existence as a “ Being Born of the Cocoon of Finality ”, it denotes one’s ability to travel space without regard for such things as distance. Includes the Existence Outside the Domain Skill.
Herrscher of Origin [EX]
One’s existence as the “ 0th Herrscher ”, it denotes Elysia’s existence as a Herrscher whose power breaks the standard for Herrschers. It is the power of “ Love ” which guided Elysia throughout her life and allowed her to break the ‘Curse’ of the Herrscher, such that those of the Next Era would have a choice.
Affection of the Goddess (Humanity) [EX]
Usually a Skill which denotes being loved by a Goddess, this Skill instead denotes the Love Elysia possesses for ‘Humanity’. So long as one is judged as “ Being of Humanity ” by Elysia, so shall her Love be channeled towards them. Even Mental Afflictions caused by Otherworldly Beings and Divines can be overwritten using this Skill.
Pioneer of the Stars [EX]
One who saved Humanity and allowed for the ‘Next Era’, it is only natural that Elysia would possess such a Skill. Challenges that would be considered “ Impossible ” become “ events that can be realized ”, especially when dealing with World Changing/Ending events.
Noble Phantasm(s)
Abyss Flower - Black Abyss, White Flower [A+]
An Anti-Unit / Anti-World Noble Phantasm known as the “ Key of Creation ”, it possesses the ability to manipulate matter at an atomic level, being capable of creation and destruction.
Elysium Requiem - The Unfinished Flame-Chasing Journey [EX]
Error- Anima Erosion- Unable to-
The Immovable Lord
Class: Shielder
Qualified Class(es): Berserker, Shielder, Gatekeeper
True Name: Ozen
Alias(es):
- The Immovable
- The Unmovable Sovereign
- White Whistle
- The Physically Strongest White Whistle
- Ozen the Immovable
Species: Human (?), Servant
Gender: Female
Place of Origin: Orth
Height: 7’54”
Weight: ???
Likes: “ Hm? Oh, nothing much, fufufu~ ”
Dislikes: Lying to Children, Noisy Children, The Sovereign of Dawn
Class / Personal Skills
Mad Enhancement [E+++]
It is only natural that after over 50 years of exposure to The Abyss, Ozen would be considered “ Inhuman of Mind ”. Rather, that which spends so much time in The Abyss can no longer be considered “ Within the Logic of Mankind ”.
Magic Resistance [C+]
Despite never truly encountering Magic in her life, Ozen possesses this Skill at C Rank due to her Shielder Class. However, its Rank increases when dealing with Curses or Mental Afflictions.
Riding [E-]
Much like with Magic, Ozen has not used mounts often in her life. Or rather, it is easier to say that no conventional mount could handle her mountainous frame…
Self-Field Defense [A+]
A Skill which manifests to protect one’s allies and territories, at this Rank, only the strongest of attacks could even harm Ozen. Even exotic attacks like Magic would be hard pressed to truly damage her. Or rather, dealing damage to her is akin to trying to destroy a reinforced fortress…
The Immovable [EX]
An immovable bulwark more akin to a Fortress than an individual. So long as “ Something Is Obstructed ”, the Rank of Ozen’s Physical Parameters drastically increases.
Monstrous Physique [A++]
A composite Skill of Monstrous Strength , Natural Demon , and Battle Continuation , it represents Ozen’s monstrous physique granted to her by the 120 Thousand Men Pins stuck to her body. It is more appropriate to think of her as a mobile fortress capable of handling anything short of High-powered Artillery, and even then.
Delver of Abyss [A+++]
A Skill which represents one’s abilities as a ‘Delver’. So long as Ozen is ‘exploring’, her ability to survive is unmatched. Rather, so long as “ survival by any means ” is the objective, her skills as a Delver will shine through, allowing her to survive. At this Rank, even the survival of others can be guaranteed… if they can survive the methods.
Mind’s Eye (True) [A]
A sense of danger-avoidance, heightened capacity for observation. Refined through training, discipline, and experience, so long as there is even a 1% chance of a comeback, this ability greatly improves the chances of winning. As a Delver who has survived The Abyss for over fifty years, it is only natural that Ozen’s instincts would outclass even that of First-Class Adventurers.
Noble Phantasm(s)
???
Error- Abyssal Curse- Anima Erosion-
Notes:
No NPs for Ozen, because I literally cannot think of anything to give her. Also, the Falna doesn't take into account anything the wielder has done prior to having it, so even though all the Servants have done a lot of shit, their Falna is still empty. Why? Because I don't think the Servant Summoning System should be able to exchange information with the Falna, it doesn't make much sense...
As for why the Falna doesn't take their Skills... because I don't want to have Level 1s with 4 or 5 Skills when even most First-Class Adventurers don't have more than 2 or 3. Also, I think it would be too much for Hestia to handle XD Besides, it's not like Bell doesn't know what sort of Skills and NPs the Servants have.
I hope the Servant Skills and NPs are still interesting, even if, in broad strokes, they don't really mean much since this is more of a thought experiment than anything else. Anyhow, next Chapter, the Jewel Fetus thing!
Chapter 5: The Jeweled Fetus
Summary:
The attack on Rivira rages on,
And yet despite the violence occurring a scant few thousand feet underneath their feet,
Orario is blissfully unaware of how the Future changes.---------
In which the Fate of the World changes drastically, for better or worse.
Notes:
So! Chapter 4! I hope things aren't moving too quickly for you guys' liking. Things are heating up for the Hestia Familia and their peace.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Previously, prior to Ozen and Elias reaching Rivira…
Blissfully unaware of just how Orario was about to change due to the actions of two individuals, Hestia was instead busy fretting over just what dress she should wear to the Denatus!
It didn’t help that her designated advisor was just so…
“Oh! Isn’t that one just adorable !? Oh! It would suit you so well!” So said Elysia, Herrscher of Human and possible Spirit of Love- if Hestia had anything to say about it, she would wholly consider Elysia an extension of Love, as she showed Hestia a variety of dresses. Each was incredibly beautiful- somehow the Flame-Chaser just knew the Goddess’ sizes and preferences… somehow- but still!
Glancing at the price tag, Hestia felt her Soul wither a bit on the inside as she mentally calculated just how many Jagamarukun she would have to sell before she could afford such a thing, “Erm, Elisya- (“Miss Pink Elf! Please! Or just Ely!”)- Okay, Ely, I- I don’t think we have the money for this!”
Gesturing towards the outrageous price tag- really, why did fabric have to cost more than their house!?- the Goddess was surprised when Elysia pulled out an enormous bag of Valis from somewhere, a sly smile making its way onto her face as she explained herself, “I asked Elias for some money. You should know that Moros are very adept at making money!”
Dropping the three dresses she was holding into Hestia’s arms, Elysia floated- literally floated - over to another rack to peruse their selections, seemingly not at all bothered by how she’d just shattered Hestia’s world view.
And here she thought they would have to scrape by using whatever sales Morgan and Elias would do, alongside whatever Dungeon Money they could make. But no , apparently Elias could just make money appear out of nowhere!
“Oh, he doesn’t make money appear out of nowhere, he’s just very business savvy… and can turn rocks into gold.” Not even turning to face the Goddess, Elysia nonetheless seemed to just know what Hestia was thinking about, earning a creeped out look from the Goddess who opened her mouth to ask whether or not the Flame-Chaser could read minds- “I can’t read minds, you’re just so easy to read! Ah! But that’s fine, it’s cute too!”
Sighing in defeat, Hestia just knew that this day was about to get even longer… At least she hoped that, whatever they were doing, the others were having more fun than she was.
“Don’t worry! The fun is just beginning!”
At the same time, with Bell and Morgan…
While Hestia and Elysia were busy shopping for a dress for the night’s Denatus, the married couple were busy on a date… in Babel Tower.
Being physically dragged by his much stronger wife, Bell was busy trying to not look at any of the price tags shown in the various shop windows. It was all he could do- as well as biting the inside of his cheek- to stop himself from screaming at the outrageous prices, even if the weapons were incredibly cool!
Morgan, on the other hand, was as cool as ever, blazing through the crowd of people. Said crowd was parting like the Red Sea as the Queen used her imposing aura and withering glare to silence any critique of her actions. Or to glare at any leeching eye she caught notice of, and by the Gods did she notice them.
“Do not worry husband, the upper floors will be more affordable. It’s not like you need a weapon, simply armor.” Imperious in her decree, Morgan boarded an elevator with Bell, her withering glare emptying the device in record time so that the couple could be alone inside. At Bell’s questioning gaze concerning her statement, Morgan decided to elaborate a bit. “Elias is a Forge Master, any weapon we find here will be inherently inferior to whatever he can make.” The Faerie Queen elaborated.
“However, making armor is much more time consuming. Especially since you’ve yet to make up your mind as to what kind of armor you want.” Gesturing towards his Guild Issued chestplate, Bell was once more dragged along by the arm as the elevator opened to a much more empty floor. This one was relatively dark, not by lack of illumination, but rather due to the amount of shelves making it difficult to properly light everything up.
“...Isn’t light armor what I’m wearing?” He asked cluelessly, his farmboy education not at all helping him with such decisions.
“It is, however, even full plate armor can be considered light if made properly.” Morgan replied, gesturing to a suit of full plate hanging off a mannequin nearby. “Proper weight distribution, as well as training, can allow for even running and jumping while in full plate. The main issue is ventilation… And even then, with me here, that won’t be an issue.”
Considering his wife’s words, Bell started gazing around the shelves to try and find something to his liking. As cool as full plate armor sounded, he didn’t think it would suit his quick and agile fighting style. Or if it did, at least not at this price.
His search for proper armor was answered when something caught his eye nearby. Approaching a crate stored on one of the shelves, ignoring Morgan’s inquisitive stare as she followed after him, Bell opened the crate and was rewarded for his find. High quality- relatively anyways- armor just as he wanted.
“...Pyonkichi… I, err.” Despite the armor’s quality and price suiting him, Bell couldn’t help but feel somewhat sheepish at the name.
“You will change it, husband.” Came Morgan’s ruthless statement, not that Bell was against it. Pyonkichi, while cute, was just… yeah.
Still, the armor was affordable and good enough for his needs, so he would purchase it.
While wrapping up his purchases, Bell couldn’t help but wonder what kind of adventures Elias and Ozen were having down in the depths of the Dungeon. While he could use the Master/Servant Link to just ask them, doing so just felt so… impersonal? Insistent? Whatever it was, it felt much better to just ask them in person whenever they came back.
After all, it wasn’t like anything too big was going to happen, right?
“Big shit is happening.” Elias stated bluntly at the dumbfounded Sword Princess, crouching next to the still heaving Lefiya and Lulune, fishing around in Lefiya’s pack and pulling out the still bundled jewel. Removing it from the cloth surrounding it and raising it to eye-level so that he could take a good look at it, ignoring just how creepy the thing was, Elias raised a hand to stop Aiz before she could jump at him.
“Apapap! Not an enemy. Just a good intentioned bystander.” Judging by Aiz’s unconvinced stare, his attempt at de-escalation was not working. Sighing and lowering the jewel to look Aiz in the eyes, his unimpressed stare causing her to wilt a bit, “Listen kid, if I wanted to kill you, I would’ve dropped you all in the middle of this shitshow… Or just let that redhead kill the Thousand Elf.”
Wincing a bit at the mention of her junior’s almost death, Aiz nodded reluctantly. The strange man in front of her hadn’t displayed any hostile intentions as of yet, and had instead saved Lefiya and Lulune from another assailant.
Still…
“This thing?” Noticing Aiz’s troubled expression when she looked back at the jeweled thing, Elias brought it back to eye level to examine it again, “I have no clue what it is… No, more like I have no clue why anyone would make something like that.”
Frowning a bit as he examined the jewel, turning it around to properly examine the creature contained inside, his expression seemed to cramp a bit as the fetus opened its eyes again, its pupils constricting like that of a snake before- somehow- inhaling sharply.
Before Aiz could react to try and destroy the thing, rising from her spot on the ground with her sword half-drawn, a glare from Elias caused both her and the creature to still as a primal sense of fear resonated within her. It was different from the fear she had experienced when dealing with monsters initially, as was it different from the fear she had experienced when seeing Lefiya almost choked to death.
Glancing down at her two juniors to see them just as affected by the glare despite not being in its periphery, their heaving breaths stalled by its appearance as if any movement would set off some unseen predator on them.
Then, just as quickly as it came, the primal fear left as the jeweled creature seemed to calm down, returning to dormancy, and allowing Elias to release his glare. “Horrid thing that. Best to not hang onto it, I say.”
Tossing the thing back to Lefiya, who screeched in fright as the hot potato was thrown her way, instead throwing it at Lulune who also screeched and shook her hands wildly, sending the thing tumbling to the ground in a quiet thud.
Elias watched, unimpressed, as neither girls nor Aiz seemed willing to take the thing. It was as if the thing was a lit powder keg just waiting to blow up in their hands!... Well, it kind of was, but still!
Sighing in annoyance, he bent down and took the object once more, sending a quick glare its way before observing it some more… and opening his mouth wide.
Under the creeped out looks of all three Adventurers, Elias’ jaw quite literally unhinged itself, cracking and popping as it distended like that of a snake, opening wide enough to allow the jewel to easily fit inside, before he swallowed the thing. Obviously he knew what he was doing was incredibly disturbing, so he made a show of slowly swallowing the jewel until- thank the gods- it finally vanished down his throat and into his stomach.
“Well, that’s a meal… Oh, come on, it’s not that bad!” Pinching the bridge of his nose again as Lefiya and Lulune dry heaved again as the sight once more upset their already fragile stomachs, Elias turned his gaze to Aiz only to receive the most horrified look he had ever seen from the Sword Princess. Forget thinking he was some manner of monster, Aiz was certain he was some evil spirit sent by some Evil Deity to torment her!
“Gods above, you’re all babies!” Smacking them lightly on the head to try and return them to reality, a light glare causing all three girls to stiffen up a bit. “It’s either that, or I give it back to you girls!” Hastily shaking their heads to avoid having to see the fetus thing again- or gods forbid, watch him throw the thing back up- the three girls took a few moments to recollect themselves fully before they turned to face the plumes of dust erupting in the distance.
“Don’t worry about the Immovable. Ozen’ll be fine.” Gesturing for the trio to follow him back to Rivira, Elias seemed completely unconcerned as to whatever the Immovable was doing. Then again, if the creepy laughter echoing out from that direction was anything to go by, it was clear that the Unmovable Sovereign was having the time of her life…
While Elias was busy being creepy and having his fun with the trio of Adventurers, Ozen was enjoying herself. Oh sure, her current opponent was a disappointment even worse than Lyza’s brat and her Aubade toy, but still, she couldn’t be too disappointed given that this was her first fight in quite a while.
“Come now, you spoke with such vitriol when attacking that whelp earlier… Where did your vigor go, I wonder?” Despite the Ozen’s creepy and disturbing toothless smile, her red haired opponent didn’t seem all that disturbed. If anything, she seemed more annoyed than anything else as each and every single one of her blows was either repelled or blocked in some fashion.
“Tch, you’re annoying. And that other man, he took the Seed with him-” Gritting her teeth in annoyance, especially when she finally noticed the lack of Violas causing a commotion inside Rivira, it became clear to the Tamer that her diversion had been dealt with by Braver and the other Adventurers staying inside the Under Resort. “Dammit, better-”
Before she could finish her train of thought, Ozen’s massive hand wrapped around Revis’ face before violently slamming her into the floor. Stone cracked, dust flew up, and Revis felt her inhuman frame crackle around the Immovable Lord’s fearsome grip. The impact forced the wind- and some blood- out of her lungs and mouth as she discarded her useless weapon in favor of trying to overpower Ozen’s grip.
Unfortunately for Revis, Creature or not, her power was still far from being able to contend with the Immovable Lord’s own superhuman strength. Powered by the 120 Thousand Men pins stuck to her body, Ozen’s strength was such that even the other Heroic Spirits could hardly compare. In comparison, not even a Level 6 Adventurer could hold a candle to her strength.
Gnashing her teeth together as she tried to pry the oppressive hand off of herself, Revis was instead grabbed by the leg as Ozen shifted her grip, using the appendage as a handle to slam her opponent into the ground repeatedly. One slam to the right, another to the left- on and on she went as her toothless smile turned bloodthirsty.
By the fifth slam, Revis had almost lost consciousness from the concussive force applied to her cranium, and the rest of her body really.
Before Ozen could slam her ‘toy’ into the ground again, something else drew her attention. Turning her toothless crescent of a smile towards the Loki Familia’s Amazon Twins, Revis’ listless body held casually up by the leg, Ozen tilted her head to the side a bit as both Amazons reeled back from the mountainous presence exuded by the Unmovable Sovereign. “Oh my, what’s this?”
Carelessly tossing Revis’ broken body to the side, Ozen instead shifted her attention to the slowly gathering Loki Familia, each member looking sufficiently creeped out and unsettled by Ozen’s appearance and aura that made even Deep Floor Monsters appear harmless and docile by comparison.
As both sides seemed to gadge each other, with the Loki Familia instinctively raising their weapons as their Adventurer Instincts screamed at them to either fight or run, Braver seemed deep in thought despite his stance shifting towards a more battle ready one-
“Good lord, what’s with this tension!?” Appearing in a blur of motion with his usual irreverent smile, carrying Lefiya, Lulune, and Aiz on his shoulders, was Elias. Uncaring for the tension between Ozen and the Loki Familia, he instead allowed the trio of Adventurers down onto the ground and ignored how Lefiya and Lulune started dry heaving again . “You kids need to get more used to high speed motion…”
Glancing towards the assembled Loki Familia, Elias instead massaged the bridge of his eyes as if attempting to delay an oncoming headache from forming, even raising one hand towards them to silence them. “No. I’m not dealing with this shit.” Giving Ozen a quick glance to confirm that, indeed, the White Whistle thought the entire situation was hilarious, Elias instead turned his attention towards the crawling Revis.
Her body broken by the ruthlessly violent assault from the Servant of the Shield, the Creature was still barely holding onto consciousness and was now attempting to crawl to safety. Not that she was making much progress given how one of her legs had been completely shattered from being used as a handle to throw her around. Nevermind the fact that most of her ribs had been shattered and that she was surely suffering from a concussion.
“...This is just pathetic. Really?” Giving Ozen a deadpan stare, as if to ask why she hadn’t yet dealt with her opponent, all Elias received was a careless smile and a shrug causing him to sigh in annoyance. Turning his attention back towards the Loki Familia, more specifically Finn, Elias decided to let Aiz and Lefiya fill them in with whatever had happened. “I’m… going to kill her. Any objections?”
Raising one hand towards Revis’ still crawling form, a chromatic orb of flames gathered before his outstretched palm indicating his intent to blast the Creature away. Giving Finn a raised eyebrow, the Pallum glanced towards his companions to judge their reactions, before shaking his head sideways.
“Alright then, Awaken, oh Blaze of Truth. Banish the Dark- ” Unleashing the chromatic orb of fire towards Revis, the Creature wasn’t even able to scream before she was engulfed by the orb. Crackling flames enveloped the sphere, before it vanished into ashes, leaving behind nothing but scorched stone.
Flicking his wrist like he was shaking water off of his fingers, Elias then turned his attention towards Ozen, shoving both of his hands into his pockets. “Well, that was fun and all, but I think we should get back to the surface… Goddess Hestia will get worried at this rate.” Pulling out an intricate pocket watch to check the time, Elias began making his way towards the entrance to Floor 18, with Ozen following after him at a leisurely pace.
“Wait! We still have questions for you-” Surprisingly, it was Aiz who spoke up and not Finn. Extending a hand towards them, making clear that she was heavily considering trying to wrestle them into staying- though Ozen’s previous show of strength made the Sword Princess hesitant in her chances of succeeding.
“Later. Regroup with your friends, and then, after Monsterphelia, we can talk.” Matching Aiz’s intense stare with his own, Elias’ gaze shifted towards each member of the Loki Familia currently present, as if daring them to say otherwise.
Nodding, concentration evident on his face, Finn gestured for his group to let the two Spirits leave, instead calling for Aiz’s attention. “He’s right. Throwing accusations and baseless speculations won’t help any of us.” Glancing towards Aiz, Lefiya, and Lulune, Finn’s stare made it clear that he was expecting a thorough explanation as to everything that had occurred here. “After Monsterphelia then.”
Nodding at each other, both Spirit and Pallum exchanged calculating glances, before the two groups went their separate ways.
Waiting until they were well into the tunnels leading towards Floor 17, Ozen spoke up to address her companion. “So, who should interrogate our prisoner?” Despite having no proof, Ozen’s tone made it clear that she was quite aware that Elias hadn’t actually vaporized the Creature.
Flashing the Immovable Lord a smile that showed much too many teeth, Elias reached into his coat and pulled out another orb. This time, instead of housing a fetus-like creature, it instead housed an unconscious Revis. “Oh, don’t worry about that. But first, we should get back to the surface.” Examining the orb before returning it to wherever it was housed inside of his coat, the two Servants casually made their way back to the surface.
With Goddess Hestia off to Denatus, Bell, Morgan, and Elysia were left with precious little to do but wait for either Hestia or Elias and Ozen to return.
In order to alleviate their boredom somewhat, Elysia had insisted that they all play Old Maid using a deck of cards she had found somewhere. Currently, the scores were 3 in favor of Bell, with Morgan and Elysia being tied at 2 wins each.
Strewed about the table they were using to play were a selection of drinks and snacks, mostly Jagamarukun.
Before a victorious Elysia could discard her final card and declare her victory, the door to the household opened slowly, allowing both Elias and Ozen to step inside. Closing the door behind him, and making sure it was locked, Elias released a sigh of annoyance as he took a seat at the table.
Quirking an eyebrow at his strange behavior, Elysia nonetheless placed her final card onto the table before reaching over and taking a Jagamarukun from the bag nearest to her. “So, wassup?”
Ozen, following his lead, also took a seat- the creaking that echoed from the chair made Bell seriously hope that the furniture would hold- before also reaching for a Jagamarukun. Examining the potato puff a bit, before simply swallowing the thing whole, the Unmovable Lord gestured towards Elias with a careless wave of her hand. “Oh, not much. We just ran into something… strange.”
Reaching into his jacket to pull out both orbs, the sight of the fetus-like thing caused both Elysia and Morgan to stiffen a bit as both felt the strange unnatural aura emanating from the thing. Bell, in a bid to not look too much at the creepy baby thing, instead observed the other orb, his eyes widening a bit when he noticed what was contained inside.
“...So a weird Spirit Monster Baby and a weird Monster Human woman… That’s, honestly, I don’t know what to say.” Flashing Elias a pout, Elysia crossed her arms under her bust. “This feels like some Super Secret Conspiracy…”
The sentiment was shared by both Morgan and Bell, who both shared a glance before Morgan carefully reached over to the orb containing Revis. “...I’m going to assume this… woman, has some answers to give?” Raising the orb to get a better look at the unconscious Revis, Morgan couldn’t help but feel like things were about to change drastically.
“Yeah. I’ll… ask her about that fetus thing when she wakes up.” Glancing towards his Master to ascertain whether or not Bell was against a prospective interrogation happening within their home, the albino Master seemed uncertain about what to say. “We can ask Goddess Hestia when she gets back.” Pinching the bridge of his nose, Elias couldn’t help but feel like the existence of this fetus thing was part of the reason behind why they- Heroic Spirits- were summoned to this world.
Of course things couldn’t be easy, now could they?
Notes:
So, I hope things are actually fun to read. Concerning the Servants, the next pair should show up within the next 3 or 4 Chapters, depending on how things progress. I have a loose idea for both Assassin and Saber, but nothing definitive as of yet, so feel free to give me more ideas! I'll give hints as to their identities, the Assassin will be able to help Bell out with his fighting style since they both use knives (or kunai) as their primary weapons, and he's the fastest man alive in his Verse.
As for Saber... I'm not sure what to say, man has two swords, uses the Saber Sword Beam as his main technique, and is likely to get along well with Bell... I think.
Okay, those aren't much in terms of hints, but Assassin and Saber (prospective as of now) are just really famous, so if I say too much, it'll be too obvious as to who they are. For now, I won't confirm anything towards their identity, since I'm still on the fence about them, so if you have a suggestion as to who they should be, feel free to let me know. You can also try to guess as to their identity, but I won't confirm or deny anything (outside of the fact that Assassin is not Flash, or any Flash Variants like Zoom).
Also, feel free to tell me what you think should happen with Hestia's reaction to seeing Revis! I know the Gods can sorta-tell when a Creature is in front of them and shit, but I don't think Hestia has ever seen one (or if she has, it's in the Light Novel and I'm not there yet), so let me know what you think her reaction should be like! The Interrogation is going to be... weird to write, but meh, I wrote myself into that corner so whatever.
See you guys next chapter!
Chapter 6: Shifting Scales of Balance
Summary:
The Scales of Balance shift to and fro,
A new play has risen in Orario,
A blind spot appears within the eyes of many, for better or worse,
Intentions are fraught with manipulation and ill-intents,
However, through it all, Heroes never falter.-----------
In which knowledge is uncovered, and choices made.
Notes:
So, Chapter 5! I, err, I hope things aren't moving too quickly. The plot is being moved around quite a bit, but I hope it's not too bad for everyone reading.
Things should stabilize and go a bit slower in the coming chapters... I hope, but for now! Here's Chapter 5, I really hope things aren't moving too quickly...
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
When Hestia returned home from the Denatus, she had expected a great many things to be waiting for her at home. Her Children all sitting around a table staring at two crystal orbs was not one of them.
Quirking an eyebrow in confusion, especially when Elias wordlessly gestured for her to approach the table, Hestia felt the hair on the back of her neck stand as she approached the table. Something about those orbs was just… inherently unsettling.
“W- what the heck is this!? ” Unable to restrain herself from screeching in fright once she fully observed the orbs, Hestia fell to the ground as horror slowly filled her body as her mind reeled. Her gaze rapidly shifting between her assembled Children, she desperately wished that they would all laugh and tell her this was just a bad joke conjured up using some manner of Magic. Unfortunately, the somber looks shared by the Servants made it clear that she wasn’t going crazy.
“Erm, what’s…” Still unsure as to what exactly was going on, Bell left his seat to support his Goddess. While he was sufficiently freaked out by the fetus thing, he unfortunately- or perhaps fortunately- did not possess the supernatural senses required to properly ascertain what exactly he was looking at.
Sighing as his assumptions were confirmed by Hestia’s reaction, even supported by Bell, the Goddess refused to get any closer to the orbs, particularly the fetus thing. Snapping his fingers to apport the objects out of the Goddess’ field of view, Elias’ tone was somber and defeated as he spoke. “That, Goddess Hestia, is what Ozen and I found on Floor Eighteen.”
Slowly digesting the information presented to her, Bell aided the Goddess in seating herself at the table, with Elysia pushing a Jagamarukun and a glass of water over to the distraught deusdea.
“The woman was after the fetus. I captured her before she could escape…” His features scrunching as he thought back to the Jewel Fetus, Elias seemed both impressed by its existence as well as disturbed by the implications behind it. “As for the fetus, well, Loki Familia didn’t seem to want it. And leaving it to lay around didn’t seem like a good idea.”
Unsure of what to make of all this, Hestia didn’t even bother to look at the food presented to her by Elysia, instead looking deep into Elias’ gaze as she made a decision. “...I- I want to know everything about this thing.”
Her decision made, both Elias and Morgan rose from their seats to begin their research into the object and creature contained within. Exchanging nods, Morgan was the first to descend into the depths of the basement to begin assembling her tools.
“...You should both get some sleep. We’ll have answers in the morning.” With his piece said, Elias also descended into the basement, leaving Bell and Hestia to stew in the uncertainty of what would happen next.
Ozen, unerringly serious, proceeded to recount the events that led to their discovery and capture of the Jewel Fetus and Revis. The news caused Bell to pale a bit as he suddenly felt wholly unprepared to deal with all of this. Hestia, palming her head, felt just as unprepared for everything that was happening. Even a prospective meeting with Loki wasn’t enough to shake her out of this stupor.
It was all just so… ugh!
Elysia, used to such things given her background, couldn’t help but feel sympathy for both her Master and Goddess. Making an executive decision to get them to sleep well so that they could tackle tomorrow fully prepared, the Herrscher of Humanity abruptly stood from her seat, grabbed Bell and Hestia, before hauling them off to bed.
Unrepentant despite their undignified squawks, Elysia flashed both Bell and Hestia a charming smile as she hauled them to bed. “Now now! You both need to be well rested for tomorrow! Fretting over this all night won’t help anyone!”
Using her powers to induce sleep in them, such that they wouldn’t spend all night tossing and turning in their bed, Elysia quickly returned to the kitchen where Ozen was busy writing down some notes in a notebook that she had probably stolen from Elias.
As a comfortable silence descended upon the room, Elysia couldn’t help but think that things were about to change incredibly quickly…
Down in the basement, both Morgan and Elias decided to split the workload. Handing the Jewel Fetus over to Morgan, Elias released the still unconscious Revis from her crystal prison and proceeded to strap her to a table.
Pinching the bridge of his nose in consideration, the Magister decided that physical torture would just make Hestia and Bell even more squeamish. Thus, it was time to use more unorthodox methods to extract information from the Creature.
After making sure that she was firmly secure to the table, Elias placed a gag into her mouth to make sure she didn’t accidentally bite through her tongue. Steeling himself with a calming breath, he placed one hand on each side of her head before beginning to work his Magic.
“ Pass the Realm of Shadows, Thou art the Revelation of Dreams- [Unveiling the Truth of Memories]” Casting his Spell, Revis’ initially closed eyes shot open as she began violently twitching and convulsing beneath his grip. If it weren’t for the fact that her body was firmly strapped to the table, it was clear that she would be violently spasming.
So violent were her spasms that, if her body hadn’t been enhanced by her Hybrid Physiology, her bones would have started creaking and cracking underneath the pressure she was exerting upon them. Or rather, her superhuman physique was acting against itself as it was both forcing her muscles to contract violently, while also keeping her muscles and bones from breaking and tearing themselves to shreds.
The gag, being more so just a bundle of leather strips attached to her head, wasn’t to prevent sound from escaping her. To begin with, the pain wracking its way throughout her body wasn’t the kind that caused one to scream. Or rather, her body was so busy trying to destroy itself that even screaming was too difficult to do. Even without the gag, only wheezing noises would have escaped her. No, the gag was just there to insure that she wouldn’t accidentally bite her tongue off. Already, her jaw had dislocated itself twice, only held together by her superhuman durability and healing factor.
From her spot in the shared basement, Morgan ignored the wheezing and cracking originating from Revis as Elias mercilessly riffed his way through her memories in search of every drop of information she had to give. Instead, the Faerie Queen focused her attention on the ungodly creature sitting innocuously before her.
Sneering in disgust, Morgan nonetheless began examining the fetus, extracting all the information she could out of it. There was no ‘mind’ to examine, or at least, nothing worth examining. No, rather, it was its constitution itself that was troubling. The hybrid fusion of a Divided Spirit of the Planet and a Monster was an affront to nature in a manner that made even the Outer Gods seem ‘normal’.
How exactly this creature was even capable of existing was a question she wasn’t all too enthused to know the answer to, but regardless of her misgivings, she had to acquire as much information as she could. Whether she cared for it or not, they were now deeply embroiled in this controversy and deliberately ignoring information was just foolish.
Even if its very knowledge was disgusting, ignoring it was no longer a possibility. Or at least, not one that could be even entertained.
So, steeled in her resolve, the Faerie Queen began dissecting the creature and extracting its secrets one by one.
By the time Hestia awoke from her slumber, she almost thought the events from last night had been nothing but a bad dream. Unfortunately, before she could fully delude herself into believing such a thing, Bell’s strangled scream originating from the kitchen caused her to bolt out of bed and run out of her room- after making sure she was fully clothed of course- arriving to see just what had Bell so riled up.
A million and one things went through Hestia’s mind. Had the woman escaped confinement? Were they being attacked? Had something exploded!?
Almost tripping over herself to reach the kitchen, Hestia peered into the room, her mind going blank as she noticed what had Bell screaming… before she also screamed her lungs out.
Having decided to spend some time stargazing instead of just watching Ozen write down her notes, Elysia was rudely awoken from her nap atop the roof of the church by Hestia’s ear piercing scream of terror.
Stabilizing herself before she could fall off the roof, the warrior’s instincts accumulated over a lifetime of fighting snapped into gear as the Flame-Chaser jumped off her perch, through the open window she had used to reach the rooftop in the first place, before running towards the source of the scream.
Bow in hand, ready to shoot whatever danger was assaulting Hestia and Bell, Elysia was not ready for what she was about to discover.
Arguably even more disgusting than the fetus creature Elias and Ozen had picked up from the depths… It was a purple-ish mixture that oozed a horrid stench that made even rotting meat seem appealing. Speckled with unknown objects throughout its surface, the mixture seemed to have a life of its own as it seemed to wink at her from its spot inside a pot.
Ozen, who was standing over the mixture with her signature toothless smile, seemed quite pleased with herself as she gazed on towards her audience, a gloved hand emerging from her cloaked figure and beckoning them closer. “Come now, I made breakfast.”
Almost as if the reaper itself was beckoning them towards death, Bell and Hestia shrieked in fright as Ozen turned her gaze towards them. Her looming figure approached them despite their best efforts to scamper away, picking them both up by the scruff of their necks and seating them at the table where a bowl of… whatever horrid mixture Ozen had created was already served and ready for consumption.
Elysia, seeing Ozen’s stare that indicated that she also had no choice in the matter, gulped and skittishly approached the table, seating herself before sharing a concerned glance with Bell and Hestia.
Nervously gripping onto a spoon, Bell felt like his previous two weeks of Dungeon Delving had not prepared him to undergo such a grueling task. Delving into the bowels of the dungeon was one thing, but this thing was another thing completely!
Observing as Hestia and Elysia trembled like leaves in a storm, Bell recollected a lesson from his grandpa about being brave, especially in front of pretty girls!
Closing his eyes, the albino decided to sacrifice himself so that they could save themselves!
Scooping up a bit of… soup(?) with his spoon and bringing it to his mouth, trying incredibly hard to not spill it everywhere with his uncontrollable shaking, he briefly considered only taking small bites, before remembering that doing so would only prolong his suffering. Steeling himself, he bit the bullet and swallowed the concoction whole-
Elysia and Hestia watched on as Bell went ramrod straight the moment the mixture entered his mouth. Both women were ready for a variety of reactions coming from the boy, ranging from vomiting to violently convulsing. What they were not ready for, was for him to widen his eyes in surprise, before beginning to wolf down the soup like a man possessed.
Bewildered expressions were exchanged between both Servant and Goddess, before they also decided to bite the bullet and try the concoction. Surely it couldn’t be that bad considering Bell’s reaction…
Blinking owlishly as she ingested the mixture, Hestia couldn’t help but wonder just how in Heaven this mixture was allowed to taste so… boringly normal? It wasn’t outstanding by any means, but it was far from inedible. If anything, it was boringly normal in taste.
Sharing another glance with Elysia to make sure that she wasn’t hallucinating, Hestia decided to not think too much about it and instead just eat her portion. Freakish looks or not, the food tasted relatively okay, and her stomach was growling for sustenance!
By the time Elias and Morgan- who had been too engrossed in their research to notice the horrified screams from before- emerged from the basement, breakfast had been fully consumed by Elysia, Ozen, Bell, and Hestia.
…Even if Ozen had been creepily laughing the whole way through the meal.
Exchanging bemused glances at the strange behavior exhibited by everyone else, Morgan simply shook her head and made her way to Bell’s side, taking the seat to his right.
Shrugging, Elias made his way to the head of the table and prepared to share the information he had gathered with everyone else.
“So. The woman, Revis, is her name. She knew basically nothing.” Pinching the bridge of his nose and resisting the urge to smash his head against the table, Elias continued speaking before anyone could interrupt him. “Or, well, she knew some things. But nothing that gives us anything concrete.”
“Things are going to happen on Floor Twenty Four, and Floor Fifty Nine.” Tapping his fingers against the table, Elias felt somewhat troubled by the information he was sharing. On the one hand, it would surely attract the Loki Familia’s attention. On the other hand, Hestia Familia was woefully unprepared to face such danger as they currently were.
Even with the current Heroic Spirits on their side, they couldn’t be everywhere and do everything. No, the answer was clear. Bell had to grow stronger and Level Up before they could even think of acting on this new information.
Gesturing for Morgan to share what she had learned, the Faerie Queen leaned forward and aported the Jewel Fetus from her workshop to the table. Covered in esoteric and exotic scripts- Fairy Letters the Spirits recognized- the fetus was plunged into a deep slumber where it wouldn’t awaken from, effectively neutralizing it and allowing Morgan to analyze it.
“This… thing , it possesses the attributes of a Great Spirit.” This declaration caused Hestia to look down, her hands balling into fists as she tried to recall just how this could have happened. Bell, on the other hand, finally seemed to grasp just how unnatural this creation was. The Great Spirits, the first and most powerful of the Gods’ Children. The first to descend when Humanity was still victimized by the Dungeon, they were the source of Humanity’s First Heroes.
To think that this… thing had properties similar to them. It was…
“That’s not the worst part.” Morgan continued, ignoring the reactions from the others in favor of finishing her analysis. “This is but a small part of the whole. Whatever drew this ‘Revis’ to Floors Twenty Four and Floor Fifty Nine, it has to do with other pieces of this thing.”
Allowing the information to stew a bit, a consensus was reached by everyone currently seated at the table.
“I- I have to get stronger.” While it was Bell who spoke up, it was a sentiment they all shared. Currently, Bell was the only loose thread they couldn’t afford to leave as is. He was too weak to meaningfully affect how things would occur, but he was also too important to leave out.
As the sole Master of the Holy Grail, it was obvious that whatever was occurring within the depths of the dungeon had to do with Bell in some fashion. Or rather, that whatever was occurring would inevitably affect Bell in some way. The only thing they could do now was make sure Bell was strong enough to deal with whatever threat awaited them below.
“...I- No, you’re right.” Came Hestia’s defeated declaration. As much as she wished they could just ignore everything they had just learned, this wasn’t possible anymore. Or, quite simply, it wasn’t in either Hestia or Bell’s nature to do so. The idea that their inaction could lead to the deaths of so many just didn’t sit well with either of them.
Nodding, Elias once more stood up, fists clenched and gaze ablaze with determination. “Right. Bell, you and the others go down to the dungeon.” Nodding at his words, Morgan, Elysia, and Ozen also stood up to prepare for the trek down into the depths of the dungeon. “I’ll forge you a new weapon and then join you guys down there.”
Exhaling deeply, Elias locked eyes with Bell to try and gauge his reaction. To his delight, instead of uncertainty, only determination looked back at him. Bell, despite how unprepared and unqualified he felt, felt his determination be bolstered by the actions of the Heroes surrounding him. If they thought he could do this, then who was he to say otherwise?
The journey of the Hero was always fraught with obstacles that others would quantify as ‘impossible’. If growing stronger was the only way to save others, then so be it.
“Goddess Hestia, I’ll need your help with this.” Receiving a nod from Hestia, determined to help her Children in any way she could, the group split up. Ozen, Bell, Elysia, and Morgan left to begin assembling supplies for their impromptu expedition into the depths of the dungeon.
Monsterphelia was in three days, and so they had three days to make Bell as strong as they could before the Loki Familia came knocking for answers.
Elias and Hestia instead descended into the basement where the Forge Master began exerting his specialty with earnestness. Using donated blood and hair from Hestia, in conjunction with Hermium, Brontium, and Siderite to forge a new knife for Bell, Elias utilized the entirety of his capabilities to accelerate the forging of this weapon.
As an alloy created from the Divine Blood and Hair of Hestia, intrinsically connecting it to her Grace, the knife held the properties of both Brontium and Siderite. Both Perfected Metals, alloyed together using Hermium, the knife held a dull red coloration reminiscent of tempered flames. A perfect conductor of both heat and electricity, possessing an edge that could cut through even a Durandal Weapon if used properly, it was a weapon that would grow with its wielder.
Using a combination of Matter, Life, and Spirit Magic to imbue it with a nascent Spirit and allow it to grow into a proper sentient weapon, the knife was currently no better than a regular weapon- even if it was basically indestructible- but as Bell grew, so would it.
Exchanging a promise that they would stay safe with Hestia, Elias teleported himself to Bell using the sympathetic connection that tied them together as Master and Servant.
They had two days remaining to make Bell as strong as they could, using Elias’ Teleportation Magic to go to and from the Dungeon to Hestia so that Bell could have his Falna updated, the group delved as deep as they could.
Creating a base camp on the 6th Floor using a combination of Elias and Morgan’s Magic, alongside Ozen’s knowledge, Bell was made to train and fight as much as humanly possible.
Now, to hope that this would be all worth it…
Alone in the depths of Floor 6, Bell fought like his life depended on it- and really, it did. His knife sang through the wind, its edge true and unerring as he carved his way through swarms of Killer Ants and the few War Shadows that populated the floor.
At this point, his Stats had all grown drastically- impossibly even. To the surprise of everyone around him, his Stats had already- aside from Magic- had all reached the SS Range, with his Agility reaching SSS even.
It was a growth that would be deemed impossible, even given the grueling nature of the training regiment imposed upon him by his Servants. Even those few Adventurers blessed with Talent and powerful Familias could not have achieved such growth in so little time.
Rather, it was a combination of factors that made this growth possible.
Ozen and Elysia were knowledgeable when it came to training others, even if neither of them used knives as their primary weapons, they were still able to help Bell train. Elias and Morgan made sure to keep him healthy using a combination of Magic and Potions. Coupled with his own- unknowing- Rare Skill of Liaris Freese, and it was only natural that he was growing so quickly.
Or rather, Bell was being pushed to the point of almost death, before being returned to life by Magic. This grueling training was only sustainable due to the otherworldly nature of the Heroic Spirits accompanying him. Anyone else attempting such training, even supported by the Freya or Loki Familia, would simply die.
“UUAAAAAAAG!” Releasing a roar of exertion as he cut through the final War Shadow, dropping to his knees as his body gave out from the inhuman training he was being put under.
Three days, in three days, Bell had achieved something not even the Zeus Familia had been able to. Whether this was a representation of just how insane and inhumane the training he was being put through was, or a testament to his talent was yet to be seen.
Yet despite this, he still couldn’t Level Up.
This wasn’t a flaw with Bell himself, or even the training regiment he was being put through. Rather, it came with the gap in knowledge about the Falna that not even the Heroic Spirits could make up for.
It was the fact that, despite all their power and knowledge, none of them knew how the Level Up actually occurred. As such, all they could do was simply push Bell further and further until their time limit ran out.
Getting back to his feet, dragging himself back to camp so that Elias could teleport them all back to the surface, Bell couldn’t help but feel like something bad was about to happen…
“Bell! Where have you been?” Approaching him with a dazzling smile was Syr, the charming waitress from the Hostess of Fertility. Given that it was now Monsterphelia, it was decided to let Bell rest for the day and allow him to enjoy the festivities with Morgan.
As such, Hestia Familia split up to enjoy Monsterphelia, and try to collect their thoughts before the inevitable meetup with Loki Familia after the festivities.
Unsure of what to do given that it was his first festival, Bell had decided to bring his wife back to the Hostess of Fertility to have a bite to eat. The fact that Syr was there to greet him with a charming smile was only a bonus.
Ordering themselves some food, Bell felt somewhat bemused when Syr returned with both their food and a large book. “Do you like to read Bell?”
Exchanging glances with his wife, who seemed too troubled by something to notice Syr’s question, Bell turned his attention back to Syr. “Erm, y- Yes!”
Accepting the book from Syr, who gave him a delighted smile when he took it, Bell found himself somewhat bewildered by the book’s title. ‘ A Guide To Magic: Even Goblins Can Learn ’
Blinking a few times before deciding to leave the book for later, Bell returned to his food in silence, allowing his wife to ponder out whatever it was that was bothering her. He was somewhat aware of what was bothering her, hence why he wasn’t asking. Still, his lack of knowledge towards the more mystical things meant that he was woefully unable to help her…
Leaving the Hostess of Fertility behind to enjoy the festivities, Morgan was almost instantly drawn to a fishing game, her attention fully taken on winning a fish.
Left to observe her, Bell found himself a seat nearby where he could wait for his wife to win… or run out of money, whichever came first. Honestly, Bell prayed that whatever Luck Deity was watching over them would make it so his wife would win before she ran out of money. He would rather not have her rampage through the festival in search of Elias for more money…
Taking the book Syr had given him, Bell decided to read it over in order to pass the time, once more observing the title with bemusement.
" Teaching Magic to goblins… nobody should ever do that… " Snickering a bit at the idea of a goblin wearing a wizard’s hat, Bell started reading through the book earnestly.
‘ What does Magic mean to you? ’ What did it mean to him? It was… Magic was something that was wonderful, it had allowed him to meet so many people, had allowed for so many things to happen.. And yet, it was also to be respected.
If there was one thing that he had learned from living with two powerful Mages, it was that Magic was to be respected. Not feared, but respected. As with fire, one should handle it with care, with wisdom, and with purpose.
‘ What does Magic look like to you? ’ That was easy… Magic could be anything. But amongst all else, it was swift, powerful, and direct. It was the arrow that signaled the arrival of the Hero, the thing that turned the tides of battle in favor of justice.
It was-
An arrow of light, of cleansing flames.
Blazing- Cleansing- Hopeful- Charismatic-
That which heralds victory-
‘ What do you seek to become? ’ To be quicker than lightning, swifter than the wind, sturdier than steel.
The visage of the various Heroic Spirits accompanying him flashed through his mind. Swiftness like Elias, Charismatic like Elysia, Sturdy like Ozen, and…
Heroic like Morgan.
What did he want to become? That was easy-
“ I want to be, a Hero- ”
‘ How childish! ’
But that’s fine, Master! That’s just how you are, teehee!
Let the Stories of Past Heroics spur you on! After all, We, Heroic Spirits, await you at the end of this path-
Notes:
So, SS and SSS Stats for Bell after a 3 day Bootcamp from Hell. I know in the canon it took him, like, a month, but here he has help from actual Heroes and a proper, tangible goal to work towards (or well, more tangible than just his crush of Aiz anyways).
Still, I hope this isn't too quick a growth for him... Who am I kidding, this is actual Plot Convenience Growth, but I can't think of a way to have things move forward while still including Bell without him getting this kind of power up... Guess I wrote myself into kind of a corner •́︵•̀
At this rate, Saber and Assassin should show up next Chapter, or the Chapter after that.
Anyhow, criticism is welcome! I'm still trying to find a good balance of "Make the Plot move forward" and "Take your time explaining shit through", so feedback is appreciated!
Chapter 7: Retaliatory Strike
Summary:
The Scales of Karma must balance in either directions,
For every victory, a a price must be paid,
Similarly, however, for every effort, a prize must be acquired.---------------
In which a Promise Conversation begins.
Notes:
So, Chapter 6! I'm, err, not sure what to say really. More Plot Setup, some exposure on the backstories of a few peeps, fighting scenes, cool stuff!
I suck at writing fighting scenes, so I hope this one is at least passable, and isn't too confusing to read through. I'll probably rewrite it a few times as the story continues, but who knows.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
While Bell and Morgan were busy on their date, Elysia had decided that it was time to catch up with her fellow Flame-Chaser. Hence why, after making sure Ozen would take care of Hestia- mostly by just following the Goddess around- Elysia had happily grabbed onto Elias and had dragged him somewhere to catch up!
“Ahhhh~ So Kebin got too into finishing Project Stigma, huh? That’s too bad~” Pouting a bit as Elias recounted the events of the Next Era to her, Elysia couldn’t help but feel like Kevin’s spiral down into obsession was partially her fault. Or rather, because she hadn’t played matchmaker between him and MEI. Then again, it wasn’t like everything that surrounded the Flame-Chasers was her fault, but still.
“Yeah. Hero of Humanity till the end.” Taking a sip of ale from a flask he was carrying, Elias couldn’t help but think back to his old friend, while also wondering if Bell was destined to turn into someone like Kevin. Then again, Bell didn’t have the DNA of Parvati so he was unlikely to get as physically cold as Kevin had. But still. “...Maybe that was my fault.”
Exhaling deeply as he pondered his own inaction throughout the 50,000 years. MEI’s death had deeply affected Kevin, as had the war against the Herrschers. Perhaps it was because he didn’t understand Humans anymore, maybe if he had spent more time socializing with the others instead of spending all of his time researching, things would have been different-
“Ahhh~ You and MEI, really.” Booping him on the nose before he could spiral, Elysia flashed him a pout before her usual smile returned to her face, glancing up towards the sky. “For someone who acknowledges that the past can’t be changed, you sure do like to reminisce on it…”
Blinking a bit, before giving Elysia a sheepish smile as he rubbed the back of his neck, Elias couldn’t help but remember why it was that Elysia had been the one to bring together the Flame-Chasers. “I guess that’s just what it means to be Human. Contradictions and Emotions.”
Sighing softly before bringing one hand up to his face, Elias couldn’t help but wonder if they were pushing Bell too far, or too quickly…
“Hey, hey! Don’t worry about that! Bell will be fine. Plus, it’s not like we’re alone in this!” Even the optimist, Elysia couldn’t help but feel that, whatever happened next, they would all be fine. Be there obstacles or tribulations, be they loss or tears, they would all be fine…
“...I really can’t win against you, can I?” Laughing a bit as he rubbed the back of his neck, Elias decided to stop worrying about the past, and instead focus on the present. “I guess that’ll teach me to doubt you-”
Before either Flame-Chasers could reminisce any more, a large quake shook the ground violently, sending passersby falling or forcing them to grab onto nearby structures to stabilize themselves.
Then, all at once, parts of the ground erupted into showers of dust, stones, and other miscellaneous debris. Briefly obscured by the cloud of dust, the serpentine form of the Violas could be seen erupting from the ground in various locations around Orario.
The appearance of monsters within the streets of Orario caused the populace, especially those lacking the Grace of the Gods, to begin panicking. Soon enough, pandemonium would reign within the city. Adventurers would attempt to fight back against the Violas, civilians would trample each other in an attempt to escape from the carnage.
Before panic could properly settle into the minds of the citizens, Elias and Elysia jumped into action, accompanied by various other veteran Adventurers throughout Orario who had come to the same conclusion. The Violas had to be killed quickly, before general panic could grip the populace.
“Ely! I’ll handle the ones here!” Summoning his cane to his side with a kaleidoscopic shimmer of colors, Elias swung the armament towards the serpentine creature, an array of magic circles trailing behind his motion from which blasts of concentrated mana erupted from, impacting the Violas and killing some, while others were simply repelled.
Sending a nod towards her companion, Elysia took to the sky, manifesting her bow and- true to her Class’ namesake- began firing with unerring accuracy down towards the Violas down below. Her arrows, carrying the power of a Herrscher, proved more than enough to pierce through the reinforced hide of those creatures. Whether they were defending or attacking, the Violas were mercilessly eradicated by the Herrscher of Origin’s rain of arrows.
The clap of lightning drew her attention back towards Elias, the Magister now clad in a set of dark armor, antler-like horns protruding from his helmet. His large, dark cape billowed in gusts of winds heralded by the strike of thunder.
“Begone, foul beasts!” His voice, heavily distorted by the helmet, seemed to echo out around him as he thrust his gauntleted hand towards the Violas, dark lightning erupting from it and frying the remaining Violas.
Glancing back, the complex arrangement of metal that made up Elias’ helmet would have made it difficult to notice where his eyes were if not for the ethereal blue glow that denoted their form. Sending her a wave, which she reciprocated, Elysia watched as Elias’ form grew in height, now matching Ozen in stature, and perhaps even being slightly taller than her due to his boots.
Turning her attention back to the battlefield unfolding before her, Elysia was happy to see that, despite their numbers, the Violas were being handled quite handily by the Adventurers around Orario. While there were many, they were also crowded enough that most Adventurers simply needed to use large scale attacks to deal with large swathes of them at a time.
Well, that and-
“RAAAAAAAAA!” A beastly roar erupted from a spot near Babel where Elysia could spot Ozen and Hestia, with the Immovable Lord being busy crushing the Violas with her bare hands, turning the plants into nothing more than mush. Hestia, being unused to combat, was busy freaking out, but Ozen and the surrounding Adventurers seemed to have the situation covered there.
“LEFIYA!” Another scream drew her attention, especially when she noticed an elf being sent flying by a Viola into a congregation of even more Violas.
Before Lefiya could acquaint herself with the business end of the Violas, pinkish arrows rained down upon the creatures, turning them to dust and leaving the Thousand Elf to impact the floor instead of the open mouths of the creatures.
Or, she would have impacted the ground had a swift flash of pink and white not impacted her first. Soft to the touch, the elven figure- if the pointed ears were anything to go by- flashed Lefiya a playful smile before the two of them slowly descended towards the ground.
“So you’re the Thousand Elf? Oh, you’re so cute!” The pink elf’s voice was as melodious as the wind, perfectly complementing her divine looks that made even some Goddesses seem plain by comparison.
Noticing that she was staring, Lefiya couldn’t help the full face flush that erupted over her features, covering her face with her hands, especially when she noticed that the large gash on her side had disappeared in a wave of pink flower petal-like magic. “Ah- T-thank you for saving me…” She managed to stutter out through her embarrassment, especially when her savior released another melodious laugh.
“Lefiya! You’re okay!” Turning to face the other members of her Familia, Lefiya was surprised to see that both Tione and Tiona were accompanied by Aiz, the Sword Princess having assisted the Amazon twins in dealing with the Violas. While they were somewhat tricky to deal with given their thick skins, previous experience dealing with them allowed the trio of First-Class Adventurers to easily dispatch them.
“Y- Yes! Thanks to miss…” Glancing back towards the hovering pink elf, Lefiya suddenly felt quite bad that she hadn’t thought to ask her savior’s name. Catching her gaze, the Herrscher of Humanity giggled a bit, throwing herself onto Lefiya’s shoulders to playfully poke one of her cheeks.
“Pouuu~ You’re so cute! I’m Elysia, but you can call me Miss Pink Elf! Or, even better, you can call me Ely!” Even exuberant and full of energy, Elysia did a quick look around and noticed that most of the Violas were dealt with, with Ozen, Morgan, and Elias slowly converging onto her position (assumedly accompanied by Bell and Hestia).
Even more embarrassed by the pink elf’s lack of personal space, Lefiya couldn’t help but babble as her brain attempted to formulate a proper sentence. On the one hand, Elysia was an elf, but on the other-
“Hah!? Who’re you!? Touching my girl like that!” For once in her life, Lefiya couldn’t help but be thankful that Loki was such a deviant! Surely the perverted Goddess would do something to help her, right!?
“Me? I’m Elysia! You must be Goddess Loki, right? Oh! Your girls are just so cute! I couldn’t help myself!” Reaching over and bringing Tione, Tiona, and Aiz into the group hug as if to exemplify her statement!
The Loki Adventurers were then treated to the sight of their Goddess going over a variety of facial expressions, from anger, to shock, to disbelief, to unbelief, to resignation, back to anger, and then back to shock.
“Y-you! Y’re a Love Spirit, ain’t cha!?” Punctuating her declaration with a viscous point of her finger towards Elysia, Loki attempted to figure out just what the fuck she was looking at . Spirits weren’t her department back in Heaven, but she sure as hell would recognize one when looking at them!
Playfully tilting her head to the side, Elysia couldn’t help but feel amused by how every deusdea she had met thus far had made this same assumption. “But I’m not! I’m just Miss Pink Elf~”
If Loki’s flabbergasted expression was anything to go by, Elysia’s words were true, sending Aiz spiraling since she could also feel a sort of kindred relation towards Elysia. Was she also the descendent of a Spirit? Or was she something else entirely…
Before Loki could ask any more questions, a familiar mountainous presence approached the group, causing the Goddess of Mischief to whirl around only to be greeted by the sight of a paper pale Hestia being carried by Ozen’s cloaked figure. If the Immovable’s smile was anything to go by, Ozen was definitely having fun giving Hestia a heart attack.
Soon enough, both Morgan and Bell- carrying a fish in a bag- joined the group, though not before Bell let out a squeak of embarrassment and attempted to flee from Aiz, only for Morgan to grab her husband’s arm with a surprising amount of force. Making sure that his arm was nestled within her cleavage, the Faerie Queen sent the Sword Princess a challenging glare, which caused Aiz to blink a bit despite the constricting feeling making itself known in her stomach.
Having released her ‘prisoners’ from her grip, Elysia floated around the assembled group, blinking a bit at Morgan’s action, before a lightbulb went off in her head, causing her to more closely examine Aiz.
“Ohhhhh~ So you’re the Sword Princess!” Grasping the Sword Princess by the cheeks, like one would an infant, Elysia proceeded to examine every facet of Aiz’s features. From the color of her eyes, to the roots of her hair. Nothing was left unchecked as the Herrscher of Origin gushed about how cute and adorable she found Aiz.
Unsure of what to do, Aiz sent pleading looks towards her Familia, only to receive either jealous looks from Loki and Lefiya, or amused ones from Tione and Tiona.
Before she could resolve to using physical means to escape Elysia’s ministration, another mountainous presence entered her field of view. This one clad in dark armor, his billowing dark cape gave him a more regal aura compared to Ozen’s immovable one. His helmet, composed of various intricate metal plates, still allowed her to perfectly perceive his piercing blue gaze.
Set on edge by the unnatural glow, which did not originate from the eyes themselves, but from the leaking energy emanating from them, Aiz couldn’t help but feel like she had seen this individual before…
“So we meet again, Sword Princess.” Blinking a bit as the armored figure addressed her, Aiz’s shock was shared by the other Adventurers of her Familia as the armored figure glowed, the metal dissipating and its imposing stature diminished slightly back to human standards, leaving behind-
“It’s you! The Evil Spirit!” Pointing an accusing finger towards him, it was Lefiya who spoke up- even if Aiz did agree with her assessment of the eccentrically dressed man. The declaration caused the previous tension to evaporate like a drop of water in the desert, especially when Elysia started laughing from Lefiya’s outburst.
“H-him!? An Evil Spirit? Fuahahahah!”
Elias sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose as Elysia continued to laugh, with Ozen also snickering a bit at the rather apt descriptor of the Moros Archmage. This was going to be a long discussion, he could feel it…
“My, my, where did you find such admirable Children, Hestia…” Freya muttered from her perch atop a nearby building, watching as the Hestia and Loki Familia chatted about.
Prior to the Violas appearing, she had intended on releasing a few monsters to try and catch a glimpse of Bell’s Soul in action, however the appearance of those horrid creatures had somewhat derailed her plans.
Well, only somewhat. If anything, their unexpected appearance had been a blessing as not only was she able to blamelessly observe Bell’s exceptional Soul in action, she was also able to observe the Souls of Hestia’s other Children in action.
They were each and every one of them exceptional in some fashion, beautiful in a way that was unique to them. Such that even she, an eternal Goddess, had never seen Souls like this before.
The mountainous, Ozen, held a Soul that resembled a spiralling Abyss. Dark, yet comforting, dangerous yet exhilarating, it was a Soul that spoke of tremendous experience overcoming impossible odds- of experience beyond mortal age, and of overwhelming willpower.
She wasn’t sure what kind of life Ozen had led, but it was one that had set her apart even Ottar. The ability to overcome whatever obstacles had been set before her made her Soul all the more beautiful, like a thorned rose. To be examined from afar, yet beautiful nonetheless.
Freya couldn’t help but feel nostalgic when gazing into the pale haired woman, Morgan was her name. There was something distinctly inhuman about her, matched only by her companions and the Sword Princess, and yet it was beautiful in a way that was completely inhuman.
As if looking deeply into a clear lake, the distinction between the crystal clear water and the dark depths below, it was a Soul that moved only when near Bell, showcasing a desire to hold him close, and yet also spur him on towards further heroics. It was a strange Soul, one that she could only salivate at the thought of possessing. Especially with the way it melded with Bell’s, the scenery of a lake changing to a wintercast one in a way that was completely unexpected.
Yes, when she finally had Bell, she was definitely taking his girlfriend too…
That man, Elias, he was… Nostalgically familiar too, but not for the same reasons as Morgan. While looking at Morgan was like watching one of the Great Spirits of old, watching him was like watching the other Aesirs back in Heaven. Wise, Mischievous, yet Cunning. It was a strange feeling, particularly because she couldn’t fully observe his Soul…
And finally, Elysia-
Oh, if only she had seen this Soul first!
It was frighteningly familiar, in a way that only Horn had ever been close too when using [Vana Seith]. It was as if she was gazing into the Soul of a fellow Love Goddess, but instead of being repulsed or even jealous, it was-
A Soul that loved all- One that accepted everything equally, because it was Love itself-
Yes… When she eventually made her move to acquire Bell… the rest of his Familia had to come with him…
“Ottar, get me all the information you can about these people.” Not even bothering to see if her faithful servant had heard her, Freya knew that the Boaz would do as he was ordered to. It was, after all, why he was her most faithful attendant beyond even Horn.
‘ But for now, continue to grow, Bell Cranel. Let your Soul shine bright, and entertain me! ’
Notes:
So! Next Chapter is the discussion between Hestia Familia and Loki Familia! More things should also happen, notably a Level Up for Bell (assuming I don't forget). There's a comment asking if Bell will Level Up or not, or if he'll grow stronger like the Servants (ie. without needing to Level Up).
Unfortunately, as Elias and Ozen kind of aluded too in Chapter 3, the Current Humanity is too intrinsically connected to the Falna to properly grow without it, so unfortunately Bell won't be able to grow properly without Leveling Up. That doesn't mean he's *as* tied to the Falna as regular people (because of Liaris Freese and Limit Off), but he's still tied to it nonetheless.
Also, surprise Freya appearance! I hope her part wasn't too verbose, but I kind of wanted to give her thoughts towards all of the current Servants, and give a loose idea as to what she plans to do in the near future.
Anyhow, Saber and Assassin (who are, indeed, Ichigo and Minato, I guess my hints sucked ass after all since it was so easy to figure out who they were XD) should show up Next Chapter too.
I hope this Chapter was at least somewhat good despite my lack of skills in writing Action Scenes, so let me know!
Oh yeah! You also get a virtual cookie if you can figure out what Elias' Battle Armor looks like... assuming I actually described it properly... If not, I'll just add a picture later. (you can do that with AO3, right?)
Chapter 8: Omake #1 - Seven Years Prior
Summary:
In one world, the Grail manifested prior to the Events that would change the World,
In another, it manifested Seven Years too early…
But, mayhaps, that’s not an inherently bad thing, right?----------
In which a Wish is made, Seven Years early.
Notes:
Two uploads in one day! This isn't a proper Chapter though, just a random idea I had in the shower and decided I wanted to write. As you can guess, nothing is canonical in this! Aside from the Servants, this is all purely fictional!
Next chapter will be the actual Chapter 7 of the story, but I felt like it was good to just have this little omake appear!
Chapter Text
Gazing down towards a nearby clearing, the Silence stood quietly, contemplative even, as she observed the sole remaining legacy of her sister swing a stick around like it was a sword.
Ignoring Zald’s confusion at her hesitation, Alfia instead focused the whole of her attention upon her nephew. He looked… just like his mother. Well, almost-
Audibly gulping, Zald suddenly felt his instincts- honed to perfection as a high level adventurer- spike as he took a few steps back from Alfia as a malevolent aura engulfed the normally taciturn woman.
Right, Bell was the splitting image of his mother, if one did not look at his eyes. Those ruby eyes were the sole proof of his ignoble cowardly father. Ah- even from this far away, Alfia wondered if it would be okay to just gouge them out-
“You know, if you want to talk to him, you should just do it?” A jovial voice, one which belonged to neither Alfia nor Zald, interrupted Alfia’s contemplation, causing the two Adventurers to whirl towards the origin of the sound.
Standing a few paces away from them, hands clasped behind her back, was a pink haired elf woman. Armed with a charming, gentle smile, the woman approached them slowly, one hand moving to gesture towards Bell in the distance. Despite the malevolent aura sent his way, the young man was still completely ignorant of the people spying upon him.
“It’s unbecoming of an aunt to skulk around her nephew like a thief.” Ignoring the glare sent her way at the mention of being an aunt, Elysia instead floated upwards, crossing her legs as if she were seated within a chair. “Your goals- they aren’t needed anymore.”
Returning her gaze towards Bell, Alfia mulled over Elysia’s words, a sad smile forming on her face as she thought back to the crushing defeat the Zeus and Hera Familias had suffered seven years ago. “If only… No. I- We have a duty to the World.”
Raising a palm towards the sky, as if the light of dawn would gently glide down to welcome her, Alfia gently shook her head. “The Last Hero needs to be born, so that the World can be at peace.”
“Ah~ But what if-” Crossing her arms around Alfia’s neck, ignoring how the silver haired woman stiffened at the sudden contact, Elysia simply allowed her powers to sooth the woman’s pain. “What if the Last Hero- Heroes- are not of this era, but of a previous one?”
Before Alfia could question the statement, a far away tremor caused the earth to shake. Softly for them, but the quake must have been truly monstrous to reach them, far as they were from its origin. Then, another quake followed-
A pillar of light- marvelous- grant- cleansing- erupted out in the distance, temporarily overshadowing the sun with its glory-
Raise Anchor- Oh, Pillar of the Storm!-
Then, as quickly as it appeared, the pillar vanished, leaving behind nothing but a soft ripple in the wind that gently ruffled Alfia’s dress.
“Mayhaps, the Secrets within the Dungeon are yet to be solved, however.” Pointing in the distance where various figures began to appear, descending from the sky in various ways, Elysia couldn’t help but giggle at the dumbfounded expression both Alfia and Zald made. “The Dragon is gone, vanquished beneath the power of the previous era. Now, what awaits, is the rise of Man.”
Each figure, striking in their own way, slowly made their way towards Bell who, upon noticing their arrival, began sprinting towards them, hands raised towards the sky as his face split into a giant smile.
The first to reach him, clad in a monochrome attire that trailed behind him, its edges tattered in a way that spoke of countless battles. Carrying a large butcher knife, the most striking of his features was surely the color of his hair.
The second, riding atop a six legged horse, was clad in armor darker than black. Sporting antler-like horns atop his helmet, the dark cape billowing behind him was only accentuated by the golden glow which framed its edge. Then, with the crackle of lightning, the armor vanished, leaving behind a man wielding a cane.
The third was a mountainous figure, clad only in shades of black and grey, it was hard to make out any distinctive features aside from the figure’s monstrous height. Towering over even the tallest of individuals, the figure was undoubtedly of considerable strength and fortitude. And yet, despite her ominous aura, she still sported a careless smile as she approached the young man.
The fourth figure was clad in a mixture of green and blue, with a white trench coat hanging off of his shoulders. Sun-kissed hair and sapphire eyes, despite being the second to last to appear, he was also the first one to reach Bell, taking the boy by the waist and raising him towards the sky.
And, finally, the final figure was perhaps the most striking- to Alfia anyways. Aloof yet warm, the figure was regal in a way few royals could accomplish. Sporting an attire made of dark blue and black cloth, the colors only served to accentuate her pale skin, making it seem as if it were shining in the glow of the sun. Wielding a large staff-like weapon, it was quickly discarded- vanishing into a flurry of pale blue motes of light- in favor of taking Bell in her arms.
Strangely, despite the seeming innocuousness of the act, something about the action caused Alfia to frown deeply.
Before either Elysia or Zald could question Alfia, the silver haired woman began marching menacingly towards her nephew and the woman holding him. A heavy frown set upon her usually beautiful features, the Incarnation of Talent took almost no time reaching the group- even with her illness weakening her- it was as if a previously dormant motherly instinct was welling up within her, granting her strength and allowing her to stare deep into the confused eyes of the Faerie Queen.
“You. What are your intentions with my nephew?”
Chapter 9: Fated Meeting
Summary:
The awaited confrontation between Hestia and Loki Familia is upon us.
Notes:
No cool summary for this one, I literally cannot think of anything to put (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞
Anyhow, I'm not sure how this came out, but I rewrote this conversation way too many times, so I'm publishing it before I can rewrite again and just procrastinate it. I hope it's at least satisfying...
Once more, Plot Elements are moved, but hey! That's the beauty of Fanfictions, so ╮(￣▽￣"")╭
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Seated within the VIP booth of a nearby restaurant with various Magical Wards providing sound proofing and preventing any eavesdropping from occurring, the Hestia and Loki Familia- or at least part of the Loki Familia anyways- were seated on opposing sides of a table.
Headed by their respective Goddesses, the two groups were thus.
Finn, Riveria, Aiz, Tione, Tiona, and Lefiya were flanking the Goddess Loki, while Bell, Morgan, Ozen, Elysia, and Elias were flanking the Goddess Hestia.
Despite their less than friendly relationship, both Loki and Hestia were uncharacteristically silent. No, it was less of a silence born of annoyance or even a sense of propriety, but instead a contemplative moment that drew the deusdea so deep within their own thoughts that even the idea of squabbling amongst each other didn’t pass through their mind.
In comparison to their Goddess’ silent demeanor, the Adventurers each had different ways of coping with the revelations about to be dispensed.
Finn and Riveria were silently exchanging thoughts, their years of cooperation as High-level Adventurers allowing them to share information through eye movement and coded gestures just as easily as with words. Tione and Tiona were instead animatedly whispering to each other- though the Servant’s own enhanced hearing allowed them to hear everything perfectly- with both Amazoness attempting to decipher just how the Hestia Familia was so strong.
Aiz, and Lefiya to a certain extent, were instead intensively observing each Servant. Or, it was better to say that Aiz was attempting to pierce the secrets of the Heroic Spirits simply through her gaze, while Lefiya was attempting to keep her flush down at Elysia’s repeated smiles and waves.
On the Hestia Familia’s side, Bell couldn’t help but feel completely out of his depth. Ignoring his glaring lack of information to share, the fact that so many First-Class Adventurers were surrounding him made him feel somewhat faint, especially when his wife and Aiz exchanged stares.
Speaking of Morgan, the Faerie Queen was the picture perfect representation of a monarch overseeing her court. Silent, aloof, and passive, her stare only grew annoyed whenever Aiz shifted her gaze towards Bell, upon which Morgan would simply shift closer to her husband to stake her claim as ‘Wife’. Not that Aiz had any idea as to what the subtle social clue meant.
Ozen, true to her previous behavior, was enjoying the uncertain glances thrown her way. The ease with which she had dealt with Revis, and by extension the Violas, made both Finn and Riveria uncomfortable. So say nothing of the fact that the Immovable Lord towered over everyone present, even with her hunching over.
By comparison, Elysia was the picture of exuberance. Stage whispering to Elias as she gestured to each Loki Familia Adventurer, the Herrscher of Humanity was acting just like that one aunt you see every christmas. Comments about how cute and amazing they were, plus a few statements about how she wanted to go shopping with them- or just straight up pamper them- made the Adventurers somewhat uncomfortable. Not because they were offended, but instead because of how earnest Elysia was. It was just one of those things with Miss Pink Elf…
And, as one might expect, Elias was forced into the role of the weird uncle that was the recipient of all the aunties telling just how amazing and cute and wonderful their nieces and nephews had become. Even if he had said nothing, he was the recipient of all of Elysia’s animated chatter. Left with nothing to do but suffer the consequences of his friendship with Elysia, Elias was the only one partaking of any of the restaurant's amenities, in this case a large tankard of ale, while massaging his brow.
Despite the general tension, Finn couldn’t help but feel a sense of kinship and understanding with Elias.
“...Alright, enough of this silence.” Having finally had enough of listening to Elysia’s chatter and seeking a way to escape it, Elias was the first one to truly speak up, causing Aiz and Lefiya to jump a bit as they were ripped out of their thoughts. “I’m sure there are a million things you want to tell them, Ely, but is there anything that they want to know?”
Glancing over to Finn and gesturing for him to speak up, the Captain of the Loki Familia spoke up with practiced ease, his posture becoming straighter and more professional as he interacted with the unknowns before him.
“Quite. Aiz and Lefiya told me that you had taken the jewel the Tamer was after, is there anything you can tell us about it?” Unwilling to ask for it to be handed to them, Finn felt that doing so was only asking for trouble, nevermind the fact that even if the Loki Familia took ownership of it, there was precious little they could actually do with it.
Making to exchange glances with Morgan, only to see that she was too busy participating in a staring contest with Aiz, Elias grumbled under his breath as he realized that he was the designated speaker this time.
“Not much unfortunately.” Steepling his fingers together and leaning forward, Elias briefly considered summoning the thing, only to remember that Aiz had had a rather… adverse reaction to it previously. “It is a Spirit-Monster Hybrid of some kind, though there isn’t much to say about how it exists.” Glancing towards the two Goddesses who had returned to reality the moment the discussion had begun, Loki seemed just as surprised by the statement as Hestia had when the initial discovery had been made.
“A Spirit-Monster Hybrid? How is that even possible?” Riveria, as a High Elf Mage, was well versed in the lore of Spirits. As such, she was the only one- baring the Goddesses and the Spirits… and Aiz- to understand just how abnormal this was.
“We’re not sure… Our only theory is that, just like with the deusdea, if a monster were to devour a Spirit, it would somehow obtain its characteristics.” Somber as his declaration was, Elias was still able to notice how Aiz’s already pale complexion only grew paler. Quirking an eyebrow, but deciding that questioning the Sword Princess could wait, Elias instead pushed on. “That’s not the worst of it. This… thing is only a small part of the whole.”
Gauging the reactions of the Loki Familia, Elias produced a map of the dungeon showing not a floor in particular, but instead a layout of all 70 something floors currently explored. Pointing to a red cross over the 59th Floor, Elias elaborated further. The decision to not include the 24th Floor in this discussion had been made prior to the Hestia Familia splitting up for Monsterphelia.
“The fetus has links that lead towards that floor… I’m not sure exactly where, but this is as close as I can get without personally investigating.” Matching stares with Finn, Elias could just taste the questions forming within the Pallum’s head. About how they had been able to track such links, or how they had been able to analyze the fetus to begin with. “I’ll not disclose anything about our methods, beyond that they utilize an array of Magic Spells and Items.”
Still unsatisfied by the explanation, Finn decided not to push too much. It wasn’t like asking about someone’s Status or Spells was something that happened outside of one’s Familia. Glancing back towards the map, Finn and Riveria once more exchanged glances before a nod was shared between them.
“Very well… It seems we have no choice but to investigate ourselves.” Finn declared, to the shock of everyone else on his side of the table- aside from Riveria and Loki. To go off on such dubious information was…
“Can we count on your assistance in tracking this link?” Once more matching stares with Elias, both Bell and Hestia couldn’t help but feel somewhat out of place in these negotiations. A few moments of silence passed as both Spirit and Pallum maintained gaze, before Elias sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “That’s fine. I’ll go with you guys.”
Turning to face the rest of his Familia, Elias exchanged nods with Ozen and Elysia before speaking up again. “Bell, your job now is to Level Up, alright?” Exchanging fist bumps with his Master, Elias nodded towards the Faerie Queen who simply rolled her eyes dramatically, earning a snicker from Hestia.
“Right. If we’re to do this joint investigation properly, we should discuss our goals more properly.” Returning his full attention towards Finn, Elias leaned forward onto his elbows, using them to brace himself against the table, a gesture that was mimicked by Finn.
No longer able to take the tension building up between the two strategists, Hestia was the first to fold, abruptly standing up from her chair- sending the piece of furniture tumbling to the ground- and throwing both of her arms into the air. “How about we eat something?”
The declaration, as well as the opportunity to escape the oppressive aura slowly manifesting between the two men, spurred everyone into agreeing, vacating the table and leaving the two men to their discussion.
Before long, an agreement between Hestia and Loki Familia was made. Elias would accompany the Loki Familia’s party to Floor 59 to track whatever was linked to the Jewel Fetus, while the Loki Familia would provide the main fighting force.
Other, more miscellaneous, exchanges were made. Things like information about the Dungeon and, most crucially, the methods by which one could Level Up, were also exchanged.
All in all, the meeting had been quite successful for all sides, and also incredibly frustrating for both strategists due to the lack of information. Still, for now, the Hestia Familia had returned home to regroup.
More specifically, they were currently standing within Elias’ side of the workshop, once more overlooking the Summoning Circle. Given the risks they were taking by exposing themselves to this unknown enemy, it had been decided that Summoning another pair of Servants would be best.
They couldn’t Summon more too quickly, since doing so would just drain Bell too much. While he wasn’t forced to sustain their existence, the Summoning process was still quite draining for the young man, and summoning too many Servants at a time would still negatively impact him. For now, two at a time was the maximum, with a few days- or even better, weeks- in-between being the best method to ensure Bell didn’t suffer any Spiritual Injuries.
Once more incanting the words that brought forth Elysia and Ozen previously, Bell was surprised to see that this time, no large gale of wind manifested. Instead, only a soft cloud of smoke hung in the air and indicated the successful summoning.
“Servant, Assassin.” The first figure to manifest intone. Sun-kissed hair, the man’s sapphire eyes scanned the gathered crowd before him with surprising intensity. Garbed in a dark blue suit and a green flak jacket-like piece of equipment, the man appeared rather normal compared to the other Servants. “My name is Minato Namikaze, it’s nice to meet you, Master.”
Flashing Bell a kind smile, the now named Minato stepped to the side to allow his compatriot to introduce himself. This other figure was much more striking in comparison. While Minato wore ninja-like clothes, this one seemed to have come straight from a book from the Far East. Clad in monochrome clothes that hung loosely around his frame, Bell couldn’t help but wonder whether the man’s carrot-color hair was more striking than the large butcher knife-like sword hanging from his back.
A small frown etched on his face as he observed the gathered crowd, the man appeared rather young compared to the others. While Ozen and Elias were undoubtedly rather old, with Morgan and Elysia being ‘eternally youthful’, and Minato being well into his adult years, this new arrival was… young in a way that was incredibly shocking to both Bell and Hestia.
Bell was only 14 after all, so the idea that this orange haired man was only a few years older than him was… strange.
“Tch. Servant Saber, name’s Ichigo Kurosaki.” Locking gaze with Bell- causing the young albino to stiffen up a bit- Ichigo allowed his frown to turn into a grin as he approached his Master, giving him a friendly smack to the back. “Nice to meet you, Master.”
Ignoring the weirded out look he was getting from Elias, Ichigo instead turned his focus towards Hestia, another frown making its way onto his face. However, instead of appearing annoyed or angry, his gaze conveyed consternation and defeat more than anything else. “Welp, guess I’m back to taking orders from a shortstack…”
The declaration earned an indignant squawk from the Goddess Shortstack- I mean, Goddess Hestia- causing the Goddess’ pigtails to begin ominously levitating. Taking a bit too long for his survival instincts to kick in, Ichigo was caught by the collar by the indignant Hestia, her pigtails wrapping around his neck and forehead as if to try and squeeze his head like a grape.
“Wa- HOW DARE YOU! I’LL SHOW YOU SHORTSTACK!”
Minato, in a masterful display of survival instincts honed by years of marriage to the Red Hot Habanero, had quickly moved himself and Bell out of strangulation reach of Hestia, a sheepish smile making its way onto his face as he observed the Goddess Hestia attempt to strangle Ichigo using the power of her pigtails.
Sighing in exasperation, Elias decided to leave Ichigo to reap what he had sowed and instead ushered everyone back upstairs- mostly so they could claim innocence once Ichigo’s dead body resurfaced somewhere else- and proceeded to fill Minato in on the current situation.
“YOU’RE HOW OLD!?”
Freshly freed from Hestia’s strangulation efforts, Ichigo had managed to catch the tail end of Elias’ explanation, leading to both Heroic Spirits introducing themselves more properly to their Master and Goddess.
Of course, the knowledge that Ichigo was only 3 or so years older than Bell sent both Child and Goddess into a frenzy, though for two different reasons entirely. Bell, inspired by Ichigo’s declaration of being the hero of not one war, not two wars, but three wars , had insisted that the carrot haired man train him in the art of swordsmanship.
Hestia, on the other hand, was deeply conflicted by Ichigo revelation that he was technically dead- like actually dead-dead- given his ability to use his Shinigami powers without ‘leaving his body behind’.
Minato’s declaration of also being a war hero had sent Bell into an even bigger hero worship frenzy as he attempted to convince both of his Servants that teaching him their ways was a completely good idea and that nothing could go wrong with it.
Of course, not wanting to be left out, Elysia had decided to also declare that she was also a war hero! Before proceeding to cuddle Bell when he declared his intention to one day also become a hero.
All in all, the revelation that Bell had somehow obtained Magic- a Quick Cast Spell called Firebolt- had gone relatively without a fuss considering everything else.
“So, what’s the plan, bossman?” Lounging around in the newly expanded living area- such that all eight members of the Hestia Familia could comfortably sit within its boundary- Elysia addressed Elias, the only one who seemed to have a proper plan so to say. Then again, Ozen seemed to have her own ideas, and Ichigo and Minato had just arrived and so had no time to actually make plans.
The less said about Morgan and her plans, the better.
“Well, like I said, I’ll join Loki Familia on their expedition towards Flour Fifty Nine…” Glancing towards Ozen, who was busy jolting down a few notes on a piece of paper, Elias shouldered forward. “Ozen wants to establish a more permanent camp on Flour Thirteen, and Bell still needs to Level Up. Maybe getting him a Supporter would be a good idea?”
While, in theory, any of the Servants could act as a Supporter for Bell, the learning curve to do so was relatively high. It wasn’t like the Grail provided them with any knowledge of where a Monster’s Magic Crystal was, so they would need to either learn through trial and error or actually find a book detailing the information.
No, finding a proper Supporter was a much better use of their time.
“A camp, huh? Sounds fun.” Inserting his two cents into the conversation, Ichigo seemed quite thrilled at the idea of exploring the dungeon- something about it resembling a video game.
A few more ideas were exchanged before a proper plan was put forth.
While Elias would be down into the depths with the Loki Familia, Elysia, Minato, and Morgan would go to Floor 24 to track the other link found by the Jewel Fetus. Ozen and Ichigo would establish a camp on Floor 13, and Bell was to find himself a Supporter to try and Level Up.
It was sad to say, but none of the Servants could accompany him on this journey. No, it was better to say that, if they were to accompany him, he would never Level Up since the inherent safety of a Servant watching over him would nullify any achievement he could make.
It was the double edged sword of having so many Servants. Their inherent presence made the Upper Floors much too safe, even if they were to do nothing and leave all the fighting to Bell, the simple fact of the matter was that they would always be able to easily dispatch anything that appeared, and would do so the moment Bell’s life was in danger.
So, despite Hestia’s protests, it was decided that Bell would Adventure on his own until he could Level Up. Only Minato’s assurance that he could instantly teleport to Bell’s location if anything bad were to happen managed to assuage the Goddess of the Hearth’s fears, and even then, let it not be said that the Goddess went down without fighting.
Regardless, as morning rose, Hestia Familia shared one last breakfast before everyone split into groups and headed towards their destination.
Notes:
So, Ichigo and Minato show up finally! I hope their appearances were cool enough. Of course, Ichigo is forever fated to be victimized by small black haired girls, such is Fate
╮(￣▽￣"")╭As for the splitting up, I think it's a good idea because having such a large cast all at the same place makes conversations a bit hard to follow and write (for me anyways), so splitting them up gives them enough screen time and doesn't make things cramp. I hope.
Anyhow, what should next chapter be? Should it be Minato, Elysia, and Morgan going to Floor 24? Or Ichigo and Ozen camping out on Floor 13?
Or maybe we should get a Bell Centric Chapter and finally introduce Lily and Welf!
Unsure, but I'm open to comments and suggestions!
Chapter 10: Rising Rabbit
Summary:
Lucky Rabbit Rises Through The Ranks!
------
In which Destinies are tied, and Obstacles overcomed
Notes:
So! Chapter 8! Boy does time fly fast when you aren't looking (ᵕ—ᗜ—)
Regardless, here is Chapter 8! A Bell-Centric Chapter with a bit more Plot happening!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Left to his own devices now that his Servants had all split up, Bell was unsure what to do exactly. Not because he had no ideas on what to do, but rather, because he had too many ideas.
Should he go down into the Dungeon on his own? No, that would only get him chewed out. Maybe he should just wander around in search of a Party? Was this how this worked? Probably not…
Before he could spiral, Bell decided to just go see Miss Eina, she always knew what to do when it came to the Dungeon!
“Miss Eina!” Calling out to his advisor as he entered the Guild Hall, Bell was surprised to see that the Half-Elf was actually busy lecturing someone. Not that her being busy was surprising in and of itself, but rather, the fact that she was lecturing someone that wasn’t him.
Approaching the trio to try and catch a glimpse of who they were, Bell was surprised to see that Eina was busy lecturing a duo of girls. One of them was a pink haired human, while the other was a blonde elf girl. While the human looked to be around his age, the elf seemed… young. Enough so that he would have thought she was a Pallum, if not for her pointed ears.
Hearing his voice, Eina looked up and spotted him, a smile forming on her face as she gestured for him to approach. “Bell! Just in time!”
Confused by Eina’s statement, but unwilling to leave her hanging, Bell approached the trio of girls, getting a closer look at both girls while he was at it. “What is it, Miss Eina?”
“Well, you see, these girls were looking to join a Familia and, well…” Starting out confident in herself, Eina seemed to realize just what she was asking him to do, not that Bell was against it. Turning his attention towards the two girls, Bell felt a sheepish smile form on his features as he took in their appearance properly.
“Erm, I’ll have to ask my Goddess about it… Not that I think she’ll be against it!” Trying to reassure the two girls, especially the young elf who seemed dejected by the almost-rejection, Bell threw his advisor a pleading look asking for help.
Deciding to take pity on her charge since she was the source of his present trouble, Eina gave both girls a professional, if quite kind, smile. “Well, why don’t you two introduce yourselves?”
Exchanging glances, the two girls seemed to wordlessly debate who would go first, though given her shy fidgeting, it was clear that the young elf felt quite self-conscious to have so many eyes on her. Deciding to break the ice, the pink haired human was the first to speak up.
“Hi! I’m Emma Flores, it’s nice to meet you…” Trailing off at the end and gesturing for the elf to introduce herself, the newly introduced Emma punctuated her introduction by giving Bell a smile.
“H-Hello, I’m Primo Libera, it’s nice to meet you too…” Seeing as she had no other excuses not to introduce herself, the elf- Primo- decided to bite the bullet and introduce herself, her fidgeting increasing a bit as she played with the end of her dress.
Flushing a bit at Emma’s charming smile, Bell returned to reality when Eina gave his ribs an amused poke, causing him to stiffen up a bit, especially when Emma herself seemed to become shy and self-conscious given his gaze.
“I- I’m sorry!” Quickly apologizing, perhaps too loudly since his shout drew some attention from the surrounding crowd, Bell quickly introduced himself. “I- I’m Bell Cranel, Adventurer of the Hestia Familia, it’s nice to meet you both!” Punctuating his introduction with a bow, he didn’t miss the raised eyebrow both girls gave at the mention of the ‘Hestia Familia’.
Not that he was surprised, Hestia Familia was still quite new after all, so their confusion at the name was normal.
Clapping her hands to draw their attention over to her, Eina gave a content smile as her little plan seemed to bear fruits. “Well! Now that you’re all introduced, maybe you could ask your Goddess if she’d be willing to take them in?”
Not that Eina thought the Goddess Hestia would be against the two girls joining her Familia. After all, part of the reason Eina had asked Bell to introduce them to the Goddess was because said Goddess had made it known that she was contemplating advertising that they were looking for more Adventurers.
Nodding quickly, Bell turned to Emma and Primo, exchanging a few words with them before the trio made their way back to the Hestia Familia Home which, he though absentmindedly, still needed a name…
Nope, no ideas, maybe one of his Servants would have an idea?
“Annnnnnd- Done!” Smiling proudly as she admired her handiwork, Hestia felt quite smug as she watched her two new Children observe their newly granted Status. Doubly so when each one noticed something incredible about their Status.
Emma had, somehow, been granted a Skill called [Rein Amur] , while Primo had acquired a Magic Spell called [Lumine Pleiades] . Granted, nobody seemed to know what exactly Emma’s Skill did, and their only two Magic Casters were down in the depths of the Dungeon so nobody could really help Primo beyond the basics… But still!
“I- I knew it! I really am a genius Magic Caster!” Primo exclaimed as she reread her Status for the nth time already, her gaze locked on her singular Spell and its incantation, committing it to memory.
“Ahhh~ That’s too bad, no Magic for me.” Not at all bothered by her lack of Magic, Emma was instead trying to decipher just what her Skill could do. It wasn’t like ‘ Causes a Rhapsodia among those with the same falna ’ meant much.
What even was a ‘Rhapsodia’ anyways!?
“Maaa~ You should make sure to memorize your Incantation, alright Primo?” Hestia said, still feeling quite smug with herself. After all, not only had she acquired two more Children, but they were both exceptional! And cute too! “And don’t think too much about it Emma, Skills like that are always a mystery, but that’s what makes them fun to try and understand!”
“”Right!”” Both Emma and Primo replied in stereo, nodding towards their new Goddess with wide smiles.
Bell, for his part, also felt quite happy to have new Familia Members. Sure, summoning new Servants was always fun- they were Heroes after all- but there was something comforting about having real flesh and blood humans around.
“You can ask Elias and Morgan for help when they get back, alright Primo?” Giving the elf child a pat, both Hestia and Bell couldn’t help but wonder whether or not Morgan’s seeming disdain for Elves would carry towards Primo or not. Hopefully not…
“A-ah, so I’m not the only one with Magic?” Feeling a bit dejected at the news, especially when Hestia seemed to ponder the statement a bit before replying with a ( “erm, I think everyone has Magic, actually… Except Ozen.” ). Pouting a bit, Primo resolved to redouble her efforts in memorizing her sole Incantation.
“Ah- Speaking of, where are the other members of our Familia, Goddess?” Feeling a bit inquisitive, especially since now seemed like the time to gather information about their new Familia, Emma couldn’t help but feel curious about the mention of a ‘Morgan’ and ‘Elias’.
“Oh! Right, we should fill you in, shouldn’t we?” Exchanging looks with Bell, who seemed just as lost as her, Hestia decided to take the lead here- totally not because she wanted to look like a responsible and cool Goddess, no siree!
“We actually have six more Familia Members, but they’re all in the Dungeon right now.” Making a mental tally to make sure she was getting everyone, Hestia decided that letting her new Children know about their current objectives would be fine. They seemed like trustworthy girls after all! “Elysia, Morgan, and Minato are on Floor Twenty Four doing some investigating, Ozen and Ichigo are on Floor Thirteen doing… something.” Once more exchanging glances with Bell to try and see whether he knew what ‘establishing a camp’ meant for Ozen, Hestia was rewarded by a confused shrug from Bell, causing her to sight a bit. “Err- okay, and Elias is preparing to go down to Floor Fifty Nine with the Loki Familia-”
Before she could finish her sentence, Primo suddenly surged forth, excitement gleaming within her eyes at the mention of the Loki Familia.
“Y- You mean he gets to adventure with Lady Riveria!?” Awe and amazement oozed from Primo’s form at the idea of meeting the Elven Queen, not that either Bell or Hestia could blame her given that most elves within Orario seemed to hold Riveria in high regards… probably too much actually given how some seemed to literally worship the ground she walked upon…
“T-That’s right, err-” Glancing over to Emma to try and gauge her reaction to all of this, Hestia was greeted by a shocked look from her third- Human- Child. To think that their little Familia had ties to such a famous one was… Wow. “Anyways! You Children should get ready to delve, right?”
Deciding to get things back on track, Hestia clapped her hands to get the discussion back on track. “Since Ozen and Ichigo are going to be on Floor Thirteen for the next while, maybe you guys should try and reach them?”
It made sense, if Ozen was actually serious about her intention of creating a permanent camp on Floor 13, then reaching them would be good practice for everyone else involved. To say nothing of the fact that, despite Floor 13 being the beginning of the Middle Floors, the presence of two Servants nearby would greatly reassure Hestia.
“But be sure not to go too quickly, alright!?” Punctuating her declaration with a pointed stare towards Bell, since her first Child had been itching to try and perform his ‘Great Feat’ to Level Up, Hestia had no doubts that he would do something dumb.
“””Right!””” Nodding, the trio of Adventurers scampered out of the building to go and get the two girls their starting equipment- until Elias could return and make them actual equipment- and introduce them to the Dungeon proper.
This left Hestia woefully alone, but with work to do. Having quit her previous job as a Jagamarukun Saleswoman, seeing as Elias was apparently rich- or could make money so easily that it didn’t exactly matter- Hestia felt that her time could be better spent doing actual work for the Familia instead of selling potato puffs.
Such as creating an emblem for her Familia! Since they were growing and making a name for themselves, an official emblem was paramount! So, taking one of Elias’ expensive-looking pens and a bundle of papers, the Goddess of the Hearth began earnestly putting her artistic skills to the test.
She was, after all, a Goddess of Architecture! How hard could creating a simple emblem be, right?
“ Dazzling stars crossing the jet-black sky. Listen to my immature prayer, guide the flash- Come, shine of tears, defeat the filthy!- [Lumione Pleiades] ” Reciting her chant and readying her staff, Primo still felt nothing but awe as she watched her Magic come into existence.
Despite having done this for a few days already, seeing the seven rays of light emerging from her staff before traveling towards a group of nearby goblins, the light ramming into them and obliterating them, was still amazing to her.
“Waaaa- Magic is so cool…” Pouting a bit at her own lack of Magic, Emma nonetheless followed after Primo, her twin swords ready to disembowel any monster that got too close.
“Yeah, Magic really is amazing…” Feeling a bit sheepish at how easily they were blazing through the first few floors, Bell couldn’t help but feel a bit strange as he helped guide his new Family Members throughout the first five floors of the Dungeon.
For once, he was the more experienced one and suddenly, he couldn’t help but feel like a massive amount of pressure was being forced upon his shoulder. Expectations and Responsibilities. Emma and Primos’ safeties were his responsibilities right now, as the most experienced Adventurer currently present.
Was this how his Servants felt when they had accompanied him into the Dungeon? Probably. It was a strange feeling, oppressive in certain ways, but also rewarding whenever Emma or Primo jumped from joy from whatever accomplishment they had done.
“▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!”
Then, unexpectedly, an ungodly roar permeated throughout the cavernous walls of the 5th Floor, causing all three Adventurers to freeze in shock.
While neither Primo nor Emma knew what kind of monster created such a roar, Bell was quite aware of the monster. But for it to be this loud-
“Duck!” Instincts screaming at him, Bell shot towards Emma, his knife already drawn as he deflected a blow from a massive black blade. Despite his small frame- compared to whoever was assaulting them- Bell’s Status allowed him to just barely deflect the blow.
“R-RUN!” Screaming at his two companions to try and shake them out of their stupor, Bell turned his full attention towards his current opponent. This opponent, he couldn’t afford to give it anything but his full attention-
“F-FIREBOLT!” Extending one arm to the side and releasing his Quick Cast Spell to intercept a goblin who had tried to get to Primo, Bell felt his ribs crack as the minotaur slammed its empty arm into his side, sending him flying against the wall.
Finally snapped out of their stupor, both Emma and Primo hesitated only slightly before heeding his words and running away back towards the surface to try and get help.
Extracting himself from the wall he had slammed into, Bell grit his teeth as he prepared to use all the experience and skills- quite literally in some cases- beaten into him over the past few weeks of his Adventurer’s Journey.
“RAAAA!” Letting out his own roar as the minotaur once more howled, Bell ran towards the creature with his knife drawn, ready to overcome his first roadblock on his path to becoming a hero.
As both Emma and Primo ran towards the surface, both girls couldn’t help but feel like they were leaving Bell to die. A minotaur wasn’t something a Level 1 Adventurer could kill, not on his own anyways-
But Emma and Primo had only been Adventurers for a few days, with neither possessing a Stat above the I range. Logically they knew that staying to help Bell would only hamper him, but the emotional side of their brain still told them that they had left him to die-
“ [Zoltraak!] ” Before they could spiral, both Primo and Emma were surprised to see an arrow of light pass by them and impact a hidden goblin that had- unbeknownst to them- been waiting to perform a sneak attack on them.
Turning to the source of the attack, they were surprised to see an eccentrically dressed man, wielding a cane of all things, run towards them. In turn, two other figures were running after him- two figures that even newbie Adventurers would easily recognize-
“The Sword Princess and the Thousand Elf-” Relief flooded her mind as Emma gazed towards the Level 6 and Level 4 Adventurers of the Loki Familia, both of which looked surprised to see another pair of Adventurers still here in the depths. “You have to help us! Our-”
“No time for this! You two, stick close! Lefiya, Aiz, keep up or eat my dust!” Hoisting both Emma and Primo onto his shoulders, the red haired man took off with surprising speed towards the direction both girls had been running from, as if he knew just where both girls were hoping to direct help to. “You girls are new, huh? I’m Elias!” Glancing back towards the two girls he was carrying, Elias’ gaze briefly flitted towards a nearby wall, a glare escaping him as if the wall- or perhaps something behind it- had personally affronted him. However, before either girls could question him, he simply returned his gaze forward towards his destination.
Blinking a bit as the name resonated in their minds, Primo was the first to recognize it. “Y- You’re one of the Magic Casters in our Familia!”
“Yep! Now hold on! I’m sure Bell is doing something dumb!”
While both Primo and Emma were trying to steer Elias, Lefiya, and Aiz towards his location, Bell was busy fighting for his life.
Already he had taken more than a few blows, such that his armor and clothes were in tatters. While he had avoided taking any blows to the legs, the same couldn’t be said for his upper body.
The chestplate had done its job and had saved him from taking a horn to the gut- in the process fragmenting and taking his shirt with it- but his left arm had been almost carved open by the minotaur’s sword-
“FIREBOLT!” Relying upon his Fire Magic to give himself time to think, Bell mentally ran through everything Ozen and Elysia had taught him during their bootcamp from Hell-
Stay low- Use blind spot- Fight dirty-
Each and every lesson they had imparted to him was being used in a bid to survive this overwhelming opponent-
Jumping over a low swing before catching the minotaur’s horns using his foot to use as an anchor, Bell plunged his knife deep into the minotaur’s face, taking with it one of its eyes and carving off its horn- and the left side of its face- but missing the brain by a few millimeters-
Gritting his teeth as he jumped off the minotaur before it could try and grab him, he was slightly too slow to avoid being clipped by the oversized sword-
“RAAAAAAAAAA!” Taking a large slash to the chest, not deep enough to kill him, but enough to properly rip through his right ribs, Bell nonetheless launched his own counterattack, his knife finding purchase within the minotaur’s wrist as he twisted -
“FIREBOLT!” Recalling Elias’ words about how the knife was a perfect conductor of both lightning and fire, Bell used the knife as a conduit through which he called upon his fire, fully destroying the minotaur’s arm as flames bursted throughout its surface, causing the monster to howl once more.
Rolling away from an overhead smash, Bell grabbed onto the oversized weapon used by the minotaur previously- disarmed as it was by his destruction of its arm- using the weapon’s larger weight to more evenly match the creature-
“RAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” Another roar of exertion left him as he clashed with the minotaur, this time its horn, as the creature attempted to skewer him proper, his lithe frame blessed by the Goddess Hestia coming into contention against the Level 2 minotaur-
The subtle crackling of metal was all the warning he had to brace himself as the sword broke into fragments from the repeated assault against it, forcing Bell to use his remaining good arm to twist away from the minotaur’s horn, but still leaving himself open to a headbutt-
“FIREBOLT!” Plunging his knife deep into the minotaur’s back and pulling it towards himself, Bell launched a flurry of Firebolts into the bovine monster’s back, causing its form to bulge slightly as the magic ran its course throughout its insides-
“FIREBOLT!FIREBOLT!FIREBOLT!” Again and again, holding on for dear life to the minotaur’s neck using his legs and putting all of his strength into his knife, Bell repeatedly called upon his Magic until-
“...Wow, you actually did it-” A plume of smoke erupted before him, blocking his vision and causing him to lose altitude before something caught him. Glancing up, eyes half-glazed from exhaustion of both mind and body, Bell could barely make out the blazing red hair of the man holding onto him.
And then, everything went dark.
“...Good lord, this kid.” Had his hands been empty, Elias would have surely pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation, but as it were, he simply settled for a sigh of found annoyance. Turning to face their impromptu audience, of which most were obviously shocked by the display put on by Bell, the one whose reaction caused him to pause was Aiz. “...Sword Princess?”
Aiz’s hawk-like gaze which followed Bell’s body around as he carried it made Elias somewhat nervous for the boy’s future… before deciding that the boy could handle it. Probably. Hopefully.
If not, Morgan would step in…
Okay, that might be even worse, but at this point, he wasn’t sure what to do.
“...I’ll just get him and the girls back to Goddess Hestia. I’ll join you two back at the Twilight Manor.” Not even bothering to wait for either Aiz or Lefiya to reply, Elias swiftly took both Emma and Primo back towards the surface, making use of Magic to get them all back to Hestia in record speed.
“...That- Miss Aiz-” Her gaze trailing behind as Elias left, Lefiya seemed unsure of herself as she tried to decide whether or not she should run after Elias- as futile a notion as that was- or wait for Aiz to return to herself. However, the choice was taken out of her hands when Aiz suddenly straightened up, turning to face Lefiya with an empty look on her face.
“...Is it possible to have SS-Ranked Stats?”
“Mouuuuu! This boy, I swear…” Sighing in annoyance as she awaited Bell’s awakening, the Goddess Hestia allowed her gaze to turn towards her two newest Children, both of which seemed both repentant and saddened by their behavior.
Both girls had quickly filled her in on what had transpired before Elias and Loki’s two Children had stumbled upon Bell’s confrontation against a minotaur of all things. The fact that her first Child had actually managed to overcome such an obstacle filled her with joy, but the fact that he had actually been forced to confront such a creature filled her with untold anxiety.
Given his current mandate, Elias had quickly left after making sure none of Bell’s injuries were too severe, using a mixture of Potions and Healing Magic to ensure that Bell would awaken soon from his adventure. But for now, Hestia was left with one unconscious boy and two fidgeting girls.
“Haaaaa~ Don’t be too hard on yourselves, girls. You did the right thing.” Bringing the two girls into an embrace, the Goddess of the Hearth attempted to comfort the two girls as they wrestled with the consequence of their actions- good as they were. “If you hadn’t run into Elias and those Loki Familia Adventurers, who knows what could’ve happened to you guys after Bell won…”
The thought that, had they stayed to try and help Bell, they might still be within the bowels of the Dungeon trying to bring the injured boy back to the surface made them shiver. Or maybe they would’ve simply gotten in his way and all been killed before anyone could arrive to help them…
“All that’s left is for you children to grow stronger. Responsibly that is.” Tightening her embrace, Hestia was happy to see that both Emma and Primo seemed to take her words to heart, determination flashing through their eyes- especially when Bell groaned, his eyelids twitching a bit as he started to awaken. “But for now…”
Turning her gaze towards her first Child, malevolent intentions written on her face, Hestia would have to make sure her wayward Child would not run straight into another fight he couldn’t win! Or at least, if he did, he wouldn’t come back unconscious and require so much medical attention!
As if sensing the impending lecture about to be wrought upon him, Bell began uncontrollably shivering as his survival instincts kicked into high gear. Unfortunately, nothing could save him now, not even his wife-
Actually, scratch that, his wife would just make this discussion even more hazardous. Assuming she didn’t march her way back to the surface just to scold him…
“Ahhhh~ Good work Ottar!” From atop her seat of power within the Tower of Babel, the Goddess Freya felt ecstatic as she gazed upon her Ord overcoming his first ‘demon’ from the Dungeon. Of course, killing a minotaur was nothing in the grand scheme of things, but for a Level 1 to do so-
It was a wonderful feeling. One that filled the Goddess of Love with even more desire for her Ord. Yes…
“And you weren’t seen, right?” Receiving a nod from Ottar, Freya felt confident that her little crime had gone unnoticed, and all the better too! Not only had her Ord grown stronger, overcome the first of his obstacles on his Heroic Journey, but he had done so with spectacular prowess!
Now, if only she could find the source of this ominous feeling gazing upon her, that would be wonderful…
Notes:
So, Emma Flores and Primo Libera appear to the stage! If you don't know who they are, they both come from the now discontinued Danmachi Gacha Game, Danmemo, so have fun looking at their pictures and artwork!
Bell receives his promised Level Up- after a lecture from Hestia (and a potential one from Morgan whenever she returns), and Freya continues to plot.
Next Chapter will be either the Camping Chapter with Ichigo and Ozen, or the Investigation on Floor 24 with Morgan, Elysia, and Minato!
I also hate whoever proposed having Arlecchino as Lancer, becuase it makes too much sense and now I can't get it out of my head. So, unless another better idea appears, I guess the Father of the House of the Hearth will be joining the Familia of the Goddess of the Hearth and will help Hestia take care of orphans (;°̦́Д°̦̀)
Anyways, let me know what should happen next chapter, Camping Time or Floor 24 Investigation? And, of course, if you have ideas for the other Servants!
Oh yeah, also, ideas for the Hestia Familia Emblem! Should it stay the Canon one, or should I make something else entirely?
Chapter 11: Remnants of Evil
Summary:
In which the remnants of Evil are purged by Heroes.
Notes:
So! Chapter 9! Took a bit of a break to celebrate New Year (also saw Sonic 3, so that's cool). After some consideration, I decided that it would be cooler if the Camping Chapter was Chapter 10, so here we go! Floor 24 Investigation today!
Again, I absolutely suck at writing combat scenes, so forgive the weird fighting scenes!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Soon after Bell, Emma, and Primo begin Dungeon Delving
While Bell was busy undertaking his Solo Journey, Minato, Morgan, and Elysia were busy making their way down to the 24th Floor.
They had initially traveled with Ichigo and Ozen before the duo stayed behind on the 13th Floor to begin establishing Ozen’s little project.
As such, with Morgan in the lead- being that she was the one tracking their target- the trio traveled towards the 24th Floor with surprising speed. It wasn’t so much that no other Familia could travel at such speeds within the Dungeon, but the fact that it was being done by three people. No, rather, the fact that it was being done by three people who were deliberately killing monsters on their way down towards their destination.
Unlike most parties who would avoid confrontations as much as possible, it had been decided to allow both Elysia and Minato an opportunity to- for lack of a better term- ‘stretch their limbs’ and prepare for whatever awaited them at their destination. As such, while they did not inherently seek out conflict, they also did not shy away from it. It also helped that Minato could easily store any Drop Item or Magic Stone that they acquired using one of his [Sealing Scrolls] .
“...So this is the Dungeon, huh?” Glancing around the Dungeon’s corridors as they ran through, Minato couldn’t help but be somewhat amazed with what he was seeing. To think that this structure was naturally occurring was… strange. Then again, for all anyone knew, the Dungeon was the creation of some yet-unknown entity… That, or the Gods hadn’t been fully honest about its origins. “It’s definitely something.”
Soon enough, the trio arrived on the 24th Floor, only to see something interesting. A bunch of cloaked individuals all meandering around, trying to find something.
While that in and of itself wasn’t that strange, while individuals wearing full cloaks weren’t exactly common in the Dungeon they also weren’t a once in a blue moon occurrence, the fact that these people were obviously searching for something definitely raised a few flags.
Exchanging a look, Minato- being of the Assassin Class and a Kage-level Shinobi- elected to approach the group and see what they were doing. While it could be nothing, his Shinobi Instincts were definitively telling him that something was up. Whether these individuals were Hybrids like that Revis woman, or also investigating the Violas, was still up for grabs though.
“Asfi, are you sure we’re not in over our heads right now?” Lulune asked her captain. Despite the debacle on the 18th Floor, the Chienthrope was still willing to engage in whatever sketchy business her God and Captain were investigating regarding those weird fetus things. Of course, just because she was willing to investigate this, did not mean that she was willing to just throw herself into a meat grinder for a chance at answers.
Asfi, adjusting her glasses, sighed a bit. The fact that the previous Jewel Fetus hadn’t been recovered was a bit of a bummer, though the fact that the perpetrator behind the attack on Rivira had been killed was a good thing. Still, the quest they had been given by that mysterious cloaked individual had been…
“It’s not like we have a choice in the matter-” Sending Lulune a glare over her glasses, Asfi couldn’t help but somewhat resent the young Chienthrope for being the reason they had been pushed- read, blackmailed- to accept this quest. Not that she could fault the girl, but really… “Still, we’re a team of Level 2s and 3s, we should be fine.” This was excluding her own Level 4 Status.
Stiffening up a bit at her Captain’s glare, Lulune sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck at the mention of her loose lips. Looking around at the assembled party, something about the power displayed by the red haired woman during her attack on the 18th Floor made Lulune nervous…
“Look over there!” One of their vanguard, Pock, exclaimed as he pointed towards a valley carved within the 24th Floor’s layout. Attracting the attention of the rest of the party, no one was sure what to do as they gazed upon the hundreds of monsters currently walking in conga lines towards a single direction. Was this the result of one of those fetus things hatching? “Wait! Are those people down there!?”
This time, it was Meryl who spoke up, pointing towards a pair of figures desperately trying to stave off the inevitable. The Magic Caster could only make out two figures, though who knew how many others had been swept up in the carnage…
“...There’s nothing we can do.” Asfi stated firmly as she gazed upon the two Adventurers desperately attempting to extend their lives by even a few more seconds. As it were, even if their party hadn’t already fought its way down from the 18th Floor, there was no way they could fight off this many monsters while also saving those two. Even if they could, by they time they actually got to them, there was no way they would still be alive.
Gritting her teeth as she watched what were surely the final moments of these people’s lives, Asfi resolved to find any identifying marks she could from them to bring up to the Guild. She might not be able to save them today, but their friends and families on the surface would get closure…
“!”
However, to the surprise of everyone watching, someone did act. Only the Level 4 Asfi was able to make out the figure that jumped over them, and even she was only able to catch the briefest of glimpse-
“Wait! It’s too dangerous-!” Reaching a hand out towards the yellow flash that moved downward into the valley with blistering speed, Asfi couldn’t help but wonder if this would be another body to collect after the stampede was over. Another person who believed themselves invincible, or simply thought they could perform heroics beyond them-
“Huh-”
But, unlike what she had initially thought, what followed wasn’t the creation of a new corpse, but instead a flurry of yellow flashes which rapidly covered the entirety of the valley below. It happened so quickly that even Asfi, as a Level 4 of considerable skills, couldn’t fully keep up with what she was seeing.
In the blink of an eye, the agglomeration of monsters was turned to ashes by something-
“Woo! I guess that’s one way to shake off the rust!”
Whirling around towards the source of the noise, the Hermes Familia was greeted with nothing but questions. Carrying the two Adventurers they had seen fighting for their lives down below a scant few moments prior, man stood proudly. Sporting sun-kissed hair and sapphire eyes, the individual seemed completely ignorant of just how impossible what he had just done was-
“Pouuu~ You didn’t even leave any for us, Minato!” Then, emerging from the treeline, another two figures- women this time- made their way over the now identified Minato who simply gave a sheepish shrug as he allowed the two Adventurers he had just saved to get back on their feet. “Ahhh~ I guess it’s not too bad if you saved those two cuties!”
The speaker, a pink haired elf woman, was followed by a pale haired woman emanating an imperial aura that made even Asfi, a member of royalty, feel inadequate. It, however, didn’t take long for her to recognize the woman- Hermes had, after all, been going on and on about her and her husband-
“You- Hestia Familia? How-?” Flabbergasted by the sight before her, Asfi couldn’t stop the words from escaping her as she tried to unravel the mystery before her. The man- Minato- did… something that caused a flurry of yellow flashes and saved the two Adventurers from before. Was it a Spell? A Skill? Or perhaps a Magic Item? So many questions-
And yet, through all the questions about Minato, something else puzzled Asfi above anything else. Wasn’t Hestia Familia new? As in, weren’t all their members Level 1?
“Yep yep! That’s us!” Full of energy as always, the pink haired elf- Elysia- pumped one fist towards the sky, using her other hand to give Asfi a peace sign. “Soooo~ Are you guys also here about the fetus thing?”
“Ha- Wa-” Once again caught off guard, Asfi turned towards her colleagues for backup, only to find them just as puzzled as she was. “How do you-”
“Oh, don’t worry. Elias told us about you guys!”
At the mention of this ‘Elias’, Lulune let a cry of surprise as she returned to reality-
“Y- You mean that weird guy from the 18th Floor!? H- He’s with you!? I- Is that Immovable woman also here!?” Frantically looking around, as if some evil creature was just waiting to perform a sneak attack upon her, Lulune’s actions only caused the rest of the Hermes Familia to become even more confused. Aside from Asfi that is, who now remembered the report Lulune had made about the 18th Floor-
“Then-” Turning to look at the trio again, Asfi couldn’t help but wonder just how all of this was possible. A group of Level 1s- assuming they actually were Level 1 and weren’t just lying about their Levels like Hermes Familia was- had somehow dealt with the assault on Floor 18, but had somehow made their way to Floor 24 on their own.
“...Did someone send you here?” Or perhaps, Asfi thought, they were the ones who had issued the quest in the first place.
Shaking her head, Elysia instead gestured towards Morgan with said woman being currently busy doing… something, an array of Magic Circles orbiting her form as she gazed around. “Nope! Morgan here examined the Jewel Fetus and it led us here!”
At a complete loss for word, Asfi debated just ignoring the Hestia Familia, before deciding that ignoring such powerful combatants- assuming Minato wasn’t the only outlier- was foolish.
Watching as the two Adventurers were given two Potions by Minato and then told to return to the surface before their luck ran out, Asfi came to a decision.
“...Would you like to accompany us, then?”
At Asfi’s question, both Minato and Elysia turned to look at Morgan for her opinion, only to get a shrug in return, prompting the duo to agree to Asfi’s proposal.
A few minutes were spent reworking their formation now that they had backup- unwitting as it was- before they descended into the now empty valley, the same one Minato had previously emptied out to save those two Adventurers.
The party traveled in silence before, to the surprise of both Lulune and Morgan, they were met with a dead end.
“Huh!? B- But that’s impossible!” Retrieving a map from her pack, Lulune quickly double checked something before speaking up again. “Yeah! Th- This path should lead straight to the Pantry, so why…”
Surprised, but still silent, Morgan approached the wall before placing a hand upon it.
“I see. This wall is abnormal.” Speaking up for the first time since they had met up with the Hermes Familia, Morgan made her declaration with such confidence that none dared to imply she was wrong. “Our only option is to push forward.”
“But wait! There are-” Lulune, double checking her map, attempted to find another path towards the Pantry, only to be cut off by Morgan.
“Don’t bother. The concentration of monsters here suggests that those paths have also been blocked.” The Faerie Queen explained, omitting the fact that she had used her Magic to trace the path of the roots currently blocking their path. The wall was made up of roots, the same roots that made up the Jewel Fetus she had analyzed, and they all returned to a singular location in the middle of the Pantry. “You need not accompany us inside, but, should you remain here. We cannot guarantee your safety.”
Glancing over to Minato, the Fourth Hokage had already pulled out a few slips of papers- Explosive Tags- before applying them to the wall. “Everyone, take a few steps back please.”
Once everyone had taken a few steps away from the wall, the Hermes Familia watched as Minato performed some manner of hand sign, before the tags started releasing smoke and-
BOOOOOM!!
With violent ease, the wall was brutally demolished, leaving only a hole that showed that, indeed, this wall was completely abnormal.
“Hmph. Let us move forward then.” Ignoring the stunned Hermes Familia, Morgan fearlessly led the way into the unknown, followed by both Elysia and Minato.
Left to their own devices, the Hermes Familia Adventurers turned to look towards their Captain for orders, only to be met with nothing but uncertainty. Asfi, usually so quick to make decisions due to her experience as a tactician and commander, was stuck with indecisiveness. What to do now…
“...No, it’s too dangerous. We should try to find another way in.” Asfi turned her back towards the hole created by Minato, instead beginning to order her Familia to begin scouting the surrounding area for any traces of an entrance or of people.
Having left the Hermes Familia behind, the trio of Heroic Spirits traveled silently throughout the strange paths before them. Unlike the rest of Floor 24 which appeared to be a mountainous region, the paths they were traveling down were made of the same vines that had previously prevented their advance.
They had run into a few forks, but as Morgan was tracking the Jewel Fetus in the middle with unerring accuracy, they had yet to run into any dead ends. Of course, a few Violas had appeared to try and impede their progress, only to be mercilessly slaughtered by the trio.
Morgan’s Axe-Staff, Elysia’s Arrows, and Minato’s Kunais were all that were necessary to carve a path of violence towards their goal.
Before long, they had reached it- The Center of the Pantry. Bathed in crimson light originating from the pillar in the middle, the Pantry had been fully converted into some manner of feeding ground for the fetus. Vines covered the whole of the room, as did a myriad of man-made equipment all devised to allow one to live in the depths of the Dungeon.
“Oh Gods! Bless this foolish Soul!” A shout came from above them, quickly followed by many others that echoed the same sentiment. Looking up, the trio of Heroic Spirits were surprised to see a plethora of cloaked cultists running and jumping towards them-
“It’s a kamikaze attack!” Minato, who had seen such tactics used during the Third Shinobi World War, was the first to react. Throwing kunais towards the explosives strapped to the bodies of those zealots, he forcefully detonated them before they could reach them-
Explosions rang out around the room as Elysia unleashed a volley of arrows, detonating even more of the kamikaze before they could even approach the trio, with each detonation resulting in even more as each explosive set off a chain reaction.
The weapon they had planned to use to delay their enemy had turned into a detriment as each Heroic Spirit forcefully detonated the explosives before the wearer could make distance between themselves and their comrade. Essentially, the trio of Heroic Spirits were taking advantage of the fact that every cultist was wearing what amounted to an explosive vest, using them to start daisy chains within their ranks and thinning their numbers without much effort on their part.
“Release the Violas!”
With the order given, the previously captive Violas were released to join into the fray, not that they did much beyond cause friendly fire. Despite being ostensibly on the same side, the Violas didn’t seem to differentiate between friends or foes, leading to them attacking the other kamikaze just as often as they tried to attack the Heroic Spirits.
And yet, despite their addition to the frontline, the Heroic Spirits were still quickly thinning their numbers.
“Tch, this is-!” From the back, a man wearing a skull-like mask grit his teeth as he watched both his Violas and the remnants of Evilus being mowed down like grass. To think that these individuals were so strong-
“So, this is where you were hiding.” A voice, cold and lacking in its usual warmth, spoke before a knife pierced through Olivas’ heart, causing the Creature’s eyes to widen as he tried to turn to face his attacker.
Coughing up some blood, Olivas gritted his teeth as he roughly turned to face his attacker, arms raised to slam down towards whoever had dared to attack him. Only, before he could even react, something else struck him-
“ [Rasengan] ” Almost like a whisper, it was the last thing Olivas heard before he died- properly this time- as the blue orb of chaotic energy slammed into his chest, destroying both Olivas’ ribs and the Magic Stone in his chest.
And yet, despite having killed the supposed leader of this suicidal cult, Minato didn’t even wait for Olivas’ body to hit the ground before once more vanishing into a flash of yellow light, returning to the battle to aid his two companions.
Not that either Morgan or Elysia needed the help, but the faster they finished here, the faster they could get back to the surface.
Soon after Minato killed Olivas
While part of their party was busy investigating their surroundings, Asfi was busy pouring over the information they had about the Violas. According to Lulune, the plant-like monsters had a similar texture and appearance to the vines that had prevented them from advancing towards the Pantry, which made it clear that their origins were the same.
It was unfortunate, however, that despite all of their preparation there was still nothing they could do to stop what was about to happen.
As a Tamer, Olivas had been the one controlling the Viscum which was leeching off the Pantry to birth more Violas. In another world, Revis would also be there to assume control over the creature after Olivas’ death. Unfortunately, in this world, Revis was currently chained to Elias’ workbench, cut off from her connection to ‘Her’ and instead being studied by the Magister.
As such, with its Tamer dead, Viscum did the only thing it could do.
It went berserk-
In an instant, the whole of the 24th Floor shook, a wordless scream echoing out through its surface and sending every monster within into a frenzy.
Shocked by the sudden noise, the Hermes Familia didn’t have the time to contemplate what had happened as they were suddenly besieged from all sides by both regular Monsters and Violas.
Gritting her teeth as she ordered her Familia into a defensive formation, Asfi noticed that they were the only Adventurers currently fighting. No, it was better to say that everyone else had either already fled or had died from the previous stampede. It wasn’t that there was nobody else fighting, but rather, everyone else was just dead .
“Meryl! Start Chanting! Everyone else, Shield Wall Formation around her!” Shouting her orders over the explosions caused by her Burst Oil, Asfi debated activating her Talaria before deciding against it. Flying would simply make her an even bigger target, and would separate her from the rest of her party.
Despite knowing that the Violas were attracted to Magic, Meryl’s [Riwo Flare] was their only chance of making it out alive…
“ No, even if Meryl’s attack reaches its maximum kill count- ” Quickly going over the numbers in her head, Asfi could only feel despair claw at her as the absurd number of monsters currently assaulting them truly came to bear.
“Pock! Pot!” A shout drew her attention back as Lulune tried to reach out towards the Pallum siblings. Pock, having tried to shield Meryl, had been grabbed by one of the Violas and was currently partially hanging out of the creature’s mouth as his older sister desperately attempted to kill the creature before her brother bled out.
All around her, her party was dying-
Suddenly struck by how hopeless the situation was, Asfi couldn’t help but wonder if this was how she died. Or, even worse, the time she made a despicable decision.
Thoughtlessly reaching towards her Talaria, Asfi realized that if she activated her sandals, she had a chance to escape. Most of the monsters were unable to fly, and the Violas had limited reach. If she took to the skies, she would be relatively safe…
Turning towards her party, watching as they were slowly being whittled down by the monsters- some caught by the Violas and others simply crushed underfoot by the myriad of other species trying to reach the center of the Pantry-
“...We’re all going to die…” Collapsing to her knees as the hopelessness of the situation finally weighed down on her, the screams of her comrades being barely overshadowed by the roars of monsters and the sounds of battle, a nervous laugh escaped her lips as she prepared herself for death.
Only, it was only natural for Heroes to arrive just in time-
“ [GETSUGA JUJISHO!] ”
Notes:
Surprise Ichigo! Honestly, that's mostly why I decided to write the Camping Chapter as Chapter 10, so that it could all tie in together with this ending.
So, erm, Olivas kinda dies pitifully here, I have no clue if that'll become a trend with all the other Creatures, so that's to see! Again, I kinda suck at writing Combat Sequences, so I hope what I wrote was actually coherent enough (because if I have to keep staring at this, it's never going to come out because I'll keep rewriting it over and over again).
Still unsure of who in Hermes Familia should survive this confrontation, since while Ichigo did get there before they all got party wiped, a few of them did get killed. Also, should Gina join Hestia Familia? I'm on the fence about that...
Anyways, next Chapter is the Camping Chapter with Ozen and Ichigo, and after that it's the Floor 59 Investigation! I hope I manage to write something good for that =͟͟͞͞(꒪ᗜ꒪‧̣̥̇)
Chapter 12: Underworld Camping
Summary:
In which the Seeker Camp is established, and reunions are made.
Notes:
So! Chapter 10! It's time for Camp with Ozen and Ichigo... kinda. I figured that just reading a montage of them building something would be terribly boring, so I spiced things up with a few conversations from other side characters to try and liven up the world!
Following some advice from Commenter Bagus12345, I tried to make the dialogue between the side characters forward the plot and expand the worldbuilding a bit, and tried to make the fight scene as good as I could.
Still, warning, *another* Fight Scene! Except, this time, I hope it's better ╮(￣▽￣"")╭
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Soon after Morgan, Elysia, and Minato split off from Ozen and Ichigo
With Morgan, Elysia, and Minato off the the 24th Floor, Ichigo was left with Ozen to, well, do nothing.
As it turned out, the Shielder was completely ready to do all of her building work on her own, especially since it mostly consisted of bringing materials to and from the surface since the Dungeon itself was relatively sparse in terms of things like wooden planks, and nails, and other such man-made objects.
As such, most of Ichigo’s time was spent wandering the 13th Floor killing monsters and making sure that what Ozen was constructing wasn’t being destroyed.
It was, as one might expect, quite boring, especially since after a while, the monsters just stopped spawning. Unbeknownst to Ichigo, who had just finished killing a Monster Party, the Dungeon itself couldn’t constantly keep spawning monsters from its walls.
Instead, the wall had to first heal before another monster could be birthed through it. Now, normally this wouldn’t be much of an issue since even the most powerful of parties struggled to fully clear a floor, but considering Ichigo’s own abilities as a fighter as well as his [Flash Step] allowing for easy traversal of large distances…
Yeah, the 13th Floor of the Dungeon was dreadfully barren of monsters for the moment.
“My, did they stop spawning?” The familiar lazy drawl of Ozen’s voice drew Ichigo’s attention as the Saber sat on a chair Ozen had moved from the surface, bored out of his mind.
“Yeah. Kinda sucks honestly…” Huffing a bit at the lack of anything to do given his lack of carpentry skills, Ichigo was left to do little but sit around and wait for the Dungeon to spawn more monsters, whenever that would happen. “It’s been half an hour already… You don’t think it’s preparing for something bigger, do you?”
Shrugging a bit at his question, Ozen continued her work as she easily hoisted up a pair of support beams onto a frame she had been building. Using the tunnels that lined the stone walls as foundation, Ozen was creating a sort of hanging village (town? Or maybe a hamlet given its size?) by using a complicated network of support beams, ropes, and anchors to stabilize the structures to the wall.
This would not only keep the structure from hampering travel, but would also- in theory- keep monsters from easily accessing the camp. In theory anyways. Who knows if the monsters would just spawn inside the camp… That was to be seen, and could perhaps be remedied with Magic later.
“Who knows, really.” Continuing her work, Ozen seemed less than bothered by the idea that the Dungeon might actively fight back against her attempts to, for lack of a better term, colonize it. Then again, as a Shielder, Ozen was uniquely suited to defending a location. Aside from Morgan and Elias who had access to their [Territory Creation] Skill anyways.
“Meh, fair ‘nough.” Leaning back into his chair, Ichigo couldn’t help but feel like he was missing something by not going with Morgan and the others…
“By the way, where are you getting those materials from anyways?”
“Oh? Those things? I just bought them from the Guild. Why?”
At the same time, in the Guild Building
“Eina! What’s this !?” Royman Mardeel, Head of the Guild, was currently turning blue in the face from how loud he was shouting. Violently gesticulating towards the enormous pile of building materials currently taking up a sizable chunk of the Dungeon’s entrance, the Guild had received quite a few complaints about the matter. A bit of investigating had turned up the culprit behind this matter.
“Eh!? Mr. Royman, sir! This, err…” Feeling a bit sheepish at being called out by her boss so suddenly, Eina wasn’t quite sure how to explain to the fat elf the ludicrous reasoning behind this pileup of things. So, in an effort to avoid the headache, she just came clean with him. “A member of the Hestia Familia, Ozen, purchased these materials a few days ago! She mentioned intending on using them to construct some manner of fortification on Floor Thirteen.”
As she explained the situation to her boss, Eina was treated to the sight of the rotund elf going from shocked, to angry, to blue, then to purple, and then finally to fully red in the face as he tried to properly verbalize just how angry and annoyed he was.
Quickly speaking up to try and stop her boss from causing even more of a scene than he already had- and, really, to save herself from the scolding that was surely coming- Eina produced a large bag of Valis from a nearby safe deposit box meant to hold down money before it could transition hands.
“She paid a considerable amount of money for the inconvenience!” Shoving the bag into her boss’ hands, finally realizing just how enormous it truly was when even Royman’s fat head seemed disproportionately small in comparison to it, Eina then watched as the greedy elf turned positively joyful at the sight of the fortune in his hands.
“Oh! Then you should’ve said so sooner!” His opinion of the Hestia Familia having turned for the better now that the obvious bribe had reached his pockets, Royman turned to head back to his office, but not before shouting something back towards the rest of the staff. “If anyone raises a fuss about this, tell them it’s Guild-related matters!” And with that, the elf vanished down the corridor to his office, most likely to go and count out all of that money…
Sighing softly, Eina allowed herself to flop onto the empty counter she was occupying to try and get some rest, only it seems that the Gods still had some plans for her when one of her coworkers, Misha, slid over to her side to ask a few questions.
“Hey, Eina… Isn’t the Hestia Familia… super new?” Misha asked, vocalizing the sentiment shared by most of the Guild Staff, and even some of the Adventurers who had seen the enormous bag of money being handed over to Royman. “You don’t think they’re doing shady things to get that money, right?”
Groaning loudly, especially because Elias had laughed loudly when she had asked him the same question when he had arrived earlier in the day to pay for Ozen’s purchases- and also give her the bribe, Eina still found it in herself to answer her curious coworker, and anyone else who was busy listening in. “Apparently, Hestia Familia sells Magic Items and Potions…”
“They also apparently have a lot of gold from somewhere…” Thinking back on it, Eina wasn’t quite sure where Elias had found all of that gold, or the rest of the metals he had sold to the Hephaestus and Goibniu Familias for cheaper than market prices, but apparently he had them and was more than happy to sell them to whoever came asking.
Eina’s answer caused the entire Guild lobby to descend into fervent whispering as Adventurers and Guild Staff attempted to figure out just who this ‘Elias’ was, and how he had access to such funds.
And of course, amongst all the whispering Adventurers, the ones who saw nothing but an easy payday were the drunks of Soma Familia. Always looking for an easy score to get more money, the Soma Familia Adventurers didn’t much care about the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ this Elias fellow had so much money, only that he had this money and was apparently part of a baby Familia.
Now, if they could ‘convince’ him to part with this money, well, they would be well on their way to getting their hands on even more Soma Wine!
With their new goal in mind, the Soma Familia Adventurers began scattering to try and find out all the information they could about the Hestia Familia and its Adventurers. While they were a bunch of honorless lowlives, the need for more Soma Wine allowed them to somewhat coordinate with each other. Not that any of the conspirators believed for even a second that they would be sharing whatever spoils they could get their hands on.
After all, the only thing easier than stealing from a baby Familia was stealing from each other!
Sneezing a bit from the inside of her office, the Goddess Hestia couldn’t help but feel like she had suddenly dodged a bullet, but couldn’t quite understand how she had done so.
Shrugging a bit, the Goddess of the Hearth looked over the 529th iteration of the would-be emblem of her Familia, only to be dissatisfied once more. Unfortunately for the Goddess, apparently being good at architecture did not translate to being good at making emblems, who would have thought.
Sighing deeply, Hestia really hoped that Bell and the others would have some ideas on what she could make, because really, her office was starting to become cramped from all the rejected ideas she had thrown to the wayside!
From the inside of the Hostess of Fertility- which, to Elias’ great amusement, was not actually a brothel- stood one Syr Flova. The gray haired girl had just finished giving Bell his morning lunch- which she may or may not have guilt tripped the boy into accepting, to the great amusement of his two party members- and was currently busy cleaning one of the recently emptied tables.
“Hey! Syr! Did nya know that your boy toy is apparently rich!?” Disrupting her peaceful existence, one Anya Fromel sauntered over to her side to ask her question. Unfortunately for Anya, or maybe by design, her loud question attracted the attention of everyone currently inside the building. From May who was busy cooking in the kitchen, to even Ryuu who was busy making her way down from the upper floor.
And, of course, everyone currently eating or drinking was also attracted to the noise, leaning in closer to try and listen in to the discussion.
“Huh? What are you talking about Anya?” A bit puzzled by the question, Syr nonetheless tried to think back to what she knew about Bell’s Familia. Both as the waitress Syr and through her… connections , but came up empty.
As far as she was aware, the Hestia Familia had only come into existence a few weeks ago, two months at maximum, so the idea that they were rich was a bit… strange? Still, maybe Anya was just talking about someone else?
Seemingly undeterred by Syr’s lack of knowledge on the subject, Anya leaned back onto the ball of her feet and flashed her coworker a sly smile as she elaborated. “Well, nya see, there’s a giant pile up of stuff in front of the Dungeon Entrance! Apparently, the Hestia Familia purchased all of that!”
Blinking a bit at the declaration, Syr scooted over to the Hostess’ entrance and peeked her head out of the door, only to see- to her great shock and amazement- the enormous pile up of building materials currently sitting innocently in front of the Dungeon’s entrance. Of course, what Syr (or anyone else currently watching) couldn’t have known was that Ozen had already taken about a 3rd of the materials down into the depths of the Dungeon.
Running back over to the Catgirl, Syr suddenly felt compelled to know just how it was that Hestia- who had, according to Hephaestus and Loki, been living destitute for the last few months working at a Jagamarukun Stand of all places- had been able to afford all of this !
Even the Freya Familia, Orario’s current strongest Familia, would be hard pressed to afford so much raw material. No, rather, it wasn’t so much that such an amount would leave them in the red, but rather, that it would cause a significant hole in their treasury.
“Are you sure it was really them?” Keeping herself from shouting, Syr couldn’t help but wonder if maybe Anya’s information was wrong. After all, Bell still seemed to display all the hallmarks of someone skirting the poverty line! For Gods’ sake, he still paled at the cost of their daily special! And that was only 850 Valis!
Nodding smugly, seemingly unaware of the aura of disbelief currently permeating the Hostess of Fertility, Anya continued speaking. “Yep yep! Apparently, white hair’s Guild Worker even confirmed it when that fatso Royman asked her!”
It would seem that, when dealing with rich individuals, word truly travels fast around Orario…
Blinking a bit, Syr took a few moments to center herself as she mentally went over the information suddenly revealed to her. Hestia, poor impoverished Hestia, had apparently somehow found enough money to not only afford so much material, but had done so without alerting any of the city’s top Familias…
This was… concerning …
“You know, if all you’re going to do is stare at me, why not go down and see if Morgan and the others need a hand?” By the time Ozen was done transporting all of her materials down to the depths of the Dungeon, a task made all the easier by the fact that she was by far the physically strongest of the Heroic Spirits, Ichigo had spent the last few hours doing nothing but sitting around.
Apparently, the Dungeon had just given up on spawning monsters for the time being. The speed at which they had all been killed, as well as the totality of their annihilation, had apparently caused a sort of temporary Safe Zone to be declared around the 13th Floor.
“...Sure, why not. Can’t be more boring than just waiting for you to finish.” Deciding that Ozen’s idea had some merit, Ichigo began lightly- by his standards anyways- jogging down towards the 24th Floor. Unlike last time where he had annihilated everything alive on the floor, he instead made liberal use of [Flash Step] and his Zanpakuto to deal with any monsters in his path without going out of his way to go find more.
Soon enough, after copious disemboweled monsters left in his wake, Ichigo saw the entrance to the 24th Floor appearing in his peripheral vision.
Except, unlike the rest of the floors before it, this one was covered up in… vines?
Quirking an eyebrow but not thinking much of it, especially since Morgan and the others had been able to get through, the Saber Servant made use of his oversized sword to cleave his way through the unnatural blockage, only to be greeted by a sight he wasn’t ready for.
Thousands of monsters of all types converged on a singular location just outside his vision. With no regard for their lives, to the point where smaller monsters were being trampled by the larger ones, they all converged towards their location like ants returning to the ant hill.
It was a sight that would be both beautiful and horrifying to any normal Adventurer, but to Ichigo, it was simply another oddity of the Dungeon that he had yet to fully understand. As one of the newest Servants to arrive in Orario, Ichigo didn’t have nearly the same amount of information about the Dungeon as the others had, meaning that for all he knew, this was a normal occurrence in the last of the Middle Floors.
Firmly gripping both of his swords and readying himself to begin exterminating all those monsters to satiate his boredom, Ichigo’s enhanced senses caught something which turned his blood to ice. It was subtle, such that even he was having trouble hearing it over the cacophony being caused by all the monsters covering the 24th Floor, but now that he was focusing on it, he could clearly make it out-
It was a cry for help. Someone, somewhere, was screaming for help-
Spurred into action by the call, Ichigo jumped into action, his larger sword carving through swathes of monsters while his khyber knife disemboweled any stragglers left behind.
It was a dance of carnage as he made his way through the veritable carpet of monsters barring his way, but he was making headway towards his target. Except, the more progress he made, the more voices he heard all coming from the same direction. This knowledge pushed him to go even faster towards his target destination-
“[Getsuga Tensho!]” Unleashing his signature crescent-shaped attack into the crowd of monsters, Ichigo began repeatedly calling upon his signature technique in order to more quickly advance towards whoever was calling for help.
Guts and blood painted his form and the floor around him as he carelessly cleaved his way through any opposition in his way. Such was his strength that even those few monsters that were considered ‘Enhanced Species’ were cleaved by the swings of his swords. Even the Violas, with their hardened skins, were nothing more than paper against his blades and Getsuga.
Finally, as he cleaved through a pair of minotaurs and ogres, Ichigo could finally see just who it was that was calling for help. The sight of the tiny individuals, Pallum the Grail supplied, hanging off of the Viola made his eyes widened.
Especially when he noticed that, unlike what he had initially thought, only one of them was hanging off the creature’s head. The other one was halfway inside of its mouth .
Gritting his teeth now that he knew just how severe the situation was, especially when a cursory investigation of the surroundings revealed a series of corpses and other wounded individuals, Ichigo decided that he would need to take out a large amount of monsters, and quickly.
“[Getsuga JUJISHO!]” Jumping into the air towards the duo of Pallums before twisting his body into a backflip, Ichigo made a small slash with his khyber knife, radiating energy trailing behind his cut, before bringing his larger sword screeching with energy atop the initial slash. The resulting crash created a cross-like formation of energy that traveled with blistering speed towards the carpet of monsters below.
Not even bothering to look at the result of his attack, Ichigo solidified some of the ambient mana under his foot, using it as a platform to kick off towards the Viola currently trying to bite through the Pallum.
A large overhead strike severed the creature’s head, while a counterattack from his khyber knife allowed him to separate the creature’s mouth, releasing its prisoner and allowing Ichigo to grab onto the two Pallums.
“Hang on! I’m bringing you guys to the ground!” Ichigo shouted to the two Pallums, one of which was currently busy screaming and crying her eyes out. “Look out below!”
Impacting the ground with surprising grace despite the distance they had fallen, Ichigo firmly planted his feet into the ground, twisting at the hips and performing a reverse cleave with his cleaver over his shoulder, another Getsuga erupting from his larger sword and carving a hole in the monsters’ formation.
“Here, take this!” Placing both Pallums on the ground as gently as he could given the situation, Ichigo flicked his khyber knife into the air, impaling a Gun Libellula that was trying to dive down on his location. Using his now freed hand to search the inside of his shihakusho, retrieving two of the three High Potions Elias had given him before leaving, Ichigo tossed the female Pallum the two bottles for her to use, returning his attention to the battle before him.
“Everyone behind me!” Barking out another order to the survivors as he shot forward into the fray, Ichigo barely noticed the blue haired woman stumble to her feet in shock at his appearance. “[Getsuga Tensho!]” Releasing another wave of energy, this time horizontally, to bisect every monster before him, Ichigo noticed that the waves were slowly dwindling in numbers.
Whatever had caused this was unnatural then, or maybe it was just on some unknown timer. Regardless, for now, he had to fight.
Briefly considering unleashing his Bankai, Ichigo thought back to what the Hestia had said before they all descended into the Dungeon. While secrecy wasn’t their current goal, displaying too many strange abilities would only cause more trouble in the end as questions were asked and suspicion dawned upon them.
Deciding against unleashing his Bankai, especially since doing so would just speed up the process of killing monsters, Ichigo instead continued the violent dance he was performing in.
Before the eyes of the surviving Hermes Familia Adventurers, Ichigo Kurosaki was displaying just why he was the Saber Class Servant. Crescents of energy rippled forth from his swords with each swing, whether from the cleaver or the khyber knife, it mattered little.
Avoiding each attack thrown his way with nimble ease or simply intercepting it with his swords, the only blood covering Ichigo was that of his enemies. A sad reality of the battlefield, but it wasn’t like it truly bothered him.
Eyes narrowed with focus, Ichigo fought back the enormous waves of monsters until they dwindled to nothing, Magic Stones and Drop Items lining the floor before him in a precession that evoked imagery of ancient times when the Gods received breathtaking amounts of sacrifices in exchange for divine protection and aid.
By the time the last monster turned to ashes, Morgan, Elysia, and Minato had exited the Pantry just in time to see Ichigo sheath both of his weapons.
Turning to face them, exchanging nods with all of them, Ichigo instead made his way towards the Hermes Familia, or at least, what remained of their party.
Exchanging looks, the trio of Servants splintered once more. Morgan and Elysia went with Ichigo to see if they could help the survivors, while Minato made use of his speed to clean up the floor of Magic Stones and Drop Items before another monster could feast upon them and turn into some ungodly Enhanced Species to attack them. Or, Gods above forbid, begin climbing its way up the Dungeon towards the surface.
In the end, over half of the Hermes Familia’s party had died. Even with the High Potions, Pock had lost too much blood and his brain had been without oxygen for much too long for the healing liquid to bring him back. As for the rest of the party, they had either been trampled to death or had been devoured by the monsters.
Of the initial party of Asfi, Falgar, Elilly, Golmeth, Pot, Pock, Dodon, Meryl, Nelly, Suicia, Jose, Thane, Keaks, Tabitha, and Lulune, only four people had survived.
Asfi, Pot, Meryl, and Lulune were the only ones they had been able to save, despite Ichigo’s arrival turning the tides in their favor, the initial onslaught of monsters had simply been too much for the Level 3s of the Hermes Familia to handle. Even more so with their party split up as it was as Asfi had ordered them to split up and look for other entrances to the Pantry.
Caught off guard and without backup or dedicated leader, the Hermes Familia’s Party had been swiftly overwhelmed.
“...Come on, I’m sure Ozen’ll be fine accommodating you all at her camp.” Having helped Minato collect the bodies of the deceased, with the Fourth Hokage making use of a [Sealing Scroll] to more easily transport their remains, Ichigo hefted the despondent Asfi onto his shoulder before grabbing the still crying Pot with his empty arm. Meryl was instead grabbed by Elysia who did her best to comfort the bawling mage who was busy babbling incoherently about how useless she had been during the confrontation.
Regrouping with Morgan, the quartet carried their new ‘charges’ towards the 13th Floor where Ozen’s new camp would have its first guests.
Despite being surrounded by so many people, the hike back towards the Seeker Camp was deathly silent.
Notes:
So! Horrid ending for the Hermes Familia Scouting Party. Unlike in the canon where only 5 people died, this time around 10 people died! Horrid that.
I really hope the Fight Scene was better than my last, and that the Plot Expansion with the other Side Characters was good, so lemme know about that.
Next Chapter is the Dive to Floor 59... or an interlude with the Hermes Familia Survivors while they recover at Ozen's Seeker Camp. Whichever, I'm not quite sure just yet, so lemme know about that too!
Chapter 13: Towards The Depths
Summary:
The Descent towards the unreached depths of the Dungeon begin,
And with it, more questions arise...
Notes:
So, really short chapter today! I was originally planning on having the entire descent and then fight combined into one, but then when I looked at the length of this chapter, I decided to just split them up... (◞ ⸝⸝ ◟ )
Unfortunately, today was not a good day for the brain juices, but I still hope that this Chapter will be enough to wet your apetites for the big finale! It was *really* hard to write because everyone is so awkward with each other in there... (◞ ⸝⸝ ◟ )
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
A few days after the Events on Floor 24
Having departed from the surface early in the morning, the Loki Familia’s expedition had commenced in earnest. Having purchased the services of the Hephaestus Familia in order to maintain their weapons, the alliance of Orario’s Second Strongest Familia and one of its best Smithing Familia was still unsure of what to make of Elias’ presence.
Despite being Level 1, a fact that had been confirmed by Loki herself, the strange man seemed less than nervous about the journey down to the unreached depths of the Dungeon.
With all of the preparations made, Orario’s most ambitious expedition to date began its trek down towards the 50th Floor with earnestness. Despite some strange occurrences happening along the way, most prominently the distinct lack of monsters roaming the 13th Floor, the expedition made good time as they entered the 50th Floor of the Dungeon.
The last of the known ‘Safe Points’ within the Dungeon’s depths, the 50th Floor was a combination of mountainous regions covered with forests that made it difficult to discern just what exactly was happening below.
Having gathered the entire expedition’s forces around the campfire, Finn- who was being flanked by both Riveria and Gareth- announced the names of the Adventurers that would begin the dive towards the 59th Floor of the Dungeon.
“Let’s begin the final briefing.” Finn began, his voice carrying throughout the entire assembled crowd despite his diminutive size. “As mentioned earlier, only a select party will delve towards the 59th Floor. Everyone else will defend this camp together with the Hephaestus Familia.”
His words sent shivers down the spines of most listeners, many of which had never been further down than the Middle Floors, this was a new experience for them which made it all the more nerve wracking.
“Riveria, Gareth, and I will of course be part of this party.” Unhindered by the thick aura of nervousness that blanketed the crowd, Finn began listing off the names of all those who would participate in this delve. “Aiz, Tiona, Tione, and Bete will make up the main bulk of our fighting force.”
Allowing his words to sink into the crowd, and taking the opportunity to take a sip of water to rehydrate, Finn then turned his attention towards Raul. “Raul, you, Narvi, Alicia, Cruz, and Lefiya, will make up the support party.” Turning his attention towards Aki, Finn continued on before Raul could begin freaking out. “Aki, I’m leaving you in charge here. If any of those caterpillar monsters appear, use Magic Swords or Magic to deal with them at a distance.”
Receiving a nod from his subordinate, Finn then turned towards the only two non-combatants- if everything went properly anyways- who would be accompanying them into the depths. While technically the support party wasn’t supposed to do any fighting, they were still powerful Adventurers capable of doing so if necessary.
These two, however, were individuals whose primary function wasn’t to engage in combat- whether for support or offense- but rather, were there for logistical reasons.
“Tsubaki will also accompany us to maintain our weapons… and Elias will accompany us to provide navigational support.” Deciding to be brief about their purpose down there to avoid questions, Finn then directed the conversation away from the members of the delving team, and instead gestured for Tsubaki to take the lead.
“Right! If all of you would please follow me…” Gesturing towards the designated party- sans Elias- to follow her into her designated tent, Tsubaki intended to distribute the Durandal Weapons she had made to order for the Loki Familia.
This left Lefiya, Riveria, and Elias to wander back into the camp to prepare themselves. Since Lefiya and Riveria were Mages, they had little use for Durandal Weapons. As for Elias, well…
His case was a bit strange after all...
Before long, the time of departure had arrived. Standing before the entrance to the 51st Floor, Finn decided that one last briefing was in order before they began descending into the depths.
“From here on, we’re entering the Dragon Vase. There will be no stopping until we reach Floor Fifty Eight!” He announced, much to Raul’s consternation and Tsubaki’s confusion, though neither vocalized their concerns. “We’re going forward at full speed! Bete, Tiona, you two are going to act as vanguard. Tsubaki, Raul, Narvi, Alucia, Cruz, Lefiya, and Elias, you’ll stay in the center of the formation. Aiz, you and Tione are with me at the back!”
Having said his orders, Finn gestured for Bete and Tiona to get ready, before-
“Go! Forward towards Floor Fifty Eight!”
At their Captain’s orders, the party- led by both Bete and Tiona- started running down the stairs that connected Floor 50 to Floor 51. Acting as the speartip of the formation, both Tiona and Bete began slaughtering their way through the monsters as quickly as they spawned.
With the vanguard and rearguard acting in concert with each other, the entrance towards the 52nd Floor came into view, with Finn shouting at his party to avoid being sniped.
This declaration earned a puzzled look from both Tsubaki and Elias, but both decided not to question this too much and instead continued running.
Then, it happened.
An oppressive feeling of ‘being seen’ overcame Tsubaki, who began rapidly looking around to try and find the source of this feeling-
“Bete! Dodge!” Barking out an order which the werewolf quickly obeyed, Tsubaki finally saw just what it was that was ‘sniping’ them. The Valgang Dragons were using their breath attack to quite literally punch through the floors, trying to take unsuspecting Adventurers by surprise and either fry them outright or simply create more obstacles to avoid. “Riveria! Start casting!”
Heeding the Pallum’s order, the High Elf Queen began casting her Veil Breath-
“Raul! Dodge!” Barking out another order, unfortunately not quickly enough, Finn watched as Raul was pushed to the side by Lefiya, only for the elf to be struck by the attack instead. However, instead of being a proper attack, it was instead the sticky web of some spider-like monster trying to drag its unwitting target back to itself-
However, before Lefiya could be fully reeled in by the spider, another blast of flames from a Valgang Dragon erupted underneath the spider, incinerating it and its web… but also creating a pitfall underneath Lefiya who, unable to change direction or stop her momentum, began rapidly descending towards the 58th Floor.
“!” Too shocked to even scream, Lefiya couldn’t help but think back to the words Raul had spoken the night before when asked about what the floors below were like.
‘ All the experiences you may have had above the Fiftieth Floor… It all means nothing here. Below Floor Fifty Two, it’s Hell… ’
Of course, she had been skeptical when Raul had said that previously. But, now that she was freefalling towards the 58th Floor at high speed with no way to stop her momentum, Lefiya couldn’t help but think that calling this ‘Hell’ was simply too kind of a description.
Then, from the corner of her eye, she noticed that another Valgang Dragon was preparing to blast her. Already, blasts were resonating around her, preventing anyone else from jumping in after her- assuming they even could-
Closing her eyes and waiting for the burning sensation that would surely follow the dragon’s breath-
“You damn brat! Is this something that all young Adventurers have in common!?” Feeling something grab onto the back of her dress and pull her up, Lefiya’s eyes ripped open to see that Elias had jumped in after her… Or he had also fallen into the hole. “Get ready kid, things are about to get toasty!” Shifting his grip on Lefiya into a bridal carry, Elias reoriented himself such that his feet were pointing towards the ground.
This, of course, allowed Lefiya a perfect view of all the Valgang Dragons below them. Some were flying towards them, while others were preparing their breath attacks. Still filled with fear, Lefiya couldn’t help but wonder just what Elias was thinking about, catching her and holding onto her like that…
“[Reelseiden!]” Announcing his Spell with blistering speed, Lefiya watched as the dragons approaching them were all cut to pieces. Even the fireballs and other projectiles were diced as the Spell made its way down the column. “Get ready! Once we land, I’m going to start fighting them!”
Clutching onto her staff, Lefiya was surprised when Elias placed his cane on her lap, though that surprise quickly turned to fright as the duo entered the 58th Floor properly. Surrounded by Valgang Dragons from all sides, Lefiya wondered just what Elias’ plan was, especially since his features weren’t rife with fear. Instead, he seemed amused by this, almost like he was looking forward to fighting those dragons…
“Hold onto my cane if you wanna stay alive!” Following his orders, Lefiya grabbed onto the cane laying in her lap as quickly as she could, and not a moment too late as the duo reached the ground with enough velocity to kill the Level 4 Lefiya. A cloud of dust erupted around her, with the feeling of Elias’ arms vanishing, replaced with the still warm ground below.
Then, before her very eyes, Lefiya witnessed just why it was that Elias was still feeling confident despite everything.
Having jumped back into the air, Elias swung his arms towards a group of Valgang Dragons as if he were carrying some invisible polearm. Forefingers extended out from his fists, the gesture was accompanied by a noise not unlike that of wind whistling. Accompanying the noise was an almost invisible slash extending out from his fingers at hypersonic speed, flying towards the Valgang Dragons and bisecting them with ease.
Almost like a hot knife through a brick of cold butter, whatever attack Elias was using carved its way through both fireball and dragon scales with supreme ease.
Far from being immobile, Elias continued to turn towards every approaching Valgang Dragon with preternatural accuracy, more slashes erupting from his hands with every swing. It really was as if he was carrying around some invisible weapon-
Being too busy watching Elias jump around and slash his way through the Valgang Dragon, Lefiya had missed the approaching wave of Virgas coming from the 57th Floor. By the time she noticed them, it was already too late. The monsters had made it too close to her, and she was much too slow to avoid them.
Releasing their acid beam towards her, Lefiya was once more surprised to see that the attack was repelled by some light blue transparent sphere that manifested around her. Seemingly made out of multiple hexagons attached together at their edges, the shield prevented any of the acid from reaching her.
Gapping a bit at the sudden appearance of this shield, Lefiya’s gaze was drawn towards the cane she was holding. Despite seeming just as normal as before, it was the only thing that could be behind this shield, especially if Elias had been serious with his statement earlier.
Shaking her head and deciding to shelve that for later, Lefiya pointed her staff forward, intent on at least helping the man currently busy pirouetting and backflipping his way around the battlefield, even if he seemed to be doing just fine on his own…
“ Proud warrior, snipers of the forest. Take up your bows before the advancing plunderers. Answer the call of your brethren and ready your arrows. Tinge them with flame, the lamplight of the forest. Release them, the fire arrows of the fairies. Falling like rain, burn away the savages- [Fusillade Fallarica!]” Casting her Spell, Lefiya was surprised to see the ease with which her flaming arrows pierced through the Valgang Dragons and the Virgas surrounding her.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Lefiya decided that now wasn’t the time to think about this! All she could do now was fight and hope Elias would hold out until the others arrived!
Still… to think he was just Level 1…
Notes:
So, short chapter! Elias and Lefiya are fighting down on the 58th Floor while the rest of the Party is trying to reach them... Honestly this chapter doesn't flow as nicely as I hoped it would, but no matter how many times I rewrite it, it just doesn't flow well...
Next chapter is the big finale, Loki Familia (plus Tsubaki and Elias) against the Demi-Spirit!
Like I said at the beginning, originally I wanted to have this entire thing wrapped up in one chapter, but as I continued writing this Chapter, I decided that having either some really underwhelming short fight or a really bloated chapter wasn't something I wanted, so it's being split up into two Chapters!
Chapter 14: Confrontation (Rewritten)
Summary:
The awaited confrontation- Where wind and earth collide.
Notes:
Chapter 12! Last chapter of this arc, which I still don't know what to say (outside of the epilogue from next chapter). It took me way too long to write this thing, honestly. (◞ ⸝⸝ ◟ )
So I hope it's good! Another fight scene, but this time with a lot more people so I hope it doesn't suck ass (◞ ⸝⸝ ◟ )
As a side note, since Christmas Vacations are over and I have to return to being an actual functional adult (ie. having a job), my upload schedule will suffer since I can't afford to just sit in front of my computer all day and write. I'll try to keep to at least a Chapter every 2 to 3 days, but no promises there (◞ ⸝⸝ ◟ )
Anyhow, enough of that! Here's Chapter 12!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Given that the bulk of the party had stuck together, it didn’t take much time for the main party to arrive on Floor 58, where they were greeted with a surprising sight.
Complete and utter silence- The entire floor was covered in Drop Items, Magic Stones, and ashes, with the only noteworthy features being the two figures standing near the entrance to the 59th Floor.
Even from this distance it was easy to recognize them-
“Lefiya! You made it out!” Relief flooded through the Loki Familia’s Adventurers when they noticed that the elf girl was still alive and no worse for wear despite the horrifying ordeal she had just endured. Tiona, the one to have spoken up, began running towards the startled elf who had just noticed their arrival.
By her side, Elias simply threw Tiona an amused smirk. “And what am I? Chopped liver?” Despite his question, it was clear that Elias was nothing but amused at Tiona’s priorities.
Sending Elias a sheepish smile, Tiona nevertheless began quickly looking Lefiya over for any signs of injuries.
Quickly joining the exuberant Amazon, the rest of the party couldn’t help but wonder just what exactly had happened for everything to have ended up like this…
“So…” Glancing up towards the tall red head, Finn couldn’t help but frown slightly at the amused smile he received instead of a proper answer.
“I’m sure Lefiya will tell you everything that happened here once we get back to the surface.” Avoiding the question entirely, Elias instead turned his attention towards the entrance towards the 59th Floor, a frown replacing his previous amused smile. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t the Guild Records indicate that this should be an ice biome?”
Quirking an eyebrow at the question, Finn crouched down next to the entrance of the 59th Floor, only for his eyes to widen with shock as he finally realized what it was that Elias was insinuating.
“You’re right… So why is everything so… normal?” Exchanging glances with Elias, Finn turned his attention towards the rest of the party. “One hour! In one hour we go down there! Forget about the Salamander Wool, restock on Potions, rest, and if your weapon needs repairs, ask Tsubaki!” Barking out his order, it was obvious to both Gareth and Riveria that something had unsettled the usually unshakable Pallum, but now wasn’t the time to ask such questions.
“...You’re sure that this thing is down there, right?” Glancing back towards Elias, the nod he received made Finn grit his teeth. Honestly, a negative would have been almost preferable to this… “Right then. Thank you for helping Lefiya…”
“Hmph, it was nothing. Don’t worry too much about it.”
The trek down towards the 59th Floor was just as nerve wracking as the descent from the 50th Floor.
No, it was even more nerve wracking-
The 58th Floor was a known quantity, despite the fact that the Loki Familia had been previously repelled in their attempts to conquer it, it was still a known quantity. What they were doing now was reaching into the unknown that had been shrouded with doubts and uncertainty since the fall of the Zeus and Hera Familias…
There was a certain aura that came with exploring the unknown within the Dungeon. It wasn’t something that could be easily explained to someone who had never experienced it. It was trepidation and fear, curiosity and neophobia, all wrapped up in some unseen pressure that made it hard to breath-
“This-” And yet, despite being the newest to have experienced the Dungeon, it was as if Elias was unaffected by the unseen tension that came with exploring the depths of Dungeon. Instead, what actually caused his shock was the sight of the vines currently covering the whole of the 59th Floor. A large sea of trees and familiar vines covered the whole of what the Zeus Familia had previously described as a ‘sea of impassable ice’.
“...It’s just like the jungles of the Twentieth Floors…” Finn, just as shocked, was the one to finish Elias’ sentence. This… How was it that they were back in a forest? No- This was definitely unnatural, the vines of the Violas twisting and grabbing onto every tree in eyesight made that very clear.
“!”
However, what truly shocked the observers wasn’t the presence of the forest, but instead, the towering figure lumbering in the distance. Surrounded by Virgas and Violas, the abnormal creatures were offering up their Magic Stones to the humanoid-like figure-
“It’s- They’re making an Enhanced Species!” Recovering from his shock with blistering speed as his thumb started itching like crazy- a sign of troubles to come- Finn’s shout shook everyone out of their shock.
“Stop it-”
But, before the gathered Adventurers could even take measures to kill the creature, the air stilled. Then, a moan erupted from the titanic figure. It started quietly, but quickly picked up in intensity as the earth began shaking erratically.
Then, before the eyes of all gathered, the humanoid figure started cracking, almost like an egg beginning to hatch, the shell fractured and violently exploded outwards, revealing a woman-
Preternaturally beautiful, if not for the fact that everything below her hips was a monster, it would be hard to distinguish whether or not she was a Goddess or not-
“That’s- Dammit! So this is what those fetuses are used for!” Gritting his teeth from his place in the rearguard, Elias’ voice still carried enough for everyone to hear him, causing even more shock to well up within everyone watching.
This!? This was a Spirit?!
“A- Aria-!” The supposed Spirit moaned, her gaze- piercing and filled with innocence- locking onto Aiz’s form even with all the distance separating them. The Spirit’s smile was soft, almost motherly, which contrasted sharply with the horrifying feeling that welled up inside of Aiz-
“Ah- Aria! ARIA! COME TO ME! LET US BECOME ONE!” Becoming more erratic as it wildly gesticulated around, the Spirit-Monster Hybrid seemed intent on screaming nonsense before a wild wave of its arms sent forth a wave of Virgas and Violas towards the assembled Adventurers.
“!- Vanguard to the front!” Spurred into action by the Hybrid’s actions, Finn shot forward to intercept the oncoming wave of monsters, with Gareth, Tione, Tiona, Aiz, and Bete following not far behind.
The rearguard, composed of Raul, Narvi, Alicia, Cruz, Lefiya, Tsubaki, and Elias, instead made themselves scarce by running as far away as they could from the fighting.
The Hybrid, arms held open as if about to receive a hug, presented a jubilant smile filled with nothing but childish cruelty. It was as if seeing a child killing insects, pulling the wings off of butterflies and ripping off the legs of ants without properly understanding the pain and suffering they were inflicting. It was, perhaps, much more frightening than if the Hybrid had been actually hateful towards them.
In a sense, hateful hostility would have been easier to deal with. But this- this childish cruelty, it was much too human for the Adventurers to find it anything but nauseating and creepy.
Singing a wordless song, the Hybrid spurred the Violas and Virgas towards the advancing Vanguards, forcing them to defend and retaliate all at once. Despite their Level and experience in dealing with the Violas, the Loki Familia’s Adventurers were having difficulties dealing with this particular monster-
“Ugh! It’s heavy!”
“How many Magic Stones did it eat already!?”
Both Tione and Tiona were stunned by just how powerful the Hybrid already was. Had its strength already eclipsed theirs? Or maybe it was only a matter of time before it grew strong enough to rival one of the Three Calamities…
“Tch- So those monsters were just extensions of its roots!” Clicking his tongue as he batted away a particularly heavy and sturdy vine, Finn seemed to realize something as he watched the Hybrid control both Violas and Virgas with its wordless song. It was an accurate observation, but lacking in information, making it more so a hypothesis than anything concrete. Still, to think-
“Finn! I’m going to torch its vines-” Before she could finish her sentence, Riveria was almost thrown off balance as the earth shook violently, sending most of the unprepared rearguard to their knees as they tried to balance themselves. In the blink of an eye, a veritable tsunami of vines had been summoned by the Hybrid creature, its arms raised towards the sky as if imploring the heavens to weep a torrential storm-
“Wait! Something’s not right!” Having stabilized himself using his spears, Finn felt his thumb begin itching agonizingly, something big was about to happen, but he couldn’t quite tell what exactly it was. Was it the approaching torrent of vines, or maybe something else-
“ Arise, flames- ”
Then, despite being almost whispered, the Hybrid’s words carried forth throughout the battlefield as an omen of despair. Eyes widening, everyone became increasingly aware of just what it was that the Hybrid creature was attempting to do-
“A Greater Incantation-” Steeling herself and backpedaling towards the rearguard, Riveria changed plans and began chanting her Defensive Magic- “ Dance around spirit of the atmosphere, lord of light- ”
“Rearguard! Fire!-” Not even bothering to look behind him as he ran forward, Finn attempted to charge towards Aiz- who had overextended herself- intent on bringing her back towards Riveria. “Get to Riveria!”
In an instant, the sky was filled with elemental projectiles- Fire, Lightning, Icicles, everything that could be created either through the various Magic Swords wielded by the Supporters and Tsubaki, or by Lefiya’s Magic. The only one not actively participating in the assault was Elias, who was instead busy charging towards Aiz with blistering speed.
It was all for naught though, Finn’s charge was halted when a wall of vines erupted at his feet, almost throwing him off in another direction had he not caught himself. This same wall rose high enough into the air that not only could he not overcome it simply by leaping over it, but it also caught every projectile sent by the rearguard.
The only one not encumbered by its appearance was Elias, whose greater speed and instant cast spell allowed him to both evade attacks thrown his way and cleave through anything he couldn’t evade-
“ Rage, rage, rage. Vortex of fire. The crimson wall. Hellfire’s roar. May the ardor of the gale plunge the world into grief and misery. The sky shall burn. The earth shall ignite. The seas shall boil. The font shall churn. The mountains shall erupt. All life shall turn to ash. May the lives of the great ones serve as atonement for the coming choler and grief- ” / “ Contract with the guardian of the forest and envelop us with the songs of the land. Surround us, become a great barrier of forest light and protect us- ”
Both magic casters chanted without fail, but it was obvious that the High Elf Queen was lagging behind. Were it not for the drastically shorter nature of her Chant, it was certain that she would not overcome the Hybrid in this contest of speed.
As another volley of Magic erupted from the rearguard, Riveria barely registered the multiple presences surrounding her. Everyone except Elias and Aiz were within the bounds of her Magic Circle. Gritting her teeth as she debated stalling the completion of her Incantation just a few more moments to allow Aiz a chance to return, a knowing glance from Finn put an end to that thought-
“ My name is Alf!- [Via Shilheim!]” Finishing her chant, the High Elf Queen waved her hand almost dramatically as the Magic Circle at her feet lit up, a green barrier erupting around the rest of her party- sans Aiz and Elias.
From their spot, the Loki Familia- plus Tsubaki- could clearly see the panic in Aiz’s feature as she finally seemed to realize that she would be unable to return to Riveria’s barrier and take cover. Despite her speed and power, enhanced as it was by her [Tempest], there was simply too much in her way preventing her return.
“ Your envoy beseeches you, Salamander. Incarnate of fire. Queen of flames- [Firestorm!]” Announcing the name of her Magic, the Hybrid- in an act that was both breathtaking and confusing- cupped both of her hands before her face, a light ember braced between them with her lips pursed as if to fan the flame. And then-
Fire- Fire blazed forth, torching everything on the 59th Floor. Whether it was friend or foe, the blaze cared naught for it simply reduced everything to ashes.
As seconds turned into mere moments, not even enough for sound to travel from her friends to her, Aiz felt the shadow of death overtaking her- This was it, she was about to die because she had foolishly thought herself invincible and had overextended herself-
“You damn brat!-” Then, something snaked around her waist, an arm- “You brats and your feelings of invincibility!” Faster than even she could process, the world around her twisted in a familiar- if annoying and sickening way- before she found herself on the floor, still held by the waist by someone-
Throwing her gaze upward to see Elias’ frown, the Magic Caster clearly unimpressed and annoyed by the current predicament they were in. Clapping both of his hands together before extending them towards the oncoming blaze, Aiz watched as a sphere of transparent hexagonal projections erupted around the both of them, creating a barrier that warded away the flames.
Gritting his teeth as he seemed to notice something within the blaze, Elias grunted, turning his gaze towards her before speaking up. “Listen up! Once the fire goes out, you need to run straight towards that thing and kill it! You hear me!”
Taken aback by the ferocity in Elias’ words, Aiz did the only thing she could think of and nodded meekly, before a horrible screeching took her attention towards something in the blaze. It was hard to see, but the pale green glow of Riveria’s [Via Shilheim] could barely be made out within the crimson blaze, except-
In the blink of an eye, the bubble of forest light was snuffed out, Aiz’ heart leaping up into her throat as thoughts of what could have possibly happened to her friends overcame her- This-
“Eyes on the prize kiddo! They’ll be fine! But they won’t be if you don’t focus on killing this thing as quickly as you can! ” Elias’ voice cut through the haze of uncertainty and fear that threatened to overtake her, causing Aiz to nod nervously, opposing thoughts and feelings at war within her-
Then, as quickly as it appeared, the blaze vanished, allowing Aiz to witness the carnage wrought upon the world by the Hybrid. The previously lush vegetation that overtook the whole of the 59th Floor was turned to cinders, stone had melted, trees had burned, and monsters were vaporized so thoroughly that not even their Drop Items remained.
It was a horrid sight, one that spoke of what would happen to the rest of Orario if they couldn’t stop this thing here and now-
“Go! NOW!” Spurred onward by Elias’ words and the feeling of his palm impacting her back, Aiz shot forward without hesitation- or perhaps so much hesitation that it all canceled itself out- wind sheathing her body as she dashed towards the Hybrid with everything she had.
Distantly, she could hear the cries of her friends trying to call them back to their side so they could regroup. She was almost tempted to listen to them, were it not for-
“ Come, earth- ” The Hybrid was chanting again. Eyes widening in shock, Aiz pushed every drop of Mind and strength she could scrounge up into trying to cover just a bit more ground. If that thing could cast another Spell, it would be disaster-
“ I call upon thee, the stalwart sword that cleaves the Heaven- [Arms!] ” Another chant cleaved its way through the chaos of the situation. Despite its length, Elias was able to cast it with blistering speed, overtaking even the Hybrid’s inhuman casting speed. “ Oh swift wind, that which speeds through the Heavens- [Vernier!]” Slamming his right palm into the earth, two Magic Circles erupted around him, before a pale blue glow surrounded Aiz.
Catching herself before she could trip over her own feet, Aiz once more felt her eyes widen in surprise as her speed and strength increased drastically. Whatever it was that Elias had done, whatever Spell he had casted, they were potent-
“ Rise, rise, rise. Husk of the earth. Sheen of iron. Hammer of the cosmos. May genesis’ pact upheave rock and stone. The sky shall burn. The earth shall split. The bridge shall rise. Heaven and earth shall become one. May the axes of the ether rain down and bring about calamity’s ruin. Your envoy beseeches you, Gnome. Incarnate of the land. Queen of the earth- ” And yet despite the enhanced Sword Princess barrelling towards it, the Hybrid never stopped its chant, once more displaying the breathtaking speed that had overcome even the High Elf Queen.
Scrambling to defend themselves against the oncoming Spell, the Loki Familia- plus Tsubaki- were taken aback when Elias’ form manifested before them in a blur of motion so fast that not even Finn could properly register it.
Hands clasped firmly into a hand seal that resembled tented hands, the Adventurers watched as Elias exhaled sharply, taking a knee as he focused on something. Seeing as their accompanying Magic Caster apparently had a plan, Finn decided to take the gamble and trust in Elias.
“Everyone behind Elias! NOW!”
Scrambling behind the Magister, watching as Aiz charged the Hybrid Spirit with everything she had to try and stop its chant- her wind resembling a kaleidoscope of colors as the various enchantments Elias had called upon her shone brightly.
“[Meteor Swarm!]” Just as the Adventurers finished throwing themselves behind Elias, the Hybrid finished its chant, calling out the name of its second Spell. Everyone watched as the Hybrid created a myriad of large stone constructs that began descending towards the surface with enormous amounts of velocity.
“Run, Aiz! FORWARD!” Not even bothering to adresse the people taking shelter behind him, Elias instead shouted towards the faltering Sword Princess, indecision clear in her features as she debated simply turning and running away. “You have to kill it now!”
Finally deciding that, if she didn’t act now, then everyone else would die, Aiz used her enhanced speed and agility to maneuver through the field of falling meteors. It was almost as if she was flying- No, wait- She was flying!
Away from Aiz, where the Loki Familia was busy freaking out about their imminent demise, Elias clasped his hands into a different hand seal, this time even more intricate than the previous one. Eyes focused on the task at hand, he stilled almost like a statue-
Enmaten
“[Reelseiden!]” Once more calling upon the mysterious slashing attack that had cleaved its way through hordes of Valgang Dragons, Lefiya watched as this time, instead of directing the slashes with his hands, Elias simply held the strange hand seal and gathered an enormous amount of Mana. Then, as the first of the meteor reached them-
SWOOSH!
The sound that permeated the 59th Floor was unlike any heard prior by anyone, save for Lefiya.
It was, her eyes wide and mouth agape, how she realized how foolish her previous conceptions about Elias’ Spell had been. Previously, when they had fought the Valgang Dragons, she had assumed that his was a Single Target Spell that he had to direct with his palms.
It was not an incorrect assumption all things considered, but it was lacking in information. No, rather, it was an issue with how Spells functioned in Orario. While Spells could be multifaceted at times, it was incredibly rare. Even more so for super short incantation Spells. Quite simply, a Spell that was incredibly versatile, powerful, and held a super short incantation was practically impossible.
It was why, when initially seeing Elias guide the slashes created by his Spell using his palms, Lefiya had assumed that this was how he was deciding which target would be assaulted by his Spell.
Never would she have conceived that he could simply release these slashes without moving a single inch.
It was a feat that was inconceivable to all watching, Magic that broke the very rules established for centuries by the Falna.
And so, watching in awe as the various meteors, vines, and monsters sent by the Hybrid were summarily julienned into non-existence, the Adventurers watched as Aiz sped forth, her wind growing more and more violent with each step forward she took-
“You know, a bit of help would be appreciated!” Glancing back towards the stunned Adventurers, Elias gestured for them to make themselves useful dealing with the riff raff that continued pilling on. Just because the Hybrid’s Spell had failed, did not mean it was done attacking.
The sound of clothes shuffling could be heard as both Riveria and Gareth awoke, rising from the ground with determination blazing in their eyes. Spurred on by the sight of Riveria and Gareth readying themselves for battle once more, as well as the almost mocking smile etched onto Elias’ face, the rest of the Adventurers gathered their wits and charged forth towards the enemy.
The ground cracked and shook as the various Adventurers shot forth to aid their Sword Princess, the rearguard gathering around Elias and regrouping. Magic Swords, those few that remained anyways, were distributed, while Lefiya and Alicia began chanting.
Grinning a bit as he watched the next generation be spurred forth, Elias started relaxing the rate at which [Reelseiden] struck, slowly allowing the defending Adventurers to take over the defense.
Then, once everyone was back on their feet, he simply stopped attacking, instead feigning the effects of oncoming Mind Down, his gaze locked onto Aiz’s back as he stood up. He wasn’t sure what to make of her existence, but honestly, it didn’t matter.
“Lefiya, hold your fire.” Glancing back towards the orange haired elf, Lefiya watched as Elias’ gaze softened up a bit as he approached her. Lifting one hand towards the Hybrid, Elias pointed towards its mouth- “You have to hit it right there, or else Aiz will die.”
The declaration was so matter-of-fact that Lefiya almost lost control of her Mind, but years of training allowed her to prevent an Ignis Fatuus from occurring. Instead, Lefiya followed Elias’ finger with her gaze, trying to decipher whatever it was that made him so sure that she had to intervene-
“ Pierce, spear of lightning. Your envoy beseeches you, Tonitrus. Incarnate of thunder. Queen of lightning- [Thunder Ray!]” It was almost inaudible over all the chaos surrounding her, but with Elias having drawn her eyes towards it, Lefiya could barely make out the super short chant released by the Hybrid, and the accompanying Magic Circle that erupted out of her mouth, ready to pierce the Sword Princess right through-
“ Unleashed streak of light, bow limbs of the holy tree. You are an expert of the bow. Shoot, sniper of the fairies. Penetrate, arrow of absolute accuracy- [Arcs Ray!]” Running through the familiar chant with blistering speed, faster than she had ever done so before- now that Aiz’s life hung in the balance of everything- Lefiya released her Spell, watching as the arrow of light raced forth towards the strike of thunder threatening to strike down the Sword Princess.
It shouldn’t have been possible for Lefiya’s Spell to overtake the Hybrid’s, and yet it did. Perhaps it was interference from a third party, or maybe Lefiya’s desire to protect her idol had allowed her Magic to reach speeds it shouldn’t have been able to. Regardless, before the flabbergasted eyes of everyone assembled here and now, Lefiya’s arrow struck first.
Cleared of all obstacles in her path, Aiz felt her wind grow in strength- different from when she used her [Avenger] Skill, it was a righteous anger that belonged not only to her, but to the Spirit Blood that coursed through her veins-
Teeth grit with such strength that they threatened to crack, Aiz poured all the Mind she had into her wind- The gale roaring with righteous anger as it became faced with an existence it could not abide by-
‘ I’m sorry- You might have helped humanity, long ago. But now- ’
You shouldn’t exist!
“[LIL RAFAGA!]” Her wind swirling around her with as much power as it could muster. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” With a roar of exertion, Aiz pushed forward, even as the Hybrid attempted to use its leaves and vines to shield itself- Its mouth moving in an attempt to chant another incantation, and yet precious little leaving her mouth-
Then, in a flash of light, Aiz pierced through her opponent, the last thing she saw from the Hybrid being a kind- truly angelic- smile as its Soul was set free from the corrupting it had endured for so long.
Falling forward, exhaustion coursing through her body, Aiz was only vaguely aware that someone had grabbed hold of her, softening what would have otherwise been a rough landing.
“Really, you kids are all too reckless… Ahhh~ But I guess that’s fine.”
Notes:
So, last chapter of the arc! I hope it's good and was worth the wait "( – ⌓ – )=3
Like I said, next chapter is the epilogue of this arc, with Elias returning to Ozen's camp and seeing the Hermes Familia (or what's left anyways) stewing there.
So! The next pair of Servants will be summoned soon, Arlecchino is already locked in as Lancer, but who else should show up? I've seen quite a few recomendations in the comments, but I'd like to see if anyone can come up with something else that isn't another Genshin Character (other Hoyo Properties are allowed tho). If not, I guess it'll either be Pretender Furina or Rider Mavuika...
Or maybe another Nasuverse Servant? Who knows really.
Also! What should Bell's Alias be? Should it remain "Little Rookie", or maybe something else? Let me know!
Edit 2025-02-23: This chapter has been rewritten! So, erm, yeah! Fun stuff really (˵¬⤙¬˵")
Chapter 15: Reunion
Summary:
After multiple days of chaos,
Reunion is in order.
And with reunion, comes opportunity for more chaos.----------------------
In which the initial chaos subsides, and daily life returns... If only.
Notes:
So! This Chapter took awhile, mostly because Life decided to eat me up alive, sorry about that (˵¬⤙¬˵")
Anyways! This is the final chapter of the "Gathering Hearth Arc" as I'm calling it, we're now entering the 2nd Arc of this Story! ٩(^ᗜ^ )و ´-
Two New Servants have also been summoned, I hope my choices will satisfy you guys!
I'll keep taking suggestions until all the Servant Classes have been filled!
Also, Bell's Alias, I really didn't know what to give him, but I felt this was fitting (especially since everyone seems to call him that in the original material anyways so meh)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
For the first time since Bell- and by extension Morgan and Elias- had joined her Familia, Hestia felt fear course through her veins.
It was a primal sensation that not even the Gods, divine and eternal as they were, could escape. If anything, their descent into the Mortal World had only increased their susceptibility to this fear, for it was a thing that plagued the deusdea of the Lower World far more than those still in the Upper World.
This fear was-
“AND IT IS DECIDED! MIKOTO YAMATO OF TAKEMIKAZUCHI FAMILIA WILL RECEIVE THE ALIAS OF ZETSU EI!” Loki cried out in-between laughs, the rest of the deusdea surrounding her echoing the same sentiment.
The Denatus.
A convening of the Gods of Orario in order to discuss a variety of important matters. Or well, that was what the Children were told at least. No, in reality, it was a viper’s den of depravity and chaos that only those in power could hope to survive.
Hestia, cringing a bit at the anguished scream of her friend Takemikazuchi- the Far Eastern God of War crumbling out of his chair at the cringe worthy alias given to his child- especially given her own powerlessness in this situation.
It was, of course, the Naming Ceremony. A trimonthly meeting of the Gods wherein Alias were given out to every Adventurer that managed to reach Level 2, and could be changed at every other Level Up.
Of course, the Children- innocent and ignorant as they were of such Divine Matters- wore those divinely given Aliases with pride and honor, completely oblivious to their cringe worthy nature that made their patron god writhe in emotional distress at every mention.
Only the truly powerful Familias such as Freya Familia, Loki Familia, and Hephaestus Familia could escape those cringe worthy names, given that nobody really wanted to get on their bad sides.
However, for those Low Class Familias that were composed of few, if any, Adventurers. It was a death trap that exposed them to the worst thing imaginable.
The pettiness of the Divines.
Any grudge, whether incurred within the Upper or Lower World, was enough to sentence one’s Child to a cringy name.
Carefully raising her own packet of papers containing the information pertaining to all the recently Leveled Up Adventurers of the city, Hestia read through the information provided. It was, quite honestly, quite lackluster all things considered.
Names, Levels, Familias, a Picture, and some general information about their personality and history was all that was given. But, then again, it was only natural that the Gods would be stingy about giving out private information about their Children.
Ignoring the ignomous aliases some of the more perverse Gods tried to slap onto the Children of other Familias, Hestia went over the file about Bell, trying to see what kind of information the Guild had about him.
Carefully reading through it, a single piece of information stuck out to her, causing her to choke on some spit and stiffen up.
This is bad! Really, really bad!
Frantically looking around the room, especially when she noticed the gazes sent her way, Hestia finally realized that all the attention had turned to her.
“Hey chibi! Mind tell us how your child Leveled Up in less than a month!” Loki, face set in a deep frown, shouted from her place at the head of the table. “My Aiz took a year to Level Up! A. Year!” The Goddess of Mischief empathized, clearly trying to force Hestia to answer.
Swallowing loudly as she tried to calm her racing heart, Hestia recalled something Ozen- of all people- had told her previously.
“W- Why do you care!? This is private information!” The Goddess of the Hearth shouted, remembering that fishing for information about an Adventurer’s Status was taboo, even for other Gods. “I didn’t cheat, your Thousand Elf and Sword Princess confirmed that he took down that minotaur on his own!” As much as she wished he hadn’t done such a thing…
“!” Gritting her teeth at the mention of her two Children, Loki couldn’t help but remember the discussion she had had with her Executives about the boy’s explosive growth. Obviously it had to do with her other strange kids too, but what exactly that was, it was hard to say…
Off to the side, deep in thought, Freya was busy glaring a hole through her copy of Bell’s file, something Hermes quickly noticed and decided to bring up.
“Lady Freya, is something bothering you?” The Messenger God asked, glancing down at his own copy of Bell’s file to try and see if he could piece together what exactly had Freya in such a state.
“Oh~ Nothing much Hermes, simply Goddess of Love business.” Was the Norse Goddess’ terse reply, her glare never moving from the paper.
Hermes’ question caused the other deusdea to look at their own copy of Bell’s file, something that caused Hestia nothing but anxiety as she sent Hermes a murderous glare for drawing attention to Bell’s file again!
“Huh!? T- This kid is married!”
“No way! How’s that possible!? Isn’t he just fourteen!?”
“W- Well, I heard that it’s possible in some remote villages…”
“Calm down friends! Maybe she’s just a plain village girl!”
“Wait! There’s a picture of her attached to the file!”
The information, shouted out by a God Hestia couldn’t see or make out, spread like wildfire throughout the assembled deities.
“”“HUH!? IT’S THIS HOTTY!? I REFUSE TO BELIEVE IT!””” The assembled Gods roared in stereo as they gazed upon Morgan’s picture, even more chaos unfolding as various insulting ideas were thrown around for her Bell’s Alias-
“H- Hey there! You guys are just insulting him!” Throwing both of her arms out wildly to try and draw attention over to herself, Hestia barely managed to shout loud enough to be heard over the chaos, and even that did little to calm the frenzy that had swept up the hall. “S- STOP IT YOU GUYS!”
This… This was bad! She had to act quickly before things went from bad to worse!
Completely oblivious to the chaos unfolding at the Denatus of the Gods, the remainder of Hestia Familia- sans Elias and Ozen- were busy eating dinner which had been cooked by Minato and Elysia.
The meal was quite plain, all things considered. Especially when compared to what Elias usually made, but it was good and filling, so nobody really complained. If anything, the simplicity of the meal made it all the more delicious since it was shared with Familia.
“So…. What should we do now?” Deciding to pierce the comfortable silence that permeated the table, Emma asked her question. Already, it had been a few weeks since she and Primo had first stepped into the Dungeon. With the return of the main bulk of the Familia, their expedition into the Dungeon had gone even more smoothly.
Especially after Morgan had agreed to teach Primo the basics of Magic while they awaited Elias’ return from the depths of the Dungeon.
Still, despite their steady progress, the fact that Bell had Leveled Up caused the two girls to feel like they were lagging behind his progress… Even if said boy had a few weeks of experience over them. And that bootcamp from Hell courtesy of the Servants…
Mulling over the question, it was Elysia who answered before anyone else could, her exuberant and soothing voice easily audible over the sound of utensils being used.
“Well, how about this? Our next goal could be to get to Floor Eighteen?” The Flame-Chaser proposed, earning a look of surprise from the humans- and elf- gathered at the table. The Heroic Spirits, on the other hand, seemed quite receptive to the idea. “Maybe we do a few trips to and from Ozen’s Camp to get you kids used to sleeping in the Dungeon, and then we go for Floor Eighteen.”
The proposal, after a few revisions, was soon accepted as the new goal for Hestia Familia.
Minato, Elysia, Bell, Emma, and Primo would make up Party A, with the goal of reaching the 18th Floor as soon as they could.
Party B would be made up of Ichigo and Morgan, who would be in charge of holding down the fort and making sure nothing untowards happened while Party A was gone.
“Should I… summon another set of Servants?” Bell’s question caused the assembled Heroic Spirits to share a look, while Emma and Primo looked excited at the prospect of finally seeing this so-called ‘Summoning Ritual’ that could apparently evoke Super Spirits. Sharing a shrug with the others, Minato gave Bell a thumbs up, causing the boy to smile brightly.
His Heroic Journey was already progressing nicely, with his Desire etched onto his back in the form of the Skill [Argonaut] - the Skill had awakened after the Level Up. Coupled with the Developmental Ability of [Luck], Bell already felt more like a Hero than before!
Quickly cleaning the table and doing the dishes, the assembled Familia descended into Elias’ workshop to use the Summoning Circle carved into the floor.
Taking a calming breath, Bell wondered just who would answer his call this time…
“How strange… To think there are so many Gods here.” Bell’s newest Servant, the Lancer Class Heroic Spirit Arlecchino- or Peruere- said as she contemplated the information given to her by her fellow Heroic Spirits.
Seated in the living room, The Knave couldn’t help but feel that her current situation was quite ironic. Not only had she once more been sworn into service for a Goddess, but this time it was one who held the domains of ‘Hearth’ and ‘Home’. Quite humorous for the Head of the House of the Hearth, all things considered.
“Bah~ I’m more worried about the lack of booze around here!” So said the Rider Class Heroic Spirit Ling, the dragonoid lazily lounging on a couch, taking the entire thing for herself given the size of her tail. Unlike the more serious Arlecchino, Ling was much more carefree, easily agreeing to Bell’s Contract and only asking for booze in return.
For their part, both Emma and Primo couldn’t help but marvel at the new addition to their Familia. But really, what actually drew their eyes wasn’t Arlecchino herself, eye-catching as the Harbinger was, but instead Ling. The draconic Heroic Spirit was something that did not exist in this world after all.
While Ichigo and Morgan were also beings that didn’t properly exist in the World, their human appearance made it easy to forget that they were actually Spirits. Ling, on the other hand, looked nothing like any of the races known to either girl. Possessing a long, slender tail, curved horns, and clawed hands, the Fragment of Sui was an existence that was definitely otherworldly.
To say nothing of the Big Sister Aura she was giving off.
“Hmph. I suppose it matters little. As a Heroic Spirit, previous allegiances mean little, especially given that this world is not Teyvat.” Arlecchino scoffed at Ling’s flippant declaration, the Harbinger crossing her legs as she leaned back into the couch she was presently occupying. At her side, Ichigo looked the picture of boredom as neither Heroic Spirit wanted to indulge him in a spar. “I don’t suppose there are any orphanages in Orario?”
Her question sent a wave of confusion throughout the others, causing them to share a look before Bell shook his head. “Err, I don’t think so… Why? Do you want to open one?”
Giving a serious nod as she turned her gaze towards her Master, The Knave’s cross-shaped pupils being both entrancing and off-putting to see. “Of course, I was the ‘Father’ of the House of the Hearth after all.” Was her terse response, as if this declaration did anything but cause more confusion.
“Err, Father?” Glancing down towards the woman’s bountiful chest, Bell- as well as Emma and Primo, thought much more stealthily- confirmed that, indeed, the harbinger was indeed a female.
“Hmph.” Noticing his glance towards the other woman’s bosoms, Morgan frowned slightly before her arm snaked over her husband’s shoulder, before mercilessly dragging his face into her own bust. “Husband, if you wish to observe someone’s bust, it should be mine.”
The declaration earned a flush from Primo, Emma, and Ichigo, while Minato and Elysia laughed- quite sheepishly in Minato’s case. Arlecchino herself seemed less than perturbed by Morgan’s declaration, stoic as ever.
As for Ling, well…
*Thunk!*
A loud thunking noise indicated that the Sui had fallen asleep, and then off of the couch, the collision with the floor doing little to wake her.
“...” Turning their gaze towards the slumbering dragon- and ignoring Bell’s wild flailing as he attempted to escape his wife’s dangerous embrace- the rest of the Hestia Familia decided it was better to just leave this conversation and act as if nothing had happened.
Soon enough, the door opened, signaling the return of either Ozen or Hestia- since Elias was still stuck in the depths of the Dungeon with the Loki Familia. The soft footsteps that followed the door’s opening signaled that it was, in fact, the Goddess herself who had returned.
“Welcome back…” Having been freed from his wife’s bountiful chest, Bell was the first to greet the Goddess… Or well, he was in the middle of greeting her, before Hestia’s haggard features- completely unbefitting the amount of time she had actually spent away from home- caught him by surprise.
Well, given the silence that stretched out across the room, with even Arlecchino taken off guard by the desolated expression on Hestia’s face, he wasn’t the only one shocked by the Goddess’ expression.
“Y- Bell…” Almost like a zombie, the Goddess shuffled over to her first Child, grabbing onto his collar like a lifeline to keep herself from slipping onto the floor in desperation. “I- Your Alias… I- I have it…” The Goddess mumbled in-between other incomprehensible noises, causing Bell to turn towards the others for some help, only to receive bewildered looks from everyone.
Except from Ling, who was still sprawled out on the floor, snoozing away without a care in the world.
Turning his attention back to his muttering Goddess, her haggard expression and nonsensical muttering making her look like some insane cat granny instead of the eternally youthful Goddess of the Hearth and Home. Deciding to just bite the bullet and go along with what she was saying, Bell grasped Hestia by the shoulders, centering her and stabilizing her before she could join Ling on the floor.
“Y- Yes Goddess, w- what is my Alias?” Trying to keep any unsavory thoughts about his Goddess’ current appearance out of his mind, Bell instead wondered just what kind of discussion could have such an impact on his Goddess.
Her eyes refocusing at the sound of his voice, Hestia’s gaze met Bell’s as the Goddess let out a shuddering breath before speaking up. “Y- You are…” She began, a shudder of cringe shaking her spine as she recalled the alias given to her boy.
Argonaut - The Foolish Wannabe Hero
Completely unaware of what was occurring at the surface, Ozen was instead busy making sure her Seeker Camp was kept safe from wandering monsters.
For some odd reason, monsters had completely stopped spawning in the 13th Floor, earning the floor a designation as a ‘Safe Zone’. Of course, just because monsters had stopped spawning here, didn’t mean that they kept from entering through the entrances of the 12th and 14th floors.
If anything, monsters seemed to make it their goal to escape from either floors to try and make it to the Seeker Camp… Not that they made much progress in destroying the structure given the Immovable Lord’s presence within its confines.
Irrelevant of this, however, was the current cause of Ozen’s annoyance. After their trip down to the 24th Floor, Ichigo, Minato, Elysia, and Morgan had off-loaded the remnants of the Hermes Familia Party on her before returning to the surface.
Why they hadn’t just brought them back to the surface was a question best left for Morgan to answer, but for now, Ozen was stuck taking care of the despondent Adventurers.
Despite having been down there for the last few days, none of the survivors had said much aside from the regular thanks for the food and whatever else Ozen provided them. They were lucky too that she had decided to share her food with them, given that it wasn’t Dungeon Fruits, but actual food.
She had also allowed them to bunk in one of the few currently finished rooms. Heck, the Camp even had access to running water and, blessedly, hot water, courtesy of Elias and Morgan’s Magic.
Speaking of her ‘guests’, Ozen could see them still sitting at the border of the Seeker Camp facing towards the entrance to the 14th Floor, though she was quite sure that it wasn’t that entrance that had their attention, but instead the fact that it represented just what it was they had lost…
“Tch. Brats, the lot of them.” Not bothering to interact with them, Ozen went back to her construction work, deciding to ignore them and hope that they would just go away if she stopped looking at them long enough.
Ignorant of the Immovable Lord’s gaze, Asfi sat surrounded by Lulune, Pot, and Meryl, all of them overlooking the entrance to the 14th Floor, as if doing so would return their deceased friends to life. As if, if they stared long enough, they would suddenly appear in the entrance, screaming about how they had gotten lost on the way back.
But no, reality wasn’t so simple. All they saw instead was the few Adventurers that used the entrance, either to go deeper into the Dungeon or to return to the surface.
“...Should we go back to the surface…?” Breaking the uncomfortable silence that seemed to have become a constant in their lives ever since the Hestia Familia Party had dropped them off at this ‘Seeker Camp’, Lulune’s voice shook as she spoke, disuse and emotions permeating it. “I mean… I’m sure the others are worried…”
Glancing towards their friend, Asfi was the first to respond as both Meryl and Pot had seemingly lost their voice from the trauma they had endured. “I- I think that would be a good idea…” Not that any of them were in any condition to travel…
Ignoring the fact that their mood had hit rock bottom and that it was unlikely they could even muster up the energy to do anything but walk, they had lost the majority of their equipment during the scuffle on Floor 24. Only Ichigo’s timely arrival had saved their lives, and even then…
While the Upper Floors were relatively safe, for Adventurers of their Level anyways, it was unlikely that they would be able to fight their way back to the surface. Even if Ozen decided to give them weapons, their emotional state was simply too shattered for them to muster the energy necessary to do anything.
As if to exemplify this, Meryl spoke up for the first time in the day. “W- We said that yesterday thought… And the day before… and the day before that…” The Pallum recounted, her voice picking up in intensity as she spoke, tears streaming down her face as her emotions ran wild, her gaze locking onto Asfi’s own with blistering intensity. Such that Asfi, even with the knowledge that Meryl wouldn’t be able to hurt her given the disparity in their Level, flinched from the intensive glare sent her way.
“T- This is all your fault! Y- You and Lulune!” The Pallum Mage shouted, drawing flinches from both Lulune and Pot as Asfi instead reeled from Meryl’s shout. “I- If you’d just decided to follow those guys, t- the others would still be here! O- or if Lulune had just kept her mouth shut! ”
Completely taken by her emotions, uncaring that she was screaming outrageous things to her comrades, Meryl continued screaming, her voice shrill from lack of oxygen as her breathing grew ragged, words stumbling out in-between heaving breaths as she tried to both breath and scream at the same time.
“Y- You told the others to split up! B- Because you didn’t trust Hestia Familia! I- If we’d just followed them, then!” Hiccuping a few times as more tears ran down her face, snot joining as a mixture of bodily fluids stained her dress, Meryl continued screaming at her Captain, Asfi flinching at each accusation sent her way, because she had no way to defend herself. Or rather, even if the accusations Meryl was sending her way were outrageous, Asfi simply couldn’t muster the will to defend herself.
Because she was thinking the same thing.
If she had taken Morgan’s offer to follow them into the Pantry, then maybe Keaks and the others would still be alive- If Ichigo’s display was anything to go by, the rest of Hestia Familia’s Advanced Party was just as strong- They would have been fine .
Not at all finished screaming, or even seeming to notice the flinches wracking their way through Asfi, Pot, and Lulune’s bodies at her scream, Meryl turned her attention towards the Chienthrope, an accusing finger sent her way. “A- And you! If you’d just kept your mouth shut ! W- We wouldn’t have been blackmailed into taking this Quest!”
Flinching at the knowledge that it really had been her fault that they had been saddled with this quest to begin with, Lulune started crying in turn, memories of the others flashing through her mind as she tried to come up with any argument to defend herself, only to fail to do so. After all, by her own admission, it had been her fault that they had been forced to accept this quest…
“I- I hate you all! Y- You killed the others!” Fully sobbing at this point, her emotions rampaging their way out of her body in the form of vicious accusations and glares, Meryl made to scream again before a large presence made itself known behind her, causing the quartet to stiffen up at the new arrival.
Her face impassive as ever, uncaring about their internal strife or the death of their comrades, Ozen looked just annoyed enough to show over her stoic features.
“Well now. If you’re all so spirited, maybe you’ll be able to fend for yourselves if I throw you out now.” The Shielder Heroic Spirit contemplated aloud, ignoring the way the four girl’s features went white as a sheet at the thought of being forced to fend for themselves in the depths of the 13th Floor. “Hm. No, I’m quite sure the Goddess Hestia would take exception to this… Oh well.” Shrugging halfheartedly, internally quite amused by the way the quartet exhaled in relief at the knowledge that Ozen would still protect them for the time being.
“I sent a message up to the surface, Minato is coming to take you all back to Hermes.” Turning on her heels now that her intentions were fulfilled, Ozen left just as mysteriously as she arrived, her massive frame making no sound despite the heaviness of her footsteps.
Silence returned to the quartet as tears silently streamed down their faces, Meryl flashing both Asfi and Lulune withering glares before she got up and made her way back towards their temporary accommodation.
Pot, unwilling to take sides but internally agreeing with Meryl’s words, also got up to follow after her friends, a conflicted expression flashing through her face as she glanced back towards her Captain and Navigator, quickly leaving before either could say anything.
Left on their own to stew in their grief, neither Lulune nor Asfi could find it in themselves to care about the vicious barbs and expressions sent their way by their comrades. After all, they were right. If only they had acted differently, things wouldn’t have turned out so badly…
Ignorant of the situation which surrounded their target(s), a pack of Soma Familia Adventurers sulked around Orario, trying to find as much information as they could about the Hestia Familia.
After all, baby Familia or not, it wouldn’t do to go off without at least some information, right?
At their side, a Pallum carrying a large bag frowned, glaring at the ground as she listened to her so-called ‘Familia’ conspire about their latest catch.
Adventurers were all the same- Selfish and evil. But maybe, if this new target of theirs was as rich as they said, then maybe she could finally buy her freedom away from this accursed group…
Gathering Hearth Arc - Finished
Liquid Madness Arc - Begin
Notes:
So! Ling (Arknights) as Rider, and Arlecchino (Genshin Impact) as Lancer! I hope you all like my choice as Rider.
Next Arc will be dedicated to the Soma Familia (big duh given the name of the new Arc), there's that! Hestia will also, obviously, be opening an orphanage, so look forward to that happening in the next few chapters!
Loki Familia is still mostly stuck making their way back to the surface, which'll take up most of the next Arc so don't expect to see any of them doing anything.
Anyhow, I hope this chapter was good!
Chapter 16: Lingering Vapors
Summary:
Left to their own devices,
The Heroic Spirits integrate themselves into Orario,
For better or worse…--------------------
In which pieces are moved, and actions are taken towards the Future.
Notes:
Chapter 14! Wooo! The first, official, chapter of the 2nd Arc of this Story!
Not much happening in this chapter, but I hope it's fun nonetheless! I tried to progress the plot some more without just focusing on the main action, instead having the World react to everything happening around it.
So I hope this works out well enough, let me know!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Ahhh~ Things are starting to get pretty boring, don’t you think so Ryuu?” Sighing deeply, May- the one and only proper chef working at the Hostess of Fertility- asked her elven companion. Said elf was busy preparing for the soon-to-arrive dinner rush that would surely arrive once people started returning from the Dungeon after a hard day of Adventuring.
“Hmph. I suppose so…” Glancing over to the few customers already filtering in- or already seated- into the Hostess, Ryuu couldn’t shake the feeling that something strange was about to happen. Call it paranoia, but High-Leveled Adventurers tended to acquire sharp instincts due to the inherent dangers that came with their profession. “Speaking of, have you seen Syr?” Allowing her gaze to wander away from her current task, the Gale Wind attempted to locate the silver haired maiden, only to come up empty.
“Ahhh~ Mama said she took the day off, somethin’ to do with some orphans.” Sighing once more as she finished her preparations, May allowed herself a few moments to rest up before the dinner rush started proper. “Meh, you know how she can get, that girl…”
Resisting the urge to pinch her brow, Ryuu did indeed know how Syr could get when she got in one of ‘those’ moods. As much as Syr said people watching was only a small hobby, at times it felt like something so much grander…
“Hoh? Sounds interesting~ Heyyyy~ Can I get another bottle of this here?”
“Hmph, is it really-” Her eyes widening suddenly as a voice echoed out from next to her, Ryuu felt all of her instincts- honed from years of Adventuring and killing- flare up as she whirled around, arms raised to defend herself from the voice, only-
“Kinda funky~ I like it~” Lounging atop a table with one leg hanging off its surface, propping a head of blue hair- which pooled atop the table almost like a waterfall plunging into a lake, the effect of which was only magnified by the intricate ponytail-like braid containing the aquamarine strands- with one arm… Was a Demi-Human woman?
No, wait. That was impossible.
Blinking a bit, before sharing a bewildered look with May- and then the rest of the waitresses within the Hostess-, the Adventurers attempted to make heads or tails- quite literally- of what exactly they were looking at. Human in appearance, the woman before them sported a pair of curved horns atop her head- much too small to be those of a Cows or a Sheep, not to mention their almost antler-like shape- coupled with an equally attention grabbing blue tail. Said tail was currently swaying in some manner of unfelt breeze, casual- almost flippantly so- in its mannerism.
Her free hand- tipped with claws- held a gourd reminiscent of those used in the Far East. Decorated with serpent-like motifs across its surface, the gourd was held using an intricate weaving of cord- or maybe leather straps? It was hard to say- with the woman casually sipping from it without a care in the world.
Only somewhat less jarring were her clothes. Primarily white in color, the woman wore a loose fitting overcoat, almost like some manner of modified kimono left unfastened at the front, exposing the woman’s white shirt, accented with blue highlights and some yellow motifs, which left nothing to the imagination- something that tickled Ryuu’s elven sense of propriety something fierce.
Especially those shorts! Gods above, they might as well not have existed, instead blatantly showing off the horned woman’s luscious- creamy- tights, something not helped by her lounging pose which seemed much too mesmerizing despite how haphazard it should be.
“!” Gritting her teeth before shaking her head, centering herself, Ryuu watched as the woman took one last sip from her gourd before flashing her an amused- almost lethargic- smile.
“Hoh~ Little Bell wasn’t wrong when he said you were wonderful to look at~” Almost like a fresh morning breeze, the woman’s words drifted along the wind, stirring the almost sterile air within the Hostess of Fertility in a way that seemed completely otherworldly. “Be a dear and get me some more alcohol, yes?”
Taken completely off-guard at the mention of Bell, assuming they were thinking about the same Bell anyways, Ryuu was once more put off-kilter by the strange woman. Trying to retrieve her groove somewhat, Ryuu slackened her posture somewhat, losing the almost offensive edge her previous pose had and instead replacing it with a professional- if rather stiff- one.
“Who are you? How did you get in here?” Without anyone noticing, was left unsaid. Ryuu was confident in her abilities as a Level 4 Adventurer, to say nothing of the other highly trained Adventurers working within the Hostess. To think that this woman could somehow slip by all of them…
Laughing slightly at Ryuu’s question, the horned woman- whose laughter made the gathered waitresses feel much too giddy for comfort- seemed less than threatened despite the almost hostile aura permeating the tavern. “Hoh? Don’t worry too much about it~ Tis like a dream!” Raising her arm- and by extension the gourd hanging off of it- into the air, the woman almost seemed to try and draw all attention towards her with her actions. Graceful- too graceful the Adventurers noticed- and fleeting, it really was like they were watching a dream unfold before them. “But about this booze? Is this not such an establishment?” Moving her gourd until it was in Ryuu’s face, the woman’s uncaring smile never wavered despite her outrageous behavior.
Stiffening up a bit at the sudden intrusion of her personal space, Ryuu glanced towards Mama Mia, only to receive a stiff nod in return. Clenching her fists in resignation, Ryuu took the offered gourd and went to fill it back up with ale- a special blend ordered by the Hostess straight from the Ninsun Familia’s farm- she quickly returned to find that the woman had yet to move from her perch atop the table.
Gritting her teeth a bit at how nonchalant the woman was being, Ryuu offered- quite briskly- the gourd back to its owner who- with gentle grace echoing that of the morning breeze- took the offered vessel and drank deeply from it, a satisfied sigh emerging from her lips.
“Ahhh~ Good spirit! Quite! This trip was well worth it, might I say~” Allowing an appreciative half-lidded gaze to observe Ryuu’s body- causing the elf maiden to shiver a bit as the woman’s eyes almost seemed to pierce right through to her core, beyond any pretenses of being nothing more than a simple waitress- the horned woman made no move to remove herself from her perch, instead preferring to sip her beverage without a care in the world.
About ready to throw the woman out of the Hostess- perhaps literally so depending on how things went- Ryuu took a step towards the woman, only to suddenly feel incredibly small, oh so insignificantly small- as if an ant gazing up towards the peak of the highest mountain. Some unseen, unknowable pressure exuding from the amused horned woman who was still languishing atop the wooden structure. Amusement danced within her gaze as she observed Ryuu, reminding the elf of how it felt to be gazed upon by a royal- nay- a god.
But- This wasn’t possible! The Gods, each and every one of them- regardless of outward appearance or behavior- held some presence that all mortals (and monsters some theorized) could sense and use to identify them. According to Mama Mia, some of them could hide their presence, but it wasn’t a skill most had-
But this woman- Gods could be outrageous in appearance given accessories, one needed only look at Ganesha, but they were all inherently human in appearance. No, it was better to say that the Gods all lacked Demi-Human features. And yet this woman-
“Ahhh~ Call me Ling, Little Lion~” As if peering into her thoughts, the woman- Ling- introduced herself with a careless smile which belayed the immense otherworldly presence she exuded. And then, when all the waitresses and customers blinked-
“S- She’s gone!?” Anya exclaimed, the Cat Person gapping at how exactly the person they were all looking at, who had been lounging on a wooden table of all things, had not only entered the building unnoticed, but had also escaped it without the slightest trace. Scent, footsteps, nothing. It was as if-
“...a dream…” Eyes widening as the implication of Ling’s words resonated within her mind, Ryuu was the first to piece together what exactly had happened. Or, rather, was the first to theorize about it, with the others not far behind. Had this been some manner of illusionary magic? But then-
Sitting innocently where Ling had previously been lounging, was a bag full of Valis, more than enough to cover the ale she had asked for.
Dumbfounded and left with more questions than answers, rumors would begin circulating around Orario of a horned woman mysteriously appearing around various taverns asking for alcohol, only to vanish just as mysteriously after a few words were exchanged. Always leaving behind a bag of Valis to pay for her ale.
While Ling was busy terrorizing the general populace by appearing out of nowhere and stealing people’s booze, Peruere- more commonly known as the 4th of the Harbinger Arlecchino- was currently strolling throughout the whole of Daedalus Street, her heels rhythmically clicking with each step she took.
Unconcerned with the attention she was drawing given her extravagant attire, The Knave held a particular location in mind. Having been given a copy of a map of Daedalus Street, made courtesy of Elias and Morgan’s explorations- usually done by Familiars, a particular set of locations had drawn her interest. Not because of anything intrinsically special about them, but instead because of who was there.
Stepping foot before a large abandoned church, unimpressive in its appearance and similar to many other such buildings which littered Daedalus Street’s every corners, Arlecchino raised one of her hands before carefully knocking on the door- making sure to not accidentally break or, Gods forbid, unhinge the doors.
A few seconds passed before someone answered, one of the doors opening inward and revealing a charming young woman. Brunette with olive eyes, the woman exuded a motherly aura which was only compounded by her maid-like attire. Blinking a bit as she took in who exactly had knocked at the door, Maria Martal was taken aback by the charismatic- if somewhat eccentric- individual who had come to her door.
“Erm, hello?” Uncertain, almost on edge as the monochrome woman’s cross-shaped pupils landed upon her form, Maria wasn’t sure whether to feel intimidated or- for some strange reason- flustered…
“Maria Martel I presume?” Arlecchino asked, though it was clear by the wording that this was more of a formality than an actual question. Not that this kept Maria from nodding, if only to be polite. “I am Arlecchino of the Hestia Familia, and I would like to… discuss business, if at all possible.” Despite how polite The Knave was being, it was clear to Maria that this was all just formalities. It was never a question of ‘if’, but a statement- nay, an order.
Feeling sufficiently cowed- not to mention quite flustered- by the Harbinger’s presence, Maria silently gestured for the Lancer to enter, Arlecchino’s heels drawing copious amounts of attention from the various children currently housed within this so-called orphanage, the sound they were making intriguing the children given that few, if any, had ever seen such footwear, let alone hear what it would sound like.
Watching as both women vanished into Mother Maria’s office, the children all huddled together and started animatedly whispering amongst each other. Theories and questions- some more outlandish than others- were passed around the various children with wild abandon.
Was this woman Mother Maria’s lover? Or maybe some rich business woman looking to adopt one of them? Or maybe she was an Adventurer who had been taken with Mother Maria’s charm?
On and on the theories came and went, some of the children even trying to press their ear to the door to try and eavesdrop, only to be left disappointed when no noises could be heard from inside the office.
“Hoh? What are you children doing now?” Amused and somewhat bewildered by the childrens’ action, Syr Flova couldn’t help but allow a smile to form onto her lips as she gazed upon the pile of children all trying to listen in to Maria’s office. Syr’s amusement only heightened when she saw the children all flinch and jump at her sudden appearance- not that she had sneaked into the building or anything. It was simply that the children had been much too taken by whatever it was that had their attention to notice her arrival is all.
“Big Sis Syr!” One of the children, a cream haired Chienthrope girl- Fina- exclaimed as she rushed over to the waitress- arms spread wide open for a hug, which Syr quickly reciprocated. “Mother Maria invited a strange woman into her office!”
Quickly following her lead, the rest of the children all flocked to Syr’s side, each and every one of them eager to share their theories about the mysterious woman and her intention.
Left somewhat bewildered and bemused by the sudden onset of gossip thrown her way, Syr simply nodded along as the children babbled all around her, an amused smile gracing her features. Yet, on the inside, she was just as- if not more so- curious as the children about this mysterious individual.
After a few more minutes of the children regaling her with their theories, the door to Maria’s office opened, allowing the two women to step out. Stoic as ever, Arlecchino led a flustered Maria out of her office, her poise and crimson orbs taking Syr by surprise. Actually-
“Children, I have some good news-” Quickly gathering the children, and by extension Syr, Maria smiled gently as she crouched to more easily interact with the children. “Miss Arlecchino here, and the Hestia Familia as a whole, have decided to help us.”
This statement earned excited gasps from the children, who all quickly flocked to Arlecchino’s side, eager to get to know their apparent new caretaker. Taking this in strides, almost as if she had been expecting such a reaction and had much experience dealing with children, Arlecchino easily answered each and every question sent her way.
And yet, the only one who didn’t ask any questions was Syr. The waitress stood stock still as she gazed upon The Knave, her pupils dilated and unfocused. This- Oh this Soul!
“GAAAAAAAH!” Swinging her sword into an overhead strike, Emma easily bisected a kobold that was in her way, Primo and Bell easily taking care of the other monsters that had surrounded them. At their side, both Minato and Elysia were watching the trio of mortals with eagle eyed precision.
It had been decided that, in order to maximize the amount of excelia they could gather, both Elysia and Minato would refrain from interfering unless absolutely necessary. As such, it was up to the three mortal members of the Hestia Familia to fight their way down to the 13th Floor.
Not that they were in any danger, what with Minato keeping a close eye on every monster within their vicinity, and Elysia making light conversation whenever possible to alleviate the inherent tension that came with Dungeon Delving.
All in all, it only took around a day for the group to make it to the Seeker Camp, with Bell, Emma, and Primo being in awe at the massive structure that had been erected within the Dungeon by Ozen.
Waiting for them at the entrance of the Seeker Camp was its primary caretaker and builder, her mountainous frame easily seen from even the entrance of the floor.
“Ozen!” Bell exclaimed, sending the Servant of the Shield a wave which the bovine woman reciprocated, though with much less enthusiasm, not that she was annoyed given the amused toothless smile etched onto her features. “We’re here for the Hermes Familia Adventurers!”
This declaration earned a giggle from Emma and Elysia, both of which were quite amused by Bell’s declaration. Of course this was why they were here, but Bell’s innocent exuberance only made his affirmation of their purpose here all the more cute and amusing.
“I would certainly hope so.” Ozen intoned, her voice stoic and monotone as ever, and yet there was a certain amused edge to it as she led the party into the Seeker Camp towards the room the remnants of the Hermes Familia’s Party were using. “A little longer and I would have simply thrown them out.” Cringing a bit at Ozen’s blunt reaffirmation of her intentions and lack of care for the four girls they had rescued, Minato shared a stiff smile with Bell, Emma, and Primo.
“Don’t be so harsh~ Those girls just got through a harsh period of their lives after all!” Ever positive, Elysia sent Ozen a pout, floating up so that she was slightly taller than the Immovable Lord, not that this earned the Flame-Chaser anything more than an annoyed glance.
Soon enough, Bell was able to spot the Hermes Familia girls they were supposed to escort back to the surface, though the sight of them caused him- and by extension Emma and Primo- to flinch slightly. Haggard and lanky, each girl looked almost like a ghoul as they shuffled towards the party. Large bags under their eyes, with dark rings signifying a distinct lack of sleep- or at least proper restful sleep- each girl looked horrible. While they seemed healthy enough physically, what with Ozen feeding them and ensuring that no food was wasted, their emotional state was left in shambles.
Cringing a bit as each girl almost shambled out of the room, they each sported a simple robe- courtesy of Morgan’s [Item Construction] Skill- as their Adventuring Gear had either been destroyed or was in such poor state that it wasn’t even worth trying to repair it, Bell offered them a stiff smile as he opened his mouth to try and make some small talk, only for Minato to stop him.
Placing a hand atop Bell’s shoulder, the Fourth Hokage simply shook his head as he gazed upon the broken forms of what had once been shining Adventurers. It was a look he had seen much too many times during the Third Shinobi World War, and seeing it in the eyes of children never got any easier.
Despite how easy the trip back to the surface was, even with four non-combatants accompanying them, it felt dreadfully horrible….
Notes:
Wooo! Chapter 14 done! I hope it was a nice read, things are happening, pieces are moving, and both Ling and Arlecchino are doing things! Hermes Familia is finally back on the surface, though who knows if they'll stay Hermes Familia for much longer...
I had this idea of having Pot and Meryl leave Hermes Familia and join up with Hestia Familia (taking Gina with them), but I'm not sure if that would just inflate Hestia Familia's membership, or feel like some weird copout. If they *do* join, it won't be for a couple other chapters, but yeah, let me know about that.
Also, Ling. Damn is she hard to write, but also fun (≧▽≦)
Anyhow, next Chapter, Soma Familia finally moves, for better or worse...
Chapter 17: Ode To Wine
Summary:
Drunkards are naught but careful,
Intoxicated by desires,
Under the shine of the moon,
Wine shall flow endless from a Golden Chalice.-----------------------
In which plans are made, and friendships blossom
Notes:
So, this chapter too awhile to write. Sorry about that! Inspiration was just a bit dry for this one, so I hope it's still good enough.
Plot is advancing! Which is fun!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Within the depths of the Dungeon, Bell couldn’t help but wonder just what it was that his Servants were doing.
Of course, Morgan, Ichigo, Ling, and Arlecchino had all stated that they had plans, but most hadn’t gone into details about said plans. Or maybe it was just that their plans had been too broad? Morgan had said that she was simply planning on finishing their map of Daedalus Street and Ichigo was tasked with following Goddess Hestia around to make sure she didn’t get attacked.
Ling and Arlecchino, on the other hand, hadn’t said much about their plans… Then again, they were quite new to Orario, so maybe they just needed some time to formulate something?
“Bell! Is now really the time to be thinking about your wife?” Elysia’s teasing, amused, voice asked him, breaking him out of his thoughts and causing him to flush deeply. Especially when Emma laughed a bit at Elysia’s words.
“E- Eh!? Wait- No, you’ve got it all wrong!” Desperately trying to deny the allegations, Bell reminded himself that he was currently inside the Dungeon. Now wasn’t the time to get distracted, he could do that once they made it to their current destination…
“It’s just… I wonder what the others are doing.” He elaborated, earning an understanding nod from the Heroic Spirit of the Bow, who simply teetered on her heels, making a show of pondering an answer.
“Mah~ I’m sure they’ll be fine~” She intoned flippantly, earning a snicker from both Emma and Primo at how positive she could be, while Minato simply gave a sheepish smile.
“...You’re right! I’m sure nothing bad is happening!”
Looking down at the sniveling child- was she a child? It was hard to tell- currently trying to meld into the stone below, Ling couldn’t help but feel completely out of her depths.
Comforting children had never been her forte, nevermind the fact that said child had just witnessed the dragon woman beating the shit out of some manner of pursuers.
“Soooo~ You doing okay?” Deciding to just try and start a conversation to see how things would go, Ling crouched down to try and get to eye-level with the diminutive girl, bruises covering the girl in a tapestry of pain that made it obvious that this wasn’t the first time such abuse had been laid out on her.
Instead of a verbal response, all Ling managed to extract from the girl were more shrieks of panic and more tears. Blinking a bit in surprise at the sudden reaction, Ling instead decided that the obvious next move was too… leave. This wasn’t her business, and truthfully, handling crying children was not her forte.
Then again, leaving a crying child alone in a dirty back alley was probably not a good idea… Frowning a bit as she debated her current choices, Ling decided that today was already a failed outing, and instead just took the child in her arms before making for the Familia Housing. Surely Goddess Hestia would have an idea on what to do with the crying child.
Right?
“Soooo, that’s a situation…” Gazing down at the shy mortal before her, Hestia couldn’t help but feel like this situation was about to become a whole lot of unnecessary trouble. On the one hand, Ling had done the right thing- leaving the Pallum alone in a back alley wasn’t a good idea. On the other hand, things had just become much more complicated.
Apparently Soma was… incredibly bad at controlling his own Familia. Actually, saying he ‘controlled them’ was a bit too much credit for what was actually happening. Now, normally the affairs of another Familia wasn’t any of her business- even if her bleeding heart made her want to save the crying child before her- but the fact that the Pallum- Liliruca Arde- had confessed to the Soma Familia’s desire to rob her of her money was a bit of an issue.
Of course, Hestia had been more than a bit skeptical about Liliruca’s words, thought the innate ability of all Divines to always know if a mortal was lying to them told her that things were just as they were- Soma was a moron who didn’t even bother to control his Familia and now that same Familia was conspiring to rob her because they were a bunch of greedy drunks.
“...I say we just rob them first.” Was Ling’s casual reply, quite obviously intrigued by the mention of Soma’s ‘Divine Wine’... of course. Morgan seemed to be of the same opinion, hopefully for other reasons beyond the wine. Ichigo, on the other hand, seemed to be in deep contemplation.
As for Arlecchino, well, the Heroic Spirit of the Lance was busy rifling through a set of documents without a care for Liliruca’s current predicament. Not that Hestia could really blame the Lancer given her current task of building a proper orphanage for all the parentless children inhabiting Deadalus Street.
Finally, after a few more agonizing moments of silence, Morgan finally spoke up. Her tone was cold and calculating, befitting her title of ‘Witch’. “I believe Ling has the right idea, Goddess Hestia.” The Witch of the British Isle began, her voice drawing the attention of everyone currently inside the room. Even Arlecchino, previously uninterested in the current subject, raised her gaze up from her current work to look at the Witch, an eyebrow raised in curiosity. “We cannot allow Soma Familia to take us by surprise. Doubly so now that their main objective has been revealed to us.”
Raising a finger towards the sky, Morgan continued speaking. “As we now have the advantage, it would be foolish to not begin investigating the Soma Familia. Not only would this ensure your safety, but it would also ensure the safety of all who would otherwise be targeted by the Soma Familia.”
And, there it was. The argument that would put both Hestia and Ichigo firmly on board with this plan. It was obvious to Morgan that Ichigo was a ‘Hero’ through and through. He would never allow innocent civilians to be put in harm's way, especially not if he knew beforehand that such harm would come their way. To say nothing of Goddess Hestia given her title as the Goddess of the Hearth and Home.
Nay. Neither Ichigo nor Hestia would allow such a thing to befall innocent civilians. Whether Ling and Arlecchino would join in this little endeavor mattered little, because Hestia would back it fully. So long as innocent lives were kept out of harm, Hestia wouldn’t care about what would happen to some violent drunks.
Hiding a satisfied smile as she witnessed both Ichigo and Hestia go ramrod straight as various scenarios played through their heads, Morgan turned her attention back towards Liliruca and Ling, a knowing smile forming on her face. “Now then, I do believe it is time to infiltrate the Soma Familia’s headquarters, wouldn’t you say so?”
Eyebrows rising as realization dawned upon her, Ling allowed an amused smile to appear on her face as she leaned towards Morgan, already knowing what the Faerie Queen was implying.
“Oh~ Now this, this I like.”
There were few things in this world that could scare a God. Even without their powers, the simple knowledge that few- if any- mortal would dare harm them made it easy to feel safe even when surrounded by otherwise hostile individuals.
It was why Soma’s current predicament made him feel completely out of his depths.
Over the last few days, things had become increasingly erratic around his office. Things that had previously been neatly- by his standards anyways- arranged on tables had been rearranged the moment he turned his back to them. Wine bottles were found strewed about or even not at all, drastically reducing the amount of wine within the cellar.
It was as if something was haunting him, purposefully doing small- almost unnoticeable- things whenever he wasn’t looking just to reinforce the fact that someone was doing something to him . And it wasn’t just to him either. According to Zanis, everyone within the compound was being haunted!
Whether it was strange sounds appearing during the night, or shadowy figures standing just outside of view, or even objects being moved whenever they were left alone. It was happening all over the compound!
Things were so horrible that nobody was able to work anymore! Adventurers refused to go into the Dungeon, suppliers refused to go out and buy supplies, and even the few that were trusted to go out and sell the prepared Soma Wine were too scared to get out of their rooms!
It was as if the only ones still able to function properly were Zanis and Soma himself! It was maddening.
The worst part was, even his divine senses couldn’t tell him exactly what was going on. Had it been a regular haunting, then even he- a God of Wine- could have sensed and exorcised the ghosts. But no, as things were, it really was as if something- or someone- completely invisible was tormenting his Familia for some yet unknown reason.
But amongst all this, the very worst part was that people were starting to beg him to leave the Familia- not because of anything about the Familia itself, but instead because the hauntings only seemed to follow those that were active Familia members!
As things were, a large majority of his Familia had already left, Zanis being unable to stem the flow of horrified Adventurers.
Unbeknownst to Soma, but Zanis’ usual methods of controlling the rest of the Soma Familia were failing. Not even the promise of Soma Wine could prevent the horrified Adventurers from rebelling against his rules. While he was a Level 2, and the large majority of the Soma Familia were simply Level 1, they didn’t need to overpower him to get to Soma…
As things were, Soma Familia was currently hemorrhaging members, money, and resources. While it wasn’t yet to the point where the Familia was threatened with disbandment by the Guild, it was enough that Soma himself could no longer do his usual thing of blindly allowing Zanis control of the Familia.
Despite all the chaos happening within the Soma Familia’s compound, a chuckling dragonoid lazily drank from a nearly empty bottle of Soma from her perch atop Soma’s main workshop, overseeing the chaos that both she and Morgan had wrought upon the God of Wine’s Familia.
All in all, things were going well!
Having been kept in the dark about the current goings on of the rest of the Familia, Bell was currently accompanying Primo and Emma on a shopping trip to the same shop where he had bought his armor.
While their weapons were still relatively fine, for now, their armor- or lack thereof- was not holding well against the creatures of the low Upper Floors. Despite having yet to suffer any manner of malfunctions, it was only a matter of time before their beginner armor would fail, and maybe to disastrous effect.
It might seem counterintuitive to not purchase a weapon, but considering the fact that Elias would return shortly to make them proper weapons- nevermind the fact that Primo didn’t actually need a weapon, her staff was more than enough for the moment- it was considered a waste of time and money to buy a weapon that would be replaced in short order.
As such, Bell was currently trying to advise his juniors on what kind of armor they should buy, with a good amount of success actually. His own experience with light armor, coupled with conversations he’d had with the rest of the Heroic Spirits allowed him to properly advise both of his juniors, much to his joy!
He was finally growing!
It was… a sobering thought, actually, to figure out that he was actually gaining experience and growing as an individual. Nevermind the fact that things had happened so quickly, the idea that a few months ago, he had been nothing but a farm boy lost in the world was staggering.
He wasn’t quite sure how to process this… maybe he should ask the others if they had ever experienced such a thing before, to feel as if you were growing too quickly, or maybe in a slanted manner? It was strange, to feel like he was both growing on his own merits, but also being carried forth by the experiences of his predecessors.
Maybe this was what it felt like to carry on the legacy of others?
Shaking his head to return to the present, Bell found himself somewhat surprised to see a red haired man arguing with the shopkeep. Despite the distance between them, and the fact that he wasn’t actively trying to eavesdrop on their conversation, it seemed that his Level 2 Senses were more than enough to pick up bits and pieces of their conversation.
Before he could fully tune it out- mostly out of respect for their privacy- something caught his attention-
“Listen Welf, nobody wants your crap, ya hear?!” The shopkeep shouted, having had enough of the red head’s- Welf’s- arguing. Before Welf could retort, his mouth opened and ready for a retaliatory shout, Bell was at his side, grabbing onto the blacksmith’s shoulders to try and grab his attention.
“Wait! You’re Welf!? A- You made this!?” Gesturing towards his current chestplate, Pyonkichi II- whose name he would change later, or just refuse to acknowledge, Bell was surprised to see that Welf seemed at a complete loss for words.
Sending the shopkeep a sheepish smile, Bell dragged the blacksmith towards a nearby bench so they could talk. An awkward silence permeated the air between them as the realization that neither of them knew just what to talk about. After a few moments of silence, Welf was the first to speak up, a rueful smile on his lips.
“Soooo, you’re the one who's been buying my stuff, yeah?” He asked, receiving a nod from Bell. Sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, Welf felt quite proud of himself as he quickly recognized Bell from one of the many posters that hung around the Guild Hall. Argonaut , the new Level 2 of the Hestia Familia.
“Y- Yeah, I am… Your armor’s really good… Saved me from that minotaur way too many times.” Bell admitted, quite grateful for the armor’s quality despite its price. While it was true that his weapon had played a great part in allowing him to slay the minotaur, he wouldn’t have lasted nearly as long without his armor.
Puffing his chest out in pride as his craftsmanship was praised by a customer, Welf couldn’t help but wonder how it was that Bell had already reached Level 2 after- according to the Guild report- only a few months of Adventuring.
“Heh, thanks. Pretty proud of it, honestly…” Deflating a bit as he remembered that nobody actually bought the thing before Bell, Welf recovered some of his ego when he remembered that Bell had actually used the armor to kill a minotaur. “Soooo, wanna make a Contract?” He asked, deciding to try his luck with the friendly young man and see where things went. After all, blacksmiths didn’t get very far in this line of work without being bold!
Blinking a bit at Welf’s question, Bell tilted his head to the side inquisitively as he tried to recall if he knew anything about such contracts, before realizing that, no, he didn’t.
“Err, what kind of contract?” While he wasn’t as business savvy as some of his Servants, that didn’t mean that Bell hadn’t learned a few things from them, with one of the most important being to carefully read and think through every contract before he signed or agreed to it .
Nodding at Bell’s question, not at all surprised by the youngster’s lack of knowledge about this particular part of the Blacksmith-Adventurer dynamic, Welf elaborated without question.
“Ya see, Blacksmiths need materials to make things. The easiest way is just to buy them, but that’s expensive.” Welf explained, crossing his arms over his chest as he spoke. “For junior smiths like me, the best way to get materials is to make a contract with Adventurers. In exchange for reduced rates and an exclusivity contract with you- meaning I’ll fix your equipment and make you new stuff for cheaper- you’d bring me materials from the Dungeon.”
Nodding in understanding, Bell thought back to what the others had said, before realizing that this type of business relationship wasn’t all that bad. All he had to do was sell- or give- Welf some Drop Items from the Dungeon and in return he’d get a guaranteed source of new armors. Pondering the idea for a few more moments, Bell nodded, a bright smile forming on his lips as he extended a hand towards Welf, the red haired smith grinning back and clasping Bell’s hand firmly.
“Sounds like a deal then… I’ll ask if Elias has some stuff I could give you…” Pondering the notion a bit, Bell missed the way Welf’s eyebrow shot up into his hairline, before his eyes widened in excitement as the name finally rang a bell.
In a complete reversal of their original situation, it was now Welf’s turn to grab onto Bell’s shoulders, an erratic and almost manically excited gleam in his eyes as he almost shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Elias- You mean, the guy that sold Lady Hephaestos all that Orichalcum and Adamantite!?”
It would seem that things were slowly turning for the better… Maybe it had to do with his [Luck] Skill?
Notes:
So, Welf and Lily appear, finally. Should they play a major role in this story? Or rather, I have plans for Welf, but no plans for Lily beyond this arc. Should she join Hestia Familia, or remain some vagrant? Or maybe something else, I'm not quite sure honestly.
Let me know what you guys think! And hopefully next Chapter won't take me so long to write!
Chapter 18: A Step To The Side
Summary:
While Chaos reigns supreme atop the Abyss,
Within, many questions are born,
Whether those answers are satisfying or not, however,
Or perhaps, it would be better to say,
Whether the asker can handle the answers
Or;
Why do Birds Fly?
Notes:
New Chapter! Wooo! Finished writing this one, so I hope it's good.
This time we're not on the surface, but instead in the Dungeon with Elias and the Loki Familia! I decided to take this one a bit slower, and instead focus on some character development instead of just pushing the plot forward (even thought I hope this character development will also help push the plot forward!)
Anyhow, I hope this chapter will be a good read!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Still within the depths of the Dungeon, the Loki Familia’s Expedition Party was making camp on the 30th Floor. Why not simply push forward until the Safe Zone on Floor 18?
Well that was because, quite frankly, everyone was exhausted. The fight on Floor 59 had drained most of its participants- ie. everyone except Elias who was simply faking being tired- and so the Second String had been forced to become the main vanguard for the trip back to the surface.
Unfortunately, since the Second String lacked access to its usual supporting units like the Fairy Force or at least one Level 5 or 6 to act as point, the trek back towards the surface was taking a lot longer than usual. Seeing as they were well out of High Potions- due to a Viola Attack on the Camp during the battle against the Demi-Spirit- the Loki Familia’s Elites, including Tsubaki and Elias- who was still faking being tired and injured, had been forced to mostly rest.
That didn’t mean they weren’t actively participating in battles, it just meant that they couldn’t put in as much effort as they usually would. Technically, it was good excellia for the Second String members, but it also meant that they had to redouble their caution. Unlike in a regular expedition, they weren’t going down the Dungeon, but up. That meant that retreat wasn’t an option if they, for some reason, got overwhelmed.
As such, the trek back towards the surface was taking a lot longer than it normally would. That meant that, unfortunately for Elias, he was stuck pretending to be injured and tired for a bit longer.
While he had showcased a myriad of abilities during the fight against the Demi-Spirit, most of them could feasibly be passed off as either a Skill or a Magic Item. Suddenly being able to heal from all of his supposed ‘injuries’ and blast his way out of the Dungeon? That wasn’t easily explained away.
So, for now, he was busy trying to avoid the Loki Familia’s Executives and just in general minding his own business. It wasn’t like most of the Second String members had anything to say to him, and the others that had fought at his side were just too put off by the intimidating aura that surrounded him as he sulked.
It was why, when the High Elf Queen suddenly approached him while he was busy pretending to nap under the shade of a tree, he was quite surprised. He would have expected Braver to be here, but then again, Riveria also made sense given her expertise in the field of mysticism.
Continuing to pretend to be sleeping under the unimpressed gaze of the High Elf Queen, Elias eventually cracked open one eye, tilting it up to look at Riveria’s stern frown. Shooting her a small smirk, Elias slowly rose to his feet while dusting himself off- not that there was any dust or dirt attached to his clothes, Magic was just nifty like that.
Maintaining eye contact with Elias for a few more moments, Riveria felt her annoyance and curiosity war against one-another as she debated how exactly she would approach this conversation. It wasn’t like Elias wasn’t fully aware of what she was about to ask, and it also wasn’t like he was under any obligation to answer any of her questions.
Watching as his smirk turned slightly cocky as he divined something from her current facial expression, Riveria couldn’t help but flush a bit under his gaze. It wasn’t as if she was a stranger to men- and even women- ogling her, but this was different. Usually, those who gazed upon her saw a First-Class Adventurer, or the Strongest Mage of Orario, or even simply the High Elf Queen. Few saw her as ‘Riveria’, the individual beneath the titles and reputation.
Admittedly, it wasn’t as if she made it easy for others to see underneath her public persona given her upbringing and general standoffish personality. So, the fact that Elias seemed to be able to pierce through that so easily was all the more intriguing, and stressful. Gritting her teeth as she mulled over whether or not she should feel irritated with Elias’ cocky smirk and flippant gaze, the sound of his voice brought her right out of her thoughts like a hook reeling in a fish.
“Well, I can’t say I’m all that surprised that you were chosen to interrogate me.” Giving a careless shrug that spoke of confidence, Elias maintained his cocky smirk as he continued speaking. “So, what shall it be? What were those Spells I used? Or maybe whether or not they were actually Spells at all.” With each hypothetical question he intoned, Elias leaned towards Riveria ever so slightly, his smirk widening just a tad with every inch he crossed towards her. His eyes, previously flippant and uncaring, took on a sharpness that left her breathless, rooting her to the ground as she clutched onto the hem of her battledress with her empty hand, the one holding Magna Alf turning white from the pressure she was exerting upon the Second-Class Weapon. “Or maybe you want to know whether or not I have anything to do with that thing.”
Now completely in her face in a way that no one other than Finn, Gareth, and Loki had ever been, Elias’ breath lightly tickled her face, strands of her hair wavering with each of his exhales. From this distance, it was easy for her to see that- to her shock and slight indignation- he wasn’t actually looking her in the eyes. Actually, it was better to say that he was purposefully looking just off to the side past her right ear. It was slight enough that even with her enhanced senses as both an Elf and a Level 6 Adventurer, she hadn’t been able to perceive it prior. But now that he was literally in her face, it was impossible to miss-
“Well, Lady Riveria. What shall it be? Or maybe-” Leaning in even closer to her, causing her to stiffen up like the Great Holy Tree’s Trunk, Riveria could feel Elias’ smirk on her right ear, the sensation causing a full body flush to develop across her usually stoic form. This flush only grew more fierce as he finished his statement, turning her into a tomato. “Maybe you wish to express your gratitude to me for saving your apprentice?”
Internally feeling quite amused by how easily Riveria was being teased- honestly, it was a miracle that Ely hadn’t turned the High Elf Queen into a nuclear bomb from all of her teasing- Elias couldn’t help but notice the almost glazed look he received in return, Riveria’s gaze a combination of shock, disbelief, horror, and… something he couldn’t quite place.
Paying it no mind for now- emotions had never been his forte- the Magister leaned back with a laugh, once more putting distance between both Mages.
“Buahahahaha! I’m kidding, but really, what’s with this look?” Chuckling some more as Riveria’s flush turned nuclear, her mouth opening and closing in a great mimicry of a fish as words attempted to emerge from it, only to fail to materialize with only breathless sounds escaping the High Elf Queen. “Gods above, please tell me you weren’t really here to try and express your gratitude for saving Lefiya-”
Choking out a laugh, especially when steam started escaping Riveria’s ears- all the blood in her body rushing to the tip of her ears- Elias felt his eyes widen as Riveria made no attempts to disprove his words.
Now it was his turn to be on the back foot- Weren’t elves supposed to be prudes or something!? What the heck was this!?
“I- I’m flattered, I think? But-” Before he could finish trying to politely decline whatever it was she was trying to offer him, Riveria finally returned to reality, releasing a loud shriek as she smacked him with her staff- not that it hurt much even thought she was properly trying to strike him- her flush somehow increasing in intensity even more, as if her embarrassment had somehow forced her body to find even more pigment to color her usually pale form.
“Y- You shut up! I- I am not here for such indecent things!” Came Riveria’s strained whisper, keeping herself from screaming or shrieking again- not wanting to attract any more attention than they already had- instead preferring to convey her disbelief and annoyance through a blistering glare. “Y- Ugh!”
Stomping her foot, Riveria turned on her heels and power walked her way back to her tent, leaving a bewildered Elias to watch on as various passing Adventurers suddenly made enormous detours to avoid being in the High Elf Queen’s path.
Releasing a nervous chuckle, Elias couldn’t shake the feeling of imminent danger that ran through his spine. Christ alive, Elysia was going to turn him into paste once she heard about this…
Maybe it wasn’t too late to run back down to the 60th Floor and pretend to be stuck down there?
Sighing deeply once more as she looked over one of the few books she had been able to take with her for the expedition, Lefiya couldn’t help but feel that she was one of the few individuals holding back the party.
Heck, even the Level 1- assuming he wasn’t somehow lying to Loki about it- had done more than she had! Nevermind the fact that he was apparently strong enough to just bisect Valgran Dragons with a singular chantless Spell, the fact that he had survived the fall towards the 58th Floor at all indicated that he was anything but normal.
Sighing deeply again, a cloud of depression forming above her, Lefiya briefly wondered if she was actually worthy of being here at all. Sure, she wasn’t the only Level 3 within the expedition, but the fact that she had been the only one below Level 5- again, not counting Elias- to join the vanguard squad down to Floor 59 was…
“Hoh? Young Lefiya, quite a surprise to see you here of all places.” A familiar voice shook her out of her sulking, drawing her gaze upwards towards the slanted eyebrow perched atop eyes that displayed confusion and bemusement towards her current slumped self. It was true, sulking underneath a tree was definitively a new low even for her, but still…
“Ah- Mr. Elias! I- err…” Suddenly feeling quite self-conscious by the bemused look Elias was giving her, Lefiya became fully aware of just how childishly sad she looked, feeling quite ashamed of herself given her status as a Noble Elf of the Loki Familia! “It’s, err…”
Flushing a bit as Elias chuckled slightly, taking a seat next to her, Lefiya wondered if it was too late to throw herself into a Valgran Dragon’s mouth to escape this shame! Dammit! What if Lady Riveria or Lady Aiz saw her! Before she could spiral some more, Elias’ voice hooked her back to reality like a fish being reeled in by a fisherman.
“It’s fine, honestly you kids should enjoy your youth some more.” He stated firmly, a kind smile forming on his lips. “So, you seem quite bothered by something. I’m not Elysia, but I’m sure I could be of help if you’re willing to confide in me.” Elias’ words were punctuated with an amused, if kind, expression as he allowed a comfortable silence to permeate between them, waiting for Lefiya to say something.
After a few moments of pondering the pros and cons of discussing her problems with what amounted to a stranger, even if he had saved her and her friends quite a few times already, Lefiya decided to just go with the flow. It wasn’t as if she was making any progress sulking about on her own anyways.
“It’s just…” She started, a heavy sigh leaving her lips as she somehow slumped even further down into the ground- a bit more and she would start digging a hole into it! Surely! “I just don’t feel like I’m doing enough…”
Listening as Elias hummed, mulling over her words, Lefiya couldn’t help but feel a sense of childishness permeate through her. Here she was, asking guidance from another adult just because she couldn’t find her own answers. It was… annoying. It made her feel even more helpless than before, if anything.
“That’s quite normal, I’m afraid.” Instead of a standard excuse or affirmation that whatever feelings of inadequacy she was feeling were only in her head, Elias instead acknowledged them, causing Lefiya to glance up at him with surprise, watching as he took on a more contemplative expression. His stare, previously filled with bemused mischief, now sported a far away glazed look that spoke of wisdom beyond mortal keenness. “No one is above those feelings Lefiya, not you, not me, not Riveria or Finn.”
His voice was firm, but gentle, a reminder that advice did not need to be placating or optimistic in nature to help. Gazed locked onto him, Lefiya shifted her stance so that she could more easily listen to what the old man was saying, a sense of wonderment filling her.
“Fear is something that none may escape from. Those that say otherwise are liars and fools.” Elias spoke with such assurance that it was hard for Lefiya to do anything but listen, especially since what he was saying wasn’t one of the usual platitudes she was fed whenever she expressed her doubts. “But fear isn’t inherently evil. Whether it be doubt in your abilities, doubt in the abilities of your friends, the feeling of inadequacy that you feel. It isn’t evil. It is, I believe, that which allows us as humans to grow and mature as individuals.”
“When you feel fear, you are confronted with your own weakness. And by learning of that weakness, you become a stronger, more compassionate individual.” Pinching the bridge of his nose, Elias became aware that Lefiya wasn’t the only one listening to him now. While the young elf mage might not have noticed, many of her comrades had ceased their usual bustle and were now instead listening to him speak. “Listen well, Lefiya. Hold onto that feeling of inadequacy. Because as long as you know you have weaknesses, you will continue to grow as a person.”
Humming once more, this time stroking his beard as he pondered his next words carefully. “Tell me Lefiya, why do birds fly?”
The sudden question, as well as its content, startled Lefiya- and all those currently listening- back to reality. Why do birds fly? What? What kind of question was that?
“I- erm, isn’t it because… they’re birds?” Feeling more than slightly puzzled by the strange question, Lefiya nonetheless decided to answer it. Even if the answer itself was quite obvious. Why do birds fly? Because, well, they’re birds. Right? Aren’t they born to fly? Isn’t that, like, their entire thing? The sky is blue, the sun is warm, birds fly. That’s it, right?
Chuckling a bit at her answer, Elias once more rubbed his beard, the motion reminding Lefiya of a stereotypical wizard or philosopher about to dispense wisdom to some young apprentice. “Perhaps. But tell me this then. If we were to go back in time, to the first bird to have ever existed. Surely it wouldn’t have wings yet, right?”
Watching Lefiya nod slightly, her features scrunching up a bit as she attempted to imagine such a thing. A wingless bird… That was, yeah…
“So, why do birds fly then? If the first birds were without wings, what could have compelled them to develop any?” Elias advanced, watching as the gears started turning inside of Lefiya’s head, something that was shared by all the others who were also silently listening in to their conversation. “It surely wasn’t because they prayed to the gods for them. So why? Was it because it was a beneficial hunting method? Or maybe because the earth was much too dangerous for them, that they choose to take flight and flee.”
“I would posit, instead, that they simply saw the first bird try to touch the zenith with a heart as lofty as the moon, only to fall to its death on the ground.” Before anyone could interrupt him, or even interject, Elias shouldered onward. “Because they saw other birds do the same, soaring higher and farther.”
Turning to look upon Lefiya, her eyes wide with awe and curiosity, Elias smiled as he watched the fire of determination blaze within her. “That, Lefiya, is why I believe birds still fly across the sky today.”
“That is why I believe that humans still explore the Dungeon, why we still push against walls that cannot be overcome alone.” As he spoke, Elias made sure that everyone else could hear him clearly, with Lefiya finally noticing that they were no longer alone. “Some heroes exist not to embody the glamour of fame, but instead to spur others on with their failure.”
“Those that came before us, and for those that shall inevitably come after us. We have a duty to do what we can. To give it everything we have.” Standing up and looking at the false sky of the Dungeon, Elias glared at the thing that was called the Abyss by the people of this world. “Even if at times it feels like you aren’t doing enough, that you aren’t strong enough. So long as you keep doing your best. That, is enough.”
Watching on as he left back to his tent, Lefiya couldn’t help but feel quite a bit lighter now that she had this conversation. It wasn’t the comfort she had initially thought she wanted. It wasn’t the usual platitudes or encouragement that others would tell her, about how she was great in her own way, or about how she was definitely making progress even though she couldn’t see it.
Instead, it was a statement about the reality of things, but also the hope for tomorrow.
Standing up, fists clenched, emboldened by Elias’ words, Lefiya felt her heart beat with the determination to do everything she could. Not for herself, but for all those who would inevitably come after her. Because this was more than just about her. It was about everyone around her. The friends she had made, and would make. So long as the Lefiya of tomorrow had made even one more step towards their goal, then that was fine.
And, wasn’t that all that was needed?
Notes:
So, Lefiya (and some others) get a peptalk about life and reality and whatnot. Let's see if that means anything. I hope the philosophy stuff I pooped out is good? I'm not a philosophy guy myself, but I tried my hardest ｡°(°.◜ᯅ◝°)°｡
I'll take critisicm and whatnot if you guys have it! Next chapter will be... I'm not quite sure actually. Probably back to the surface with other characters if I'm being honest. It's time that the side characters get a bit of time to shine!
Edit 2025-01-27: The current roaster of Servants has been updated! It isn't subject to anymore changes for now, unless things take a drastic turn or someone proposes such a big brain idea that the foundation of my mental landscape rumbles
Chapter 19: Dream Chaser
Summary:
With everything slowing down,
The mortals of the Hestia Familia are left with more time than they know to do with,
Fortunately for them, knowledge is never far from them.
Notes:
Chapter 17! Woo! Took me awhile to write, sorry about that (˵¬⤙¬˵")
Still, it's out now! Not much dialogue this time, but a bit of introspection for Bell, Primo, and Ozen!
The next few chapters will follow this trend, focusing on the thoughts and feelings of a few characters and maybe having a few interactions here and there, I'm not fully set on things.
Anyhow, let me know how you guys like this chapter!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
There is something inherently strange and inscrutable about the phenomenon known as ‘lucid dreaming’. It’s something that is both easy and hard to describe, because no one truly understands it until they actually experience it.
It was why, when Bell opened his eyes, he was initially surprised to find himself inside of a strange hallway. The walls were white and featureless, in a way that seemed otherworldly to him. Not even the Pantheon where the deusdea gathered was this flawless! It was… Off-putting.
The hall was sterile in a way that made him wonder if he was actually sleeping, or if he was instead tripping out on some of Ling’s sake… No, surely not even Ling’s sake could cause his mind to hallucinate… whatever this was.
Deciding that standing around dumbly looking at the ceiling wasn’t very proactive, Bell started meandering the hallway, looking out of any windows he found and knocking at every door he passed. The windows were… strange. Dark, yet seemingly still able to reflect his image, as if the very existence of something beyond their boundary was impossible.
The same could be said about the doors. Knocking on them made a dull sound, almost like he was knocking on a solid wall. Trying to open them also amounted to nothing. Even using all of his strength, he still wasn’t able to cause them to budge, let alone open them.
So, feeling slightly defeated at the idea that a door could still be an obstacle to him, Bell continued down the sterile hallway where, after a few timeless moments of silence, he began hearing the whispers of a conversation. Perking up at the thought that he wasn’t actually alone in this place, Bell started running towards the source of the noises, finding an open door inviting him to step through it.
But, beyond the door, was a sight he didn’t recognize. No, that wasn’t quite true. He recognized one of the individuals beyond the door, but not the other seven individuals.
There, beyond the portal of sterile metal that separated him from the room’s inhabitants, was Elias. Surrounded by seven other individuals. Each of them were… shadows, just distinct enough to tell that they were each different individuals, but not enough to actually make out most of their features.
Still, he could make out some of their features despite the shadows that surrounded them. The most striking of them was a tall man, wearing some kind of mask and wreathed in flames, seemingly shouting something.
This observation, alongside the complete lack of noises around him, startled Bell into a realization.
There was no sound to be heard anywhere.
Whether it was him trying to make sounds, or the shadows speaking, or even Elias speaking, there was no sound to be heard. All he could see were mouths opening and closing wordlessly.
Then, one of the seven shadows- previously seated in a corner of the room, rose up and made a declaration. One which went silent in Bell’s ears, but apparently convinced the others to rally behind him. This man- it was hard for Bell to focus properly on him, it was as if he was trying to look directly at the sun!
A sudden feeling of vertigo took hold of him, almost sending him tumbling to the floor as the scenery changed rapidly, images of things beyond his knowledge, of huge cylinders rising towards the moon, of individuals looking down at a marble of green, brown, and blue- it was all too much.
And yet, despite everything that was happening around him, Bell could only silently watch as things unfolded before him. Of how four of the figures died, some manner of attack tearing them apart, of how the leader- white hair blazing like flames- raised his greatsword and fought against the shadowy mass that threatened to engulf the moon itself.
Awe and fear filled Bell as he watched the fight unfold- even if most of it was incomprehensible to him, he could tell that whatever they were fighting, it was a being of impossible proportion, one that might even overshadow the One Eyed Black Dragon in danger- No, it surely did. Whatever this calamity was, the fact that it made the moon look small made it obvious that not even the One Eyed Black Dragon could compete against it.
Then, something changed. The man raised his sword high, flames gathering around him like hands reaching out towards salvation. And with those flames, light and warmth permeated the air, threatening to blow him away- to rend him to pieces-
“ I am K-v-n K-sla-a!
I defy you, Queen of Finality!
For the wishes of those that came before me, and for the future that lies after me!
I- Hero- Claim-
Oh Sword- May you be filled-
O’ Holy Sword of Flames-
May you burn down all evil in this world!-
Shuhadaku of Uriel!- ”
With a final roar of flames, Bell felt his form burn- No, not his form, Elias’ form- Bell watched as his body, Elias’ body, was enveloped by the blaze that erupted from the man-
And then, he awoke.
Letting out a startled cry as he tumbled out of his bed, his forehead catching against his nightstand- the impact not actually injuring him but instead leaving a conspicuous dent on the corner of the piece of furniture.
Then, as he laid on the ground, sweat covering his body and thoroughly drenching his pajamas, Bell couldn’t help but feel wonder at the dream he had dreamt, of the heroic figure of a man who had stood against a darkness so vast that only eight others had managed to follow him… That one of them had been Elias.
Drawing a few shaky breaths as he rose to his feet, the morning sun bathing him in its rays from the open window, Bell couldn’t help but wonder if he would eventually reach those heroic heights…
While Bell was busy reminiscing over what he believed to be a lucid dream born of copious amounts of alcohol (even though he had never actually drank any), Primo was busy studying.
While Elias was still in the depths of the Dungeon, and Morgan was still busy with whatever it was that was taking her attention these days, Elysia- of all people- had managed to dig up a few books within Elias’ workshop.
Unbeknownst to Primo, but the books she was currently reading were Grimoires containing powerful Rotes that Elias had created or collected throughout his various adventures. These Grimoires were incomparable to the ones used by Adventurers.
It wasn’t so much that they were exponentially more powerful than the Spells used by Adventurers, though Rotes could achieve such power depending on the Spell inscribed within them. No, what made them completely incomparable to the Grimoires of Orario was that the Spell it taught was pre-determined in advance, allowing for an easier time learning such Spells, but also that the Grimoire would never be spent.
It was a difference in how the Grimoire functioned that allowed for such a thing. Whereas Grimoires created by Adventurers bearing the Developmental Ability of [Mystery] were a finite resource that was spent unlocking a random Spell for the reader, the one created by Elias were Grimoires that simply gave the reader the instructions required to learn a pre-existing Spell.
Essentially, it was a trade off. Orarian Grimoires instantly gave their reader a random Spell that suited their personality, while Elias’ Grimoires allowed anyone with the proper foundation to learn any Spell written in them given enough training. Convenience versus Understanding.
It was something that fundamentally went against the usual limitations of the Falna, where two Adventurers could not possess the same Spells, baring exceptions such as Lefiya’s [Elf Ring] Spell. The ability to have multiple Mages learn the same Spell would be invaluable depending on the Spell inscribed within the Grimoire.
But it was that second part that made these Grimoires so much more different. You see, Adventurers were inherently limited in the amount of Spells they could learn. Baring compatibility and potential, an Adventurer could only ever have three Spells at their disposal. There were, of course, those few that could skew the charts using Skills or special Spells; Riveria and her [Chant Connection] and Lefiya’s [Elf Ring] were the most famous examples of such a fact.
But despite these rule breaking examples, it still remained that both Riveria and Lefiya only had three Spells to choose from, regardless of what those Spells actually did.
Then, how did Elias and Morgan break such a rule? It wasn’t simply that they were Heroic Spirits who had dedicated their lives to learning the mystic arts, but rather, that neither used the Falna as a means to learn Spells.
While an Adventurer’s Falna could only ever hold three Spells, it wasn’t impossible to learn more Spells that didn’t require the Falna. Elven Magic was the prime example, Spells that required not the Grace of the Gods, but instead countless hours of grueling training and specialized incantations to utilize. The reason most never bothered to actually use these Spells was that their power was lackluster and the concentration required to avoid an Ignis Fatuus was humongous, much more so than even the use of [Concurrent Chanting].
The fundamental difference between the Magic used by Elias and Morgan, compared to that used by the Grace of the Gods and the Elves, was Foundation. It was something that Elias had begun to quickly understand as he watched both Lefiya and Riveria cast their Spells down in the depths of the Dungeon.
Rather, in more concrete terms, neither Elias or Morgan would consider the Mages of Orario as actual Magic Casters, but instead as Users of Spellcraft. This fundamental difference is what put the Heroic Spirits at such an advantage against the Orarian Mages.
And it was something Primo was beginning to delve into as well, unknowing as she was of this fact. Despite her lack of knowledge pertaining towards the Thaumaturgical Foundation utilized by Elias, the fact remained that the Spell Primo was attempting to learn was quite simplistic in nature. No, it wasn’t that it was ‘simple’, but instead that the Foundation it was attached to was inherently easy to grasp.
Visualization.
The Spell Primo was attempting to learn was one which relied upon the user’s ability to visualize the given effect, utilizing this mental image to grant their Magic form. It was a type of Magic that relied not upon standardized Incantations or pre-existing knowledge, but instead belief and imagination.
In that way, it was lucky that Primo was such a fledgling Mage. Had it been Riveria, or even Lefiya, reading this Grimoire, neither of them would have made much progress given that they would be applying erroneous pre-existing notions to the Spell. As a beginner Mage, Primo had no such preconceptions to impose upon her learning. As such, despite how strange the instructions seemed to her, the young Elf still followed through with them because she simply did not know any better.
It was, quite simply, a fault of Morgan’s own talent as a Mage. Despite her monstrous talent as a Mage, Morgan was a Fae. A being whose existence was inherently tied to Magic in a manner that no mortal could truly comprehend without first experiencing it. As someone who had only taught Fae, Morgan was unsuited to teach a mortal like Primo.
No, it wasn’t that Morgan was unsuited, but rather that Primo was simply unable to properly digest the knowledge Morgan was trying to impart onto her. It was the same as trying to mimic a fish to learn how to swim. There was a fundamental disconnect between the method Morgan used to actuate her Magecraft, and the way Primo perceived Magic as a concept.
It was a simple deduction in hindsight, that Morgan was simply too advanced a Mage to properly teach Primo anything meaningful. Of course she could give the girl large amounts of theoretical knowledge, but given Primo’s own lack of experience in the Mystic Arts, it was the same as giving a child a lecture on calculus and expecting them to somehow be able to understand what they were doing.
Certainly, one or two might- the prodigies or those who simply learned to not question things and instead simply regurgitated whatever was told to them without really understanding it- but the large majority would never learn anything meaningful.
It was how, in the course of a single week, Primo learned the first step of the Detonation Series of Spells; [Flare Charge].
…Maybe Elysia should’ve read through that book instead of flippantly declaring that Primo could read it?
Gazing upon her current project, Ozen couldn’t help but feel a dark satisfaction welling up inside of her. There weren’t many things that interested her in the Dungeon, and in Orario as a whole quite honestly. No, that wasn’t quite it. It was better to say that she simply had no interest in being an Adventurer.
As one who had lived as a Delver for over five decades, Ozen was an individual who was fundamentally incapable of being an Adventurer. Things that Adventurers did or took for granted were simply things that she couldn’t care less for.
Case and point; Exploration and Experimentation.
It was said that experiencing the unknown within the Dungeon was one of the worst, most anxiety creating feelings an Adventurer could experience. That few things could rival being the first to stumble upon something without any information to speak of. It was why so few Familias- even those noted as being ‘Exploration Types’- ever truly discovered anything.
Oh, sure, they delved into the Dungeon day in and day out, killing Monsters, harvesting ores and Magic Stones and Drop Items for Orario, but few ever actually put any amount of effort into exploring anything truly new.
There was a reason why no one had passed the 59th Floor in over a decade since the fall of the Zeus and Hera Familias. Adventurers just weren’t the same anymore. They were weaker, less adventurous, less driven.
After all, from what the Heroic Spirits had been able to uncover, the previous generations held plenty of Level 7s, with even a Level 8 and Level 9. Yet, the current strongest was a meatheaded moron stuck on the cusp of Level 8, seemingly forever stuck on Level 7. It was disappointing in a way that Ozen couldn’t find the words to properly describe.
As a Delver who had spent her entire life exploring the Abyss in search of its secrets, the idea that progress would stagnate so quickly because of something like ‘fear’ was abhorrent and incomprehensible to her.
But, as a White Whistle, it was also something she was quite used to seeing. Delvers who became frightened and never truly amounted to anything. There was a reason over 50% of all Adventurers in Orario were Level 1, forced to scavenge in the upper levels of the Dungeon in order to just barely scrape by and survive.
Many would openly declare that the completion of the Dungeon and the slaying of the One Eyed Black Dragon was their end goal, but few would actually back that up with any amount of serious effort.
It was a disdain that Ozen had made clear when Hestia and Bell had asked her about her reasons for staying within the Dungeon almost all the time, and one that was at least partially shared by most of the Heroic Spirits currently incarnated in Orario. Certainly, if they actually put their minds to it and made a concerted effort to push through the Dungeon and attack the One Eyed Black Dragon, there was a non-zero chance that they could complete both objectives within half a decade, less time if Ichigo, Elias, and Morgan actually stopped dicking around.
But none of them would actually do so, because of one fundamental thing;
The Dead Do Not Lead The Living
The singular rule that governed the actions of the Heroic Spirits in full, it was the reason why the Hestia Familia was currently without a captain, despite having so many Rulers and Leaders as Heroic Spirits. None of them actually wished to become captain and impose their own ideals upon the living members of the Familia.
But in that same vein, none of them wished to push the burden of leadership upon them either. It was a delicate balance that they had to maintain, lest they force the world to change in a tyrannical fashion.
It was why, despite having a deep disdain for elves and the current status quo, Morgan had done nothing to impose her will upon Orario. Why Ichigo hadn’t just started carving his way through the Dungeon, pushing towards the depths yet unknown, or why none of the Heroic Spirits had actually sought out the One Eyed Black Dragon to end it.
It simply wasn’t their duty to do so.
No, that wasn’t quite correct. It was better to say that it wasn’t their right to do so. As individuals who fundamentally did not belong in this world, the act of ultimate heroism wasn't theirs to make, they simply lacked the right to do so. It was the same as a parent doing their child’s homework. They could, perhaps even with trivial ease, but doing so would ensure that the child would never truly grow beyond understanding that asking for help was all they needed to do.
In this same mentality, should the Heroic Spirits actually impose their powers upon Orario, the impetus of growth that the Adventurers should have would certainly never return, and they would simply wait on their asses for them to do everything.
It was a philosophy that Ozen understood and accepted, but also knew how to sidestep. In the same manner as the other Heroic Spirits, while they would avoid directly imposing their wills upon the mortals of this world, that wouldn’t stop them from subtly guiding them towards answers or even aiding in some endeavors.
Just because they wouldn’t directly strike out to end the Dungeon, did not mean that they wouldn’t ensure the world was without the tools necessary to do so. Already, Elias was busy exploring the depths of the Dungeon with the Loki Familia, showing them the strength they still lacked. The others were also busy in their own endeavors.
And this was where Ozen came in. As the foremost expert in dungeon delving and experimentation on monsters, the Immovable Lord had decided to push the bounds of ‘Monster Taming’ and truly see what could and could not be done. Certainly the Ganesha Familia was doing admirable work, but their own fears of the unknown was keeping them from making any significant strides.
It was why Ozen was currently busy taming an Infant Dragon. Well, ‘Taming’ was a strong word for what she was doing. It was better to say that she was forcefully domesticating it by ruthlessly asserting her authority over it through physical methods. In layman’s terms, she was beating the shit out of it every time it showed defiance towards her or her orders.
A simple technique that had previously allowed man to domesticate feral wolves into dogs over thousands of generations was currently being used to try and train a monster of the Dungeon. Well, that and some other methods. Pavlovian Training was always useful after all.
In this method, Ozen had been making good progress over the last few days, with the Infant Dragon having grown relatively docile in her presence. Still, whenever anything else came into view, it would attempt to bite their heads off, so the process was still on-going.
Aside from the Infant Dragon, Ozen was also trying to domesticate Hellhounds and Purple Moths to various amounts of success. Then again, it wasn’t like she was expecting instant successes either. Part of the scientific method was to try over and over again, modifying specific variables with every iteration while carefully noting down one’s experiments and progress.
As such, Ozen’s office was starting to resemble Hestia’s current office more and more, with books, notes, pens, and papers strewed about in a chaotic order.
Still, all this work was highly stimulating for the White Whistle, the type of work that actually got her blood to boil in a way that was different from just fighting. It stimulated her interests as a Delver who had researched the Abyss for over half a century.
It also meant she didn’t have to be around children all day, which was a plus.
Now if only she could find a way to stop those damned Soma Familia guys from snooping around her camp, that would be wonderful.
Oh, it wasn’t that she could actually sniff them out or just kill them, but doing so just wasn’t worth the effort or the time it would take away from her research.
Bah, who really cares, if they tried anything direct, she would just kill them. And if not? Then hopefully they’d just get eaten by something.
Hm, maybe she could use them as training for her Infant Dragon?
Decisions, decisions…
Notes:
Welp, that was hard to write!
Especially that Dream Sequence section, I had to rewrite it like 10 times and I still feel like it's really awkward... Eh, not much I can do about it now. If I keep looking at it, I'll never post this chapter so YOLO!
Next chapter will probably be around Hestia and Emma, with Morgan maybe added in there. I'm still unsure. As I said previously, the next few chapters will attempt to properly dive into the current machinations and thoughts of every Hestia Familia members, with a few side-steps to Side Characters added in here and there to spice up the world building.
I hope this is interesting! (˵¬⤙¬˵")
Chapter 20: Dream Chaser - Continuation
Summary:
While Bell chases his dreams,
The others also chase theirs,
And in doing so,
Ask for the wisdom of those who came before them.
Notes:
Chapter 18! Wooo! It took way too long to push this out, and I'm not fully satisfied with it, but I've been sick as shit for the last week and if I keep looking at this chapter I'm going to rip my eyeballs out (;°̦́Д°̦̀)
So I'm publishing it, because while I'm not 100% satisfied with it, I think it's still relatively good. Things are slowing down and exposition is happening! ദ്ദി(｡•̀ ,<)~✩‧₊
Next chapter should be the Bell/Morgan Chapter! If all goes well anyways
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Staring down at her newest creation- not that it was particularly special either in function or meaning- Morgan couldn’t help but ponder what course of action would be preferable next. Sure, she could just destroy the Soma Familia with extreme ease, but doing so would be… displeasing to Bell.
While her initial declaration of love had been mostly out of habit, Bell’s shining personality- and his Soul- had slowly but surely drawn out her actual affection towards the boy. It was such that even her Spirit Origin, something that should remain unchanged due to its temporary nature, was beginning to shift into something more human. Not quite human, but enough so that she would find herself longing for Bell and his company, to just be near him in a manner that was different from simple Master and Servant.
It was why, after a scant few moments of deliberation, Morgan stood from her chair and abandoned her current project- not that it would be needed any time soon. Instead, the Faerie Queen stalked out of her workshop with purpose in her step. Given how hectic things had been going recently, her Bell-Time had been criminally absent, or short. No more. It was time for Morgan to take a proper day off and enjoy some time with her husband.
But, first things first, she had to actually find him.
Unaware of all the chaos brewing around him, Ichigo was currently lazing around the living room of the Hestia Familia’s current house. He wasn’t alone though, as sitting opposite him was the dragonoid Ling.
Said dragonoid was currently carefully pondering her next move in the game of Othello they were playing. Why play Othello? Well, because he was bored and Ling had convinced him that playing some kind of board game might help fight his boredom.
Her first suggestion had been Go, which he sucked at so that was quickly discarded. Then came Shogi, which he also sucked at. Finally, Othello had been chosen because it was a somewhat ubiquitous game that all children knew how to play… Or at least, all Japanese children knew how to anyway.
So, with the current score being 4 to 2 in Ling’s favor- being that she was an immortal strategist- Ichigo was beginning to feel both annoyed and miffed about his current situation. Obviously he couldn’t just quit, that would be the same as admitting defeat. But at the same time, it was clear that he wouldn’t win against Ling’s tactical brilliance.
“Pff-” It was why, when a stifled laugh was suddenly heard, Ichigo was the first to turn towards it, a glare held towards the snickering Emma. Given that he was currently sitting cross legged on the floor, arms crossed and face set in deep contemplation, Ichigo was quite aware of how silly he appeared. Even if Ling looked even more haphazard than he did, what with her flippant slump, laying on her side and using one of her arms to prop her head up, the other either moving pieces or bringing her sake gourd over for a sip.
Despite Ichigo’s glare being pointed her way, Emma continued snickering to herself. Then again, it wasn’t like Ichigo’s glare had any real heat behind it, being more of a symbolic gesture than anything truly hateful. Still, to get laughed at for his lack of tactical skills- compared to Ling anyways- stung quite a bit.
“Yeah yeah, laugh it off… How’bout you take my place and see how you do?” The Soul Reaper grouched almost comically, moving away from the board and gesturing for Emma to take his place.
Snickering a bit more as she took her seat in front of the Othello board, Emma was suddenly assaulted by a fact that she had forgotten to account for.
She didn’t actually know how to play Othello. Actually, she hadn’t even known the game existed before today!
Noticing Emma’s obvious discomfort at not actually knowing the rules of the game, Ling took a long sip of whatever booze was inside of her gourd before straightening up a bit, a smile playing on her lips as she leaned towards the board, a wave of her hand causing the pieces to jump back to their places on each sides of the board, resetting the board state for a fresh new game.
“Don’t worry! I’ll teach you the rules.” Ling proclaimed after a sip of alcohol, somewhat attenuating Emma’s reservations.
While Emma was busy learning how to play Othello from Ling, Ichigo was left to his thoughts, allowing the Soul Reaper to contemplate just what it was that he wanted to do with this second life he had been granted. As with most of the other Heroic Spirits currently incarnated in Orario- aside from Minato and Elysia who both remembered dying, he didn’t remember dying, something they attributed to the fact that their summoning had been irregular.
According to Morgan and Elias, their current theory was that they were irregular Summons that weren’t echoes of the dead. Regardless of facts, it was still true that they were intruders within this world. Most of them weren’t even from the same world to begin with, so the idea that they weren’t from this world wasn’t that outrageous.
Still, this put Ichigo in a bit of a strange situation. His ‘True’ version was still alive, probably living with Orihime and having a family and all that, but where did that leave him? Servants were, by their very nature, transient existences that didn’t quite belong to the era they were summoned in. It was the entire reason why none of them had tried to just complete the Dungeon or kill the One Eyed Black Dragon on their own.
But that still didn’t keep them from making connections to the living members of the Familia. So where did the line get drawn? Or was it a matter of where he would draw it?
As he watched Emma begin her first game of Othello, Ichigo resolved to just watch and protect these children, those who were the future of the world he was currently in. He wouldn’t be an inactive presence that spouted rhetoric just to feel better about himself- like the Soul Society had done so many times before. No, just because he couldn’t solve every problem these children had, didn’t mean he couldn’t stand beside them as a comforting presence.
He was, after all, He Who Protects.
Definitively not Strawberry .
Standing within the newly renovated- and still being renovated actually- House of the Hearth, Goddess Hestia couldn’t help but get whiplash whenever she tried to recount just how quickly things had moved during the last few days.
It might be because, unlike when Bell and the others had first started dungeon diving, Hestia was now actively involved in the shenanigans. Looking over at her current bodyguard for the day, Hesita couldn’t help but wonder where the maternal- or was it paternal in this case?- instincts started and ended with Arlecchino.
Observing the many children currently under the protection of the House of the Hearth- whose name the house of the Hestia Familia also shared, fun that- the Goddess couldn’t help but feel quite giddy at the prospect of helping so many kids. As the Goddess of the House and Hearth, it was only natural that she possessed some maternal instincts after all. Perhaps not to the point of desiring kids of her own, she was a Virgin Goddess after all, but taking care of kids was something else entirely. There were few Goddesses more suited than Hestia when it came to nurturing and helping children after all!
Hence why, despite her original apprehension at the sudden increase of responsibilities, Hestia was 100% behind Arlecchino’s new venture. It also helped that it was something Hestia could actively participate in, unlike the Dungeon Delving stuff or the various business ventures Morgan and Elias were participating in.
It was why, despite feeling quite a bit overwhelmed by the speed at which things were changing, Hestia still felt quite good about herself!
“Soooo~ Where’s Minato?” Scooting over towards the Lancer, Hesita couldn’t help but notice that the blonde shinobi was nowhere to be seen, despite having arrived at the orphanage with them.
“I sent him to that ‘Hostess of Fertility’ Bell was talking about. As we currently lack the facilities required to feed all of these children, I felt it only natural to send our fastest runner to procure some nutrition for the children.” Not even bothering to look up from the stack of papers currently in her hands, Arlecchino was the picture of an ice statue given life. Stoic and almost emotionless in her delivery, the Harbinger was incredibly hard to read. Especially since she seemed to enjoy using complicated language to express her thoughts.
Still, despite not being used to such elaborate language, Hestia still managed to get the gist of things. Deciding that perhaps the Lancer wouldn’t make for the best conversation partner, the Goddess of the Hearth instead turned her attention towards the newest… addition(?) to their little Familia.
Liliruca Arde, or as she preferred to be called; Lily, was currently helping some of the children move their things into the newly renovated building- courtesy of Morgan’s Magic and Ling’s little Dragon Summon things- using her [Artel Assist] Skill to carry large amounts of things all at once.
Despite still being- officially anyways- a member of the Soma Familia, Lily had spent the last few days roaming the halls of the House of the Hearth as one of its newest occupants. Since Morgan and Ling were ‘handling’ the Soma situation, Lily was now free to do whatever it was her little heart desired and, honestly, after so long being forced to dive into the Dungeon, the Pallum just wanted to rest.
She had never wanted to be an Adventurer anyways, so now that she was truly free from any and all obligations towards the profession, Lily simply didn’t care to do anything related to the accursed thing.
“Hey! Miss Supporter, you might wanna start gathering the kids!” Hestia called out, the nickname catching Lily’s attention, perhaps even better than had the Goddess used the Pallum’s name. The Goddess’ statement earned her a questioning look from the Pallum and the children currently surrounding her- most of which were also carrying things, though a lot less than Lily herself. “Arlecchino sent Minato to get some food! I dunno how long ago that was, but knowing him it won’t be long before we have something to eat!”
The prospect of actual hot food was good enough to send the children- and Lily- into a tizzy as each and everyone of them started rushing towards their room to finish unpacking their luggage, and inform the others. After all, despite Maria’s best efforts, she hadn’t been able to afford such high-class food for the children. So the idea that they were now all going to eat this kind of food from now on was… daunting, but also exciting.
Watching as the kids all scampered away, Hestia giggled to herself before sauntering over to start setting the table. The Hostess was relatively fast in its service, and Minato was even faster when it came to travelling- even if he was carrying over 30 plates of food- so they should have lunch served in less than 20 minutes!
Ahhhh~ Just the thought almost made Hestia’s stomach growl with impatience! To go from eating nothing but Jagamarukun to now eating exquisite food was quite the welcomed change after all!
Now if only Elias could get back to the surface. It wasn’t that the Hostess was inferior in their cooking, but just that Elias’ own menu was a lot more diverse.
While the House of the Hearth was busy preparing for lunch, Minato was busy trying to haggle with Mama Mia. The tavern matron was somewhat taken off-guard that someone would want to have a ‘Take Out’ order instead of just eating at the Hostess itself, but after a bit of explaining, Mia agreed that having a bunch of brats run around a tavern might not be the best idea ever.
After reassuring her that he could carry the food on his own, Mia had taken his order and was currently whipping her staff into action so that the food could be prepared in a timely manner.
This, unfortunately, meant that Minato was left with little to do but drum his fingers on the counter while he waited for his order to be completed. And, as it happened, both Ryuu and Syr were exiled from the kitchen given their- according to Mia- horrid cooking skills which might as well be non-existent.
While Ryuu was being relatively discreet with her side-eyeing, Syr was anything but. If anything, the silver haired waitress seemed to get more and more annoyed with each glance she threw his way in a manner that reminded him somewhat of a Hyuuga Clan Member trying to figure out if they were looking at a Jinchuuriki or not. Maybe he was just being paranoid, but something about Syr’s gaze just made him uncomfortable.
And not just because he feared that Kushina would spontaneously materialize out of the ether to attack Syr, or worse, him.
“Err, is something wrong?” Deciding to just bite the bullet and make some conversation while he waited for things to be finished in the kitchen, Minato gave both waitresses a friendly smile and wave. His action caused both girls to stiffen up a bit, now clearly aware that the target of their curiosity was well aware of their repeated side-glances.
Ryuu, in an attempt to save face and keep Syr from embarrassing herself, more than she already had anyways, decided to speak up first. Her stance shifted slightly, in a manner that the Fourth Hokage discerned as not outright hostile, but also not exactly friendly or neutral. Rather, it was one that spoke of caution, yet not outright hostility. It was the type of stance he had seen quite a lot during negotiations with other nations.
“It’s nothing, simply… Are you sure you’ll be able to carry all those plates without help?” As a former member of the Astrea Familia, Ryuu possessed a great sense of propriety and justice, and while she didn’t quite trust Minato- he carried himself too much like a trained killer for her to really trust him just yet- she did trust Bell. Unlike the rest of his entourage, Bell was simply too… naive to properly disguise his intentions, so it was easy to read him. While that meant he was a lousy liar, it also made it easier to trust him given how earnest he was about things. And because she was aware that Minato was part of Bell’s Familia, the idea of allowing the man to just… Yeah, it didn’t sit well with her.
Blinking a bit at Ryuu’s question, Minato flashed her a sheepish smile, his right hand diving into his flak jacket and retrieving a scroll which he proceeded to wave slightly in the elf’s direction. “Don’t worry about that, I have a few tricks up my sleeve.”
And just in time as well as Lunoire and May started carrying the various plates- provided by Minato- of food towards the Fourth Hokage. Despite being trained waitresses, both girls could only hold about four plates each, but they did so with skill and grace that spoke of countless hours of training, and perhaps something more as well…
Unfurling the scroll and placing the plates of food on it, the four waitresses watched with clear shock as the Fourth Hokage made a hand seal and, with a plume of smoke, the eight plates of food simply vanished out of sight. Sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck at the unbridled shock thrown his way by all who had seen the display, Minato decided to elaborate a bit.
“It’s a type of Magic Item that lets me seal objects in it. It’s totally safe for use, and you can even preserve food in it for long stretches of time.” The Assassin explained, watching as the shock in everyone’s eyes decoupled in a manner that made him understand just how unnatural his [Sealing Scroll] was. Such a thing would either make Supporters useless, or would make their job so much easier. If you could just transform multiple cart’s worth of items into a small scroll, while also removing all the hazard that usually came with carrying large amounts of supplies, well, trips down to the deep floor would become even easier.
Judging by how Minato was busy sealing over 30 plates of food inside of this singular [Sealing Scroll] without much concern for any kind of limitation, the idea that he could just carry those down to the deep floor that easily was mind blowing. Even if 30 plates was the limit of a singular scroll, if their production wasn’t too strenuous on him, then the solution was simple. Just make more [Sealing Scrolls] and fill them to capacity with food. 10 Scrolls filled with food would be more than enough to feed an entire expedition for a few days, and the amount of space those Scrolls would take was a lot less than all the food they were containing.
Watching as the Fourth Hokage left, after giving the Hostess’ staff a wave, the Adventurers within the tavern couldn’t help but wonder just who this guy was. Could they purchase his [Sealing Scrolls] ? Or was it a Custom Order type of thing?
In less than 10 seconds after the Hokage’s departure, the tavern was once again abuzz with theories and ideas about the [Sealing Scrolls] , most of the Adventurers resolving to ask the Guild if they had any information about those world changing Magic Items.
As for Syr, well, the silver haired waitress was once more taken aback by just how mindblowing the Hestia Familia was becoming. Surely there had to be a limit to the amount of things they could turn on their heads! Right?
First it was a seemingly endless treasury, then it was a fortification on the 13th Floor, and now this!? What next, Mass Teleportation to the Deep Floors? Or maybe some yet-unknown Growth Acceleration Skill!? Or maybe some Magic Spell that defied all conventions of normality.
Surely there had to be a limit to all this stuff!
Notes:
So, Chapter 18 done! As I said at the top, next chapter should be the Bell/Morgan Chapter! So look forward to that! Not sure what else to say, except that I'm sick as shit lmao. Caught the flu, so that's kinda big sadge, but meh, I'm recovering. Just didn't want to delay this chapter too much or else my ideas for future chapters and the ideas I have for this chapter would just fight and I'd stop making progress.
Chapter 21: Lover's Rendez-Vous
Summary:
A moment’s tranquility,
Disturbed by the Ice Queen of Fae,
Tis time for romantics!
It’s a man’s ROMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANCE BELL!
Notes:
Happy Early Valentine! The long-awaited Bell/Morgan Chapter is here! With some lore at the end.
Hopefully it's good, I wanted to have it out for Valentine's Day since it's quite fitting. I didn't want to have it bogged down with dialogue going through Morgan's backstory, seeing as most people already know it and writing about it would be... kinda boring? Like, sure, Bell could gasp every so often or smt, but that's boring and a (imo) bad way to break up a giant wall of text.
Still, here it is!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Marching forth throughout the House of the Hearth, Morgan Le Fae was a woman on a mission. It was lucky that the Hestia Familia had no maidstaff or other such thing, because anyone coming into view of Morgan’s power walk would surely either get bowled over or glared into submission.
There was no hesitation in her demeanor, and no diplomacy to be had.
Submit! Kneel! And Cower for forgiveness!
With preternatural accuracy, obviously aided by her magecraft, Morgan navigated the House of the Hearth with ease, her destination obvious to her enhanced senses as she stepped out of the house-manor-church hybrid building that served as the Hestia Familia’s current headquarters, and allowed her gaze to sweep out across the field that served as the Familia’s garden/yard.
There, striking at invincible opponents with a flurry of attacks that would make even mid-tier Level 2 Adventurers feel inadequate, was Bell. The albino was busy shadow boxing, trying to get used to using a second knife- courtesy of Welf, who had insisted on using the Minotaur Horn Bell had acquired to forge a new weapon. Both Minato and Ichigo had given their Master tips and tricks on dual wielding, but it was Minato who served as Bell’s main source of training.
While both Saber and Assassin were dual wielders, Ichigo mainly utilized a combination of a large sword and a shorter side arm, making him ill-suited to give tips about dual wielding knives. In comparison, Minato was a fighter that specialized in utilizing knives- or kunai in his case- which made him uniquely suited for teaching Bell. To say nothing of the fact that both Master and Servant preferred to utilize superior speed and dexterity instead of outright raw strength.
As such, before leaving with Arlecchino and Hestia to help the orphans of Daedalus move into their new accommodation, Minato had given Bell some tips and tricks on how to handle two knives, as well as some exercises to run through when he had some time. Such things as just being comfortable with both weapons, being able to unsheathe them properly, and keeping his arms from floating up, or down, whenever he made a strike were all primordial things to master.
It seems, however, that his training wasn’t to last. Before Bell could even react, Morgan’s hand lashed out and grabbed him by the wrist- causing him to yelp in surprise and almost drop his knives. With her husband securely in her grasp, Morgan started stalking out of the compound and towards Orario’s main street, steel in her gaze.
Daedalus Street was renowned for two things; firstly, it was a maze that was supposedly so arduous to traverse without proper knowledge of the place that dozens of people every month died of starvation in it. This was probably, hopefully, an exaggeration. The second thing it was famous for, however, was definitely real- actually it was probably under-represented. Daedalus Street was the home of myriad thieves and other such unsavory individuals. While it was a lot more pronounced during the Dark Age, criminals still used the labyrinthine district as a home due to how difficult it was for the Ganesha Familia to navigate and catch them.
Despite being overrun with criminals of all types, Adventurers were generally left well enough alone, if only because even the greenest of Level 1 could outperform most unblessed criminals and so Adventurers were given a wide breadth of space by most of Daedalus Street’s criminal elements. Those that were unblessed anyways.
This was not one of those times.
Despite having one of her arms empty, the other possessively wrapped around Bell’s own arm ensuring that it was snugly slotted between her ample bust, the glare etched onto Morgan’s usually divine features meant that everyone was staying the fuck away from the duo.
“W- Wait a minute Morgan! W- What is this about!?” Trying to keep pace with his wife’s power walk, an endeavor made all the more difficult given that he was decidedly unbalanced since Morgan was tugging at one of his arms, Bell tried to delve into his wife’s motivations. Even if he had a general idea as to what was happening. “I- If you wanted to go out, you could’ve just asked me!”
It was true that, between the two of them, he was the more… uncertain about their relationship and its inner workings, but that didn’t mean he was against it! Bell was a good boy after all, despite all the weird shit his grandpa had tried to cram into his head.
It was also true that Bell wasn’t stupid. Largely uneducated about the more advanced topics of life, sure. But stupid? No, never. Maybe he was a bit- read, much too- naive, but he wasn’t stupid. It was easy for him to figure out what Morgan’s intentions were. He had just hoped that she would’ve approached him like a normal person instead of just dragging him around like a sack of potatoes!
Her heels digging into the stone pavement below due to the force of her steps, Morgan wheeled around to look her husband in the eyes- the blazing desire in them taking Bell aback and causing him to unconsciously cross his legs in some unknown attempt to preserve his masculinity.
Then, in a motion that even his Level 2 self couldn’t quite catch, Bell found himself breathless- quite literally- and up against a wall, Morgan’s arms caging him on both sides, his wife’s slightly taller frame- even when not accounting for her heels- causing her to tower slightly over him. To anyone watching, it really was as if a predator had caught a rabbit in its grasp.
“Then, Husband. We are going on a date.” Morgan’s imperious decree came swiftly and without leaving any place for debate. Gulping a bit as Morgan’s breath mixed with his own, Bell nodded slowly, part of him wondering if it was too late to try and dig his way into the earth and cry about his missing masculinity. The other part, however, wondered if it would be rude to kiss Morgan. Somehow, someway, seeing his wife be so assertive flicked a switch in Bell that made him turn into a crushing schoolgirl.
Recalling Minato’s advice about how to deal with assertive women, Bell decided to just go for it, leaning forward and catching his wife’s lips with his own, engaging in a light kiss.
This time, it was Morgan’s turn to be taken aback by Bell’s sudden action. It wasn’t the first time they had kissed, but it was definitely the first time Bell had engaged the embrace. Usually it was Morgan who engaged the kisses, not that Bell was against them. To see him assert himself so much was…
Flushing brightly, Morgan swiftly turned on her heels the moment Bell broke away to take in life giving air, dragging him towards Orario’s bustling streets. Despite her lack of response, Bell found himself enjoying just how off-balance he had put his usually stoic wife. Who knew, the Faerie Queen was quite cute when she was shy.
Having watched Morgan kidnap Bell- quite literally in this case- Ichigo, Ling, and Emma turned to look at each other, silently trying to gauge whether or not they should run after the boy, before deciding that it just wasn’t worth it.
He would be fine… probably.
Taking a swig of booze from her gourd, Ling was the first to break the silence, a tipsy chuckle escaping her. “I bet they’re gonna fuck.” The Rider declared with confidence, before turning back to the Othello board, since it was her turn to play her pieces.
Her blunt declaration caused both Ichigo and Emma to let out a shocked chuckle, their eyes widening a bit as the mental image etched itself into their mind, the two teenagers turning into tomatoes as the thought and causing Ling to burst into laughter at their expression.
Bell would be fine… probably. At least they had some Elixirs on standby if anything came up.
Having finally reached a silent agreement as to the pace of their walk, Bell and Morgan were finally walking side by side, arm in arm. Or, well, it was better to say that Morgan had Bell’s arm snugly fitted in-between her bust, using one of her hands to hold onto his. Bell, on the other hand, was busy trying to look everywhere except at the amused- or jealous- looks he was receiving from passersby.
“Soooo… What should we do?” Wondering if Morgan had a plan outside of just walking around the streets of Orario, Bell already had some ideas on what the pair could do. Then again, maybe going to the Hostess would be a bad idea… Wait! Catching sight of a nearby pastry shop, Bell gestured towards the building, addressing his wife as he did so, “Maybe we can go there?”
Bell watched as his wife’s judging gaze turned towards the shop, as if assessing its worth as an entity taking valuable resources and space in the world, before nodding decisively. “Quite. A good suggestion Husband. Let us make haste.”
In less than ten minutes, the married couple were seated and had a selection of biscuits and tea set out before them, with some pastries on the way.
Uninterested in the tea, Bell instead busied himself with the biscuits as he waited for his glass of water to arrive. Now that he had Morgan busy doing something other than dragging him around the streets of Orario, it was time for step 2 of his plan. Ie. it was time to put Minato’s advice to good use!
“So…” Cringing a bit at his uninspired opening statement, Bell shouldered on in his quest to learn more about his wife, even if it made him sound like an uneducated moron. “I told you a lot about my life, but you haven’t told me much aside from the basics… Should I… I’d like to know more about you.” Changing his question into a statement, recalling Minato’s advice to be more confident in himself, Bell adjusted his posture to stand straighter and not slouch.
Blinking a bit at Bell’s more… forward nature, Morgan resolved to get Minato a gift whenever the two crossed paths again. It seems that the married shinobi’s advices were doing wonders for Bell’s own development as an individual.
Humming slightly as she stirred her tea, Morgan pondered on whether or not she should divulge the entirety of her story, or not. It wasn’t that it was much of a sore spot- aside from certain events like the death of her daughter and her initial treatment when she was still Aesc the Savior- but rather the doubt that lived in her heart. Would Bell still love her even if he knew everything she had done?
You should trust in Bell, he has a big heart and he loves you! He already trusts you so much, you should reciprocate!
Recalling Elysia’s words, spoken soon after the exuberant woman had learned of Morgan’s relationship with Bell, the Faerie Queen decided to trust in the- allegedly- Not-A-Love-Spirit’s advice.
“Hmm, where to begin…” Erecting a soundproofing barrier around the both of them to keep away any would-be eavesdroppers, Morgan began recounting her tale to her husband, bearing her heart bare.
From her beginnings as Aesc the Savior, her adventures with Totorot and Grimir the Wise, to the myriad betrayals she suffered at the hands of the multiple fae of Britain. Then to her rise as the Witch Queen of Winter, who dominated and subjugated the whole of Britain. Of how she adopted Baobhan Sith as her daughter, and of her rulership of Britain. She even delved into some of the things, both good and bad, that she did during her rule of Britain.
So lost in her tale was she, that she didn’t even notice the arrival of the pastries they had ordered, or that Bell was enraptured by her story, his face shifting through a thousand and one emotions as he listened to his wife lay her heart bare for him in an act that must have taken immense amounts of trust.
He listened as she spoke of Chaldea, of Baobhan Sith’s capture and torture, of her own death, and of what happened in-between.
By the end of Morgan’s story, the Queen having fallen silent- tears falling from her eyes as she recalled her daughter’s haunting cries as she tried to rescue her, Bell was similarly silent. But not for the same reasons. No, it was something different.
Despite his grandfather having sanitized a lot of the stories he had told him as a young child, Bell was well aware that not all heroes were ‘virtuous’ or held the same beliefs he did. It was something the other Heroic Spirits had made very clear when they had explained their legends to him. Minato, Elias, and Elysia were the prime examples. Despite being considered ‘Heroes’, they had killed so many people, did things that were unthinkable for him, and yet he couldn’t begrudge them for their actions.
While he wanted to believe that, had he been there, things would have been different. That he would make a different choice than they did, he knew that this was just wishful thinking.
Mercy and Choice are the privilege of the strong .
It was something Ozen had told him, and something that was reaffirmed many times as he observed Orario’s current state. Those that were strong had all the choices. The weak couldn’t afford to be merciful, not when so much was at stake. It was something that he could see in Morgan’s story, and one that reinforced his awe towards the woman, but also made him feel guilty that he hadn’t been there to help her.
Standing up from his side of the table, Bell approached his wife and brought her into a tight hug, allowing the woman to silently cry while he wondered just what he could say that would make things better. After a few moments of thinking, however, Bell realized that such a notion was ridiculous. What words could he say to make things better? That kind of thinking didn’t apply here. No, all he could do was be there for Morgan. And, perhaps, that was enough.
The rest of the afternoon was spent in silence, the married couple having rented a room in an inn and just… laying in bed. Still mostly clothed- wearing’s ones boots to bed was still annoying- but with each other. A few other conversations were had, mostly about inconsequential things, but neither of them really had the energy to do anything else.
“...You know, we should ask Arlecchino if she needs help at the orphanage…” Bell stated, an idea striking him. Despite how stoic she appeared, one of the things Bell had learned about his wife was that she was quite taken by children. Not to the point of obviously changing her attitude, but she was quite kind to them. Maybe helping take care of kids would help soothe the wound left by Baobhan Sith’s death…
“...Mayhaps… I suppose it would be something to do while we await the end of Ling’s project.” The Queen acquiesced, not really seeing any reasons to disagree with Bell’s suggestion. Especially since it would mean more Bell-time for her.
Despite her fears, it would seem that Elysia had been right- go figure- and that Bell hadn’t become disgusted with her, or her past. Saddened, perhaps, but not disgusted. He accepted it as a part of her, and something she would have to grow from. It was a novel experience, one she had never encountered before. Maybe that was one of the gifts that made Humanity so special…
Still, for now, the two lovers would simply enjoy each other’s company, leaving tomorrow's problem to tomorrow.
After all, surely nothing bad could happen in only one night.
“LET US LEAVE! LET US LEAVE! LET US LEAVE! ”
The courtyard of the Soma Familia was filled with erratic shouts as over 90% of the Familia was trying to barge into Soma’s workshop, with only Zanis acting as a barrier preventing the veritable mob from breaking into the Wine God’s workshop.
Unlike previous such mutinies, usually motivated by the desire for more Soma Wine, this time Zanis was being pushed to the extreme as he attempted to regain some measure of control over the other members of his Familia. Usually he would control them through demonstrations of strength and the promise of more wine if they acquired enough money.
But this time, it wasn’t a viable option, because the mob didn’t want Soma Wine. Instead, what they wanted was to leave the Familia- to escape from the torture that had been constantly wrought upon them for the past few weeks.
Both Ling and Morgan had been too effective in their psychological torture of the drunken adventurers, and now the Soma Familia was mutining against their apathetic God.
Despite being Level 2, and as such much more powerful than the whole of the Familia- aside from Chandra- Zanis was being overwhelmed by sheer numbers. What did it matter that he was stronger than 5 Level 1 Adventurers, if over 20 of them were currently trying to crush him under their collective weight.
Then, something happened- A horrible realization came over him as he watched from the corner of his eye, the God Soma descend from the staircase of his workshop to peer through the door, the God no doubt trying to figure out just what the everloving fuck was happening.
The sight of the God caused the entirety of the rebelling Familia to go apeshit, a torrent of limbs and shouts erupting as Zanis was finally trampled to death underneath the wild beast that had been unleashed.
This night, the Soma Familia’s compound was filled with not drunken screams, but screams of terror and horror as the various Adventurers that made up the Familia finally managed to escape from the Familia and the compound.
By the time the Sun rose, the disbanding of Soma’s Familia had reached the ears of the Guild, with most of the former members having had bounties placed on them due to the ravage they had caused in their escape from the compound. Civilians had been bowled over and trampled, buildings had been ransacked, and taverns had been turned into mosh pits as the newly freed Adventurers tried to celebrate their freedom, only to fall back into bad habits as soon as alcohol touched their tongue.
Of course, being unblessed, their usual strength as Adventurers was lost to them, meaning that most of them had been beaten black and blue by irate civilians and anyone with a bone to pick against them.
An ignoble end if there ever was one, but an end nevertheless.
Notes:
Nothing much else to add, just that I really hope this chapter is good! Finally properly recovered from the flu, so that's fun! Next chapter is the conclusion to the Soma Familia, but not the end of the arc!
But yeah, for now, this is it for this chapter!
Chapter 22: Catching Up With Orario
Summary:
We saw what the Hestia Familia has been doing,
But what about the rest of Orario?
Notes:
Chapter 20! Wooo! A bit shorter this time, but yeah, I felt it was necessary to have a bit of a... non-Hestia Familia focused chapter. Catching up with everyone else in Orario, or at least some of the people in Orario anyways. Next Chapter is going to be the Dive towards the 18th Floor for Bell and the gang! Woo!
Anyhow, I hope this chapter is interesting, even if it's kinda short.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Standing in front of the House of the Hearth, Fina the Chienthrope felt what could only be described as ‘confusion mixed with recognition’, reconfusion? Confugnition? Whatever. Regardless of what it was called, she was feeling it big time as she gazed upon the sobbing form of a scantily- somewhat scantly, was she one of those Berberas Mommy Hestia had talked about avoiding?- clad woman laying atop one of the many pieces of stones laid about Daedalus Street.
The woman, white cape loosely hanging off of her shoulders, seemed to be half-delirious and on the verge of passing out. Or maybe she had already passed out and was instead experiencing some manner of lucid dream? Whatever the case, Fina was beginning to wonder if she should do something, or just try and ignore the obviously strange woman and go about her day.
On the one hand, it wasn’t her business. On the other hand, Mommy Hestia said that helping people in need was a good thing, and if there was one thing Fina was, it was a good girl! So, after a few seconds of pondering, Fina threw her arms up towards the rising sun and yelled at the top of her lungs.
“FATHER! THERE’S A WEIRD LADY SLEEPING IN OUR LAWN!”
What a strange way to start your day…
While Fina and the rest of the House of the Hearth were busy dealing with… that , Eina and the Guild were busy dealing with… not complaints, but definitely not just questions.
Aside from the whole Soma Familia debacle that had just unfolded- and by that I mean it was still kind of unfolding if the amount of Ganesha Familia Guards running around were anything to go by- the main source of unease around Orario now was the new fortification that took up the majority of the 13th Floor.
And, again, by majority I mean that it took up a lot of space on the ‘main road’ towards the 14th Floor.
As things were, the Guild didn’t really have anything they could do to, well, enforce any manner of rules upon the Hestia Familia for their building of a fortification within the Dungeon. For one thing, the Guild was wholly lacking in Adventurers- and she rather doubted that the Ganesha Familia, Freya Familia, and Loki Familia would be willing to engage in what amounted to a siege battle inside of the Dungeon for the sake of a few hundred complaints from low-ranking Adventurers.
Secondly, Royman would never allow it. Elias had already bribed the shit out of the Guild’s Head, and in an effort to not sour relationships with the up-and-coming Hestia Familia, it was certain that Royman would never officially deploy the Guild’s resources to disrupt the Seeker Camp. Especially since they had provided the resources necessary for its construction- nevermind the fact that Ozen had actually paid for them.
And third… The Seeker Camp wasn’t even an issue to begin with. The main issue was the fact that Ozen was the one at its head, and that she was creeping the fuck out of a lot of people. Problem was, there wasn’t much the Guild could do to enforce Orario’s Laws within the Dungeon, let alone something as non-enforceable as ‘making people uncomfortable with your creepy laugh and toothless smile’.
The fact that the same people complaining about the Seeker Camp also made use of its amenities- again, whenever they could stomach Ozen’s creepiness and the fee she imposed upon anyone making use of the Camp- made it a non-factor.
So, unfortunately for the Guild Employees who were forced to deal with muscle headed brutes and nincompoops alike given their job as ‘Customer Service Representatives’, they were forced to just smile and say that their complaints were totally being recorded and that something would be done… eventually.
All to say that these complaints were summarily thrown into the trash never to be looked over again.
As for Eina, well-
“Eina! You have to do something!” A howl echoed through the Guild’s main hall as one Rose Fannett power walked her way towards the frightened half-elf. Slamming both of her gloved hands onto the counter, a glare silencing any and all retorts or comments from any would-be brave or foolish soul. “This is all the Hestia Familia’s fault! As their primary liaison, it’s your job to inform them of all these complaints and actually have them do something about them!”
Nevermind the fact that there was precious little Eina could do to force Ozen to tone down her creepiness or keep her new pet Infant Dragon out of view from other Adventurers, it was doubtful that even Hestia herself could do that! After all, from what little Eina had seen of the Goddess of the Hearth and her interactions with her children, Hestia seemed quite hands-off when it came to what her children did inside of the Dungeon. So long as it didn’t needlessly endanger anyone and, as far as most people were concerned, being creepy and scaring away hapless Adventurers was not dangerous in the least.
Still-
Grabbing onto her hair as if she was about to start tearing out large patches of it directly by the roots, Eina gave a mighty heave and slammed her forehead against her counter, a large crack forming atop the wooden surface- and definitively scaring more than a few eavesdroppers.
Hands shooting up and grabbing Rose’s collar, the frightened werewolf was pulled down face to face with Eina, a crazed look permeating the half-elf’s gaze before a shrill shriek escaped her lips. “You don’t think I’ve tried!? YOU THINK I WANT TO DEAL WITH ALL OF THIS SHIT!? HOW ABOUT YOU TRY TO TALK TO OZEN ABOUT THIS!”
Frantically shaking her colleague in a desperate manner, Eina was obviously overreacting… or she was experiencing an actual nervous breakdown… It was hard to tell.
Still, her shrill shriek and the crazed look in her eyes definitively vacated the whole of the Guild Hall, and made Rose try and shrink within Eina’s grasp.
“WELL ROSE!? ARE YOU ABOUT TO TALK TO OZEN ABOUT THIS!? WELL!? ARE YOU!? ”
Yeesh… Best to leave them to their thing.
“...I suppose there isn’t much I can do other than accept.” His gaze rising up from behind the stack of papers clutched between his clammy hands, the God Soma felt a sense of indignation rise up within him as he stared at the source of all his issues for the last month and some change.
Not that he could even begin to try and report it to the Guild. Aside from the admittedly very negative reputation of his Familia and its Adventurers, it wasn’t like harassing an enemy Familia was illegal to begin with. Plus, given all the shit his ex-children had gotten up to, it wasn’t like anyone would be willing to defend him even if it was illegal.
Soma Familia had been renowned for harassing others for money, even to the point of partaking in actually illegal shit just to get more money. So yeah, he wasn’t about to throw stones out of his glass house.
Still, the fact that he was now being bailed out of his trouble by the very cause of it- or at least the cause of his most recent bout of trouble- was incredibly demeaning. Enough so that even his lacking morals and sense of pride felt disgraced by it.
In the end though, there was nothing he could do but agree to the admittedly very fair terms laid out before him.
It basically came down to agreeing to become a subordinate Familia to the Hestia Familia, and in exchange for that- and a few other things that came from that subordination- he would be provided both a secure workshop as well as a steady flow of money, ingredients, and equipment to work with.
Basically, he was being paid to change his Familia’s status from an Exploration-type to a Business-type. All in all, a very fair deal all things considered, especially since he only had to pay around 20% of his monthly earnings in fees to the Hestia Familia, and there was no minimum amount, so assuming he made at least one sale per month, he would be fine.
“Good, good. I’m sure Lady Hestia will be quite pleased with your agreement.” Reviewing the signed agreement, Ling seemed quite pleased with herself all things considered. Given that this entire deal had been her idea, and that Hestia had basically given her carte blanche in how to handle it- aside from the ‘don’t cause more trouble than necessary’ order she’d been given- things had become quite favorable to the Hestia Familia.
Most would balk at the amount of money they were throwing Soma’s way, especially given how few restrictions and tributes they were asking in return, but this wasn’t about money. Elias was more than rich enough to bankroll any endeavor the Familia would ever undertake. Coupled with his and Morgan’s ability to produce most of everything they would require, money was quite literally a non-issue.
No, this was about reputation. By subordinating the Soma Familia, they had placed what amounted to an unofficial embargo on Soma Wine. While officially, Soma could sell his wine to whoever he wanted, unofficially he listened to them on that. If they told him not to sell to someone in particular, then he just wouldn’t sell. If they told him to blacklist a set of customers, then he would.
And if they told him to give certain individuals discounts- subsidized by the Hestia Familia of course- then he would.
In effect, they had just taken the entirety of the Soma Wine Market in a deathgrip. In one fell swoop, everyone who wanted to drink Soma had to be careful about what they said about the Hestia Familia, lest they find themselves blacklisted.
But it wasn’t even just that. It was also about cultivating a reputation as merchants. The Hestia Familia was diversifying its portfolio outside of just Dungeon Exploration. Already, Morgan and Elias had opened up a Magic Item shop- even if they hadn’t advertised it much- and Arlecchino had opened an orphanage. Now they were stepping into the Wine Market with an explosive subjugation.
That wasn’t counting the amount of capital they could move at seemingly no cost to themselves, be it resources or actual money. The Hephaestus Familia and Goibniu Familia were already calling again asking when- if- Elias could sell them more ores, and the Guild was in their pocket given how greedy its head was.
They were even beginning to take over the Dungeon, what with the Seeker Camp on Floor 13 acting as a sort of pseudo-Safe Zone that bordered the entrance of the Middle Floors. Nevermind the fact that it was leagues ahead of Rivira in terms of quality and amenities. Assuming you could stomach Ozen quite literally breathing down your neck at times, then the Seeker Camp was a superior alternative to Rivira.
Now even Low Class Adventurers could perform multi-day expeditions within the Dungeon without the usual risks associated with camping within the Dungeon. And with the creation of a new Safe Zone that bordered the entrance of the Middle Floors, expeditions into the Middle Floors by low-ranking Familias were much safer and less likely to lead to disastrous ends. After all, Ozen was known for dealing with anything that came close to the Seeker Camp, even if it was drawn by other Adventurers.
So the act of just… leading a hoard of monsters towards the Seeker Camp if you were in over your head was a viable solution. Then again, Ozen would heavily scrutinize you afterwards, but assuming you had no ill-intent towards the Camp you would be fine.
The fact that Ichigo was also known to frequent the Seeker Camp and agree to spot people on their dives to the Middle Floor was the cherry on top.
The Hestia Familia was making waves in Orario, and they weren’t about to stop.
If anything, it looked like they were just picking up steam.
Especially if that rumor concerning these so-called [Sealing Scrolls] was real, or at least not exaggerated in some way.
Merchants everywhere were salivating at the thought of acquiring such a Magic Item, as were Adventurers. Heck, word had it that Ottar himself was digging into the rumor to see if it had any substance. After all, the King was known for his Solo Dives into the Deep Floors. If he could pack more supplies without weighing himself down, then that would make such dives even more lucrative for him.
Notes:
So yeah, Chapter 20! Wooo! Kinda short, like I said, but yeah. I felt it was necessary to have a chapter just going over some of the things happening in Orario, and I couldn't make it longer without just... needlessly including everyone just going "Oh wow, shit is happening" So yeah, that's how it is, hope it's good.
Like I said, next chapter is the dive towards Floor 18 for the Hestia Familia Advanced Team, so there's that! The long awaited meeting between the Loki Familia's returning Expedition and the Hestia Familia Advanced Party, so yeah. Wooo!
Chapter 23: Notice
Chapter Text
So, erm, yeah! This isn't a chapter at all XD Sorry for the scare. It's actually just a notice to say that I rewrote the fight on Chapter 12 (it's actually Chapter 14 on the chapter select lmao), so yeah. This notice will be gone when the proper Chapter 21 comes out XD
Chapter 24: Trip Towards Rivira
Summary:
With matters atop done with, it's now time to delve deeper than before.
Notes:
Wooo! Chapter 21! This one fought me a bit, but I managed to write it! Quite happy with it- until I reread it again lmao.
But yeah, let me know how you guys feel about this one! Also, I'll say it again, I rewrote Chapter 12 (which actually appears as 14 on the Chapter Select)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It was finally time. With the main party decided, it was time for the Hestia Familia to delve towards the 18th Floor for the first time.
Led by Bell, the party consisted of himself, Minato, Elysia, Morgan, Ichigo, Ling, Emma, and Primo. Ozen was still hauled up inside of the Seeker Camp and Arlecchino held no interest in Dungeon Delving. Plus, someone had to stay behind to ensure Hestia’s safety, and so the Harbinger had volunteered.
Not that it was a particularly hard sell to make, since Hestia was already spending the majority of her time helping at the orphanage, it only made sense that her main bodyguard would be its head caretaker.
Perhaps it was overkill, taking so many of the Servants with them down to the depths, but it was a personal request by most of them, that they follow the mortal members of the Familia down to the 18th Floor to ensure that nothing would go awry.
In a sense, they were being a bunch of motherhens.
With packs filled to the brim with supplies, mostly purchased from the Blue Pharmacy and the Guild, the group began the trek down to the Seeker Camp, from where they would undertake their first delve into the Middle Floors.
“Come back safely, you guys!” Hestia, flanked on both sides by the various orphans of the House of the Hearth and Arlecchino, waved enthusiastically towards her departing children. The orphans, swept up by Hestia’s enthusiasm, also mimicked the Goddess with energetic waves and encouragements of their own.
With such encouragements heeling their steps, there was no way the expedition could do anything but smile. Bell most of all felt a wave of something akin to exultation well upon within his chest. This was it- the beginning of his story as a Hero worthy of standing side by side with the Spirits of Old at his sides.
Sharing the same sentiment, Emma and Primo seemed to straighten up when they noticed just how serious Bell had become, a slight smile emerging on each of their faces as they entered the maw of the beast, intent on carving their names in Orario’s history.
It didn’t take very long for the party to navigate their way down to the Seeker Camp, and not solely because they were accompanied by Heroic Spirits. Rather, it was the results of all the effort Emma, Primo, and Bell had placed into becoming stronger.
Instead of becoming complacent like the rest of Orario’s Adventurers, they had instead found strength in the myths of old, those that stood before them and showed what true hard work and determination could achieve.
It was true, despite their overwhelming power and experiences, the Heroic Spirits were all unexceptional in their birth. No, rather, it was better to say that their birth hadn’t played a significant role in their current situation. Of course, Morgan and Ichigo were born ‘special’, but that special attribute did nothing to aid them in their journey. If anything, it simply added more problems along the way.
Furthermore, they had grown beyond their original designation as ‘special by birth’.
“ [Flare Charge!] ” Primo called out the name of her newest Spell, a blast of kinetic energy ripping its way through a War Shadow. Despite having seen this Spell in action several times already, the young elf still couldn’t help but be in awe at the amount of power it could generate. Especially since it wasn’t a Spell that appeared on her Falna! Sure, a new Skill had appeared- [Obrimos Initiate] - but none of them could make heads or tails about it for now.
Not to be outdone by their young elf companion, both Emma and Bell were also engaging the various monsters born of the Dungeon. Having spent much time under Minato and Ichigo’s tutelage, both dual wielders showed a lot more ease with their choice of weapons.
Bell, true to his more agile style of combat, glided through the monsters like a leaf through the wind. He made full use of his knives, light and sharp as they were, never staying in place. Instead of using them like shortswords as he’d been doing, he instead properly used them as knives. His blows weren’t meant to stagger or overpower, they were meant to weave through any opening and strike with precise grace just as the Assassin had taught him.
By comparison, Emma made full use of her taller frame and heavier weapons, using their length and weight to fully cleave through monsters. Instead of making wide, telegraphed attacks most Adventurers liked to use- mostly due to lack of proper training and the general ‘cool’ factor associated with such flamboyant attacks (nevermind the fact that the Falna generally made up for any loss of strength due to horrible technique)- Emma was instead fully using Ichigo’s teachings, using precise but powerful strikes to cleave through monsters.
As he had explained, swords weren’t top heavy like axes or hammers, there was no need for any wind-up to her strikes. So long as her technique was solid, that she properly aligned her feet and twisted her hips and arms in the correct sequence, her strike would be even more powerful than if she had used a large over-the-top swing.
“Wow….” Still left in awe by how a simple change in footwork and upper body movement could add so much more oomph to her attacks, Emma took a few moments to admire her handiwork, her off-hand shooting up to deflect a stone thrown her way by a goblin- before it was blown to bits by Primo anyways.
“Yeah. You know, maybe you should switch to a dagger and a sword instead of twin swords?” Approaching behind her now that the combat was over, Ichigo had both of his arms crossed as he mentally went over Emma’s performance. The confused look he received from her caused him to sight a bit, before going on to explain himself a bit more. “Humans suck at multitasking, dual wielding swords is cool and all, but unless you’re a freak of nature it usually sucks.” He elaborated, memories of Ukitake flashing through his mind before he returned to the present. “Knives are different because they’re mostly extensions of your fists, but swords need a bit more technique. Not saying you should give up on the twin sword thing, but having a larger sword in your main hand, and a dagger in your off-hand would be a lot easier for you.”
Gesturing towards an Orc that was slowly extracting itself out of the Dungeon’s walls, Ichigo approached it slowly, his every step measured and confident. Then, with a fluid motion, he unsheathed his longsword- the blade gleaming in the light provided by the crystals growths of the Dungeon- and cleaved right through the Orc’s arms and torso. The cut, which was just deep enough to relieve the monster of its arms without instantly cutting it in half, was followed by a much swifter strike to the throat from his khyber knife.
Turning his back to the dying monster, its headless form collapsing to the flour in a heap, Ichigo resheathed both of his weapons as he approached the awestruck Emma. “See? Swords are slower than knives, but have more reach and power. If you combine them both, you’ll have the best of both worlds.”
Nodding at his words, Emma resolved to at least give the idea a try. Turning to give Bell an expectant look. “Bell! Gimme one of your knives, I’ll give you one of my swords-” Not even bothering to give Bell enough time to answer, Emma showed one of her twin swords into Bell’s hands, before grabbing one of his knives- the one Welf had forged and called ‘Minotan’- and retreating a few feet away to give the weapon a few test swings.
Resigned, but not all that annoyed with Emma’s actions, Bell instead gave the others a sheepish smile which earned him a few snickers from Ichigo, Ling, and Elysia.
Giving his temporary sword a few test swings to try and get used to it, Bell found that the idea of dual wielding a sword and a knife- or dagger- was quite appealing to him. Maybe he should ask Elias for a sword once they got back to the surface?
With weapons exchanged and lunch devoured, the party continued its trek down towards the 18th Floor largely uninterrupted and without interference from the Servants- aside from dealing with the few Monster Parties that showed up periodically.
Several hundred meters below the Hestia Familia’s party, Elias was only vaguely aware of what was happening. Mostly because he hadn’t bothered to expand his senses, or look too deeply into it. Surprises were part of life after all, and even if he could easily figure out what the rest of the Familia was doing, asking them in person was always better.
Still, that didn’t mean he was inactive. The moment he felt the Hestia Familia’s Expedition Party approach his location, he was up and about and ready to receive them.
The Loki Familia was currently camping near Rivira, having finally returned near the surface after a few weeks of grueling effort. Normally, the prospect of returning to the surface would have precluded the choice to make camp, but a series of unfortunate encounters with various Monster Parties filled with Purple Moths had drained the last of their Antidotes, forcing the Expedition to settle down near the Dungeon Town to try and acquire some supplies to heal their wounded.
Still, despite the rather sour mood that permeated the camp ground, a lot of Adventurers were simply meandering around, trying to occupy their time in some way. The Elites were still recovering, and the Second String was exhausted, which meant that most of them were simply lounging around and enjoying the relative peace that existed within the Safe Zone.
It also meant that Elias’ actions drew quite a few raised eyebrows. After all, for the majority of their expedition, all the Magister had done was laze around, spout off wisdom, and cook- not that anyone was complaining about that last one. If there was one thing everyone would miss from this expedition, it was certainly Elias’ food.
Still, seeing the mage up and about and seemingly completely healed from his injuries, had raised quite a few eyebrows. Especially when he started moving towards the 17th Floor, hands stuck in his pockets without a care in the world.
The ones most drawn to this strange behavior were obviously Lefiya and Aiz, both of whom had had enough exposure to Elias’ strange manner of thinking to figure out that something was going to happen. Thus, drawn by their curiosity, the two Adventurers followed after him to see what exactly it was that had drawn his attention.
Sharing a curious glance, the duo ensured that they maintained at least some distance between themselves and Elias. Even if they were relatively sure he was aware of their skulking about…
“...You don’t think he’s after Goliath?” Lefiya was the first to break the silence between her and Aiz, seeing as the Sword Princess’ more taciturn demeanor made her a less than talkative conversational partner. Still, Lefiya’s question caused Aiz to become slightly conflicted. On the one hand, Goliath was a Monster Rex who was often equated to a Level 4 Adventurer, on the other, no one had ever single-handedly fought a Monster Rex before. Oh, certainly, First-Class Adventurers usually held more than enough power to do so- especially those like Riveria who held extraordinary offensive Magic- but the fight was never done alone.
As quick as Riveria was in her chant, and as proficient as she was in Concurrent Chanting, the length of her Incantation still made it highly difficult to single-handedly drive off an enemy of even Goliath’s power. So soloing a Monster Rex, while theoretically possible, had never been done before.
But then, both Aiz and Lefiya thought back to the amazing power Elias had showcased during the fight against the Demi-Spirit. His chantless offensive Spell, those enhancements, and that barrier. Perhaps-
“Ahhh, so you’re Goliath. Hmph, interesting.”
Before either of them could ponder any further, the tell-tale sound of Elias’ slashing attack resonated throughout the 17th Floor, signalling the end of the Goliath. Cleaved right down the middle like some goblin, the Monster Rex died as soon as it fully emerged from the crystal that was its birthplace.
Both Adventurers watched in awe- and fright- at the speed at which Goliath had been killed. Even Aiz, an Adventurer vastly more powerful than the Level 4 Goliath, couldn’t help but marvel at the overwhelming power required to kill a Monster Rex so easily.
Not even bothering to stop and collect the enormous Magic Stone dropped by the Rex, Elias instead focused his attention towards the stairway towards the 16th Floor, waiting.
“You know, if you both wanted to watch, you could have just asked.” Wincing a bit at Elias’ dry amusement at their- admittedly poor- attempt at stealth, both Lefiya and Aiz decided to just stop pretending that they could hide from the anomalous and strange Magic Caster and instead just approached him. “Good, good, that’ll save some explaining.” Shooting them both a smile, both of them reciprocating with an inquisitive tilt of the head, Elias instead gestured towards his ears.
Still confused, but at least willing to humor the man, Aiz focused on her hearing, the various sounds of the 17th Floor fading into the background as she tried to pick out anything out of the ordinary. And then she heard it- the sound of steel clashing against the flesh of monsters, of footsteps and backpacks rustling. Opening her eyes to meet Elias’ own amused ones now that she was aware of what was happening, Aiz quickly managed to figure out just who it was that was approaching-
“Elias! We made it!” Before Aiz could vocalize her suspicion, an exuberant- familiar- voice echoed out from the floor’s entrance. Then, its owner showed themselves. Hair white as snow and rubellite eyes, both Loki Familia Adventurers were stunned to see the Hestia Familia’s rabbit so deep into the Dungeon so soon. Not far behind him was the rest of the Familia- minus Ozen- and even some new people!
“So you did! Come, come, the Expedition made camp on Floor Eighteen. I’m sure they won’t mind if you guys steal some space near my spot.” Left unsaid was that Elias clearly wouldn’t care to entertain any complaints towards his Familia staying near his tent. Watching as the group approached him, Elias gave Ling a raised eyebrow, receiving a lazy smile from the dragon woman. “I see we have some new members then. You can intro-”
Holding up a hand to catch the blade approaching Ling- not that the Rider Servant seemed even mildly threatened by the lethal weapon approaching her at subsonic speed with deathly intents- Elias turned his head to give Aiz an unimpressed look. Said look quickly became intrigued as he watched the expression of utter hatred plastered on the normally expressionless Sword Princess.
““““M- Miss Aiz!”””” Bell, Emma, Primo, and Lefiya seemed completely taken aback by the hatred exuding from the Sword Princess, halfway between wanting to run away or try to talk Aiz out of her seemingly random attack.
The rest of the Hestia Familia’s Party seemed less than threatened by Aiz’ attempt on Ling’s life. If anything, Ichigo looked quite interested in clashing with the Sword Princess, while Elysia just looked plain disappointed- something which caused Aiz to flinch a bit once she noticed the look.
“Well, that’s certainly something…” Exasperated by Aiz’ action, Elias clenched his fist around the blade- the screech of metal rubbing against metal roaring out from Aiz’ Desperate as she tried to retrieve her sword. Once she managed to get a good look at her blade, shock permeated her body at how dull and warped the blade had become just from his grasp. Temporarily cowed into inaction- especially with Lefiya fussing over her- Elias decided to ignore Aiz for now, turning his attention back to his Familia. “So… how about some food?”
“...” Sighing in exasperation as she heard the retelling of why exactly it was that Aiz was being chewed out by Tsubaki, Riveria felt a mounting headache come over her. Of course, the vaguely draconic Ling would draw such a violent reaction out of Aiz. Having half a mind to join Tsubaki in chewing out Aiz, Riveria instead took a calming breath, not wanting to give the smirking Elias any more reasons to silently laugh at her- he might just be standing there and smiling, but she could tell that he was laughing at her in his mind!
“Is there anything else I should know, before I talk to the others?” Despite coming out as a question, it was clear this was more of a statement than a question. And then, as if to spite her, Elias shrugged, throwing a thumb towards the entrance to the 18th Floor where a group of cloaked individuals- about 4 or so- could be seen trying to gently carry a large box down the precarious staircase.
“There’s a God inside that box. Just so you know.” Mercilessly destroying any hopes at having a restful sleep, Riveria palmed her face and screamed into her hands, not even bothering to shrug off Elias’ hand as he gently patted her back. Clearly someone up above wanted her to suffer… “Welp, I’m going to go talk to the others. Let me know if you need anything.” And with that Elias was off, swaggering his way over to his tent where the Hestia Familia’s party had made camp temporarily, leaving Riveria to silently curse the Gods for their complete lack of common sense.
Resigned to her current fate, the High Elf Queen collected herself and straightened up before turning on her heels, a blistering glare etched onto her features as she marched towards Finn’s tent to off-load the current problem onto him.
As Captain, it was his job to deal with these things, and she was clearly more injured than he was. She could afford to just throw her problems his way this time…
Notes:
So, angst and problems aplenty! Especially with Ling and Aiz (or more like, Aiz towards Ling lmao). I know it's weird for so many of the Heroic Spirits to just... *be* here, but I felt like it was a good excuse to just have everyone in one place again (minus Arlecchino and Ozen anyways). So yeah! That's what's happening, and yeah, it's Hermes inside the box- except Asfi isn't with him right now!
Next Chapter will either be Asfi Focused (see what's happening with her over at the House of the Hearth) or the angst Aiz has against Ling, I'll figure it out as I write
Chapter 25: Heroes of Might and Magic
Summary:
At the crossroad of Changes
Notes:
So, erm, this Chapter came out quickly! I don't know what happened, but the Big Brain attacked me as I was taking a shower and bam! New chapter! Welp, I hope it's good at least XD
The Liquid Madness Arc will end soon-ish (obviously lmao), so hopefully it was good XD
By the way, question, Madam Herta will appear soon, but who should be summoned with her? Welt? Amiya? Jeanne? I'm unsure.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The legend of Sui, God of War and Mighty Divine Dragon of Yan, was one of strife and betrayal. Of arrogance and discovery. Of the Twelve who emerged from It’s great corpse.
These fragments, remnants of the Great Dragon, initially held no such concepts as ‘hierarchy’ or ‘familial ties’. Nay, they were naught but the remnants of the Great Sui, birthed from Its mighty power given form.
What truly allowed them to achieve sentience was a simple question;
Who am I?
The order in which they elucidated this question became the hierarchical order from which their family was built upon.
Then, what of Ling?
As a Fragment of Sui, it stands to reason that she possess some manner of Divine Might- or was the epithet of ‘God’ within Terra simply an affirmation of power and not Authority?- but where did she stand besides her siblings?
“Ahhh~ I wonder, why is it that you hate me, young breeze?”
Thus was the question resonating within Bell’s mind as he watched his idol- Aiz Wallenstein, the Sword Princess- do everything in her power to avoid looking, or even acknowledging, Ling’s existence. Yet despite the, admittedly, titanic effort Aiz was putting into ignoring Ling’s existence, the Fragment of Sui seemed just as determined to poke and prod and needle at the Sword Princess until she could get an answer.
It didn’t help that no one came to Aiz’s aid, either because they were uncertain as to what exactly to think of Ling’s existence- being that she resembled no mortal race ever recorded by the Gods- or because they were intimidated by the dragon woman’s overpowering stare, whenever someone tried to approach her.
It could also be the whole ‘ I’m not mad, just disappointed ’ look Elysia was throwing everyone, the pink haired elf’s almost motherly expression causing everyone much discomfort- not because they felt disgusted or repulsed, but instead because they actually did feel like their own mother was disappointed in them…
Now Bell understood what Elias meant when he said that you couldn’t exactly deny Elysia when she had her mind set on something.
In an effort to distance himself from Elysia’s motherly disappointment and Aiz’s current battle for personal space, Bell instead turned to go and find Minato.
Surely the Fourth Hokage would have some wisdom to share about dealing with difficult situations like this?
While Bell was busy dealing with… that , Elias had politely excused himself from the situation and was currently speaking to Primo in a bit of a one-on-one, since apparently she was to be his apprentice.
Not that he had anything against the young elf, or even the prospect of teaching her. No, the main thing he wanted to see was just how knowledgeable she was in the Mystic Arts. Elysia had- prior to turning into a disappointed mom- told him about the books she had dug out of his workshop for Primo.
It was why, as he watched Primo showcase her new [Flare Charge], Elias allowed himself to burst out into laughter- the sudden noise almost scaring Primo out of her skin. “Truly! The talent of the next generation! I see. Very well then, young Primo. I shall mentor you in the Mystic Arts, if you will allow me to.”
Eyes glowing a piercing blood red, an almost vulpine grin etched onto his face which showed a tad too many teeth, Elias bowed down just enough such that he was now staring deep into Primo’s own amethyst eyes. Extending a hand towards the young elf, Primo couldn’t help but feel as if she were about to make a deal with the devil-
Because she was .
To be a Magus is to walk with Death. Magic is an art which demands dedication and caution, lest you be consumed by it. In this sense, the Devil wasn’t Elias- as evil and menacing as he appeared- but rather, the consequences of her dive into the Abyss of Knowledge.
However, steeling herself, Primo’s gaze hardened as she firmly grasped Elias’ hand, shaking it and cementing her place as his apprentice-
“And what about you, young Lefiya?” Glancing over Primo’s shoulder, where Lefiya was trying to- quite badly- stealthy hide from view, Elias extended his other hand towards her, his smile widening ever so slightly as he watched her recoil at his offer. He had observed her during the descent towards the 59th Floor, and during the battle against the Demi-Spirit, and he was quite impressed. Even if he felt that some of her issues could be fixed by simply experiencing a few more battles- or perhaps even leading her own team- Elias still felt no qualms against offering her an apprenticeship with Primo.
After all, his Clairvoyance was telling him that the Fates of the Hestia Familia and the Loki Familia would interconnect at various points in the future. Best to ensure good relations early, instead of acting like they wouldn’t somehow cross paths again later down the line.
Opening and closing her mouth a bit at the sudden offer, Lefiya seemed to contemplate Elias’ offer a bit, before deciding to accept it, grasping his hand and firmly shaking it. Determination to grow stronger and aid her friends blazing in her eyes.
“Good, good. I’ll prepare a lesson plan once we get back to the sur-”
BOOOM!
Before Elias could finish his statement, the ground shook and the air screamed as Aiz seemed to finally have enough of Ling’s constant prodding.
Sheathed in her winds, Aiz did her best to try and strike down the dragon before her, not that Ling seemed to respect that considering she Fragment of Sui was busy twirling and dancing around each and every strike Aiz sent her way. Whether by drunkenly swaying to some unheard beat, or by using her staff to jump around, Ling avoided each and every strike sent her way, with the wind only slightly ruffling her loose clothes as she danced around.
All around them, the Loki Familia seemed completely at a loss as to what to do, with some of them- notably Tiona and Riveria- screaming at Aiz to stop her attack to no avail. Others seemed tempted to jump into the fray, kept at bay solely by Elysia’s disappointed mom stare pinning them with more pressure than even the Demi-Spirit could exude.
“Well, I suppose this can work as an impromptu lesson…” Weaving a defensive barrier around the three of them, Elias beckoned Primo and Lefiya towards the fight, allowing both elves to observe just how hopelessly outmatched the Sword Princess was in the face of the drunken Sui Fragment. “For this lesson, I suppose some Spell Analysis will do.”
Gesturing towards Aiz, whose movement became more erratic by the second as each of her strikes failed to even graze Ling, Elias posed his first question of this impromptu lesson. “What would you say is Aiz’s Spell?”
Seeing the confused looks sent his way by both Primo and Lefiya, Elias elaborated a bit.
“Obviously her Spell seems to be a sheath of wind which enhances her physical attributes, but what else?” Crossing his arms over his chest, the Magister continued his explanation. “We’ve seen her project blades of winds, redirect her winds towards another target, and even compress them in order to produce an even more powerful attack. As such, I ask again; What is her Spell’s primary purpose?”
Blinking a bit at his analysis of Aiz’s Spell, both Primo and Lefiya shared a look before trying to add to the conversation a bit, each of them taking turns in making their guesses.
“Erm, well, Miss Aiz seems to be limited in how far she can control her wind…” Lefiya observed, watching as none of Aiz’s ranged attacks seemed to change direction or be any more complex than a projectile of compressed wind.
“T- There’s also something… S- Miss Aiz is slowing down-” It was true, as Primo had pointed out, Aiz was slowly but surely slowing down, her arms shaking, her footing more uncertain, her breathing more labored and deep. It would seem that, for all its power, this wind of hers put quite a bit of strain when used to such an extent.
Nodding to himself as he went over their analysis of Aiz’s wind, Elias decided to put an end to this little confrontation before Aiz could further injure herself. “All good observations. There’s also something else-”
In a blur of motion, the Magister vanished from their side- the sound of static briefly echoing out- before reappearing in-between Aiz and Ling, one hand outstretched and ready to catch her blade. Many watched on in horror as the mage seemingly committed suicide, or at least put himself in harms way so easily. However, before anyone could try and properly react, Elias’ hand reached out and grabbed hold of Aiz’s sword, a horrible screeching resonating out as Aiz’s wind harmlessly exploded outward, leaving the stunned Sword Princess bereft of her usual sheath of wind.
Before she could react and try to gather some ground to reactivate her Spell, Elias’ free hand shot forward, grabbing hold of her wrist and, in one fluid motion, kicked her feet underneath her and twisted her wrists, forcing Aiz to release her grip least she lose her sword and break her wrist. Instead, all she lost was her sword, and ate some dirt as she was subjected to a masterful display of aikido.
Twirling Aiz’s Desperate in-between his fingers, before haphazardly tossing the weapon over towards Riveria- the High Elf Queen easily catching the weapon without much effort- and turning to face his two new apprentices, a small smile greeting their awestruck shock.
“Her wind circles in a clockwise pattern, and is thus quite susceptible to a countercurrent of opposite rotation.” Finishing his explanation, Elias placed one hand in his pocket, the other one gesturing towards the surrounding area. “Wind has a tendency to flow in a singular direction, meaning that countermotion creates immense amounts of drag and even heat.” Humming a bit as he considered something, “In theory, it would be possible to create Flames, or even Lightning, using this friction.”
His explanation finished, the Magister beckoned his two apprentices towards the makeshift kitchen. “It’s about time for lunch. Come, I’ll explain some more theory while I cook.”
Once more sharing a look of unrestrained awe at the power displayed by the Magister- nevermind the fact that such a feat had been so easily performed- the two elves quickly followed after their mentor, excited to learn even more from him.
Left on the ground, Aiz was greeted not only by Riveria’s glare, but also by Elysia’s disappointed stare- which, she subconsciously noticed, also caused Riveria to flinch a bit.
“Young lady, you are in so much trouble.” Huffing and placing both of her hands onto her hips, Elysia watched as Aiz wilted underneath her disappointed Mom Stare, with Riveria not far behind. “And you ! I know Elias is handsome and all, but you should have left him to his brooding and comforted Aiz here!” Turning on her heels to give Riveria a taste of the Disappointed Mom Stare, those watching couldn’t help but shiver at the thought of being subjected to such a powerful look.
Truly, they would be on their best behavior… At least until they could be sure that Elysia couldn’t hear about it and scold them.
Away from all the commotion, Minato was busy staring down the sheepish- and horrified- members of the Hermes Familia. Said members had finally reached the Loki Familia’s campsite and were told none-too-gently that their God was a stowaway.
“Mahh~ Seems I’ve been caught~ Oh well~” Unrepentant as ever, the God Hermes stood before the Heroic Spirit of Assassination without a shred of dignity or repentance to be seen. Still mostly stuck inside of his crate, the God was surrounded by his four Familia members who all looked ready to just die, or dig a hole and never come out. “So- You’re one of Hestia’s Children, huh? Seems she’s been on a kind of lucky streak recently, wouldn’t you say so?”
Hermes’ question was met with a flat stare from Minato, who easily recognised the subtle prod for information for what it was. Hermes might be the God of Liars and Thieves, but Minato was a seasoned shinobi. Gleaming information out of him wouldn’t be so easy.
“I suppose so. But what about you, Lord Hermes? It would seem you’ve run into some bad luck instead.” Giving a non-committal answer, Minato turned the question back onto Hermes, the God not even flinching as he inclined his head. Despite never losing his smile, it was obvious to the two men which one had come out on top of this little verbal test. Hiding his gaze behind the rim of his hat, Hermes had been put on the backfoot by a mortal. “I would ask why you’ve decided to come down here, especially after losing so many of your children. But I suppose that question answers itself.”
Throwing another subtle jab at Hermes’ reckless- and obviously illegal act- Minato punctuated his statement with a kind smile, gesturing towards Finn’s tent. “Come, I’m sure Braver will understand if you explain your reasoning to him.”
Caught on the backfoot, Hermes was forced to follow along, lest he earn Loki’s ire as well. At least this way, he could pretend to have been here to mourn his lost children, instead of being here on some illegal adventure.
Ouranos would surely chew him out, but at least he’d do it behind closed doors, and it also wouldn’t earn him Loki’s annoyance, so he could deal with the indignity of the situation.
However, before the God could properly enter the Loki Familia’s makeshift Command Center, the entire Floor began shaking violently. Throwing every unprepared individual to the ground- or at least forcing them to prop themselves against something- the quake rattled the furniture and loose items strewed about their surface.
Then, as suddenly as it happened, it stopped.
But, before any question could be asked-
CREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK-
Horror
A horrid noise, incomparable to any produced by any living being be they from the Dungeon or not, echoed out across the 18th Floor as thousands upon thousands of vines erupted out of the ground, surrounding the entire floor in their grasp.
In one fell swoop, the entire floor had been taken hostage- a fly caught within a carnivorous plant desperately twitching for freedom.
Adventurers bursted from their tents, horror etched on their face as they watched the enormous quantity of Violas surrounding them. Even from this distance, it was possible to see the chaos which engulfed Rivira as the Adventurers stationed there began to panic.
“Everyone to arms! We have to get through to the 17th Floor!” Quickly grasping the reality of the situation, Finn easily took command of the battlefield, his orders bringing the panicked Adventurers back to their senses enough that they could begin to muster some manner of a defensive formation. “Hestia Familia, Hermes Familia, can we count on you to support us?”
Despite the question, it was obvious that Finn desperately hoped that he could count upon their aid in this dire situation. Fortunately for him, there was no way the Heroic Spirits could allow such a disaster to occur beneath their watch. Whether it was due to their presence within the Dungeon, or an unforeseen consequence of their meddling into the plans of whatever creature had spawned those monstrosities, they held a duty to preserve the Human Order.
Weak as they were compared to their predecessors, the loss of the Loki Familia’s Expedition Party would spell disaster for Orario-
It was a simple deduction. The Loki Familia had to make it out alive from this debacle. Not to mention that Emma, Bell, and Primo were also here- even if three of the Heroic Spirits were capable of Long Range Teleportation.
No, they had to make a stand here and face the enemy, lest they allow disaster to carve its way up towards Orario proper.
However, before any more words could be exchanged, a deeply unsettling sensation took hold of everyone within the floor- Be they Monster or Adventurer. The feeling of being watched by some unknown party rapidly took hold of everyone, freezing all but the most battle hardened in their tracks as the shadow of death crawled up to greet them.
Then, it happened.
All at once, the ceiling of the 18th Floor exploded downward, a massive cluster of writhing flesh, tentacles, and scales colliding with the ground-
Slowly standing up from the crater it had fallen into, allowing those watching to make out its form through the cloud of dust it had kicked up from its fall, a horrific monstrosity was revealed. Half-fused into the form of the- Black- Goliath, was a Demi-Spirit. Bearing the designation of Venenthes, it was a Demi-Spirit whose original purpose was that of a trap for unsuspecting Adventurers. However, with Revis nowhere to be found, and Olivas dead, the Corrupted Spirit had deigned it necessary to become more proactive in its next attack.
It was unfortunate, then, that the Dungeon had noticed Hermes’ presence within its bowels.
Normally, the Goliath would have required another 2 weeks to respawn, as Elias had already killed it. However, spurred on by its hatred of the Divines, the Dungeon had spent an enormous amount of its available resources to generate a Black Goliath.
To anyone else within the Upper Floors, it would appear as if the Dungeon had ceased to spawn more Monsters. However, in reality, this cessation was the result of its resources being diverted elsewhere.
With the Black Goliath already set to reform within the walls of the Dungeon, Venenthes had been drawn to the massive Magic Stone that acted as the monster’s core, forcing it to act and attempt to devour the monster. It was unfortunate, then, that the Black Goliath held such a powerful regenerative ability.
Unable to properly devour the Black Goliath, Venenthes had instead- of its own accord in a disturbing miracle that neither the Dungeon, nor the Corrupted Spirit, or even the Gods themselves could have foreseen- fused with the Black Goliath in order to produce the abnormal monstrosity which now stood as the central pillar keeping the Adventurers from safety.
No- This was no longer just about keeping safe, it was about destroying this thing before it could escape the Dungeon and become another calamity.
Opening his mouth to shout out another set of orders, Finn had to stabilize himself before he could be blown away by the sudden gust of wind which heralded the words which signaled the Beginning of Change-
“All of you! Defensive Formation! Focus on staying alive, We will take care of this creature.”
Having moved to the front of the battlefield, the Heroic Spirits had decided that this was the moment to act. They could not, in good conscience, allow such an abnormality to exist. As such, it was their duty to kill it.
Before anyone could attempt to argue with their decision, a large pillar of golden light erupted from Ichigo’s position as the Shinigami gathered his immense Reiryoku-
GETSUGA-
TENSHO!
Notes:
So, this chapter snuck up on me big time, but I think it came out pretty good... I hope anyways lmao XD
This was my wicked plan for the Goliath! And the weird Laser Plant Thing that Enyo was using to trap Adventurers in the 18th Floor... So yeah! My wicked plan is here! Whahahahah! I hope it's actually cool and not just some weird ass power trip I'm on... ( º﹃º )
Anyways, let me know what you guys thought of this chapter!
Chapter 26: Determination
Summary:
In the depths of despair,
Heroes must rise and becomes Light,
The Bell of Awakening tolls thy name…
Notes:
So! Chapter! Erm, this one took awhile, and I'm going to be real I'm not 100% on it just yet. But- again- I legit couldn't find it in myself to delay it any longer because if I was going to delay it some more, I was going to go insane. I have so many ideas on how to progress the plot, and being stuck on a dumb fight isn't helping lmao
So yeah! Super Goliath Fight is here! I might revist it this fight later and, like, rewrite it or something if I get better ideas in the future. But for now, this is what we get!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The first attack to reach Super Goliath wasn’t actually Ichigo’s [Getsuga Tenshou] , nor was it a Magic Attack from either Elias or Morgan.
No. The first attack that reached Super Goliath was Minato’s.
In the seconds Ichigo’s deflagration of energy took to traverse the less than hundred meters separating him and Super Goliath , Minato was already on the move.
It should be said that, in a contest of pure speed, Minato was the fastest Heroic Spirit- no, it was better to say that. In a contest of pure speed, Minato Namikaze was the fastest individual who had ever graced this realm. No one, past or present, had ever approached his sheer speed. Even when excluding the [Hiraishin Jutsu] , Minato’s speed still surpassed all others.
Even if Ichigo and Elias- the two individuals contesting the 2nd place in this contest of speed- were to unleash their entire kit, they would still pale in comparison to Minato. Only Elias’ Time Manipulation and Spatial Warping could allow him to contest Minato’s speed, and even then it wasn’t a fair comparison since then Elias wouldn’t be relying on speed alone.
That is to say that, even to the Heroic Spirits, Minato’s movements were nothing but a yellow blur as he shot towards Super Goliath , easily overtaking the enormous [Getsuga Tenshou] and allowing him to land a powerful palm strike to its abdomen.
Backflipping to his feet and weaving his way around the various vines Venenthes was using to try and stifle his charge, Minato easily climbed his way towards Super Goliath ’s head- delivering another palm strike near the junction where Goliath and Venenthes were joined together, this time leaving an [Explosive Tag] behind before teleporting back to the where the other Heroic Spirits were.
All that before Ichigo’s attack could even reach Super Goliath .
CREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESH!
The resulting impact of Ichigo’s [Getsuga Tenshou] , coupled with the subsequent detonation of Minato’s [Explosive Tag] , sent shockwaves throughout the 18th Floor as bits of gore flew out everywhere. Blood and viscera showering the back of the Floor.
“Go!”
Elias’ shout shook everyone out of their stupor as the Heroic Spirits once more shot off in different directions. Far from staying bunched up in one place, they were all moving to assume different positions for the confrontation.
With Ichigo at the front, Elysia and Minato acting as his backup and rearguards, Ling and Morgan were free to deal with anything Venenthes or the other Multi-Colored Monsters could throw at them.
That left Elias to shift his focus back to helping the defending Adventurers.
Slamming his right palm into the ground, an enormous Magic Circle forming around him- and the rest of the allied forces some noted absentmindedly- as he began chanting.
“ Physical Abilities Rise- [Deus Eques!] [Ile Arms!] [Ile Armor!] [Ile Vernier!] ” All at once actuating a quartet of Enchantments that covered the whole of the allied forces- boosting their physical capabilities beyond what they should normally be, almost enough to equate to an entire Level Up, if only slightly less- Elias turned his attention towards those that were unable to fight. “Vanguards! Circle Formation! Everyone with Range, get behind the lines!” Barking out some more orders at he jumped over the battlelines, placing himself in the middle of the hastily arranged orbis formation- directed mostly by Finn who, after a scant few moments of surprise, quickly got the idea and barked out his own orders to get the injured in the middle of the formation.
“Magic Casters! To me!” Giving a large wave of his arm towards the monsters approaching the vanguards- blasts of [Zoltraak] following the trail of his arm- Elias called the various Magic Casters over to himself near the back (or really, middle) of the formation. “Start chanting! Short-to-mid length chants will support the vanguards! Ultra Long Chants, you’re with me! We’re going to torch Goliath all at once!” Leaving no rooms for backtalk, the Magister’s hardened stare prompted everyone into action as every Magic Caster quickly started chanting.
Soon enough, the Adventurer Battleline was a veritable moshpit of elemental energies, poison, gore, and steel as everyone fought desperately to survive.
That included Bell and Emma who, given their relatively high status and close ranged fighting style, had been grouped up with the vanguard squad. Both Adventurers of the Hestia Familia fought fiercely, trading places whenever necessary. Whenever one killed a monster, the other would jump in to cover them, allowing for quick recovery and reducing the chances that the attacker would be taken by surprise.
“ [FIREBOLT!] ” Making full use of his Quick Cast Spell to cover Emma- and really anyone nearby- Bell made full use of Minato’s training to instantly kill any Monster that came in his way. Unlike humans, or really even regular living creatures, Monsters had one big weakness; They died instantly if their Magic Stone was destroyed. As such, all it took for Bell to destroy a Monster was to aim for the Magic Stone and strike it with his knife or sword, or Spell. Normally doing this would be wasteful, since the whole point of killing Monsters was to harvest their Magic Stone for money, but here and now, efficiency was preferred over the usual methods. “Emma! Cover me!”
“Right!” Watching as Bell shot off towards a group of Adventurers- probably from Riveria if their unkempt and rough appearances were anything to go by- who had overextended themselves, his [Firebolt] Spell vaporizing a few of the smaller vines that had come too close to them. Even as she fought for her life- though a part of her knew that if things really went badly the Heroic Spirits would prioritize her safety over anyone else’s aside from Primo or Bell- Emma couldn’t help but admire Bell as he fought with everything he had.
Clad in an aura of flames from the leftovers of his Spell, his movements were refined in a way that spoke not of experience, but of dedication to learning. Even her untrained eye could tell whenever he overextended himself, or when his off-hand would float up a bit when he wasn’t paying attention to it, but she could also see whenever he would catch himself- when all the training he had painstakingly done was applied to make him into an even more powerful fighter.
Unbeknownst to her, a small smile made its way onto her face as- despite the situation- it really was as if she was fighting side by side with a Hero… Okay, she really was fighting side by side with the Heroes of Old, but this was different! Bell was just… so much more approachable than the Heroic Spirits! But, perhaps, that was just what made him so dependable!
Away from Bell and the rest of the Adventurers, the Heroic Spirits- sans Elias- were busy dealing with Super Goliath . Or, as it was more appropriate to say, they were busy trying to negotiate how they were going to kill this thing without also carving a hole through the rest of the Dungeon. Despite having no information about what would happen if, say, Ichigo were to detonate the whole of the next five or so floors- the direction didn’t really matter- their instincts told them that something bad would happen.
So devastating the upper floors of the Dungeon was a no go.
That still left quite a few options open to them; Ichigo could just carve his way towards the Magic Stone, Morgan could unleash a large-scale Spell to destroy it, Ling could summon a large [Thunderer] and swallow the thing whole. Heck, they could even unleash one of their Noble Phantasms and destroy it!
No, the issue remained that they didn’t want to expose too much of their capabilities even in this dire situation. Well, some of them didn’t. Morgan, Ling, and Minato were all for simply waiting for whatever the Mages could conjure up to kill Super Goliath to happen, while Elysia and Ichigo were all for simply vaporizing the creature as quickly as possible.
In the end, the non-verbal conversation- which lasted all of five seconds- ended in an agreement; The Adventurers would get the first strike. If they couldn’t kill Super Goliath after the Ultra Long Chants were completed, then the Heroic Spirits would deal the killing blow. Who exactly would deal said killing blow was still up for debate, but still!
Raising one hand towards the Super Goliath , unleashing a ray of spiraling golden light, Morgan felt quite irked by the being’s existence. As a Divided Spirit of the Planet, it was only natural that she would feel disgusted when observing such an abnormality to the natural order, but there was something else there. Something that she couldn’t quite put her finger on quite yet, but it was there. And it unnerved her…
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Morgan decided to investigate this phenomena later once they were back on the surface. For now, all that mattered was making sure Bell was safe- I mean, making sure everyone survived.
Soon enough, the Ultra Long Chants were finished. Most of the Magic Casters participating in the effort were covered in sweat from hurrying along their Chants to the best of their capabilities, Magic Energy swirling into an almost tangible cloud of whirling motion as the various Spells began erupting out towards Super Goliath .
Elemental Energy, Curses, Barriers, Restraints, Gravity Wells. Spell after Spell after Spell activated and scorched the mutated Monster Rex- the putrid scent of flesh and blood permeating the floor in a nauseating way as entrails and gore were ripped out of the Monster by the various Spells. Soon enough, most of Super Goliath ’s upper body was destroyed, leaving nothing but part of Venenthes attached to its crotch and legs.
Such was the damage that it was even possible to see Goliath ’s Magic Stone! The enormous crystal was shattered, bits and pieces of it having flown out all around the floor or having been simply vaporized from the onslaught of devastating Magic thrown its way.
One beat- Two beats- Three beats-
Nothing .
Everyone watched with bated breaths as the Monster Rex’s corpse seemed to just… sit there. Neither turning to ash- as was customary for Monsters upon the destruction of their Magic Stone- nor regenerating.
It was just… sitting there. Ominously-
“EVERYBODY BRACE!”
It was hard to tell who yelled first, or even if it was someone in particular and not some auditory hallucination- or even a retroactive thought that someone had conjured up and everyone simply went with.
As it were, the shout was followed by a deep rumbling from within the Dungeon itself, the various vines and Monsters permeating the 18th Floor beginning to writhe on the ground. Those that had hands grasping at their throats while others simply flailed about like dying fishes.
The Loki Familia, more specifically those who had participated in the battle on Floor 59, were the first to understand just what was happening- sans the Heroic Spirits who had a general idea as well.
Just like the Demi-Spirit had done, Venenthes was absorbing the various Magic Stones of the surrounding Monsters to regenerate itself. Worst, it was recreating the Goliath ’s Magic Stone as well!
Horror permeated the gathered Adventurers as they realized that victory would be decided not by the death of Goliath , but by that of Venenthes . An abomination that belonged not to the Dungeon, but to something completely different.
However, before Goliath could fully regenerate and return to its rampage, both Elysia and Morgan began peppering the writhing mass of flesh and scales with attacks, stemming its flow and keeping it from properly regenerating.
Once more immobile, Venenthes changed strategy as it started gathering the remaining vines around itself- lasers firing every so often from its cyclopsian stalk. Every vine if gathered was mercilessly cut down, either by Ichigo or Minato, as both Heroic Spirits began steadily approaching the Demi-Spirit ’s Core.
Ling, on the other hand, had instead shifted her attention towards the formation of Adventurers cowering near Elias and Finn- the duo still barking orders to the few who were still willing to fight. With a wave of her clawed hand, Ling manifested a few of her [Thunderers] - the serpentine summons whirling to life in what seemed like a torrent of water- ordering them to bolster the orbis formation. Their long, flowing forms coiling around the injured and allowing their comrades to easily bring them towards the center of the formation were those capable of healing were trying to stem the flow of deaths.
It was to the point where Elias himself had ceased to pretend that he couldn’t actually heal people and was administering first aid to them, a soft golden glow emanating from his form as those nearest to him began to quickly regain color, their injuries fading away under the soft glow.
In the end, perhaps anticlimactically so, the final blow to Venenthes ’ Core wasn’t some flashy or over the top attack, but simply a stab from one of Minato’s Kunais. Finally, with the destruction of its Core, the Demi-Spirit ceased to draw in more Magical Energy, causing the entire construct of flesh and vines to explode into a flurry of ashes and mystical energy- its Magic Stone having long since ceased to exist under Morgan and Elysia’s constant assault on it.
Now bereft of Monsters- and Rivira, the town having been trampled by Super Goliath at some point during the battle- a somber silence permeated the atmosphere. Some couldn’t believe that such a monstrosity had been dealt with so… anticlimactically. Others were simply glad to be alive, and others still were mourning the dead.
All in all, despite the calamity being dead, the atmosphere was quite somber. No one was cheering, no one was dancing around screaming about how good it felt to be alive. Everyone was simply… silent.
Even hours later, once the dead were properly taken care of and the injured as treated as could be within the Dungeon’s bowels, the atmosphere was still somber. Finn, Elias, and Bors had stepped to the side to discuss a few matters- probably to do with how they were going to get everyone to the Surface, or if it was even feasible to do so.
As one of the few of the vanguard unit who had been lucky enough to avoid taking any serious damage, Bell was busy running around and distributing what few potions were still available to those who needed them. As he did so, a sudden hollowness permeated his being as he observed the downcast and the injured. Those who had lost someone or had received such injuries that returning to Adventuring wasn’t a feasible option.
Approaching Emma, who was busy nursing a nauseous Primo- the young Elf suffering from the early onset symptoms of Mind Down- Bell couldn’t help but speak his mind as he sat next to his juniors. “This… Is this what it means to be an Adventurer…?”
His question, coupled with his dull gaze, caused Emma to startle as she began to also- fully- take in the sights surrounding her. Realization slowly formed on her face as she began to elucidate Bell’s train of thoughts.
Adventuring was dangerous. More so than any of them had realized before. Sure, they had courted death with the Minotaur Incident, but even then- Even then there had been this subconscious knowledge that none of the Heroic Spirits would have allowed them to die. But now, seeing the dull gazes of the traumatized Adventurers who had survived the incident, the broken bodies of those who would undoubtedly fall into destitution or commit suicide as they could no longer support themselves as Adventurers, the two mortals of the Hestia Familia began to slowly realize something.
Myths and Legends, for as gory and realistic as they were, simply couldn’t convey the abject feeling of desolation that followed in the wake of a tragedy. Certainly, many spoke of these tragedies, many more spoke of those who had lived through them or had overturned them, but it was simply something that one couldn’t properly fathom until they experienced it themselves.
Now, surrounded by the overpowering scent of despair and damnation, neither Bell nor Emma could find it in themselves to proclaim that heroism was all that nice. That they had a solution to the current issue, or that they could even begin to formulate one.
“It’s sad, isn’t it?” Before either of them could spiral, Minato’s voice pierced through the shroud of darkness slowly enveloping their minds and returned them to reality. The Fourth Hokage’s gaze was of steel, understanding and sadness coloring it as he took in their expression. “It’s something they don’t quite talk about in legends and myths, the desolation left behind, the issues that can’t simply be fixed by a singular Hero.”
Taking a seat next to them, bringing the two children- plus a sleepy Primo- into a hug, Minato continued speaking in an effort to not let them stew in their own misery. “Now that you understand this, it’s time to make a choice. People will suffer, regardless of what you do. That’s a fact.” Ignoring the way Bell flinched at his declaration, Minato shouldered on as he spoke his wisdom, forged in the horrid conflict that had wracked the Shinobi World thrice over. “You can either give up, or you can stand up and decide to bring change.”
Closing his eyes, an image of Konohagakure coming to his mind as he thought back to all the things that hadn’t earned him fame or aclaims, Minato still spoke softly. There was no reason to shelter these children from the truth of the world, or to lie to them that everything would be fine. No, what needed to be done was to allow them to grow from this event, that they be able to pick themselves back up and walk onwards. “A hero isn’t just someone who saves the day, it’s someone who ensures that the world still turns tomorrow morning. It’s the person who helps feed the homeless and builds infrastructures to help those in need. Beating up Monsters is good and all, but if at the end of the day you’re left alone… What good is that?”
Letting his words settle into their minds, Minato allowed Bell and Emma to mull over what he had said, simply sitting with them, one arm around each of their shoulders and reminding them that they were not alone. That they had someone they could talk to if necessary.
By the time Finn, Elias, and Bors had made a decision, all three men splitting up to inform their respective groups on what was going to happen next, Bell had left Minato and Emma to tend to the now slumbering Primo in exchange for finding his wife. Morgan was, unsurprisingly, gathering samples from what remained of Super Goliath . Mostly bits of its Magic Stone, but also parts of it that had accumulated enough Magical Energy to survive the Monster Rex’s destruction.
“Morgan… C- Can we talk?” Steadying himself as he approached his wife, Bell watched as a complex flurry of emotions went through Morgan’s usually stoic visage, before she slowly nodded and gestured for him to speak his mind. “Y- I want you to teach me- I- I don’t want to just be a Hero that can Fight- I want to learn how to build too.” Despite the stuttering, Bell’s voice was filled with conviction as he spoke, his gaze locking into Morgan’s own as he clenched his fists in determination. “I want you to teach me how to be King.”
Taken aback by her husband’s request, Morgan wondered what it was that Minato had told Bell, but couldn’t find it in herself to refuse. So, with an almost resigned sigh full of fondness, the Queen of Faeries nodded, a small smile wormings its way onto her face. “Very well husband, I shall teach you how to rule.”
Taking him into a hug, the couple remained where they were for a few more minutes before Elysia’s voice called them back.
In the end, of the 349 people who had been on Floor 18, only 200 had survived. Of those 200 survivors, 50 would never again return to Adventuring either due to mental trauma or physical injuries. Most of these individuals would be unable to find new jobs and would find their way into destitution, crime, or simply commit suicide.
However, as she watched her children return from their Adventure, the Goddess Hestia couldn’t help but wonder just what it was that had changed in them- the mortals who had delved deep into the Dungeon and had returned alive from it. Watching as Bell, Emma, and Primo seem to have a renewed energy to themselves, a new goal to reach towards that- while still steeped in the innocence of youth- wasn’t so much a fantasy as it was a dream. Something tangible that they could hold onto and watch grow.
Giggling to herself as she jumped out of her chair, a neatly arranged stack of papers under her arm, the Goddess of the Hearth jetted towards the courtyard where Ling was currently entertaining the children using her Summons, the constructs acting out some manner of play that was being narrated- or perhaps guided- by Elysia.
“Good news everyone! I finally made us an emblem!”
Notes:
So, erm, kinda anticlimactic, but I couldn't really find a reason for, like, any Noble Phantasm Reveals or anything too big. Super Goliath is big and menacing and whatnot, but like... I dunno, it just didn't feel right to get some "Woah! Super Hero Moment! No consequences at all NP Reveal!"
Maybe it's because I re-reading Worm again lmao Who knows XD But yeah, erm, the Liquid Madness Arc is reaching its end- Next chapter will focus on Asfi and then it's onto another arc! Hopefully with better chapters to come out of it.
Chapter 27: Why Do Princesses Soar?
Summary:
With Challenges Overcome, Normality returns.
Or does it?
Notes:
Wooo! Chapter 24 is here! Took me awhile because of IRL shit, but it's here!
Hopefully it's a lot better than last chapter (which I still intend on rewriting later). So, this is the end of the Liquid Madness Arc, and the beginning of something else!
I have some ideas and plans, but for now, I'll leave things as they are! Hopefully this chapter is good.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
With the Hestia Familia returned and in proper health, life started to settle back into its proper place.
Morgan and Elias were back to manning their Magic Tool Store, Minato and Ichigo were taking turns putting Emma and Bell through their paces, and Ling was busy bothering Soma- and every source of alcohol in Orario really, and Elysia was busy helping Hestia and Arlecchino with the orphanage.
That is to say that aside from Primo, who was splitting her time between helping run the Magic Tool Shop and taking lessons from Elias, and Ozen who was still within the Seeker Camp- overflowing with work now that Rivira was destroyed and the Seeker Camp was the only safe location within the upper floors of the Dungeon- everyone was quietly getting back into the swing of things.
Which was why, two days after their return from the depths of the Dungeon, Hestia decided that it was time to tell her new Captain just who it was that was crashing at the orphanage. Before Elias’ return to the surface- and really everyone’s return- Hestia had gone to the Guild to officially assign the Magister the role of Captain . Something that made him sulk quite a bit, not that he didn’t understand the Goddess’ reasoning.
Normally, Elias would’ve much rather the Familia Captain be one of its mortal members, but with how young and inexperienced they all were… No, assigning them such responsibilities- especially after the ordeal they had just gone through on the 18th Floor- that would be much too cruel.
In theory, many others could have filled the captaincy, many of the Heroic Spirits had been leaders or elite strategists after all, but it all came down to the fact that he was the most informed out of all of them. Even Morgan wasn’t as informed about the goings on of Orario- not because she couldn’t of course, the Faery Queen could easily acquire whatever information she desired, but because she didn’t care to.
In a sense, it came down to the fact that Morgan largely acted for Bell, and Bell largely sought out Elias’ wisdom for most things. Ergo, it was easy to see just why it was that the Archmage had been chosen for the role and not someone else. Nevermind the fact that Minato wasn’t all that enthused with the prospect of getting back into the leader chair after what had happened in his life, and Ling couldn’t be trusted to find her way out of a wine cabinet on her own.
It was why an unrepentant Hestia was currently standing inside of his new office, flanked by a nervous looking Asfi. Said guest looked distinctly uncomfortable and seemed to be halfway between praying for the ground to open up beneath her and swallow her whole, or wondering if defenestrating herself would be easier than dealing with whatever conversation was about to occur.
In the end, the decision was taken right out of her hand as Elias sighed deeply, a flick of his wrist denoting the appearance of two more chairs- mostly tame in design compared to his own much more elaborate one, but no less comfortable thanks to his Magic- before gesturing for them to take a seat so they could properly converse.
“So, Miss Andromeda, I take it you’ve been enjoying Lady Hestia and Arlecchino’s hospitality for the last few days.” Leaning back into his chair, legs sprawled out under it in a mostly haphazard fashion that screamed of tiredness and laissez-faire, Elias propped his head onto the back of his right hand- itself supported by the chair’s arm- while his other one taped onto his desk. The rhythmic rolling of his fingers onto the treated wood seemed to cause Asfi even more stress than the previous silence did- or maybe it was the lazy, almost predatorial way, Elias was looking at her.
In comparison, Hestia was the picture of exuberance- he really needed to get her away from Elysia…- as she sat on her own chair. Really, if it weren’t for the fact that she had brought Asfi to him, he would’ve figured that she was here just to examine his office. Instead, she was here to ask him to deal with Asfi- and Hermes by association. Of course this was the first thing she officially asked of him after making him her Captain.
Just as expected of the whims of a Goddess…
Before Asfi could defend herself however, Elias quickly raised his empty hand up to silence her, his right hand shifting from propping his head up to massaging the bridge of his nose. “I suppose you thus aren’t aware that Lord Hermes was within the Eighteenth Floor during the… unfortunate accident that happened there?”
The way Asfi’s features scrunched up told everything Elias needed to know. She wasn’t aware of what Hermes had been up to, but she wasn’t all that surprised that he had been up to something . Especially since that something had to be bothersome to everyone else.
“I… Apologize for my lord’s actions…” Bowing deeply towards both the Goddess of the Hearth and her Captain, Asfi couldn’t help but feel like she was apologizing a lot more recently- usually because Hermes had done something stupid.
Still, whatever she was expecting- whether it be scorn or ridicule- it was clear that she did not expect for Elias to just wave off her concerns so easily. “Think nothing of it. Deities are if nothing else predictable in their mannerisms. Tis only natural that the Lord of Thieves and Trickery would cause mischief for everyone, his followers included.”
Elias’ words caused Asfi to sigh in relief, at least none of the Hestia Familia seemed all that bothered by Hermes’ actions, or at least they didn’t blame her for them. Still, the fact remained that she was here, mooching off of their resources- considerable as they were- for free.
“I would say your current state interests me, but that would be a lie.” Leaning forward his elbows onto his desk, steepling his fingers together, Elias’ gaze locked onto Asfi’s own- the empty void that encompassed the orbs that one could only charitably describe as ‘eyes’ piercing deep into her very Soul, as if twin black holes sucking in everything that she was into themselves. “Quite honestly, what you do does not interest me.” Blunt and direct in his assertion, the Magister sharply- yet gracefully- rose from his seat, turning on his heels and stalking towards the large shelf that encompassed the whole of the east wall of his office. “However, I’m quite sure Goddess Hestia would be quite crossed with me if I did nothing to help you.” Reaching towards a particular book- preternatural knowledge allowing him to easily know where to find the book he was looking for without even having to search for it- its cover was a burgundy hue, silver highlights running the whole of the spine in intricate designs that evoked rigid and sterile imageries.
Carefully removing the book from its place on the shelf, tilting it backwards with a practiced tilt of his fingers, the Magister turned the book such that both Asfi and Hestia could clearly see the cover. It was bare, save for the intricate border that resembled barbed wires running the whole of the cover’s border.
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
The title was foreign to both women, with even Hestia being taken aback by how strange the title was. Questioningly gazing at the book, especially since neither women could sense any Mystical Properties to its construction, Elias elaborated some more.
“Tis simply a piece of literature from a far away land. Think nothing of it, I’m simply doing my part in accommodating you.”
This earned Elias a sour look from Hestia, who’s petulant pout remained even as Asfi accepted the book and scampered out of the room- the Adventurer sufficiently creeped out by Elias’ gaze that she did not even bother to question the gift. Taking his seat back behind his desk, Elias returned to his paperwork as Hestia slowly, but surely, started getting more and more agitated.
Eventually, the Goddess’ agitation became too much to contain and she started violently pulling at her pigtails, her legs flailing about as she attempted to decipher what the Magister’s intentions were. To no avail.
“Alright you! What the heck is up with that book?” Huffing petulant, the Goddess gave up trying to uncover whatever scheme Elias was cooking up, and instead decided to just be forward with her intentions, a pouty glare being all Elias could see from his seat, earning an amused snort from the man.
“Nothing much, simply a piece of fiction from where I’m from. I’m sure the others could tell you just as much about it as I can.” Shrugging softly as he straightened up over his paperwork, amusement coloring his gaze at Hestia’s unimpressed and unconvinced pout. “It describes the story of a man who attempts to play God, creating a flesh golem from the rotting corpses of others, only to become scared by his own creation. Abandoning it, he becomes cursed to always run from it until it eventually kills him.” Giving a brief- highly flawed- summary of the book, Elias earned himself a scornful glare from the Goddess of the Hearth.
“Wu- And why did you give that to her!?” Jumping to her feet, slamming both of her palms onto the wooden surface of his desk, the Goddess seemed to be seconds away from darting out of the room to run after Asfi and confiscate the book.
“Because it teaches a lesson that she is in dire need for… Actually it’s something we should teach Bell, Emma, and Primo sooner rather than later.” Mussing over the idea for a bit, before shelving it for later, Elias fixed Hestia a stare as the Goddess calmed down slightly. “Intentions don’t matter, only Consequences do.”
That caused Hestia to stiffen up ever so slightly as she suddenly understood where Elias was coming from. Slumping back into her too comfortable chair, Hestia couldn’t help but agree with what Elias was saying.
“Whatever her intentions had been down there, the consequences are thus. There is no denying them, only acceptance. Now, all there is to do is to grow from them.” Turning back to his paperwork, the sound of pen striking paper permeating the office space. “Knowledge is knowing Frankenstein wasn’t the Monster. Wisdom is knowing Frakenstein was the Monster.”
Gripping the edge of her dress, Hestia sat silently as she listened to Elias say his piece. It was the first time she had heard him speak his wisdom, and already she hated it. Not because the advice he was giving was bad, but rather because it was much too cruel for her taste. Then again, for as cruel as it was, it was also realistic in ways that the warm comfort of the Goddess of the Hearth wasn’t.
“Asfi is still young, intelligent, yes, but also lacking in wisdom. What she needs now is to decide whether her past will define her, or if it will push her growth.” Not even looking up from his paperwork, Elias reached for a pot of freshly brewed tea manifesting atop the desk, pouring himself and Hestia a cup- both of which had also manifested from the ether- before sliding the cup over towards the sulking Goddess. “This isn’t something we can force. All the comfort in the world won’t be enough to shelter her from that choice. What we can do, instead, is ease her into this choice.”
“Let her help at the orphanage for the next few days, that should help her regain some confidence in herself. If anything, it will also ensure she doesn’t do anything drastic.”
With his wisdom dispensed, Elias returned his full focus to his paperwork, the scent of tea complementing the scratching of paper quite well as it mixed with the scent emanating from the books, creating a comfortable and rustic scenery that made Elias seemed so much more mysterious.
“...I hate how you’re right…” Sulking some more, Hestia nonetheless accepted the cup of tea, blowing softly upon it to avoid burning the roof of her mouth as she sampled it. Her words earned an amused snort from Elias, who glanced up from his paperwork, mirth evident in his gaze.
“Of course you do. You wouldn’t be the Goddess of the Hearth if you didn’t want to shelter these children from the harshness of the world. Just as well, however, there comes a time for children to leave the nest. For better or worse, these children must confront the harshness of the world to grow.” Sampling his own cup of tea, Elias glanced towards the elaborate grandfather clock that stood next to the door, its rhythmic ticking aided with ample Time Magic to ensure it would never err. “Still, just because we have to let them grow, doesn’t mean we can’t be there to help them.”
With that, a comfortable silence permeated the office space, the small noises here and there only complimenting the atmosphere, leaving the Magister and the Goddess to enjoy the afternoon in relative silence…
At least until something inevitably interrupted them anyway.
Clutching onto her new Familiar, given to her by Elias, Primo was busy running around Orario’s markets in search of various ingredients for her upcoming lesson. At her side, Lefiya was also clutching at her own Familiar, the two elves having been given a list of things to find for their first lesson.
It wasn’t like the list was terribly long or had expensive ingredients- notwithstanding the fact that Elias had given them a truly massive amount of money to pay for everything- but rather that their Familiars were… Spirited, if one were politely asked to describe their current behavior.
As it were, Primo wasn’t so much clutching onto her cat Familiar- named ‘Chomusuke’ after some brainstorming- than the cat was clutching onto her hair in a makeshift attempt to take a catnap on her hair. By comparison, Lefiya’s chick- assuming it actually was a chick- Familiar, ‘Zel’, was busy trying to peck Lefiya’s ponytail whenever the lump of hair would swing past its face.
All in all, the two Adventurers were gathering a lot of attention, and it wasn’t just because they were elves.
Still, their shopping was almost done, and they were getting ready to go back home-
“WUA-!” / “AAAAAAAAAH-!”
It was why, when both Lefiya and Primo collided with another individual- who had been sent into their way by a wayward cart- they were quite surprised to see a raven-haired elf tumbling to the floor. The collision, while quite tame, did send Chomusuke and Zel into a tizzy as both Familiars started screaming bloody murder- if a cat howling and a chick chirping could be considered screaming anyways- which in turn caused Primo to scream, then Lefiya, and then finally the mysterious raven-haired elf.
What a way to start the day…
“I am so sorry! Are you alright!?” Jumping to her feet- while also trying to wrangle Zel back into her grasp- Lefiya gave a deep bow as Primo and the other Elf slowly rose to their feet- with Primo also being busy with trying to wrangle her Familiar back into calmness. Compared to their panicked and haphazard state, the raven-haired elf seemed taken aback and shocked by the sudden turn of events. Her mouth was agape, as if unsure as to whether to be offended by the sudden collision or apologetic that it was, in part, her fault.
“I- Erm- It’s fine…” Giving her own- less deep- bow in return, the Elf gazed towards Lefiya and Primo, her eyes narrowed slightly as she mindfully kept her arms to herself.
Then, before either Primo or the other Elf could say anything, Lefiya let out a gasp as she recognized just who it was that they had- quite literally- run into. “Y- You’re Maenads , Filvis Challia!” Lefiya’s awed reaction drew a similar reaction out of Primo, who turned back to face the now revealed Maenads with unconcealed awe.
Filvis, on the other hand, was busy trying to sink into the ground and away from her fellow elves. This was, however, not to be as Chomusuke chose this time to finally escape Primo’s grasp and instead jump right into Filvis’ face- the act of which earned a shocked screech from the Level 3 Adventurer who was so taken aback that she couldn’t even begin to defend herself against the winged cat’s approach.
“Ch- Chomusuke!” Primo cried out, face flushed as she also suddenly wanted the ground to swallow her whole. Reaching out to try and grab her cat back from Filvis, the young elf accidentally brushed against Filvis’ hand as she tried to grasp the cat, earning an even worse reaction from Maenads .
If Filvis’ reaction to being ‘attacked’ by Chomusuke had been bad, then her reaction to being touched by Primo was even worse. In a blur of motion that left even the Level 3 Lefiya unable to properly witness the act, Filvis ripped her hand away from Primo’s accidental touch, a blistering glare etched onto her face- conveniently covered by part of Chomusuke’s body- as she completely disregarded the cat hanging off of her head and instead turned the whole of her attention towards the younger elf.
“ DON’T TOUCH ME! ”
The screech- which seemed quite apt given Filvis’ much more negative nickname of Banshee - caused Primo to stiffen up, tears starting to well up at the edge of her eyes as she recoiled away from the older elf. Lefiya, by comparison, seemed even more aghast at Filvis’ clear overreaction at the harmless act.
It would be something if Lefiya had been the one to get this reaction- being that she was an adult- but to do so to Primo, a child. It was…
Seeing her Mistress’ clear distress, Chomusuke released her hold on Filvis’ hair and gently glided down towards Primo on her too small bat wings, landing on Primo’s face in a seeming attempt at comfort.
This, if anything, only made Filvis’ glare all the more withering now that the cat initially blocking part of it was gone. Opening her mouth to speak once more, Filvis was interrupted by a sudden chill that overcame her form- as if some inborn instinct was screaming at her to stay still and shut up or else .
Then, before she knew it, Filvis saw only darkness- Darkness so deep that even her enhanced senses could not hope to pierce it. It was such that even the pure whiteness of her clothes seemed to become stained by it. Perhaps Filvis would have noticed it too, had she been able to see literally anything. Even the very tip of her nose was impossible for her to see, such was the darkness. And by the Gods was it cold- So, so cold- Even more so than Its embrace, back then on the 27th-
“ My, and aren’t you a rude child… An apology would be quite appreciated, methinks. ”
Almost like a whisper carried by the wind, a voice emerged from somewhere in the Darkness, from a place she couldn’t quite place. Everywhere and yet nowhere all at once. Desperately attempting to open her mouth- to scream or say anything- Filvis found herself helplessly overpowered by whatever had grasped her-
“ Oh- Don’t worry child, you’ll be quite fine. Of that I assure you- ” Mirth painted the voice clear as day, the same way a parent watching their ignorant child would use when teaching them how to swim- about how the water wouldn’t harm them, of how safe it was and how nothing could harm them no matter what. “ Speak child- Speak your question, I so long to hear it. ”
Suddenly, Filvis felt control of her jaw return to her, the pressure surrounding her overshadowing even that which she had felt within the depths of the Dungeon, even that which was placed upon her by That . Even the presence of a God- restrained though they were in this mortal shell- could compare.
It was clear which question Filvis was going to ask- it was common sense even. That which anyone in her situation would ask- regardless of who they were, all would desire to know-
“W- Who are you!?” Finally managing to speak- to scream- even as her body rebelled against itself, so certain it was that she would suffer horribly if she attempted to run. The sound of her question echoed out into the abyss which surrounded her, before it suddenly stopped-
“ I’m sure you already know who I am, child. ” The voice returned, and despite not seeing the speaker Filvis was certain they were smiling wherever they were. The voice was now omnipresent, digging through her brain from the inside of her skull as if the very shadow cast within the enclosed bone structure was a conduit for its dark truths. Filvis closed her eyes in an attempt to stave it off, as if a child trying to ignore the encroaching darkness that filled their bedroom. “ I am the Darkness that hides in your closet, the Shadow under your bed, that which lives within every uncertainty you have. I am He Who Goes Bumps In The Night - ”
Suddenly opening her eyes, finding herself laid out on her back in the streets of Orario- Safe and surrounded by a gaggle of concerned people. Most had been drawn by her sudden collapse, while others had simply been curious as to what had drawn so much attention. At her side, both Primo and Lefiya were still there, concern overshadowing any previous misgivings they had had with Filvis’ behavior. Heck, perhaps they even thought her overreaction and her sudden collapse were linked in some way.
But it wasn’t them who drew her attention, or even the group of concerned and curious onlookers. No, it was the one standing before her, whose form casted a shadow over her and blocked the Sun itself from reaching her- His form both illuminated and covered by the light of the Sun.
It was him- Tall and regal in appearance- She wasn’t quite sure how she knew it, but the very marrow of her bones echoed out this sentiment-
“-But you can call me Elias. Quite nice to meet you, young lady.”
With a charming smile which showed much too many teeth to be genuine, for the first time in so long, Filvis felt like she had drawn the gaze of something much, much worse than It .
For better or worse.
Notes:
So, a bit of a darker twist to things. Might be because I've been delving into darker stuff recently in my reading, things like Creepypasta, the Abyss from WoD, and just darker Fics in general. Might start up another story soon-ish to go over some of the darker ideas I've got. Who knows, ideas are plentiful anyways.
Anyways, hopefully this chapter was good, and it wasn't too dour compared to what I usually write for this story.
Let me know if you think the Hestia Familia should go to Melem next or if a little intermission of Lessons should happen next (ie. Beach Arc or Teaching Arc)
Also, you get an Internet Cookie if you can figure out where Elias' new alias comes from ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧
Chapter 28: Class with Professor Ainsworth
Summary:
With everything happening around Orario, a return to normality is required.
Unfortunately for a certain group however, normality is not what awaits them.
Take out your pencils and papers,
The Ainsworth Classroom is in session, attendance mandatory-!
Notes:
Wooo! Chapter 25 is here! Happy Easter everyone!
So, erm, for those that don't read the comments, the reason behind this delay is that my SSD decided to commit sudoku and give up on life, which forced me to get a new one and do the whole data transfer thing. Fortunately, I practice what I preach and I save all of my work on the Cloud, so aside from not having a computer for half a week, I didn't lose any work. Aside from that, this chapter just in general kicked my ass because of the word vomit in it.
Still kinda word vomit, but meh, it's theoretical classes! Next chapter will have another Dream Cycle!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Lefiya liked to think of herself as moderately levelheaded- good at figuring out when things were starting to spin out of control and better at keeping her cool. Now, perhaps some of her friends would disagree– quite vehemently at that– with such an analysis on her level headedness, at which point she would like to reiterate that they were lying liars and that she was as normal as they came!
Hence why, seated as she was within the impromptu classroom Elias had built using his Magic underneath the House of the Heart, surrounded by a bunch of people she would have never imagined sitting next to, Lefiya felt that things were definitely spinning out of whack.
And it had all started so simply too! After Elias’ arrival– after Filvis’ freakout and subsequent collapse from overheat– Lefiya and Primo watched with a certain level of disconnect as Loki and Dionysus who– both of which accompanied by their Vice-Captains– had apparently been discussing certain ‘things’ nearby (of the plant variety) before their attention had been drawn by Filvis’ sudden freakout and subsequent collapse.
Before the thought of exiting the scene could even begin to form inside of her mind, Elias had admitted to the two Deities that he was about to begin his first class with Lefiya and Primo, and subsequently inviting the others to attend. Of course, both Deities had done all they could to avoid being confined inside of a classroom… which meant sacrificing their followers instead!
It was why, Lefiya thought with an almost detached expression plastered on her face as she watched her new teacher zip about his blackboard at lightning speed, she was now surrounded by Lady Riveria and Primo as they all listened to the mad Magister prepare his first lesson… Then again, it could be worse. She could be stuck helping wrangle children like Loki, Aiz, Dionysus, Filvis Challia– Lord Dionysus’ Captain–, Aura Moriel– Lord Dionysus’ Vice-Captain– who had all been commandeered by Elysia as temporary helpers for the orphanage.
Not that anyone had the heart to actually refuse. Though whether that was for the orphan’s sake or Elysia’s sake was best left unsaid…
Regardless, Lady Riveria was less than enthused at the prospect of being sent back to class– about Magic of all things– but the prospect of allowing her student to learn anything from such a suspicious individual (not that Hestia Familia was suspicious or warranted caution, only Elias did) was one that she could not abide by. Hence why the High Elf Queen was begrudgingly going along with this charade.
“So! As this is our first class on the subject, let’s begin with some terminology!” Twisting on his heels to face his class, Elias was the picture perfect representation of a teacher about to dispense wisdom and knowledge upon his unsuspecting students. Oh, he knew that Riveria didn’t really believe what he was about to say was worth anything more than a passing glance. Which was why he was about to blow her mind. “Let’s begin by dividing Magic into its constituent Foundations–”
Turning back to face his blackboard, Elias began to write out a litany of terms to the bewilderment of his entire impromptu gaggle of students. Foundation? Impromptu? Systemic? What even was this!?
“Magic is a force that, while mysterious to many, is governed by both hard rules and soft rules–” Not even bothering to face his class as he wrote down even more things, Elias could tell exactly what kind of face they were all making– it wasn’t hard to imagine after all. “The simplest rule is that Magic is an art which requires immense mental strength and visualization. Hence the distinction between Impromptu and Systemic Magic.”
Stepping to the side to allow everyone to see the two distinct columns he had drawn on the blackboard, one headed by the word ‘Impromptu’ and the other by the word ‘Systemic’, each separated by a distinct line running down the middle of the board.
“Impromptu Magic, also known less formally as ‘Wishcraft’ or ‘Miracles’, is a method of Magic Casting which many scholars consider to be highly primitive and wasteful.” At that, Elias started to outline a few bullet points each representing an adjective of Impromptu Magic Casting. “However, it is also incredibly versatile and freeform because of these same qualities.”
“By comparison, Systemic Magic is much more refined and researched, but also much more rigid. This makes it incredibly easy– by comparison anyways– to teach, but also very hard to deviate from the well-trodden path.” Moving over to the second column to lay down a few bullet points, Elias finally turned to face his class of bewildered elves, each looking at a complete loss at the things he was saying. Suppressing a smirk, he allowed a few moments to pass so that each elf could properly digest his words– and stew in their own confusions for a bit– before explaining what exactly he was getting at. “As I said prior, Magic is an art which requires visualisation and imagination to function properly. These are the two methods by which Magic can be cast– regardless of origins.”
“Wishcraft is the primeval method of Magic Casting, since it relies entirely on an individual’s beliefs and imagination. This unrefined nature made it incredibly expensive and taxing to perform, not to mention somewhat prone to misfires, but much more flexible since the only limits were the user’s imagination and the amount of Mind they could push into their Spell.” Watching as understanding started to dawn on Riveria and Lefiya’s faces– with Primo not yet as well versed in the Mystic Arts and thus less likely to understand the difference he was highlighting. “By comparison, Systemic Magic is an artform that has been refined such that it can be easily taught. Relatively anyways. The forms are known and defined, the output is predetermined.”
“Orarian Magic falls into the Systemic System, though its actual Foundation is one I would describe as incredibly robust– which makes it hard to deviate from.” Deciding to take an example, Elias turned back to face the blackboard– the board expanding in defiance to the laws of space to give him more space to write– writing the name of one of Lefiya’s Spells; [Arcs Ray] . “ [Arcs Ray] is a relatively simple Spell. This makes its applications very niche, if quite diverse given its simplicity.”
Adding even more adjectives to the board, this time to describe [Arcs Ray] , he decided to explain them as he wrote them. “It is a Spell possessing a Range of Aimed, its duration is Instant and its Area of Effect is of a singular target– though the resulting explosion could potentially affect nearby targets as well.”
“Now, I’ve said a lot of things, let’s put some meaning to the madness, shall we?” He asked rhetorically, already knowing that he had lost everyone– even Lefiya whose Spell was the one being analyzed, a Spell she had learned and memorized by heart, whose effects she could recount in her sleep. To see her Spell be dissected in such a manner was… somewhat disconcerting, really. “Let’s take things one at a time. Spells can have different Ranges depending on a number of factors, though most scholars agree that the three nominal categories are; Touch, Aimed, and Sympathetic.”
Jolting the three words down on the– once more space defying– blackboard, Elias turned to face his class, his stick of chalk pointing towards each word as he described what they were.
“Touch Ranged, also referred to more simply as ‘Close Quarters’ or ‘Self’, is any Spell that can be casted either on the individual alone, or on someone they can physically touch. Think of something like Aiz’s [Ariel] Enchantment or Lefiya’s [Elf Ring] .” Watching as each of his students seemed to be more or less lost– but nonetheless highly interested in what he was saying– Elias allowed a small smile to form on his lips. “Aimed Spells are much more common, they are those that manifest primarily as projectiles and require travel time to reach a distant location. Again, [Arcs Ray] is a prime example. The last category is Sympathetic which is itself an umbrella category– but let’s not go into too many details right now. Sympathetic Magic is that which affects a target with no travel time, meaning that the effect is largely impossible to escape simply by trying to dodge a projectile. Most Sympathetic Spells manifest upon the target instantly once cast– though that’s not a hard and fast rule.”
“The Enchantments I used during the Goliath battle– [Vernier] , [Arms] , and [Armor] – are all Sympathetic Spells.”
Turning back to the physics defying board to write down even more bullet points, Elias briefly wondered whether or not he should touch upon the Arcanas of Magic, before deciding against it for now. “After Ranges, we have Duration. This denotes not the amount of time required to cast the Spell, but instead the amount of time the effect remains active. Again, this can be divided broadly into the nominal categories of Instant, Interval, Indefinite, and Lasting.”
“I’m sure I don’t need to explain what ‘Instant’ means, so let’s move onto Interval. This, broadly speaking, refers to Spells whose effect resolves in a duration that is more than Instant, but not indefinite. These Spells generally don’t require more input from their caster, and simply exist until a certain amount of time has passed. Indefinite Spells are those whose duration is ever changing depending on the Caster. Aiz’s [Ariel] is once more a good example. Its duration is based on how long she wishes to keep it active, as well as how much Mind she has remaining.”
Elias took a few moments to allow his audience to digest his words before speaking again. “Finally Lasting Spells are those Spells which leave behind remnants after their effects are resolved. Healing Spells usually fall into this category, since the healed injuries don’t spontaneously reappear once the Spell finishes. Spells which generate matter, or manipulate pre-existing matter, are also considered Lasting, assuming the matter doesn’t vanish or return to its previous form once the Spell finishes.”
“Now what does any of that actually mean? Certainly, it’s a neat system to categorize Spells into, but if that was all there was to it– why am I talking about it in an introductory class to Magic?” Watching the gears spin inside of his audience’s heads, Elias wrote out the word ‘Rote’ upon the board– this time the stick of chalk levitating out of his hand and moving on its own to spell out the word. “Because of ‘Rotes’– codified Spells.”
Taking a few moments to gauge the emotions in the class– mostly to see that both Lefiya and Riveria looked anything but convinced by this– Elias allowed a small smile to grace his lips as he reached into… his shadow? And pulled out three books. Each completely identical down to the last stitch. Distributing the books to each of his students, plus Riveria, Elias proceeded to explain what they were.
“Rotes are what you might call ‘Codified Spells’, though that’s not quite right either. It’s easier to think of them as instructions to build a birdhouse, or something like that. If Magic is the art of imagination and building mental images, then the Rote is the ability to pass down comprehensive instructions about how to build such a mental image.”
“In this case–” He gestured towards the books, “--it’s instructions on how to cast [Zoltraak] . A relatively simple Spell in the same vein as [Arcs Ray] as it simply generates and fires an arrow of concentrated Mind. Still, it has no Incantation and can be fired at high speed once mastered– Which brings us to homework!” Hiding a smile as both Lefiya and Primo groaned, Elias glanced towards Riveria, who was already leafing through the book he had given her, her eyes widening when she realized that it was a Grimoire of all things– given away so simply at that! “Next class will happen once both of you can cast [Zoltraak] confidently. It doesn’t have to be fast and it doesn’t have to be perfect. If you have any questions surrounding [Zoltraak] or how to go about casting it, well, you know where to find me.”
Reaching back into his shadow and pulling out two long and relatively thin boxes, Elias handed one to each of his students, earning himself confused looks and raised eyebrows.
“It’s customary for Masters to give their students gifts as signs of apprenticeship. The kind of gift tends to vary depending on the Master– their resources, skillset, and other such politicking– but they’re usually quite useful to the student in general. Which is why I made these!” Gesturing towards Lefiya and Primo to open their boxes, the two young elves– plus Riveria– were left speechless as they beheld just what Elias had given them.
Lefiya’s gift was a staff of immaculate quality whose outer shell was made of Kassiterum– Perfected Tin– giving it a glossy, almost wet look. Nearly white in color, its length was just slightly less than Lefiya’s own height and displayed exquisite vine-like engravings that resonated deeply with Lefiya’s elven ancestry.
The top of the staff did cause quite a bit of confusion though, as it possessed an hemisphere-like protrusion that was reminiscent of a knuckle guard, with a ring of fiery copper seemingly separating the top of the staff from the rest of it.
Seeing their confusion, Elias decided that a practical demonstration was in order, ushering everyone out into the courtyard where the children of the House of the Hearth were currently running everyone ragged– in particular Loki and Dionysus who were not used to running after children. Finding a mostly secluded part of the courtyard to perform his demonstration, Elias extended a hand towards Lefiya, who relinquished her new staff to her teacher, eager to get some answers as to what it did.
“The outside is made of Kassiterum, making it basically indestructible– even more so than Durandal-type weapons. It has a core of Brontium, just like Bell’s knife, making it both perfectly balanced as well as a perfect conductor of heat and electricity, perfect for your Spells. As for this part–” Holding the staff almost like a longsword’s sheath, Elias laced his fingers through the knuckle guard and twisted counterclockwise, the top of the staff easily coming apart from the rest, leaving him with a rapier-like handle and a slightly shorter staff, perfect for close quarters combat. “–it can be separated for CQC, with the handle having a thin wire of Siderite that can, well, I’ll just demonstrate.” Gripping the rapier handle properly, a blade of blueish energy erupted from it– a Magic Rapier.
“The blade is made of Magic. It doesn’t drain any Mind, but you can feed it more Mind to make it longer if you want. Because of the Siderite Core, the blade is even more indestructible than the rest of the staff, and can cut through most things with proper technique.” Deactivating the rapier-like blade and ‘sheathing’ it back into the staff, Elias handed the priceless weapon back to Lefiya– who looked at a complete loss for word as to how to properly react to this.
Not that she was the only one. Elias had just given her a First-Class Weapon like it was a piece of candy– no, this was even better than a First-Class Weapon. In fact, she was quite sure that if any of the Smith Gods caught wind of what the staff could do, they would instantly declare a War Game just to acquire it. Or at least burn through a lot of favors just to be able to analyze it. The fact that it channeled her elven magic so easily was also a surprise– let alone the fact that it would allow her to fulfil her dream of becoming a Magic Swordsman.
“I call it [First Forested Snow] , but you can really call it whatever you want.” Acting like he hadn’t just given away hundreds of millions of Valis like it was a piece of candy– especially now that everyone else was now looking at him and had seen what Lefiya’s new staff could do– Elias turned to face Primo, who was now looking trepidatiously at her own staff.
“Your staff, which I call [Ancestral Anchor of Roots] , is a bit different. As you can see, it has a separation at the middle which allows it to–” Giving the staff a twist, one half counterclockwise and the other half clockwise, Elias proceeded to turn the rod into a proper full length staff. Just like Lefiya’s [First Forested Snow] . Primo’s [Ancestral Anchor of Roots] was a construction of Kassiterum with a Brontium core, said core becoming exposed once the staff extended to its full length. Exquisite engravings of vines, leaves, and other forest iconography were layered across the staff making it truly resemble some ancient elven artifact. “–extend just like that. It can be used in CQC, and it’ll remain useful to you as you grow up and get taller.”
Returning the staff to Primo, Elias took a few steps back towards the still dumbfounded Riveria to allow his two students to play with their gifts, with quite a few children– and really anyone else who was watching– coming to look in awe at the masterful work of Orario’s only Forge Master.
“I also have a gift for you, Lady Riveria. As an… apology for, well, yeah.” Reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small ring box– which instantly caused the High Elf Queen’s ears to burn up something fierce– Elias opened it to reveal an exquisite ring. Bearing nine perfectly cut emeralds each held securely by a Kassiterum band, the ring bore even more exquisite elven iconography over its form which integrated the emeralds into their designs. The ring’s surface was smooth, something that should be impossible given its integration of gemstones and yet it was. All in all, it was an exquisite piece that would make even an elven deity green with envy.
Taking the ring out from its box, Elias frowned a bit as the Sun’s glare reflected off of the polished surface of the ring and into his eye, causing him to kneel to get out of the Sun’s rays slightly, placing the ring onto one of Riveria’s finger– her ring finger to ensure maximum comfort.
Having finished examining– read; playing– with her gift, Lefiya turned to thank her teacher only to abruptly stop, her brain unable to compute what it was that she was seeing. Noticing Lefiya’s flabbergasted expression, some of the children also turned to look at what it was that had taken her interest, only to also gasp. This, in turn, led to everyone– both deities and mortals– looking towards the Magister and the High Elf Queen…
Where of course the Magister was still on one knee carefully adjusting the ring he had placed on the High Elf Queen’s ring finger. Said Queen being stock still from shock– maidenly fantasies playing through her mind at light speed as the tip of her ears burned an incandescent red. It didn’t help that Elias’ touch was gentle and measured in a way that belayed his profession as a Forge Master.
“W- WHAT IS GOING ON!?”
All in all, a normal day for the Hestia Familia.
Notes:
So, word vomit is out of the way! Should Lefiya and Primo rename their weapons? I'm going to be full honest, I suck at naming things-- kinda like Minato and Welf-- so I'll graciously take any suggestions thrown my way for names.
Next chapter will have another Dream Cycle, so look forward to that. I'll also introduce a new NPC and the new Servants-- no Summoning sequence tho, those are kinda boring and repetitive I think-- which are Madam Herta and Jeanne d'Arc! So wooo! Hopefully it won't take me forever to write it =͟͟͞͞(꒪ᗜ꒪‧̣̥̇)
Anyways, I've been teasing the Elias/Riveria thing for awhile now, but in all seriousness, should I pursue it to any degree. Obviously not front and center, that's for Morgan and Bell to show-- but should Riveria get some love? What about Aiz? Should the Faerie Queen share her husband? I'm all for suggestions and comments on that!
Chapter 29: Interlude #1 - A Day in the Life
Summary:
In-between the chaos of life in Orario,
It might be expected that daily rituals are scarce,
But as with most things, humans are adaptable,
Even if they’re spirits, or not actually humans.
Notes:
Not actually a chapter, or well, kinda something? Very short, but something I wrote on the side as an alternate start for Chapter 25. It didn't end up making the cut, but I retooled it to work as its own standalone thing. More of a snippet of something, set before Chapter 25.
Chapter 26 is kinda fighting me, but I should have it out relatively soon-ish. Sorry for the lack of updates tho
Chapter Text
Life in the House of the Hearth was a routine thing, despite what some of its members might think.
Or maybe he was the only one who thought like that because of previous experiences. Regardless, as with most days, Servant Caster– Elias Archibald Ainsworth– was up first in the morning. Even earlier than Bell actually, despite the boy’s upbringing on a farm.
4am stat, the Sun wasn’t even up and yet he was. The pros of being a corpse– as Elysia would tease him– was that sleep was a bit more of a suggestion instead of a requirement. Still, that didn’t stop him from working away.
By the time 5am rolled around, bringing with it Bell and Jeanne– one of the newer additions to the household, Servant Ruler– their plates had already been set and ready for them. Both had grown up in fairly similar circumstances– ie. on a farm– so their breakfasts were fairly simple. Adam and Eve on a Raft. Simple stuff.
“Thanks for the food!” Both Master and Servant said in unison, beginning to dig into their meal just as the Faery Queen made her appearance. Unlike her usual dignified mannerism, the Queen was in full lazy mode now, shuffling over to her husband and– after taking a seat next to him– just laying her head on his shoulder. It spoke great volume about their growing closeness that Bell didn’t even squeak in surprise, instead just shifting his stance a bit to accommodate his wife.
Primo and Emma also joined the table not long afterwards, with Morgan and Primo sharing a similar breakfast– despite Morgan’s own distaste for Elves, something that amused the Caster to no end– being a vegetarian breakfast salad (with accompanying wooden utensils instead of metal ones). Emma, on the other hand, seemed to much more enjoy baked products, so her breakfast was a selection of croissants, fruits, and other such things.
As 6am struck, more and more of the household woke up, with Elysia and Arlecchino coming in to begin preparing breakfast for the orphans, Ichigo and Minato following soon after to grab their breakfast burritos before dragging Emma and Bell out for morning training. Then came Madam Herta– the second of Bell’s newest Summons–, the Mooncancer Servant seemingly more preoccupied with her books than breakfast, a simple affair of french toasts and fruits.
Finally, as 7am struck– with most of the others having already left for their own morning routines– the Goddess Hestia shuffled in, a massive case of bed hair signalling that she had just awaken and was definitely being drawn by the scent of freshly cooked food instead of any actual higher cognitive impulses. Her breakfast was a classy affair– though perhaps a far cry from what most would consider ‘divine’– a selection of fruits, sweets, and deserts. Apparently Gods didn’t actually need to eat properly to survive, just a steady intake of calories would be enough… which explained why the Goddess Penia could survive solely off of wine and the occasional leg of ham.
“See you later Elias!” By the time 7:30am rolled around, both Elysia and Arlecchino were done preparing and packaging a simple but filling breakfast for the orphans, both women waving at him as they slipped out of the kitchen and into the orphanage wing of the household, leaving Elias to eat his own breakfast– a simple rice congee with plenty of ginger and an apple– before he brought Ling her own breakfast burrito.
All in all, a good way to start the day.
Chapter 30: Beautiful World
Summary:
I shall fight, for all that is beautiful in this world–
So that children may live without fear,
And that beauty may bloom once more.
Notes:
Ahhh! This chapter is officially out now! I'm not dead!
But yeah, this one fought me a bit, mostly because I was undecided on what to do- and I kept rewriting it over and over again. But here it is now! It's a lot longer than my usual chapters, so hopefully that somewhat makes up for it (˵¬⤙¬˵")
Oh well, here's Chapter 26! With some questions answered, and more questions to find!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“What are your intentions with my Riveria!?”
Sitting inside of Elias’ office, the Goddess Loki bore her gaze into the form sitting before her– the unimpressed, haphazard form somehow stylishly slumping in a throne-like chair. How Hestia managed to find such a Child was anyone’s guess, but Loki didn’t currently feel all that interested in that. Glancing towards Hestia– the Goddess of the Hearth currently fidgeting nervously in her own chair–, Loki couldn’t help but wonder if this was Fate currently trying to punish her for all those times she’d insulted Hestia…
Sighing softly as he leaned back into his chair, the Magister looked more bemused than anything else, partially aware of what Loki was insinuating, but also somewhat taken aback that she would come to such a conclusion. Was it because she was overprotective of her Children, or was it because he had unknowingly signaled his desire to court the Elven Queen? Not that he was actually interested in courting her, he simply felt that giving her something was right after all the trouble he had given her.
“I assure you Goddess Loki, I have no such intentions towards Lady Riveria– nor do I have any intentions of courting her.” Apparently his answer didn’t quite satisfy the Goddess of Trickery who now sported a contrived look– that or she was feeling constipated for some reason, it was hard to tell. “...If you’re feeling constipated, might I suggest using the bathroom?”
From gaping like a fish at his statement, to looking terribly incensed, Loki jumped to her feet– her index finger lashing out towards Elias’ direction like a King demanding his guards assault another, her voice following not long after. “I ain’t constipated, ya mangy sod! Are ya saying my Riveria ain’t good enough for ya!?” Red in the face and terribly incensed, the Goddess’ declaration took Elias– and Hestia– completely off-guard, both sharing a look of utter confusion before Elias adjusted his stance a bit, lest he fall out of his chair.
“No? I simply do not see the reason to court her quite yet… Unless you’re looking to get her married? At which point I would suggest asking one of the other Elven Royals currently in Orario.” Unless Loki was aware of the Heroic Spirits populating the Hestia Familia and wanted to secure an alliance through an arranged marriage? It wouldn’t be the first time he’d seen such tactics used after all…
Letting loose a scream of rage– and incensement– Loki proceeded to smack her hands onto Elias’ wooden desk, trying to jump over it and strangle the Magic Caster, her actions only stopped when Hestia jumped onto the Goddess of Trickery. “Lemme at him chibi! Imma rip his spleen out an feed it back ta him!”
Sensing that he had somehow offended the Goddess Loki, Elias decided on a strategic retreat before the Goddess decided to try and rip his spleen out, ducking under his desk and teleporting out of the room– the enraged scream of the Goddess echoing out into the garden below, causing the still present Elven Queen to give an irritated sigh as she made for the location of her wayward child– I mean Goddess.
With Loki currently being chewed out by Riveria– and Hestia being forced to act as witness– the courtyard was once more filled with the joyous cries of children, with most of which were busy playing some sort of mixture between tag and hide-and-seek… without much rules honestly.
As it were, Lefiya was busy trying to keep some of the less hyperactive children entertained by recounting a story– one from her own home forest. It was a tale of a Hobbit (the ancient name for the Prum people) being tasked by the Gods of Old to carry a powerful artifact all the way to an Elven Forest to see it destroyed.
Honestly it was more of a fairytale than an actual historical recounting, many Elven scholars and historians doubted its authenticity– nevermind the fact that no God had ever confirmed it, though then again the Gods confirmed very few things other than their existence– and honestly the idea that the insular, racist, Elves of old would help a Prum was laughable at best, and downright insulting at worst.
Nevertheless, it was an entertaining story and seemed to enrapture most of the children– those that hadn’t outright fallen asleep anyways– and allowed Lefiya plenty of time to observe the surrounding compound.
The Hestia Familia’s home wasn’t quite as big as the Twilight Manor, but it was more spacious in its design, seemingly prioritizing open spaces and natural spaces instead of sterile wood and stone corridors, something that greatly soothed Lefiya’s elven spirit. Some of the flowers surrounding parts of the stone pathways were also of great interest to her, mostly because she didn’t recognize them– not that that was any surprise, it wasn’t like she was some expert in botany or anything of the likes, simply that they seemed… unnatural, for lack of a better term.
It wasn’t that they were ugly, quite the contrary actually, it was instead that they were otherworldly beautiful and seemed to contain an absurd amount of Mind for their size. Plants that contained Mind weren’t exactly rare– most herbs and plants used in the creation of potions and Magic Items, especially Elven Staves, were bathed in Mind to some extent, but to see flora which contained so much of it was definitively peculiar.
“[Tempest!]”
Hearing the familiar Spell Chant, Lefiya felt her gaze– and that of the children around her– turn towards where Aiz, Filvis, Aura, Bell, and Emma were currently sparing with the carrot haired man– Ichigo he had introduced himself as. The eastern man– if his clothes were anything to go by– was currently exchanging blows with Aiz, Bell, and Emma while Aura and Filvis attempted to use their Spells to corner him. Not that it was working.
Even sheathed in her wind, Aiz could barely weather the man’s blows– his enormous cleaver battering her like a twig in a storm, while the khyber knife kept Bell and Emma at bay. Both weapons had been wrapped in some sort of cloth– apparently supposed to keep the blades from cutting anyone.
“Too weak! You’re used to being faster than anyone you fight! That won’t work on me though!” Ichigo roared, sending a devastating kick to the Sword Princess’ stomach before– in a move that surprised everyone watching– throwing his cleaver at Filvis and Aura, forcing the two Magic Casters to jump away from the makeshift projectile– its impact with the ground sending up a cloud of dust and shaking the whole of the courtyard– and sending a punch towards Aiz, blue lines spreading down the length of his limb as he made impact with the shield of wind Aiz had tried to make by compressing her [Ariel].
To no avail as Ichigo’s punch tore through it and landed directly into Aiz’s solar plexus, knocking the wind out of her and signalling the end of this impromptu training session as none of the combatants felt any desire to be on the receiving end of such a blow.
“Ahhh~ Welp, that’s that. Ya know, for someone using a rapier, you sure do fight like you’re using a broadsword.” The Substitute Shinigami remarked as he bent down and helped Aiz back to her feet, his inquisitive gaze observing the Sword Princess’ sword. “If you’re gonna keep fighting like that, I’d suggest getting a proper broadsword– or at least learning how to fight using one.”
Before Aiz could make her thoughts known– her breathing still ragged from having her breath knocked out of her– Elysia’s voice pierced through the silence, the exuberant Miss Pink Elf waving towards everyone as she projected her voice loudly. “Food’s ready everyone! Eat while it's hot!”
The declaration of food caused the previously sleeping children– and those lethargically dozing off– to suddenly awaken, before sprinting towards their guardian with gusto at the prospect of food.
Not that anyone could blame them given that even the grown ups were swiftly approaching the tables set by Elysia and Arlecchino– the ex-Harbinger being busy organizing the plates and handing them over while Elysia distributed them to the hungry children.
“Thanks for the food Father! Big Sis Ely!” The children chorused, much to the confusion of the non-Hestia Familiar Members, who looked towards the sole men currently present, causing Bell and Ichigo to frantically shake their heads, gesturing towards Arlecchino who was busy gently reminding some of the children to eat slowly and not talk with their mouth full.
Lefiya– and unbeknownst to her, Filvis, Aura, and Aiz– felt her gaze dip below the neckline towards the ex-Harbinger’s ample bust, before glancing at her own modest bust.
“...I see.” She muttered, unaware that this feeling of inadequacy was shared by the other women, who all seemed to slump over in defeat at the woman who, for some odd reason, desired to be called ‘Father’ of all things!
It didn’t take very long for the food to be devoured– not with Ichigo, Aiz, and the children voraciously consuming everything in their general vicinity–, nor did it take very long for Arlecchino to coax the children back inside for their afternoon nap, leaving the rest of the grown ups to their own devices.
Lefiya thus took the opportunity to go and find Primo– who had left earlier to go and practice [Zoltraak] at the target range Elias had set up on the other side of the courtyard. With Filvis and Aura leaving with their God, and Emma and Bell following after Ichigo for some after meal exercise, Aiz was left woefully undefended from Elysia’s exuberant love.
Hence why the Sword Princess was currently trying very hard to avoid being caught in another of Elysia’s hugs– for as warm as they felt, she couldn’t help but feel some ominous foreboding sensation that such a hug would leave her unable to move for the next few hours.
How dreadful.
“Mouuuu~ Come on Aiz! Just a hug! One tiny hug! Please!” Undeterred by the cold shoulder she was receiving, Elysia instead seemed spurred on by it, the Herrscher of Origin floating along after the skulking blonde teenager. “I’ll even give you this Jagamarukun in exchange!”
Stiffening up as she caught scent of her favorite snack, Aiz slowly turned towards the smug looking Elysia who was currently holding up a fresh– and thus very hot– Jagamarukun, the potato snack almost gleaming in the sunlight, beckoning Aiz towards certain doom. This- How could it be that Elysia knew Aiz’ one weakness!?
Had she been betrayed by someone!? (Distantly, Lefiya received a concerned look from Primo when the former started sneezing something fierce.)
No! She would be strong! She would not be swayed by such tactics! Even if that Jagamarukun looked delicious and freshly cooked!
“Mouuu~ Alright then, how about five Jagamarukun then?” Undeterred by Aiz’ slowly crumbling spirit of resistance, Elysia reached into… somewhere, and retrieved four more Jagamarukun, each still piping hot and ready to be devoured.
Feeling her resistance fade, Aiz unleashed a monumental amount of mental strength and wrenched her gaze away from the bribe– trying to avoid looking at temptation– She would not falter! Her spirit was strong! Her mind was strong!
“Mouuu, final offer then! Thirty Jagamarukun!”
She would not falter!
She faltered.
That was the only thing running through Aiz’ mind as she nibbled at her– deliciously traitorous– Jagamarukun, Elysia’s arms wrapped around her in a hug. It was no use, Aiz Wallenstein could not defeat the foe that was her stomach.
Thoroughly defeated, Aiz couldn’t help but feel a mixture of success and defeat permeate through her. On the one hand– Jagamarukun!-- but on the other hand…
She was now a prisoner of Elysia’s hugs, however warm and comforting they were.
“Come on~ It’s not so bad, is it?” Utterly unrepentant of her use of such a dirty, dirty tactic, Elysia was all smiles as she gently coaxed the Sword Princess into a lap pillow, the younger girl somehow continuing to vigorously nibble at her snack despite being horizontal and laying on the Herrscher’s lap. “The weather’s good and the garden is beautiful! Come on~ Give me a smile~”
Undeterred by Elysia’s words, Aiz continued to pout as she laid there, though she could admit that the weather was quite good. Not too hot, but also not too cold or windy. The perfect weather to be with family… The same weather that permeated her last peaceful memories of her parents…
She could remember it like it was yesterday, the last time she and her parents had been able to have a peaceful moment. The weather had been just like this– perfect– with the chirping of birds, the scent of fresh grass, and the shade of a tree. Then the Dragon had appeared, that vile creature had appeared and had ripped her family apart, killing her parents and–
“Shhhh~ There’s no need for that, sweet child.” Before she could spiral further into the black flame of hatred, Aiz felt the gentle touch of Elysia’s hand– the Herrscher soothingly running her fingers through the blonde teenager’s hair, her voice soft and comforting. “You are safe here, sweet child. Just enjoy the moment of peace, in this beautiful world we all share.”
Suddenly feeling her eyelids grow heavy, Aiz wondered if she really was this tired from a simple– but highly vigorous– spar, or maybe it was just the weather making her sleepy. In whichever case, she found no reasons not to indulge in a small nap– just a bit, then she would go back to training, to getting stronger…
“Shhh~ There’s no need to rush– all in due time, sweet child.” Humming softly, Elysia laced her voice with Honkai Energy– or Mind in this case– her soothing voice coaxing Aiz into a dreamless slumber. “Hmm~ A little song might help~ That’s what Eden used to do for Griseo…”
Humming slightly– a slight giggle escaping her lips when she felt the temperature adjust slightly, the soft murmur of instruments echoing out to follow her voice. That Elias– he really couldn’t be honest, could he?
Still, it would be a shame to let such a moment pass her– especially because she could tell that she would have some backup vocals for this one–
“ Some deserts on this planet were oceans once
Somewhere shrouded by the night, the sun will shine
Sometimes I see a dying bird fall to the ground
But it used to fly so high-
I thought I were no more than a bystander
Till I felt a touch so real
I will no longer be a transient
When I see smiles with tears
If I have never known the sore of farewell and pain of sacrifices
What else should I engrave on my mind?
Frozen into icy rocks, that's how it starts (That's how it starts)
Crumbled like the sands of time, that's how it ends (That's how it ends)
Every page of tragedy is thrown away (Is thrown away)
Burned out in the flame
A shoulder for the past
Let out the cries imprisoned for so long
A pair of wings for me at this moment
To soar above this world
Turn into a shooting star that briefly shines but warms up every heart
May all the beauty be blessed
May all the beauty be blessed
(I will never go)
(There's a way back home)
(Brighter than tomorrow and yesterday)
(May all the beauty be blessed)
Wave good-bye to the past
When hope and faith have grown so strong and sound
(Have grown so strong and sound)
Unfold this pair of wings for me again
To soar above this world
(To soar above this world)
Turned into a moon that always tells the warmth and brightness of the sun
(Brightness of the sun)
May all the beauty be blessed
May all the beauty be blessed. ”
Sat comfortably in a courtyard built by people of different stripes and different times, from different worlds and different aspirations, Elysia couldn’t help but giggle as she thought about it properly. To think that a simple wish for family had brought them all here, it was almost poetic–
Running her fingers gently through Aiz’ hair, the blonde teenager finally asleep, Elysia glanced up towards the sky where the Sun glowed brightly above.
“For all that is beautiful in this world– that is why I fight, to preserve this.”
‘ For all that is beautiful in this world, huh? Well, it’s not the craziest thing I’ve ever done. Hahahah… ’
To think that this was how she had convinced Elias to join the Flame-Chasers so long ago…
Descending into his workshop– after he had toyed a bit with the temperature outside for Elysia– Elias allowed a small smile to cross his lips as he heard the Herrscher of Origin’s voice carry across the whole compound.
For all that is beautiful in this world– that is the dream she fought for, the flame she chased, and the legacy she passed on to the next generation.
“It’s a pretty song, isn’t it, Revinus.” Fully stepping into his side of the basement he shared with Morgan– and now Herta, the MoonCancer Servant having claimed her own area in the shared space–, Elias glanced fully onto the brooding form sat before him. Bare of visible restraints, the Creature known as Revis shot him a glare from her spot on the floor.
It might seem foolish to allow a prisoner so much freedom in his own workshop– especially since it wasn’t like he kept most of his things locked up– but that was only to the uninitiated eye. Despite lacking visible restraints, Revis’ actions were quite limited in the grand scheme of things. From being unable to cause too much noise, to being forbidden from climbing up to the main floor, Revis was a prisoner tantalizingly kept close to freedom. Heck, the door to the basement wasn’t even locked, if only she could do away with his Enchantment.
“So, enough brooding. I have a job for you, if you’re willing.” Not even bothering to glance back at her, Elias moved towards his desk where a set of Potions, Antidotes, and other miscellaneous Magic Items had been carefully packaged inside of a [Portable Crate] – a crate whose size was incongruent with its inside, allowing it to store more things than should be possible. Not quite as useful as something like a [Sealing Scroll], but definitively less eyecatching.
“Tch, like you’d let me refuse.” Crossing her arms, yet rising from the floor either way, Revis made precious little attempts to either attack the Magister or argue against his offer. Despite her words, Revis couldn’t say she didn’t miss the thrill of combat and that the opportunity to be back in the Dungeon killing things wasn’t appealing to her. Especially since that voice was no longer tormenting her “What is it.”
Giving an amused smile, Elias gestured towards the crate and its contents. “Ozen’s waiting on a delivery of materials. Normally I’d handle it myself, or ask Minato, but Ozen specifically requested you since you can apparently Tame Monsters.” Rummaging around his drawers as he spoke, Elias pulled out a flask of some strange pink-ish liquid, handing it over to Revis. “Drink this, it’ll change your body back into an Elf, in case you run into someone.”
Quirking an eyebrow at the strange potion, but not all that interested in knowing how the man knew she’d been an Elf before– or why he had a potion that could turn someone into an Elf– Revis uncorked the bottle and downed it in one go, a sensation not unlike that of plunging directly into a hot bath permeating through her body as her formerly Human-Creature biology reconfigured into that of an Elf-Creature hybrid instead– or whatever the heck she was now that Elias had severed her connection with the Corrupted Spirit.
Clenching and unclenching her hands experimentally and jumping a bit on the tip of her toes to try and get a feel for her new physique, she couldn’t help but wonder if her current appearance was due to her own– recovered– memories of her original appearance, or because of Elias’ potion… Best not to think about it.
“Here, since you don’t have a weapon anymore. Unless you’d rather something else.” Grabbing the boardsword Elias held out towards her, Revis gave a few experimental swings before attaching the sheath at her waist.
“I don’t care. Whether it’s a sword, a dagger, or my bare hand.” Was her blunt reply as she adjusted the broadsword’s position at her hip. “Anything else I should know, or am I just free to do whatever?”
Giving a shrug, Elias simply gave her the [Portable Crate] and a pack filled with supplies. “Once you get to the Seeker Camp, you’re free to do whatever. So long as you don’t draw unnecessary attention to yourself. The pack has a few High Potions and a [Teleportation Scroll] that’ll get you back here if you need it. Other than that, I’ll contact you if I need you for something else.”
With his bit said, Elias gave a flourish of his wrist as a portal straight into the depths of the Dungeon’s 1st Floor opened before them, the hole in space delimited only by the angry orange border surrounding it.
Scoffing a bit at how loose Elias’ instructions were, Revis nonetheless gave a nod as she stepped through the portal, part of her wondering if he was limited to the 1st Floor only, or if he was just sandbagging some more. Oh well, more fun for her.
Glancing over to where Revis had been standing moments before, Elias turned his attention over to his newest experiment– a Magic Sword that he had purchased from Hephaestus currently laying on his desk, ready to be analyzed.
At least, until he got a call from Minato–
It was official, Herta hated this entire world and its nonsensical game-like mechanics. Not because it was game-like, no matter what that brat Silver Wolf and that Trailblazer thought, Herta was aware of what games were and even occasionally dabbled whenever the fancy took her.
No, what she truly hated about this ‘Dungeon’ was just how much it felt like her Simulated Universe!... Okay, so not really, because not only would that imply that her Simulated Universe was a game, but it would also imply that it was so badly made that the monsters it spawned could be killed by other monsters for no apparent reasons.
In the few days that had passed since her Summoning, MoonCancer Class Servant Herta had spent much of her time researching everything and anything to do with the Dungeon– which mostly involved trying to puzzle out useful information out of the Guild Issued Books, while asking the other members of her Familia (ugh, what a strange term, it sounded almost sentimental , ugh) about their experiences within said Dungeon.
To put it simply, the information she acquired from the Guild Books was useless, and the information she got out of her fellow Heroic Spirits was either woefully useless– mostly because they either didn’t care about understanding the Dungeon or hadn’t bothered to delve into it at all– or because they themselves had no concrete answers. Hence why Herta was actually partaking in some Dungeon Diving of her own here and now, accompanied by the equally new Heroic Spirit of the Arbitrator– Jeanne d’Arc– and the Heroic Spirit of Assassination– Minato Namikaze– acting as their guide.
They weren’t that deep yet, having only barely reached the 20th Floor– out of what, nobody seemed to know much to Herta’s continued irritation– which was apparently part of what was known as the ‘Large Tree Labyrinth’ spanning the 19th Floor all the way to the 24th Floor. Typically quite dangerous for even middling Level 2 Adventurers to navigate, it was triflingly easy for the trio of Heroic Spirits to get to– and not solely because they kept running the whole way through.
As it were, Herta felt quite annoyed with how nonsensical this entire place was. First a cave-like layout, then a giant tree of all things, and now a forest. What the heck!? And the creatures that populated it too, all unoptimized. For something that supposedly hated humanity and wanted to kill them deader than dead, this Dungeon was doing quite a poor job at it.
Unless the Dungeon’s hatred wasn’t due to the Dungeon itself, but something within it? No, that couldn’t be it, or else the Monsters spawned from it wouldn’t have an ingrained hatred to mortal life. But then why such inefficient designs, why not just flood the upper floors with High-Class Monsters instead of jobbers? Or was it that the Dungeon was some sort of trial?
Too many questions, and yet too few answers. All that Herta could conclude, for now, was that the Dungeon was some sort of dimensional anomaly that distorted space the deeper into it one went– its current estimate 70 something floors would put the Dungeon somewhere into the mantle of the planet, which would make it nigh-impossible to keep such a location from collapsing from tectonic activities, especially since apparently part of the Dungeon extended all the way to a place called ‘Melen’, which was located at least three kilometers away from Orario.
How exactly the Dungeon was warping space was currently a mystery to Herta– and the other Magic Casters of the Hestia Familia– but that wouldn’t hold for very long!
“You said these are ‘Magic Stones’, right?” Holding up a Magic Stone she had just ripped out of a Wyvern through use of her Magic, Herta glanced over to Minato– the Fourth Hokage giving a nod as he threw one of his specialty kunai at a Firebird, killing it instantly from a blow through the eye– “Hm, interesting.”
Pocketing the stone, Herta watched as Jeanne somersaulted over a gaggle of Bugbear– her battle standard twirling around her form to skewer a pair of Gun Libellula that had gotten too close to her– before landing right atop one of the Bugbears, a twist of her heels ripping its head off, with its companions joining it soon after as Jeanne ax-kicked the rest of the Bugbear in one sweeping motion, before finishing her massacre by throwing her polearm at another Wyvern– the high speed projectile, propelled by Jeanne’s B Ranked Strength, skewering the dragonkin straight through.
“It certainly is interesting. To think the Gods haven’t done much to remedy this thought…” Huffing a bit as she retrieved her flag, the Maid of Orléans couldn’t help but feel as if the Gods were too busy squabbling amongst themselves instead of trying to deal with the Dungeon. Then again, perhaps their squabbling was what kept the Dungeon from overwhelming the surface– you never knew with Deities after all. “I don’t think I’m comfortable sending children to war…”
Giving a sheepish smile, especially when Jeanne gave him the stink eye– she knew the Fourth Hokage had trained his fair share of child soldiers– Minato rubbed the back of his neck as a [Shadow Clone] sealed up any Magic Stone or Drop Item they had acquired. “Come now, it could be worse. According to Lady Hestia, the olden days were practically unlivable.”
Scoffing at his diplomatic words, Herta nevertheless kept her own thoughts to herself– for once– as she instead busied herself with examining the corpse of the Wyvern Jeanne had killed. According to what she knew, the corpse would remain until its Magic Stone was removed, which put into question why Drop Items existed to begin with.
Waving her keystaff towards the carcass, the Genius ripped out several scales from the beast before taking its Magic Stone and– just as expected– the entire body gave a ‘poof’ like noise and vanished into dust, even the scales she had removed from it. This was… not quite puzzling, more so vexing. She theorized that the reason behind this had to do with ‘Mana’, with the Monsters being powered by Mana, it stood to reason that once their source of Mana was removed, they would dissipate back to dust… whatever this ‘dust’ was.
Why Monster Parts that had been removed didn’t just turn to dust once they were removed and instead only turned to dust once their originator was killed was a mystery. Did that mean that she could collect samples so long as she kept its donor alive? Something to test later. But what about Drop Items? Elias had theorized that Drop Items manifested when a certain part of a Monster absorbed enough Mana to remain after death– which would explain a few things– but did that mean it was possible to force Monsters to create Drop Items by concentrating their Mana into a singular point?
And what about Monster Breeding? Because apparently Surface Monsters didn’t turn to dust when their meager Magic Stone was removed, you just had a body!
Arg! This place sucks! Nothing is consistent! It’s almost like some badly made video game!
Krrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Instantly putting the trio of Servants on guard, Minato was the first to spot the location where a nascent Monster would erupt– the sound familiar to him after so many dives into the Dungeon– only this time instead of some horrendous error of nature manifesting, it was a… little girl?
Quirking an eyebrow– and glancing over to Jeanne and Herta to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating, only to see their own bewildered gazes locked onto the girl– Minato took a few moments to observe her as she seemingly awoke from some deep slumber.
On closer inspection, the girl seemed to possess some characteristics reminiscent of a snake– or a dragon– with scales covering parts of her body, long claws, slitted eyes, and elfin ears– not to mention the blue skin and even blue-er hair– it was obvious that the girl wasn’t a human (nevermind the fact that they had just watched her ‘hatch’ out of the Dungeon’s wall like a regular monster).
And yet, something was different with her. For one, her eyes weren’t glowing the typical reddish glow that Monsters exhibited– which Elias and Morgan theorized was the part of the Dungeon’s method of controlling them, or at least exhibiting its control over them–, and for two she looked more lost than anything else.
Unsurprisingly, it was Jeanne who moved first, approaching the blue child cautiously, yet without ill-intent, her voice soft yet loud enough to be heard. “Hello, are you… are you a Monster?”
Cringing slightly at how heartless her question sounded, Jeanne– and the duo behind her– were shocked when the blue child turned to look at them, her gaze full of child-like wonder and fear, before she nodded slowly, shyly even.
“I- I see. Do you know where we are?” Again, the child seemed to understand Jeanne as she shook her head sideways, but did not seem to be interested in becoming hostile even when Jeanne continued to approach her. “That’s… Alright then, do you have a name?”
While Jeanne was busy trying to play 20 Questions with the blue monster child, Minato and Herta were busy trying to make heads or tails of the situation– which mostly meant that Herta was trying to wrangle some information out of the hapless Fourth Hokage.
“I thought you said that Monsters couldn’t understand human language?” The Genius asked, her gaze more of a glare as she took frantic notes on a notepad she pulled from somewhere. “She’s obviously not a normal Monster, but why? Is it because we were here? No, that can’t be it. If it were that simple, you guys would’ve encountered one before.” Muttering to herself as she glanced between Jeanne and the blue child, Minato took the opportunity to shuffle a few paces back and pull out a crystal ball Elias had given him– apparently a method of long distance communication.
Channeling a bit of Chakra into the orb, the Fourth Hokage was surprised as the device blinked a few times– once, then twice, then thrice– and then Elias’ face appeared on it.
“Minato? Is something-” “Enough about this! Elias! Make us a portal back up! I need my equipment”
Before either men could get more than a few words in, Herta loudly declared her intentions, glaring at Minato and Elias as if daring them to deny her this chance at experimentation, before turning her gaze towards Jeanne and the blue child, intent on wrangling the child back up to the surface for some tests.
“...I see.” He did not, in fact, see. But that was fine. “Welp, I guess you can explain once you’re back up to the surface?” Glancing towards the sheepish Minato, Elias released a sigh as he manifested a portal on their coordinate– both men sharing an exasperated sigh when Herta, having just wrangled the child with the help of Jeanne (more to say that Jeanne had coaxed the child into following them, with Herta smugly leading the charge back to the surface).
“Yeah, it’s a story… You might want to get Morgan and Lady Hestia too while we get back. It’s… something.”
Notes:
So, Chapter 26! Finally here. Sorry for the long delay (˵¬⤙¬˵") hopefully next chapter doesn't fight me as much...
Anyhow! Surprise Wiene Appearance! Next chapter I plan to introduce a few new characters for Hestia Familia, mostly expies of other games (that aren't Heroic Spirits, but inspired) to fill out the roaster. So feel free to give suggestions if your favorite Servant Candidate didn't get picked- but no promises on that, I'm not sure how many more people I want to add to the cast, especially with 2 more Servants to go and the cast already so big!
I'm also planning on writing a Side Story for this- well- story, to do with either Lore or just Snippets of Scenes that didn't quite make it into the main story (either because I couldn't make them fit, or I felt that adding them was just a bit too redundant). Things like clients coming to the Magic Item Shop, or the Orphans doing things. Let me know what you guys think about that!
Chapter 31: Story Update
Chapter Text
So! This story has been on a bit of a hiatus, and I said it in a few comments but now I'm actually saying it here- because it's official, I've started writing it and shit- this story is getting a rewrite!
That doesn't mean I'm taking down this version, it just means I'll make another one- whenever I finish writing Chapter 1 anyways. The overarching idea is the same- the Servants won't change and the idea (Bell summons Servants, and Morgan) is still the same, but the execution will be, I hope, a bit better. For now, I'm leaving the initial (as of November 13th 2025) Summary of this new story;
When Zeus told his grandson of the greatness that is the female form, the old man did not expect for the young lad to actually return with a girl in hand. The fact that said girl was anything but normal being the least of Zeus’s worries– especially when she imperiously declared her intent to marry Bell once they were of age.
Still, what is the God of Thunder and master philanderer to do but congratulate his grandson on his future wife! Now if only her friends would stop glaring at him like that, that would be amazing…
OR: As a young lad full of dreams and innocence, Bell stumbles upon a wayward Summoning Circle and summons Morgan Lily, and eventually 11 more Servants with her aid. Surely that’s one way to start a Heroic Journey, right?
Haven't seen very many fics that start with Bell this young, though I can't really blame them since a 5-to-7 years old is pretty damn young to start off a cool action story. Still, hopefully it'll be interesting enough- got some plans and ideas and hopefully my ADHD meds will help make sure I don't start tweeking out or something.
Also, bit of a PSA- be careful of a Madeline Ava (or other variations there off), they've been lurking in my comment sections ever since I did the dumb and got scammed (Paypal is refunding me atm, because the scammer is literally not fighting against my claims, which is wack), and might try to get other people on AO3 (or other spaces). There's a bit of a list of known "Art" Scammers on Reddit here so be careful out there! Don't be like me and do the dummy and let some random "Artist" scam you! Even if Paypal is slowly refunding me.
Anyhow! New story, to be debuted shortly (hopefully, I'm counting on my ADHD meds here!) so hopefully this is interesting to you readers!
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