Chapter 55: Moving Forward
Loki supposed she should consider herself lucky.
Her kids entered unknown territory, and all came out alive with only a few scratches and bruises, nothing that can't be healed with a bit of spit and copious amount of potions.
Nevertheless, it certainly did not help the utter migraine she was no doubt going to get once the debriefing was done. Everyone already knew the basics, but they still needed to put everything together.
Right now, she was in the conference room with Finn, Ais, and the others who had entered the mysterious "Manmade Dungeon Knossos" the previous day.
"All right, I know you all are tired and want to sleep off the chaos from yesterday, but we need to go over what you all learned first," she said, bringing the meeting to order. "So…which world shattering revelation should we start with?"
Bete was the first to move, throwing a look at Tiona and Tione before speaking up, "Evilus has some asshole that looks like Archer working with them. He uses the same magic and tactics as Archer and the two basically made weapons that countered each other when they fought."
Archer…the seemingly peerless bowman of Hestia Familia that could not only hit targets over two kilometers away with pinpoint accuracy but could also recreate seemingly any kind of weapon, even those of High-Class Adventurers, in seconds.
If someone like that was with Evilus, that would turn them from a crazy suicidal army to a crazy suicidal army with potentially an unlimited amount of Magic Swords.
"We'll have to be more careful about Evilus attacks in the future," Finn muttered before glancing over at Lefiya. "Many of them may have been killed when Knossos was transformed into the other Labyrinth, but they can easily replenish their numbers using Thanatos's recruiting methods."
Seeking out people suffering from the deaths of their loved ones and preying on their vulnerabilities to recruit them into his army. It was as ingenious as it was cruel. Loki had to give him props for that. They would never run out of fresh recruits.
"Any idea how we're going to counter that?" Loki asked. "I mean, besides begging Archer for handouts."
"If we wanted to crash the market on weapons, perhaps," Gareth muttered with a shrug. "Can't imagine how well Hephaistos or Goibniu Familias would take that."
"He might offer a discount if we requested it, but our finances are nowhere near enough to outfit everyone that would need it," Riveria added.
"And I really don't want to be in debt to the Chibi of all people," Loki muttered with a sigh.
It was going to be a tough problem to crack and one they'll have to pay attention to going forward. But it was time for the next topic.
"…Can we talk about the problem that we're desperately trying to ignore next?" Aki asked, turning her eyes toward the wall where their "guest" was resting in the other room.
"Right…Sleiphie," Loki nodded, causing everyone to look at her. "What? We can't keep calling them 'it' or 'the siren' right? And they said they didn't have a name, so her name is now going to be 'Sleipnir' or 'Sleiphie' for if we wanna make it cute."
It was mainly Loki's attempt to lighten the atmosphere, but it didn't look like people were in the mood.
"Cut the crap!" Bete shouted. "What the hell is this about 'talking monsters?' How is that even possible?"
"We've been dealing with a lot of 'impossible' things these last few months," Finn replied calmly. "From Spirit's being turned into monsters and humans who have turned into Creatures…I suppose it's only to be expected we run into 'human-like monsters."
"That explains the sudden reversal of the monster taming law," Cruz muttered. "The Guild's working with Ganesha and Hestia Familia to either hide or rescue these guys."
"Why would the siren…or rather Sleiphie be with Evilus in the first place?" Narvi asked, changing the name when Loki glared at her.
"…Multiple fractures in both wings…left leg shattered…eye gouged out and throat was recently crushed," Riveria listed out softly. "Clearly she was less a prisoner and more a 'toy' to them."
No one said anything to Riveria's revelation. Loki understood perfectly. None of them wanted to say that they felt sympathetic to a monster.
"But it's not like keeping a monster is safe or cheap," Tione muttered. "What's the point in doing so for a toy?"
Loki had an idea.
"…Objectively," she began. "Wouldn't you say Sleiphie is pretty cute?"
"I…I wouldn't go that far," Raul spoke up. "But she is different from other sirens."
"Yep yep…and considering we know they're running a monster smuggling operation, they'd fetch a pretty penny, right? Plenty of deviants out there, ya know?"
"…"
Silence rang at Loki's words, but her kids all had various expressions of disgust. Well, it wasn't Loki's place to criticize what the mortals wanted to do with themselves. That being said, locking up "beautiful" monsters then mutilating them just to hear them scream in pain is going a bit far in her opinion. Although she felt that most mortals would disagree considering all the suffering monsters brought upon them before the gods descended and a little "payback" was warranted after countless eons of them suffering.
"Then…what do we do with her?" Raul asked, leaning forward. "Do we keep her here or hand her over to Hestia Familia?"
"There's a fine to keep monsters up here without permission from the Guild, Ganesha Familia and Hestia Familia, remember?" Gareth reminded them. "And its ten million to keep her here. Not exactly something we can afford if we have to prepare against Evilus."
"Right…" Loki muttered, feeling disappointed. "I'll talk to Hestia about it, and we'll see what I can learn about this talking monster business."
Now for the biggest elephant in the room.
"So…what have we found out about Hestia's little '-ers?'" Loki asked.
"First off…are you familiar with the name 'Gilgamesh,' Lass?" Gareth asked Tiona, who had been staring off into space since the meeting started.
"Huh?" Tiona asked blankly before getting smacked in the back of the head by Tione. "Ow! Ugh…sorry, what did you say?"
"Gilgamesh. Does that name sound familiar to you?"
"Gilgamesh?" Tiona repeated. "Umm…are you talking about the Hero King who slayed the Whore of Babylon?"
"Maybe. What's the story?"
"Umm, basically the story goes that there's this woman, the Whore of Babylon, that wanted everything in the world. Treasures, money, men…everything. She used to live in a cave but there wasn't enough room to keep everything she wanted so she left and went out into the world. There, she charmed all sorts of kings and tribal leaders, leading them to their deaths as they tried to satisfy her. Gilgamesh was sent by the gods to slay her and he sealed her in the depths of the underworld. From there, he went on to unite the leaderless kingdoms and tribes, thereby creating the first kingdom that encompassed the entire world."
Once Tiona finished, everyone looked to Loki, who shrugged.
"Sending heroes on journey's wasn't my department," the goddess replied.
"…And I suppose he had free pickings of all the treasures that was left behind, huh?" Gareth asked.
"I dunno. That part of the story didn't really go much further than that. The collection was called 'Gilgamesh's Journey', but I only ever had some torn-out pages to read."
"Since you're asking about this, I am guessing you are saying that Caster is this King Gilgamesh?" Finn asked and Gareth nodded in response.
"He said so as much himself before throwing dozens of weapons that would put our equipment to shame. And he was throwing them out like candy without caring if they broke or not. I'm willing to bet that over half the weapons Archer can make came from him."
"…Looks like your guess was spot on, Lefiya," Loki said.
"I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing," Lefiya muttered.
"If we are assuming that most of Hestia Familia's mysterious members are Spirits, where does Archer and his enigmatic twin fall in?"
"Well…even though Argonaut had possessed Bell Cranel, he still was able to call upon the Spirit Jupiter," Lefiya replied. "Maybe Archer and his twin have contracted with the same Spirit before the twin joined Evilus? Or perhaps it's something like the Crozzo bloodline?"
"So…like you think Archer's fighting his twin because he betrayed the Spirit or something?" Tiona asked.
"It doesn't seem to be by choice, I think," Tione said quickly. "That guy was definitely holding back when we were fighting. If he's anything like Archer, he wouldn't have shown up in front of us right? He'd be at the end of a hallway sniping at us or something."
"Whether he's being forced to work with them or not doesn't change anything," Finn said. "He's still creating countless Magic and Cursed Swords for Evilus which means he's our enemy. Please keep that in mind."
It was pretty harsh to write off an ally's family like that, but they weren't in a position to compromise on that, no matter what Lefiya, Ais and Tiona might want to say.
"…The best thing we can hope for is to get Hestia Familia officially on board in the fight against Evilus," Finn said, glancing over at Loki, who let out a huge sigh.
"Don't think she's going to budge on that," Loki replied before pausing and rubbing her chin. "Then again, she might be more on board since we now know that they're after the talking monsters she's trying to hide."
"…You mean we can expect their help insofar as the group that are hunting these monsters are a part of Evilus?"
"If Hestia is working to protect these talking monsters, then she'll have no choice to step in even if she doesn't want to right?"
"Even if she doesn't, this incident at least, proves that her Spirits will step in without her blessings if need be," Finn pointed out. "Considering Archer's 'twin' is on Evilus's side, he may even offer us his help in order to stop him."
"…Are we really going to help Archer kill his brother?" Tiona asked.
"If it bothers you so much then kill him yourself," Bete said with his usual amount of tact. "So long as he's working for those bastards, he needs to die."
"All right, all right, no starting a fight here," Loki said as Tiona slammed her hands on the table and jumped to her feet. "Is there anything else?"
"…Umm, I've been reading more stories to try and connect them with the Hestia Familia Spirits," Lefiya admitted, prompting a few surprised gazes. "Should I keep going or…?"
"Well, no one will fault you for wanting new reading material," Loki said. "I just don't see how you're going to go through thousands of them to find the identity of…what six or seven Spirits. So do whatever you want."
"I understand."
"So that's why you bought all those books on queens the other day," Tiona muttered.
"Anything else you have to say about Goldie Gilgamesh, Gareth?" Loki asked.
"…Only that I hope he doesn't pull out that sword of his again," Gareth replied. "It tore its way down to Water Capital and beyond and we had to take out Amphisbaena before it could climb up the hole he made. It was missing a head when we found it though, probably got caught up in the blast."
The Amphisbaena was the next Monster Rex after the Goliath and resided in the Water Capital floors of the Dungeon. The Water Capital spanned the Twenty-Fifth to Twenty-Seventh Floors and the Monster Rex could freely move between them. It was a two-headed dragon that could breathe flames so hot it could burn on top of the water it resided in. The fact that it could be wounded so heavily as collateral damage wasn't something to be laughed at. Not to mention how many poor souls might have been caught up in the blast as they were traversing the Dungeon like usual.
"So, he's got the power of a valgang dragon in that Magic Sword of his?" Tione asked, recalling the power of the dragons down in the depths whose flames could burn through ten floors of the Dungeon.
"Ugh, don't remind me about that," Tiona muttered, remembering the time she had to tank those fireballs to protect the others. "My skin was peeling off for days."
"No, it's power was beyond that. It felt like the space in front of me was being split open. He called it, Ea."
"Ea, huh?" Loki muttered. "Not my department…but I think I know who to ask about that."
One annoying thing after the other. Not to mention that the Guild put out a warning that the monsters were going crazy below the Twentieth Floor and below and basically told everyone that no one is to go past that. Whether people will listen to that is always a different matter, but Adventurers are usually a cautious lot. When something exceptional happens, they'll stay away…unless they think there's a profit to be had.
"We'll have to send some people to keep an eye on that hole," Finn said, as if reading Loki's mind. "The last thing we want is for the Dungeon to send out an Enhanced Amphisbaena like it did with the Goliath or more of those strange bone monsters. Not to mention the hole leading to Knossos."
"What are we going to do about that, anyway?" Tiona asked. "It's not going to stay open forever, right?"
"Considering Knossos is its own Labryinth, going in without proper preparation is out of the question," Finn said. "If we had a map, we could be more careful, but we've seen that the enemy can activate traps and doors using those red spheres of theirs. Considering the orichalcum doors and adamantite walls, they wouldn't even need to actively kill us. They could separate our lower Levels from our elites and starve them to death."
Lefiya and the other Supporters shivered at the thought.
"Then…we'll need to find that Barca or Dix person, right?" Aki asked, referring to the man Loki Familia has been trying to find for weeks. "They said that their ancestors were the one that built it…and that Dix person is the one trying to steal the talking monsters so he should be easier to get to than Barca right?"
"Except Berserker cut off his arm so I don't think they'll be active any time soon," Cruz reminded her.
"Then we'll just need to find his Familia right?" Narvi asked. "It's not like he's acting on his own."
"…But it's not like we can tell the difference between them and a regular Familia. They'd have to be stupid to walk around in those robes."
"Then we can just lure them out," Bete said, jutting his head to the wall behind him. "Just use that siren as bait to find those hunters or hell, other talking monsters. We find them, we'll find the people hunting them."
"Could they really be around in such numbers though?" Riveria asked. "It seemed as though the regular monsters made a point to try and slaughter the siren on sight."
"We have Berserker, Selphie and probably Hestia's harpy, right?" Loki asked. "That's at least three right here in Orario. Most likely there's a small tribe of them hiding in the Dungeon's unexplored zones right under our noses."
"And they're all stronger than their 'normal' or 'common' variants," Finn muttered. "The very definition of an Irregular."
"Well, that's it for now then," Loki decided. She was getting tired and wanted to think things over on her own for a bit. And go visit Selphie to see what else she can learn. "Raul, go check on Selphie. Everyone else, you're free to go."
"Why me?" Raul asked.
"Cuz you and Lefiya are the only one she feels safe around," Cruz said, elbowing him in the side.
Loki had heard that Raul and Lefiya had stepped up in getting Sleipnir to safety after Hestia's Berserker got hit by an Enraging Cruse…which was quite the height of irony, wasn't it? Either way, the two were quick to take her under their protection with Raul running himself ragged in carrying her out of the Dungeon that no one even notice her naked chest pressing against him until Loki pointed it out.
Since then, they got her dressed up in some amazoness style clothing to keep her broken wings free but at least she was covered up.
"Hey Loki, is it okay if we go to Hestia Familia's Home to see what's going on?" Tiona asked.
"Sure, but leave it for another day," Loki replied. "Something tells me that that they'll be busy sorting things out too."
Everyone aside from Loki and her top 3 filed out of the room with Ais being the last one out. Before she could leave though, Loki quickly called out to her.
"Ais, did you know?" She asked, prompting Ais to freeze up at the door, telling Loki all she needed right away.
"…I'm sorry," came the weak apology.
"Well, it's fine," Loki decided. "It's not like it was important before now or anything."
Yeah, they were simply a curiosity as they acted more like humans than Spirits…then one of them blew up half the Dungeon.
Then again, Goldie was always weird, even more than the others, and that's including the sense of déjà vu Loki got from Saber and Lancer.
"Bah, I'll think about it later," Loki decided as she got up as well. "I'll leave thinking about what to do next to you, Finn. I'm going to go help Raul get Selphie settled in."
"Very well," Finn replied with a wry smile.
The enemy's base may have a huge honking hole in it, but it's still their base and they are on a time limit if they're bringing the Demi-Spirits to the surface. They'll need a plan for a second assault sooner or later.
With that, Loki bounced out of the room and hurried to the next one where Raul was hesitating to go in.
"What are you waiting for?" Loki asked before opening the door.
The room they gave Sleipnir was an unused room within the Twilight Manor, thus making it rather empty. They had quickly moved in a bed as well as a large mat as they weren't sure which one the siren would prefer as well as a small table and a pair of chairs to go with it.
When the two entered, Sleipnir had somehow moved one of the chairs next to the window, despite both of her wings being bound to her sides with bandages and her broken leg and was looking outside at the sky with wide and a longing eye.
Being a creature with wings that had no doubt lived in the Dungeon all her life, Loki supposed she longed to fly under the open skies. It was really a shame none of the mortal races evolved with wings of their own. It did make it a bit difficult to figure out how to treat her but a few of her kids had taken care of birds before and lent their expertise on the matter.
Loki had seen harpies and sirens on he surface during her initial travels when she first arrived on Gekai but of course they were all hideous looking monsters that anyone would be disgusted to look at. Sleipnir was of the exact opposite with a smooth face clear of wrinkles but marred by the exhaustion that seemed to be permanently etched into her face as well as the cloth bandage hiding the socket where her eye had been ripped out.
"Oh…!" Sleipnir turned to see them with a surprised smile. "Raul and…the goddess."
Loki suppressed the twitch of surprise at seeing and hearing the siren actually talk and plastered a smile on her face as she greeted her in return.
"Hey Sleiphie, getting settled in?" Loki asked.
"It's…still strange to be called something different after being named another way…" the siren admitted with a confused expression as she tilted her head to the side.
"Hahaha, that's just me showering you with my affection," Loki replied. "In any case…I do have a few questions for ya."
"Yes?"
"First off, if you had to choose between staying up here with my Familia or going back into the Dungeon where there are probably more…uh…people like you are. Which would you choose?"
"…Are there really more like me?" Sleipnir asked sadly. "I had thought the four of us in that cell were all there were…until that minotaur came in…"
Considering that Berserker only pulled out Sleipnir, the others probably died some time before. That only led further credence to Loki's theory that there was some society of talking monsters being hidden by Ganesha, Hestia and Ouranos.
"Well, that minotaur, Berserker, is living up here as well," Raul explained. "Not in this Home but in a different Familia's."
"It might take a while, but I'll see if I can't arrange a visit," Loki said.
At the very least, this way Hestia won't be able to run away.
Then again, she's probably dealing with a lot of problems on her own if her Kids were acting on their own without permission.
X-x-X-x-X
Just as Loki Familia were having their own debriefing, Hestia Familia was having a debriefing of their own.
Bell sat with his male Servants in the seats in front of Hestia's desk with Archer by his side while Caster and Saber were across from him. Berserker was also sitting in on the meeting, having squeezed himself into a corner with his knees pressed up against his chest as he tried to make himself as small as possible to fit in the room. Though from how he was fidgeting, it looked as if he was worried that the floor might collapse under his weight.
"All right," Hestia began, turning to the Servants. "You four were supposed to have gone after the guys attacking the Xenos while Bell's group went to meet with the Xenos Village or whatever. So how did that end up with the Dungeon getting a big honking hole in the middle of it!?"
"Failure is what happened," Caster began with a furious look. "Despite all careful planning, we were met with failure every step of the way."
Bell was surprised to hear Caster talk so negatively about himself. It would appear that he was taking the day's events quite badly.
"Umm…can you be a bit more specific?" Hestia asked but Caster did not continue so she looked to Archer instead.
"…The enemy has somehow got their hands on their own Servant," Archer said. "Or at least, something that could approximate one."
"…How?" Bell asked, feeling dread creeping up his spine. "Do they have their own Grail?"
"Unlikely," Caster replied, his brows knitting together to create a valley on his forehead. "Summoning a Servant, while not necessarily simple, can be done without the Grail. It is only the matter of performing the right ritual with the right catalyst with enough magic power and the right container. The Grail provides the power and the container and can assist in the ritual that anyone can learn. All that is left is the catalyst…"
At that, Archer's eyes shot open as his hand went up to his hair.
"Wait…at that time…" he muttered as he glanced toward Caster.
"If such a person were in league with Evilus freely, this city would already have starved, would it not?" Caster asked in response to Archer's silent question.
"…They had their hooks into Lord Njord, did they not?" Saber pointed out. "They were using the violas to hunt aquatic monsters that had been attacking their fishermen."
"You mean those vine monsters we saw during the vacation?" Bell asked and Saber nodded.
"Indeed," Saber answered. "Are you aware that there are monsters that live out in the seas as well?"
"Yes." Bell replied, thinking back to his studies with Eina. "There used to be a second entrance in Melen's lake which was sealed off using the corpse of Leviathan, one of the Three Grand Quests. Didn't Loki Familia go to check on them during our vacation as well?"
"That is correct. The monsters that live in the oceans are descendants of the original monsters that lived there. Like other monsters on the surface, they are weaker than ones found in the Dungeon, but as they are monsters from past the Twenty-Fifth Floor, they are still formidable to fishermen who are not used to combat."
"So that's why they accepted their help…" Bell muttered. "But why didn't they just issue a Quest to clear the monsters?"
"No matter how many times they clear them, more would just return," Archer pointed out. "Using the violas as a static defense provided a constant protection and must have seemed more cost efficient in the longterm."
So Njord Familia willingly assisted Evilus in order to protect the wellbeing of his Familia.
Bell wasn't sure if he could fault him for that…even if doing so allowed the monster traffickers to nearly abscond with Fia.
"But we seem to have moved from the original topic. Considering Evilus's strategy in invading Orairo, attacking the supply line would be the simplest way to move, would it not?" Saber asked. "For the most part, the three Familias that supply Orario are Ninsun, Njord, and Demeter. Their Familias do not engage in combat but commerce instead. They would not have too many strong fighters, if any. Evilus's Elites are Level 5…maybe even Level 6 in strength, which compared to the various Food-Supplying Familia is more than enough to cause trouble."
"If they were to act that openly then the Guild would not sit quietly," Caster pointed out. "It would not be prudent to assume that all the gods in Evilus are acting with the entirety of their Familia. It would be safer to act using 'unregistered' mongrels, would it not?"
"…So that's it…" Saber muttered.
"What is?" Bell asked. "Did you find something down there?"
"Yes. Miss Flores's elder sister, Sophia Flores."
Silence drifted through the office and Bell felt another chill creeping in as Caster angrily tapped the side of his head as he punctuated each word.
"Each. And. Every. One. Of. These. Mongrels. Act. Against. Their. Own. Interests!" He snarled.
"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait!" Hestia said quickly, slamming her hands on her desks as she shot to her feet. "Slow down! What do you mean, Saber?"
"…Miss Sophia Flores was in the company of human traffickers," Saber reported after a moment, causing Bell's eyes to snap wide open. "I removed her from their company but she either did not recognize me due to my mask or she did not trust me as she quickly escaped me using an explosive."
"…Like a smoke bomb?" Bell asked.
"…There was a lot of smoke, yes," Saber replied. "She also has some form of magic that allows her to cloak and hide herself and several others for a time. It may be how she can move around unnoticed."
So that's why no one could find her…wait.
"If she had cloaking magic…how did they catch her in the first place?" Bell asked. Archer and Saber stiffened slightly but he didn't notice. "Oh…I guess she wouldn't have it activated all the time like Lily could with her disguise magic. Hmm?"
Archer and Saber were looking at him with complicated expressions while Caster looked even more irritated than before. Did he say something wrong?
"A-a-anyway!" Hestia shouted, slapping her hands on her desk. "The question here is…do we tell Emma?"
"Well, she came to Orario to find her right?" Bell asked. "Shouldn't we tell her that she is here at least?"
"…Flores is already aware of her sister's presence in Orario," Caster said, causing the others to look at him in surprise. "Oho? She did not speak about it to any of you. My my, that speaks volumes about the trust she has in this Familia, doesn't it?"
"Wait, how do you know about it then!?" Hestia demanded as Caster chuckled to himself.
"Because it would appear that I am the only one making any actual attempt into actually finding the mongrel girl," Caster replied with a sneer, making both Bell and Hestia wince. "But to speak plainly, it is because the two reunited at the Libera Forest. They also cut their ties as sisters there when Flores would not leave to go with her. It was there that she realized the shadows that had taken ahold of the girl and thus requested me to investigate further."
"…That girl is trying to keep things to herself then…" Archer muttered. "Well, that's her right, I suppose."
"It's a family matter after all," Saber added with a nod.
"Family matter my butt!" Hestia shouted. "We're her family too! She doesn't have to deal with this on her own!"
She then turned angrily at Caster who seemed more amused at her rage than anything else.
"Caster! What do yo know about Sophia?" She demanded.
"Nothing worth sharing at this point in time," came the retort accompanied by a smirk.
"I'll be the judge of that! Let's hear everything you know!"
"The situation with Sophia Flores will not change even if you hear it. Focus on the immediately important matters in front of you!"
The two of them glared at each other, both refusing to back down uon this matter.
"Umm…"
A slow voice drew their attention.
"…Sorry," Berserker suddenly said. "I…found Fia's comrade…and Fia's enemy…but lost them."
"Another Xenos?" Hestia asked and Berserker nodded. "Lost them how? Did they die?"
"No…left with Lefi's Familia…"
"Ahhh…"
"I…also talked…in front of them."
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…"
"…Well, knowing Loki Familia, they know how to keep things subtle," Archer said a Hestia clutched the sides of her head and started writhing in her seat. "They're definitely going to come asking questions though."
"Gaaaaaahhhh! Of all people, why did it have to be her!?"
"Sorry…"
"Ah no, it's not your fault Berserker. As long as that siren is okay, you did a good job."
"Was the siren the only one you found?" Bell asked.
"…Others…all dead."
"…I see."
From the conditions they had found Fia in, they must have all died in pain and terror. At least the siren was…probably safe. Loki Familia were the biggest heroes in Orario. They wouldn't kill her if they knew ue could talk…right?
"Ughh…I have to talk to Loki asap," Hestia groaned. "Before they do something drastic with that siren. Does she have a name?"
However, Berserker simply eok his head to say that he did not know.
"Then I'll send a message through the Guild to Loki," Hestia said before glancing at Caster.
"I have told you before, the lives of the Xenos are of no interest to me," Caster said, understanding her intentions immediately. "Lancer is fit enough to be your guard."
"…Fine."
She then sat back down in her seat and folded her arms in thought.
"So, to sum it up, we'll have to be on guard for a possible Servant-Class enemy, Gods or Goddesses being a part of Evilus under our noses, Sophia and Emma's problem, and Loki butting in while we're keeping an eye on the Xenos," Hestia said.
"That is merely for the problems outside this house," Caster reminded her. "You must also take care of the morale of the fools under your care as well as the preparations for welcoming Takemikazuchi Familia."
Caster had a point; everyone's morale is at rock bottom right now. Even Bell had to force himself to attend the meeting, feeling like it was his duty to figure out what went wrong.
Based on everything, it seemed like they got caught up in the aftermath of Caster's attack. He was being tightlipped on why such amount of force was necessary, however.
"Uuu…sorry Archer," Hestia said, turning to her Second Child. "Since Rider's injured, all of the cooking preparations are left to you."
"It's no big deal," Archer replied. "Gina and Karen are helping out as well."
"And Caster, you'll be helping me and Bell in listening to everyone's problems, right?" Hestia asked with a smile, causing the king to click his tongue in annoyance but made no objections.
"Then we are done here," Caster said as he stood up. "Boy. Come."
"Y-yes!" Bell said as he quickly followed suit.
As they got to the door however…
"Wait…hey! We're not done here yet!"
Hestia shouted at Caster while he simply smirked as as he shut the door behind him.
"My office. Now."
"Yes, sir."
X-x-X-x-X
"That golden-stick-up-his-butt-tyrant!" Hestia grumbled as she fell back into her chair and rubbed her forehead.
"Saber…request," Berserker suddenly spoke up. "I want training."
The others all looked at the Monster Servant in surprise.
"…I have no objections to that," Saber began. "But may I ask why?"
"Have someone to defeat," Berserker said. "Defeat to protect Beru."
"I understand. I won't say anything more."
"Then I'll go shop for dinner and stuff to prep for the party," Archer said, standing up to prepare and leave.
With that, the three Servants dematerialized and left Hestia to nurse her headache alone in her office. A knock sounded from the door a few minutes later.
"Come in."
"Please excuse the intrusion, Lady Hestia."
Lancer came in, looking beautiful and elegant as ever. The woman crossed the room until she was right in front of Hestia's desk and laid out some papers in front of her.
"So…Rider is more or less okay then?" Hestia asked reading them over.
"Yes," Lancer replied. "As she is a Servant with a Personal Skill that would keep her alive under all but the direst circumstances, she will be able to recover completely so long as she receives enough magic power and rest. Of course, if we are able to acquire Fels's assistance, she will recover quicker."
However, Ouranos's assistant had been sent to survey the damage to the Dungeon and would not be available for some time. Just hearing that Rider would be back to perfect health, even regrowing her arm, after some time was enough to relieve most of Hestia's worries.
"…And Emma?"
"…The bones in both of her arms have been shattered," Lancer said gravely. "In terms of damage, it might have been more fortunate had they been cut off instead of crushed as they had been."
"A-are you saying you can't help her?"
"I can…it's just…my treatment will be agonizing. And I would rather not let her suffer as such."
"Or let Primo suffer by hearing any screams," Hestia thought, feeling rather sick herself.
Potions and the like worked wonders in closing wounds and repairing the damage to organs but bones could be regrown improperly if one wasn't careful. That was why Adventurers that could use healing magic were sought after and in high regard.
Speaking of which…
"Do you think we can have Dea Saint help them instead of waiting for Fels?" Hestia asked.
"…Who is that, if I may ask?" Lancer asked, looking rather confused as Hestia realized they hadn't met yet.
"Come to think of it, only Lily, Archer and Bell may have met her since we buy all our stuff from Miach's Familia," Hestia remembered.
"She's a rather famous healer in Orario," Hestia explained. "She's only Level 2 but she has magic that can heal practically anything and even dispel curses. It even comes with its own Magic Circle even though she doesn't have the Development Ability Mage."
"That certainly sounds hopeful," Lancer nodded. "But…I can imagine the costs would be…exuberant, would they not?"
"Ugh…"
True, Dian was someone who took every chance to squeeze as much money as he could out of people. Not that Hestia was unwilling or unable to pay for it of course. She still had the winnings from Apollo as well as the earnings from the inn and her Adventurers after all. It's just that if she dipped into those savings, it would take even longer to build enough money to rescue the Xenos from the Dungeon.
Best to make it a last resort…
"Still…you said that Primo's magic got reflected back? Her Parameters weren't that high to do this much damage…could it?"
"I believe it is because her magic is usually split into seven attacks. Each one is already powerful in its own right for someone of her age and experience, but the monster condensed them all and reflected them as a single attack."
In short, an AOE attack got turned into single target attack.
"…It must have been painful," Hestia finally said.
Though she suspected Primo's heart was probably just as shattered as Emma's arms were. Reflected or not, her magic had hurt one of the people she cared for most in the world after said person tried to protect her.
"Mmm…who do you think I should visit first, Lancer?"
"After the small dinner last night, I believe Rider will be fine," Lancer replied with a serious, yet warm smile. "What was needed was to show that she was and will be fine and that nothing would change in the Familia despite her injury. Miss Flores is currently asleep, so I believe checking in on Miss Libera to be the best."
"Yeah…you guys saw some pretty horrible things too, didn't you?"
She also needed to pay attention to Gina as well. Though a bit subdued due to the circumstances, Gina was still all smiles. Whether it was because she, unfortunately, had more experience with death or because she was hiding it better, she was doing her best to try and get things back to normal. She was far more mature than Hestia gave her credit for.
"Perhaps that incident from before had a lot to do with her growth," Hestia muttered, and Lancer agreed with a nod.
But one thing at a time for now.
She stood up as Lancer excused herself and vanished, leaving Hestia to head to the door. As she started to descend the stairs, she noticed Primo sitting with her back against Emma's door with her face buried into her knees.
"Primo."
The girl's ears twitched when Hestia called out to her before she looked up.
"Lady Hestia…"
"There's no need to sit out here all by yourself. Emma's not going to go anywhere."
"B-but she might need something when she wakes up…"
Having lost the use of both of her hands, Emma was reliant on others to help with almost everything. From changing her clothes, to eating, to even opening a door. Although she kept a smile on her face the entire time, Hestia could tell Emma was frustrated at her lack of ability and that everyone had to worry over her.
Or was she haunted by the fact that her sister was so close, and she couldn't do anything to help her?
Pushing those thoughts to the side, Hestia replied with, "Even if she does, would it matter if you're too tired to help her?"
Primo opened her mouth before closing it, having no answer to that.
"Come on, let's have some snacks together. And if we hear the bell, I'll let you go help her."
"O-ok…"
Primo took Hestia's hand and allowed the goddess to pull her to her feet.
"You did nothing wrong, Primo," Hestia said, pulling the girl into a hug. "For now, just relax and when everyone's feeling better and Emma's back on her feet, we'll talk about what you can do moving forward."
"Un…"
X-x-X-x-X
When Bell and Caster arrived in the King's Office, Caster sat down behind his desk and made Bell sit down in front of him.
"Umm…what did you need?" Bell asked after Caster hadn't said anything for over a minute.
"…Boy."
"Y-yes?"
"It is time for you to prepare yourself against one of the greatest enemies this Familia will face," Caster declared solemnly.
"…Do you mean Ishtar?"
"Do not…!" Caster began, his voice sounding calm, but Bell was forced to lean back from the sheer pressure and rage leaking out. "…Give that goddess the satisfaction! But you are close, nonetheless. I speak of all Gods and Goddesses who rule over the domain of love and beauty. Answer this: Do you understand why they are creatures to be wary of?"
Bell thought to himself for a moment and his memories fell back onto the Apollo Banquet. He remembered how everyone in the room quickly fell silent when the Goddess Freya entered.
"Is it their Charm?" He asked and Caster nodded.
"And why is that?"
"Because it makes people lose control over themselves? Mortals and Gods alike?"
"…A lacking answer but still satisfactory, for now," Caster said. "Indeed, their Charm is their greatest weapon to wield against mortals, bending them to their whim with but a single glance. The mortal then becomes a slave not only to a god, but to their own desires. Most would even delude themselves into thinking that it is through their own feelings that they serve their god. Without significant protections, a powerful will, and the ability to see reality as it is in front of them, all become slaves to their emotions at the whim of their god."
"Is it really that bad?" Bell asked. "I mean…I know that it's not right to make people fall in love with you but from what it sounded at the Banquet, the Goddess said that Lady Freya couldn't exactly turn it off, right?"
"Depending on one's point of view, it is not," Caster admitted. "The Goddess Freya is acting in her capacity as a Goddess of Love with all the benefits and demerits that come with the position. However, for all her complaints of her ability, it is she who put herself into that position in the first place. One cannot exploit their beauty and body to lay with whomever they want to get whatever they wish and then go onto complain about how said beauty keeps her locked up in a gilded cage."
"Lay with…huh?"
"You are familiar with Bringar, I trust?"
"Yes. They're the strongest pallums in Orario, just behind Braver. Freya Familia's Gulliver Brothers."
"From what I have learned, the four of them used to be slaves to a dwarf merchant of some sort specializing in jewelry. Goddess Freya wished for them to be hers, so she spent one day and one night with the dwarf…one day and night for each brother."
"Four days and nights…" Bell muttered, amazed. "She would go that far to get what she wanted?"
"She is a Goddess of Love," Caster replied, raising his eyebrows as if surprised Bell had forgotten the obvious. "Her body is both sacred and simple for her to give away. Of course, as she had charmed the four brothers, they murdered their former master as soon as they were freed in rage that he would defile the goddess."
"…Love is scary."
"You have shared the same house with Saber and Lancer for how long now and only now you realize this?"
"Why would she allow it to go that far?"
"Because she is a Goddess of Love," Caster said simply. "It is her nature to desire to be adored and loved. She seeks love and admiration and the beauty of individuals whose souls stand above the rest of the mongrels. As Lancer's love manifests in violence, it is only natural for a Goddess of Love to wield it herself. She would have, and has had, her elite kill thousands for the sake of a single soul. She would Charm mongrels and have them crawl at her feet for scraps of her love, only to deny them completely, turning them to suicide in despair as they failed to receive her love."
"I can't tell if you approve or are disgusted by this," Bell said, rubbing his head.
"She is a Goddess of Love and thus I reject her on principle," Caster replied simply. "However, I do not begrudge her acting in a manner befitting of her role and station. It is only those who deny themselves that deserve contempt."
"Isn't it fine if people want to change though?" Bell asked. "Like wanting to stop drinking too much or trying to overcome their fears?"
"I speak not of such such meagre changes," Caster replied. "I am talking about those who refuse to accept their core self. Things as extreme as a deity wishing to become a mortal or vice versa."
"Do you mean like how they came down from Tenkai to live amongst us?"
"No, such whimsies are only to be expected of the gods," Caster replied. "It is fine if you do not understand. Such things do not concern you, after all."
Bell simply nodded, unsure of what to say to that.
"We seem to have strayed a bit from the original topic…nevertheless, do you understand?"
"Yes, I'll do my best to avoid getting too involved with any Gods or Goddesses of Love," Bell replied.
"…Well, I suppose that will do as a start."
"Since Ishtar runs the place, does that mean you hate the Pleasure District as well?" Bell asked.
"On the contrary, the Pleasure District provides an important service to the city," Caster explained. "Putting aside its current ruler, this city is filled with Adventurers who are always under constant stress as they dive into the Dungeon daily. Such stress needs to be released through an outlet and the Pleasure District is one such place. Without it, every citizen without a Falna runs the risk of being assaulted by an Adventurer…or a God. Not to say that such things don't happen already of course."
That was a surprise to Bell. He thought a king like Caster would look down on such a place, but it would seem that he only detests it because of Ishtar's rule.
Bell had no personal experience with such a place for a multitude of reasons, but he often heard of stories where men were ruined by whores and the like with the Whore of Babylon being one of the most well-known one, which was why he thought Caster would be against the place. He supposed the king hated the individuals of the profession more than the profession itself.
"Now then, let us discuss your next objective to complete in the Dungeon."
"Huh? Already?" Bell couldn't help but question. "Shouldn't we wait until the others-"
"We are discussing your progress, not that of the other mongrels," Caster replied. "If you wish to even climb the first step of your path to then you must always continue forward. To take even a single glance back is unbecoming of a Hero."
"But Emma and Rider are still…"
"Silence!"
Caster slammed a hand on his desk, silencing Bell immediately.
"The Hero's Journey is littered with the bodies of his allies as much as that of his enemies," Caster said propping his head up with his arm on the armrest. "If you falter simply because an ally is injured, you will never make it far. You must be prepared to climb over their corpses if need be."
"…No."
"What's that?"
"Your majesty only speaks the truth," Bell said, trying to find his words to voice his reasoning and placate the king, even as he knew he would twist the truth to match his own interpretations of things. "But…I can't accept that."
To be prepared to walk over his friends' bodies means accepting that they would die in the Dungeon. While he knew that that was a possibility, he refused to ever accept it. For so long as he breathed, he would do everything in his power to bring them back home.
"I won't let any of them die. Not Emma, not Welf, not Lily…no one! The same goes for you and the other Servants. I've always been told that Heroes make the impossible possible…then if you consider that path impossible, then I will make it possible! But I won't abandon them either! We'll all keep moving forward. Together. As a Familia!"
That was the path opened up to him by the Servants…the one he would walk down with his own power.
As the seconds ticked on by, Bell refused to turn his ruby-red eyes away from the King's own.
And then, after what seemed like hours, the king let out a small sigh, causing Bell to jerk in surprise.
"Very well," the king said, leaning back in his seat. "I shall acknowledge your motivation, if nothing else. Then I shall leave you to find your own way forward. You have a goal in mind already, do you not?"
"Yes."
To create a home for the Xenos…a place where they can belong without fear of death.
That was what rested at the end of his path. He didn't need the king's guidance to figure that out. He'll find his own way forward and it with his Familia, his family.
"Well, I suppose I should be putting in some effort myself," Caster decided. "Once I am finished clearing away the distractions, I will deal with the 'Flores Debacle.'"
"Do you have an idea how to get Sophia back?" Bell asked.
"I know the name of her Familia, her occupation, her skills, her methods and her objective. If someone has all this information and still fails their task, then they are an incompetent of the highest order."
"R-right…" Bell said, unsure of what else to say at that before adding, "Thank you."
"For what? It is not as though you stand to gain anything from this."
"But you're helping Emma, right? That's enough for me to say, 'Thank you.'"
"…Humph, it is merely a prevention of the future. It will simply become a larger headache in the future if we do not nip it at the bud."
Caster then gave Bell a strange look.
"Still, to think you have made your decision already. To think those fools have spent so many nights talking amongst themselves about it."
"…What do you mean?"
"No, it is nothing," Caster replied despite sporting a rather grin that obviously spelled trouble on his face. "I will have a small task for you tomorrow but for now…leave."
Bell nodded his head before leaving the room with his thoughts.
He had his goals, he had his dreams, and he had his Familia.
Would they all coincide with each other or would one disappear for the sake of another?
Only time would tell.
X-x-X-x-X
"…I'm bored."
Following Lancer's instructions, Emma decided to stay in bed. But she could only sleep for so long after all.
She couldn't even read a book as she couldn't move her right hand or the fingers in her left. She also didn't want to bother anyone by asking them to help her with that.
"Then again, Bell might enjoy it if it's a hero's tale," she muttered with a giggle. It didn't last long though as she leaned back into her pillow. "Being injured sucks…"
Not only was she unable to do anything by herself, but she also had to trouble the others to do something as simple as open a door…which did make her feel as though she understood a bit of Fia's troubles.
As she laid there, feeling sorry for herself though, a knock came from the door.
"Miss Flores? Are you awake?"
"Primo? Yeah, I am."
"Umm, are you hungry? We brought some food."
"Sure. That sounds great actually."
The door slowly swung open and Primo came in carrying a tray with a few bowls on them with Karen right behind her, carrying a slightly larger pot.
"…Isn't that a bit much?" Emma asked, looking between the two girls.
"Archer made two different things for you," Karen replied. "If you want something hot, we have porridge. If you want something cold and a bit easier to eat, we have this rice in cold broth thing. I believe he called it 'Cold Ochazuke?'"
"You put as much fish and veggies as you want then pour the chilled broth over it," Primo explained as the two placed their items on the desk.
"That sounds pretty good actually," Emma admitted. It also had the benefit of not having to wait for the food to cool a bit or have something as embarrassing as Primo blowing on it before feeding it to her like the other night. "What about the porridge though?"
"Do not worry, I shall eat it," Karen replied with a nod.
With that settled, Primo put a little bit of everything onto the bowl of rice before pouring the cold broth over it. A bit of fish, vegetables, ginger, and some kind of brown paste Emma had never seen before.
"…As expected of Archer, there's a lot of variety," Emma noted.
"Yes! It's all delicious!" Primo said with a smile as she scooped some of it up. "Here you go."
Even though it was embarrassing being fed by someone younger than her, Emma couldn't say no to the elf girl's eagerness. Relaxing and being treated was the duty of the injured after all. At the very least, Primo seemed to be feeling better than before.
"The two of you look like sisters like this," Karen commented as Emma was enjoying the cool and refreshing taste of the dish.
"Huh? W-well, we are a Familia after all," Primo reminded her.
"Is being in a Familia enough for that though?" Karen asked. "In Dia Familia, only the Captain and his sisters considered themselves family. The rest of us just saw each other as allies or friends at best since we would all go out separate ways in the end."
"Do you not like being considering the Familia one big extended family then?" Emma asked.
"No, I don't mind such a warm atmosphere."
"Did…your family not approve of you becoming an Adventurer?" Primo asked, voicing Emma's own question.
"On the contrary, they were rather supportive of it seeing as Lady Dia was there to guide me. After all, if I am a part of a famous Familia, our family will benefit from the glory. Of course, that requires me actually putting in the effort into making a name for myself as well."
"So, you became an Adventurer to spread your family name?" Emma asked.
"No. I became an Adventurer for the sake of 'Adventure,'" Karen replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She then ladled more of the porridge into her bowl. Even though Karen was spending quite a bit of time talking, the porridge was disappearing at a rapid pace, far faster than Emma could finish her single bowl. "Not to say I was unhappy with my former life. If I did not have a brother, I would have been content to remain to continue the family line. But as it is, I went off to see the world instead."
As the bowl was emptied, Karen looked at Emma.
"Speaking of which, what about you?" She asked. "What will you do once you have found your sister?"
"Huh?"
"Will you continue as an Adventurer?" Karen clarified, prompting Emma's eyes to widen. "Leaving the Familia is…not an option but you could retire and help Lady Hestia at the inn."
"M-Miss Morris, do you want Miss Flores to stop being an Adventurer?" Primo asked.
"Nothing of the sort," Karen replied, glancing at Emma again. "While I would prefer to continue adventuring with you, you are different from every other mortal in this Familia. You didn't set out to become an Adventurer, correct? If you accomplish your goal in reuniting with your sister will you continue adventuring with us?"
"I…"
She hadn't thought that far ahead. Ever since she arrived in Orario, every bit of her mind had been focused on finding Sophia. But right now, all she was doing was entrusting the groundwork to Caster. She could do with a bit of thinking about the future as well.
Did she have a reason to continue living as an Adventurer?
Yes. Yes she did.
"Don't worry, I don't plan on retiring any time soon," Emma replied with a smile. "Because I-"
Her words were cut off as the window started shaking as though a heavy gust was beating against it.
"Is something happening outside?" Primo asked as Karen set her empty bowl down on the desk and walked over to peer aside.
"It's the Vice Captain and Berserker," Karen reported. "They seem to be sparring together against Saber."
Speak of the devil.
She shared a glance with Primo and the younger girl understood what she wanted. The elf set the tray of food aside and carefully helped Emma over to the window as well. Just in time to see Saber move right past Berserker's massive twin halberds, grab the Monster Servant's arm, and flip the massive minotaur over his shoulder, sending him flying several meters through the air before landing with a crash in the middle of the yard.
Before Berserker had even landed, Bell suddenly appeared by Saber's head swinging his blade toward the Servant's neck.
Without even looking at him, Saber reached over his shoulder to grab Bell's wrist and slammed him into the ground before flinging him over toward Berserker's direction. Berserker's arm shot up as Bell flipped himself around in air, allowing Berserker to catch him feet first and throw Bell like a ball back at Saber.
The boy crossed the distance at in a blink of an eye, forcing Saber to draw his own dagger to deflect the blow, and Bell himself. Even as he spun through the air, Bell threw his daggers at Saber to buy time for Berserker to stand up and launch himself back at Saber as the man drew his blade and deflected the minotaur's powerful swings.
"…As expected of a 'Great Hero,'" Karen muttered with awe.
"B-Berserker is great too!" Primo insisted.
Both girls were right to say that the Servants were amazing, but to Emma, there was another hero who stood out amongst the rest. The young boy who kept on standing no matter how many times he was knocked down and failed to get anywhere near the other heroes.
He would continue to move forward toward that goal…and Emma wanted to support him each step of the way, not from a distance, but right by his side.
X-x-X-x-X
Oh, Goddess who rules as Queen of the Night, for what reason would you seek one such as I?
Our stations are different as you rule those who perform the sacred duty of quelling the stress of men and whilst I am but a king who rules over my garden and my hearth.
And what could I offer that you that would match your company that has taken in as many souls as there are stars in the sky?
Your embrace would be as tight as a half-door.
Your companionship as secure as a fort that keeps its soldiers outside its walls.
Your sweet nectar as wet as a well filled with doubt.
Your words as trusting as a shoe that devours the foot it takes in.
The love you give and the lovers you receive in turn are as lasting as a sword covered in rust.
Alas I cannot accompany one as great as you for I would not grasp the fruit of the tree that has fallen into the earth when I have been invited to grasp the sweetest of fruits from the mountains of Asgard.
May you seek out someone who has standards that differ from one such as I.
X-x-X-x-X
The letter filled with honeyed poison was crumbled in her hand as the Goddess let out a roar of rage.
Rage that a mere mortal would dare to rebuke her in such a way.
She turned her amethyst eyes to her companion, a fellow deity who had performed the delivery of her trump card as well as a reply of the offer she had made before the chaos of Grand Day.
Not only did that man rebuke her and consider her, a goddess, beneath him, he would rather accept that bitch that called herself Queen instead?
Her companion's eyes was petrified as he watched the jewels, bracelets, anklets, and the cloth around her breasts fall to her feet.
The god before her knew many things and she would squeeze every last drop from him to settle the score.
Primarily, information pertaining to something both the object of her current desire and the object of her greatest obsession.
X-x-X-x-X
The room was lit with only the smoldering embers of the hearth and the moonlit sky above.
Upon the desk was a map of Orario with several statuettes representing something greater arrayed over it.
The king's eyes shined in the darkness before dimming as he lowered himself to an even playing field with his most hated enemy.
He moved the statue of a sword implanted into the ground toward the statue of a burning grail before moving a smaller rabbit piece away from the grail toward the southeast section of the map next to a woman with a winged helmet.
"Now then…" he spoke softly. "The Game begins."