Chapter 14: Alliances
"Arash…" murmured Bell as he wiped his daggers, cleaning off the blood of the recently slain minotaur that Lily was carving. "Ah, Master?" responded the cheerful archer as he scratched his cheek.
"Why'd you make Lancer buy all those potions when we set out? We don't need that many right?" questioned the young boy, as his eyes glanced over Welf and Lancer helping Lily with some other corpses.
Arash chuckled as he spoke, "Ah… well the goddess gave me a vision" to which the boy tilted his head in confusion, "A vision? Lady Hestia gave you a vision?" to which Arash shook his head, "Oh no… it was the goddess Armaiti, ah, forget that, that's just an old habit I have of referring to my Clairvoyance as visions from her."
"That said." he hefted his backpack as he spoke, "Well, the reason I made Lancer buy all those potions is because Gil over there needs to care for his children with them."
"Children?" was the whispered question from Bell before the figurative lantern lit itself above his head, "Oh! Loki Familia… Ah? Ah? Wait! Are they all so injured?!" he yelped, though unbeknownst to the boy himself, his concerns mostly stemmed from his un-recognized feelings for a certain blonde swordswoman
Arash chuckled, "Ah, hmmm, maybe they are, they did go to set new records right? I can't say for sure because… err… well, I'm not all-seeing, but my vision told me to do this much… oh look!" he pointed at the staircase in front of them with the last statement, and Bell turned to see a grey haired werewolf Adventurer come to a screeching halt in front of their party of seven.
His eyes scanned over all of them before it settled on Saber.
"Oi… oi… you're the Spirit from the Moon right?" came the cautious voice of the Werewolf as his ears twitched. Saber chuckled as he responded, "No, not at all, I do come from another world yes… but that is not the moon."
The werewolf seemed to ponder this as he spoke, "Bah, whatever, I need to get going" when Gilgamesh himself stepped in front of the werewolf, his crimson eyes peering into Vanagrand's amber ones.
The werewolf seemed confused, but Gilgamesh barked out, "You! You're from Loki Familia?" to which Bete nodded, confused at where this was going, before growling, "Move dude, those weaklings need potions, and they've sent me to get them."
Gilgamesh chuckled, before he materialized the golden orb of his Bab-Ilu and brought out the large case of potions that Bell and Arash were talking about. He opened it to reveal several dozen high-quality potions to which the Werewolf looked up and down between the man and the case with even more confusion on his face.
"Worry not, your potions are right here, Vanagrand." came the booming voice of the flaxen-haired adventurer, with a smirk just as wide accompanying his loud voice.
Bete however seemed to be suspicious as he asked, "What are you playing at? Nothing's ever free." to which Gilgamesh chuckled, "Normally you would be correct, but a Father must look after his children no?"
Whatever the Level 5 had been expecting, it was clearly not this, as his face changed from confusion to being outright dumbstruck. He turned to Saber, not because of any sense of friendship, but because he'd already spoken some words to him, "What's this guy's deal? Why's he calling himself my Father?"
Saber's face went through several emotions in less than a second, but it finally settled on an amused grin as he spoke, "Oh, your goddess happens to be his girlfriend."
One, Two, Three, Four, Five seconds passed in utter silence before the werewolf shouted, "WHAT THE FUCK?"
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"It's...a thank-you." came the soft voice of Ais Wallenstein
"Thank-you?" stuttered Lefiya Verdis.
Ais responded with a nod. "For saving me...on the fifty-ninth floor."
Lefiya's azure eyes popped open in surprise. The incident Ais was thanking her for was their face-off against the demi-spirit far below where they were right now. Ais had leapt toward that powerful monster only to fall straight into its trap, with mere moments left before she would be shot out of the sky.
It was then that Lefiya's magic had saved her. Lefiya had refused to let her injuries bog her down, and had pushed through the pain and injuries she had suffered to save Ais from the attack.
"What with everything that's happened, I haven't really had a chance to say it yet, so...thank you, Lefiya. Thank you for saving me." were the slow words coming out of the blonde swordswoman's mouth, and Lefiya could spot the faintest of blushes tinging her cheeks, as her face broke into a smile.
Lefiya looked into the eyes of the golden-haired, golden-eyed swordswoman, and as she heard her pure, unadulterated gratitude, her own eyes became unexpectedly wet as she fully processed the words spoken.
She brought an arm up instantly to wipe at her face, growing more and more flushed as her actions grew more and more questionable. "It's…Y-you mustn't say things like that, Miss Ais! It is I who should be grateful! You and the others have saved me so, so many times, and...and this was merely my chance to return the favor...!"
"No...it's fine that way. I said it before, too...right?"
"They would protect her as many times as they had to. And Lefiya would use her magic to save them." That was what Ais had told her many days ago. And as the words drifted back into her memory, Lefiya felt her movements come to a halt. For a moment or two there was nothing but silence, but her wet eyes soon found themselves accompanied by the most triumphant of smiles.
But most definitely, abashment still colouring her features, she turned her eyes downward to stare at the two crystal drops in her hand, that had been how Ais had decided to thank her, the two crystal drops that were the 'Nobleman's Candy'.
"Thank you..." she finally uttered as she carefully placed the two bluish- white sparkles, that was no less than the medal for saving Ais Wallenstein, into the inner breast pocket of her battle clothes.
"Even Tiona and Tione said you were amazing. If you weren't there, who knows what could've happened." continued Ais.
"It…it was all thanks to Miss Filvis...! Oh, but of course yours and Lady Riveria's tutelage, as well, I...I, erm..."
"Finn was happy, too. That we... especially that you had grown so… so strong." Ais's deluge of praise continued, seemingly ignoring the small beaver dam that had been Lefiya's modesty as it continued to flow in an unabated torrent.
"Th-the captain?! I-I mean...that's...o—oh-oh my..." The excessive compliments from the girl she'd admired for so long finally became too much, and Lefiya's face turned a brilliant shade of red. Unable to bear it any further, she lowered her eyes, both hands tightly gripped around her staff, radiating heat up to the tips of her pointed ears which twitched ever so slightly.
The scene made Ais smile all the more, and the swordswoman thought to herself how truly amazing the sorceress in front of her, Lefiya had been. The elf in front of her had grown so much between this expedition and the last that she was scarcely recognizable. Every spell Lefiya had woven in those many battles had helped shape her into the mage she was today.
Ais found herself wondering what it was that had spurred her on, pushing her to achieve results, clearly unaware of her own influence as she stood there looking at the younger girl. Lefiya however slowly raised her head.
"Um...Miss Ais?" came the soft, inquisitive voice.
"?"
"The boy the captain mentioned back on the fifty-ninth floor...Bell Cranell?" There wasn't a hint of unrest in Lefiya's voice as she spoke, her eyes as sharp as tacks, and Ais felt her heart jump in her chest as she heard this.
It had been during Braver's encouraging speech in the midst of that decisive battle down on the fifty-ninth floor that Bell Cranel had been mentioned. The magic-like courage that the Loki Familia Captain had used to turn the tides of the battle, reversing everything even as an overwhelming despair had gripped their hearts.
It was then that he'd brought up the name of that boy, Bell Cranell. "Did that human adventurer...do something as we were making our way to the fifty-ninth floor?"
Back when Ais had been giving her training for Concurrent Casting in preparation for the expedition, Lefiya had been curious and asked for the name of Ais's other mentee, and the swordswoman had replied with that boy's name, but not before explaining that he was more a partner in swordsmanship rather than her own pupil.
However, Lefiya hadn't known about what had transpired down on the ninth floor—his ferocious battle with the minotaur, and the thrashing Ottar had received for endangering a certain Familia.
Upon hearing that a minotaur had spawned on the upper levels, Finn and the other top-tier adventurers had broken away from the vanguard temporarily to appraise and handle the situation. This much was what the elf had heard from Raul and her fellow familia members. However, the details as to exactly what Ais and the others had witnessed at the scene remained undisclosed, though there was a second rumour that Ottar had been seen leaving the floor injured at the hands of a spirit
Lefiya would have dismissed the latter if Ais herself hadn't explained the existence of a very powerful Spirit from another world among Hestia Familia's ranks.
When Finn had mentioned him, it had set off something and changed everything. Hearing that boy's name had lit a fire within Ais's heart, within Bete's and within everyone else's.
Even Lefiya had been able to tell instinctively that something had happened. As the elf's azure eyes stared through her, Ais's gaze traveled up toward the speckled canvas of trees hanging over their heads, almost as though she was searching for something in the canopy.
"Mm-hm...He had his own adventure."
The array of crystals visible through the leaves spread out across the ceiling like chrysanthemums, guiding her line of sight farther upward toward the floors above.
"He was truly amazing...just like you, Lefiya." The words slipped from her mouth so easily, betraying her true feelings. Lefiya's grip around her staff tightened with a jerk at these words, hearing that the boy...changed, too. Ais had lost herself in her thoughts, unaware of Lefiya's current turmoil. Compared to Lefiya—there was no doubt that whatever the boy's adventure had been like, his achievements could not compare, for the different between the ninth floor and the fifty ninth was huge.
But his adventure symbolized the starting point for Ais and the other adventurers. The weak defeating the impossibly strong-armed, relying on nothing but their own strength. It was one of the simplest yet most difficult feats of all, which normal logic would say was impossible. And Ais and the others had been completely taken by it—the idea of betting everything for a chance to overcome one's limits.
One's first successful exploit would have a major influence on one's life. Everybody's first adventure simply held that much meaning. There was no question that the boy would continue to grow and change from here on out. Ais was sure of it.
"Would he succeed? Would it merely make him reckless? Or would he become something else entirely? Maybe he'd use his newly acquired qualification for herohood to begin scaling that far-off, impregnable peak… that peak…What is he doing right now?" were the thoughts chasing one another through the blonde swordswoman's mind.
"..."
Ais narrowed her eyes against the sight of those pure white crystals blooming on the ceiling, her stare having far left behind the canopy.
The elf, too, followed her gaze, the two of them simply drinking in their ivory radiance. "Night" had fallen across the eighteenth floor. When the white clump of crystals at the center of the mass of blue glowed like the sun, the crystalline ceiling made them feel as if the sky from the surface was rolled out above their heads.
As time passed, however, the artificial light dimmed, bathing the floor in shadow and simulating a familiar twilight. Once Ais and the others had returned from their bout of scavenging, all of Loki Familia settled down for dinner within the circle of guards standing watch and portable magic-stone lanterns that set the boundaries of their camp.
They feasted on the fruits Ais and the others had harvested, as well as what little bread Tiona and Tione had managed to purchase in Rivira. Tsubaki had brought back some mushrooms from the nearby Wooden Labyrinth as well, and they grilled them whole over the campfire.
The half-dwarf had taken full advantage of her position as a guest in the group. She had travelled about wherever she pleased—though she did make sure someone was taking care of her smiths in her stead—she'd first gone off monster hunting and then used the spoils to trade for alcohol and other various necessities in Rivira.
Even with the alliance between their two familias, her actions could not be condoned, but given that the expedition was already over, Finn and the other elites simply let it slide with wry smiles of amusement, that and their own tiredness.
Of course, such behaviour was strictly prohibited for anyone from their own familia, for the Loki Familia was the Loki Familia.
"M-Miss Tsubaki, are you sure these mushrooms are edible...?" Raul raised the question as a bead of sweat dribbled down his forehead. "We haven't even checked if they're suitable for human consumption...!"
"Aw, come on! As long as you've got a status with decent resistance, you'll be fiiiiine!" Tsubaki was currently toasting the large purple mushrooms over open flames, sending up a considerable amount of embers in her mildly intoxicated state.
"So they are poisonous?!" came the alarmed voice of Raul.
"Aww, don't be like that! They're a rare delicacy, seriously! C'mon, you try one, Thousand Elf!" was the baudy response of the smith, completely ignoring Raul who was desperately trying to spit out his mushroom.
"I-I must respectfully decline!" Lefiya responded with a frightened shout.
"Oh man! Let me eat one!" Tiona enthusiastically reached toward the mushrooms everyone else was emphatically refusing, prompting a laugh from the others. Even Ais felt a smile form on her lips at the ridiculous sight.
As soon as the boisterous dinner came to an end, the group retired for the night. Guard duty was to be handled in shifts, though Ais and the other elites were, of course, exempt. At that moment, Tiona, Tione, Lefiya, and the other female members were sound asleep together in the tent they had been given since all other accommodations were being used to house the injured.
It was not long that Ais sensed that the second-tier elf had left for her own night-watch shift, and so she focused on recovering her strength, still exhausted at the ordeal she had been through, and before she knew it, it was 'morning', well as much of a morning as the crystals above their heads could simulate.
"..."
Light had returned to the eighteenth floor of the Dungeon, and a hazy forest sunrise settled over the camp as Ais emerged from the tent. She was wide awake.
She always was when traveling deep within the Dungeon. A truly sound sleep was impossible within this underground labyrinth, no matter how tired someone happened to be, and no matter which floor they were on, for danger was always imminent.
There was a big time difference between the surface and down here... The crystals on the eighteenth floor dimmed and brightened according to their own schedule, creating a gap between the day cycle of the surface and that of the Dungeon, which often discomfited visiting adventurers.
She looked over at Lefiya, who had returned from her night-watch, and more specifically Lefiya's small pocket watch sitting next to her pillow indicated that it was only a few hours past midnight, meaning that the world aboveground was still blanketed in darkness underneath the light of the moon, and so it was no surprise that the owner of said watch was still sound asleep.
Ais however shook her head, as she stretched before she headed to the Command tent. "Bete needs to get back fast…" was the gruff voice emanating from the Captain's tent, it was Gareth Landrock, the amiable veteran dwarf who was an executive.
Ais walked through the flap, and was greeted with the sight of the three longest serving Loki Famila members, Finn, Riveria and Gareth standing next to each other. All three of them greeted her with a nod, which Ais reciprocated.
Gareth continued, "I'm surprised no one died… no, amazed even, Dain would probably grab me in a head-lock and say I've done a good job … well if the old fella was still kicking."
Riveria chuckled, "Hmm, that sounds more like Noir, is your memory failing you Gareth?" to which Gareth huffed in mock indignation as Finn chuckled, "Ah that takes me back."
Riveria's face hardened, "It doesn't change the fact that we got lucky with the Spirit… and that wasn't even its main body." she spoke, dusting off her coat out of habit more than anything.
The mood tensed, but Ais spoke, "I don't think that the demi-spirit was merely a small tendril like the Violas… it was probably a big component of whatever's down there…"
Finn nodded, "That wall of tentacles all but confirms that… but the real question is how many of those hybrid creatures…. those corrupted spirits exist. Fighting one took almost everything out of us, fighting an army is a dauntingly tall order."
Riveria spoke quietly, "We already spoke about this didn't we? Fight Spirits with Spirits… well, uncorrupted ones with otherworldly ones… my, it almost sounds like a children's story when I put it like that."
Ais nodded, "You mean Saber and Lancer?" to which Finn straightened his back, "So…Lancer's also a Spirit?" to which Ais nodded, "Yeah he is… I sparred with him a couple times…. he's faster than Saber, but both of them agree that Saber is atleast an order of magnitude more powerful."
"Better a Spirit than a Creature… so you could say that Lancer fella is a Level 7 or 8… and Saber's a Level 10… powerful allies that's sure, but even then I don't like our odds… bah, maybe that's just my age getting to me." came the voice of the old dwarf, as he rubbed his beard.
Finn nodded, before speaking, "That's not to say that there are only two of them… whatever type of Spirit they are, they seem to hold great affection for that boy, Bell Cranel, and they'd probably help us deal with the main body, even if they have to bring more of their companions from their world onto here."
Riveria nodded, "Bell Cranell… Statuses beyond S rank… I'd say he's Level 2 by now, and the speed at which he climbed to that Level is astounding yes… but that can't be the only reason Spirits from another world would have taken interest in him?"
Gareth continued to run his hand through his beard, "We can't say anything right now, but that fella sounds absurd. If he keeps on going at that rate, he'll be a Level 6 next year."
Their discussion was interrupted by the sounds of shouting from outside to which Ais curiously peaked outwards, from between the flaps of the tent. She blinked a few times at what she was seeing, before she spoke softly, "Bete?"
The three executives were taken aback by this, and so they all opened the flap to go outside. They were greeted with the sight of a shirtless blonde-man they'd never seen before, walking beside Bete towards the command tent.
Riveria's sharp eyes picked up the sight of a familiar white-haired man trailing behind the pair, along with another familiar black-haired man. The two of them were the Spirits they were just talking about, but who was the blonde one?
Finn stepped forwards, and broke out into a grin as Bete was back earlier than he'd expected, though why he had a mollified expression on his face was certainly an object of curiosity. "Bete! You're back early?"
Bete looked to the side before speaking, "I got the antidotes; these guys gave it to me… I'll get them to the weaklings… you talk to them." before walking off, his hands in his pockets, and his tail bent downwards.
'These guys' had already made it in-front of the four Executives, but the blonde seemed to be looking around rather than paying any interest to the executives.
Finn nodded slowly before offering his hand to the white-haired Adventurer in front of him, "Well… we did meet earlier, but it was, err… rather unfriendly if I say so myself, but I'm Finn Deimne, Captain of the Loki Familia."
The tall adventurer firmly grasped Finn's little hand before shaking it up and down thrice, "Indeed, circumstances mayhaps have made me antagonize you a bit too much, but I happen to be Lucius Domitius Aurelianus, Captain of the Hestia Familia… you may call me Aurelian or Lucius, whatever you find simpler."
Finn nodded seriously as he spoke, "Well, I'm grateful for the antidotes you've provided, and we were only just talking about yourselves, but I'd rather we continue the conversation in the tent if you do not mind?"
As they walked inside, the only ones left outside were Riveria and Lancer who inclined their heads to one another out of recognition. She spoke, "You have a new comrade?" to which Lancer chuckled, "Ah, I suppose we do… three actually, and two of them are the same as us..." to which Riveria raised an eyebrow, "Ho? So more allies from your world have crossed over?"
Lancer scratched his chin for a second before he spoke, "That's about right, but not quite… it'd be better explained inside. Oh, before I forget…" to which Riveria titled her head inquisitively, "He…err, happens to be dating your goddess."
Riveria froze, and her ears began twitching in such a fashion that Lancer believed that she might take flight any second seeing the speed. She composed herself in an instant before she spoke, "It is good then that Loki has found a… partner, perhaps she shall no longer refer to me as 'Mama' with that."
Lancer chuckled loudly before walking through the tent flap.
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"So let me get this straight…there's a powerful magical cup stored in your house, and it's what brought you lot into this world?" were the curious words Gareth spoke aloud.
Riveria continued, "You happen to be deceased heroes and in the case of you two" she pointed at Saber and Gil, "Demigods whose exploits were of such renown that you ascended to the Throne of Heroes that exists beyond all worlds?"
Lancer nodded as he spoke, "It isn't just us, there's a great chance that your Familia Captain's possibly ascended to the Throne in a fashion; to be specific, a Finn from a different timeline."
Ais interjected, "So Finn's destruction of Evilus years ago, which is known by everyone, would be what his legend as a Heroic Spirit would revolve around?" curious as to what exactly one needed to qualify to ascend to the throne.
"There would be some differences in the Heroic Spirit Finn as in comparison to the one here, seeing as to how your Captain's alive, but yes, you would be correct that his destruction of that organization would be what his Legend would be about. But the Throne reaches into both the future as well as the past, so if one were to set-up a summoning ritual using your Captain as a Catalyst, perhaps his future self would respond to the summons." came the nonchalant reply of Gilgamesh, who was seated on a throne that he had pulled out from his Treasury.
Finn chuckled slowly, and without mirth, "Using myself as a catalyst? That sounds scarier than it is, but meeting a version of me who brought hope to the Pallum race, huh, that sounds nice, maybe he could give me some pointers."
Gareth huffed, "This is all pure conjecture, but that besides…" his eyes went over to Gilgamesh, "You are dating Loki?" To which the blonde chuckled loudly, "I shall have it no other way. You may be her children, but she is my beloved, and if Uruk existed here, I would have crowned her Empress of Mesopotamia upon the great Ziggurat of Anu."
Gareth guffawed loudly, "Hah, you're an interesting kid, but I can see what Loki likes about ya, if you end up getting married, make sure to set-up a proper banquet for us, we'd be your step-children then, huh?"
Lancer interjected, "He happens to be fifty-three, Elgarm." The dwarf paused at this before he chuckled, "Ah, pardon me then, looks like being a demigod does good things for one's looks, though I suppose calling you Father makes sense if we add the age of your legend to your own... that'd be?"
Lancer responded helpfully, "Hmmm, he precedes me by six millennia or so, so 6053?" to which Gareth chuckled, "Huh, makes sense after all, you're probably older than some gods at that rate, not that I know how those folks are born."
Gilgamesh chuckled loudly, "Hoho, indeed, you may call me as you wish, but to be a father is a quest I have not yet undertaken, and to do so now would bring me great satisfaction." before he flashed his approximation of a fatherly smile to the dwarf, who received it as such and smiled back.
Finn looked over at Lancer before he spoke, "That said… is an Alliance on the cards?"
"It is a by-gone conclusion, even if Gilgamesh was not, err… your father, your Familia happens to be the only ones who know of our nature, and so an alliance is the best measure we can take to keep our nature secret." came the soft words of Saber.
He continued, "So, what exactly did you find on the fifty-ninth floor that you seek to push for an alliance at this rate?" his voice inquisitive and his eyebrows raised.
Finn's face hardened as he recanted the tale of the demi-spirit far below them, and the tough battle Loki Familia had to go through. Gilgamesh was the one who growled, "So, the parasite that dared assault my beloved's children is of a larger scale than previously assumed? Its main body no doubt rests in the sixties or so… perhaps even deeper."
Riveria's ears twitched, though whether it was due to being referred to as a child was best left unasked, "Indeed, the main body shot up a large barricade of vines to safeguard that demi-spirit… so it should be safe to say that even it was another 'tentacle' like the Virgas and Violas, if of great enough importance to be protected."
Ais offered her own insight, "Whoever's creating these Demi Spirits, they use some form of Jewel that contains… some sort of parasitic fetus inside it, which overrides a Violas and consumes monsters to evolve into a Demi Spirit over time…. though what the original nature of the foetuses are…" she trailed off.
Lancer's face was grim as he spoke, "I see your concern, Spirit Child… perhaps they are fragments of a True Spirit made to transform into the creature you saw by consuming magic stones… though that cannot be a full explanation, seeing as to how you describe them to act in an inherently malevolent towards yourself."
He adjusted his greaves before continuing, "We are not the Spirits that you know of, the offshoots of the gods… and so the insight we can provide is limited, but if you require allies in the destruction of these creatures that could threaten the city, well, Servants are meant for war, so this is but a trifle."
Gareth laughed, "Ho, that's that then, we can deal with the intricacies of the alliance some other time, I find that I'm hungry."
Gilgamesh raised a hand, "A moment, Elgarm. The identity of the instigator, Enyo may perhaps be unknown, but my fellow Servants seem to have discovered facts you may not know about."
Saber spoke, "Normally, if you would ask me what I think when I hear Enyo, I would direct you to Ares for I know the name to be that of a goddess who worked with him, but in your own goddess' words, he does not have the sense for political intrigue, and there is no such goddess In this world. The name itself would be 'Destroyer of the City' in the language of your gods… and there's no doubt that this entity certainly has a high enough threat level that he or she could be considered as worthy of their moniker."
He paused, his golden eyes glinting as he did so, "Gods… the gods seek amusement, be it this strange world, or any variation of my own, and to brazenly declare that they are a Destroyer in the language of the gods… one should logically assume that they are a god themselves… an Evil God; a successor of Evilus perhaps?"
Finn's back straightened at this, "Evilus…" but Lancer continued, "The fourth spirit we spoke about, Arash, well, he discovered some sort of document relating to a branch-off of Evilus called 'The Cult of the Red Mother' which seemed to worship the Dungeon as their true creator, and consider the Creator God as a False Father, but just like their main group, this Cult too seems to have been destroyed, but Enyo still lives."
Gilgamesh added his own point, "Loki seems to suspect Dionysus of having some affiliation with Enyo, though you shall have to ask her herself for the intricacies of the same. But the spear-wielder here has discovered some connection between that wine god and the goddess Phiana… that is, him using his divine wine to offload his members to her Familia..."
"That's… hmmm, Dionysus huh? Lefiya won't like it if Filvis turns out to be involved… but looks like we've got our work cut out for us… but still, having a lead's going to help. Is that all?" asked Finn.
"There's one more thing… the possibility of a second entrance in an aquatic area." came the clipped response of Lancer.
"An aquatic area? I suppose you're basing it off how monsters still infest the oceans? Hmm, the Grand Quest Leviathan sealed the entrance in Melen… but I wouldn't be surprised if Enyo's somehow managed to weaken the seal, though Njord should have caught such a thing." came the quick response from Finn.
"Indeed, both Dionysus and Hermes may know of this as well, though once again, I find Dionysus more suspect than the latter… he is a god of mania after all." came the response of Saber, an ominous observation considering that Dionysus was co-opted by the Greco-Roman Mythology in his world, and preceded them in his origin.
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"Ho!?" was the cheery voice that came from behind Arash's back as he finished setting up the last of his Familia's tents in the clearing. He turned, a smile on his face, and beheld a pair of amazons standing beside a blonde elf.
"Ah, hello! You all must be part of Loki Familia." was the cheery greeting Arash offered to them, to which the short-haired Amazon responded in kind, "Yes! We saw you setting up your tent here and came to check what's going on."
"Oh! I'm from Hestia Familia, we're, errr, staying in the same clearing as you all, but we're sharing supplies if I'm not wrong; we did bring a lot from the surface."
"Ho… ah, finally something other than that dratted Honey Cloud… wait, Hestia Familia? The one with the record holder and that… Spirit guy who beat up Ottar?" asked the long-haired Amazon.
Arash chuckled, "Exactly that, so all of your Familia already knows of our nature as Spirits then?" to which the elf nodded, "All of us were told, though the Hephaistos Familia smiths don't know anything about it… but the Captain said something about seeking an alliance with yourselves."
The short-haired amazon interrupted, "Wait! You said 'our'! Are you a spirit too, Mister?" as she leaned forward, curiosity shining in her eyes.
Arash gave a momentary chuckle before he disappeared from their sight, turning into millions of blue motes as he did so, eliciting squeals from the elf and the Amazon. He re-appeared in the same spot before rubbing his head, "Ah, sorry, I like doing that because it saves time explaining stuff, but yep, I'm Servant Archer, Arash Kamangir, at your service" before bending forwards in an exaggerated bow.
"Servant? Archer?" asked the Amazoness.
"Ah, looks like they haven't explained that yet, but that isn't a surprise, the three Kings in my Familia should be hammering out those details with your Captain, but you can consider a Servant to be a copy of a Heroic Spirit, and the 'Archer' part to refer to the type of vessel the copy manifests in."
The long-haired Amazoness seemed to catch on fairly quick as she spoke, "Hmm, so someone like the Argonaut would be a Swordsman 'Class' Servant if he were to manifest?"
Arash's smile widened even further, "Bingo! That's about right, though it's 'Saber' rather than 'Swordsman'; he'd manifest in a Saber class with his Spirit Sword Jupiter being what makes him qualify for such a class."
Their conversation was interrupted, when a certain white-haired adventurer stepped out from inside another tent and was jumped with, "OH! It's the Little Argonaut?!"
"Sorry!?" came the surprised yelp from the aforementioned adventurer as the short-haired amazon near dived in his direction shouting "Hello Little Argonaut!"
"Stop it you Moron! You're scaring the dude!" came the disgruntled voice of Tione as she smacked her sister's head, to which the short-haired adventurer cried out, "Ah! Tione, don't be so mean!"
Tione shook her head before turning to Bell, who had instinctively sidled himself besides Arash before speaking, "Apologies Record Holder, I'm Tione Hiryute, this idiot happens to be my sister, Tiona. She believes you resemble the Argonaut from the fairy-tale and so she's taken to describing you as such."
Bell rubbed his head nervously, chuckling to hide his initial shock at believing his Skill's name was known to all before speaking, "Oh! That's fine; I don't mind that, I'm Bell Cranel by the way."
The blonde-haired elf huffed momentarily before she too bowed and spoke, "I'm Lefiya Virdis, it's nice to meet you, but did you really defeat the Minotaur on your own?"
Bell rubbed his head shyly, not used to having such high level adventurers stare him down as he explained his fight, "Yeah… I don't know how I did so, but my Familia member was really injured at that time… and I wanted to beat the Minotaur no matter what…"
Arash whacked Bell's back heartily before cheerily adding, "He uses them as target practice now! Got a few on our way down!" to which Bell simply lowered his head abashedly, neither confirming nor denying Arash' words.
Lefiya nodded politely before asking, "What exactly is a Heroic Spirit, Mister Arash?" her ears twitching in curiosity as she hefted the box full of Honey Clouds again.
Arash scratched his chin for a second before responding, "Hmm… the spirits of those who achieved great deeds in life, whether it's heroic or villainous are Heroic Spirits. You have those who truly existed, those only from legends, and those who were never observed at all, all of us have been removed from the cycle of reincarnation and made to ascend to the Throne of Heroes."
"I'm not sure if the heroes from this world are removed from re-incarnation, seeing as to how the very rules are different here, but being able to summon them is certainly possible according to the Grail." continued Arash, hypothesizing about the native heroes.
"The Grail?" asked Tiona, unfamiliar with the term, seeing as to how no mythology about the venerated object existed in this world.
"Ah, normally Heroic Spirits can't be summoned, unless by the World itself, that's why one needs something like the Holy Grail to be able to act as a regulator to even summon a partial copy of ourselves. As a Servant, I'm one such Emanation, and when I pass, my information returns to the Throne and the main body is able to go through my actions as if reading a book. The Grail provides information about the era a Servant is summoned in even if it precedes their birth or even if their living self is alive."
"Usually, copies of Heroic Spirits don't have the memories of their previous summonings, but I'm the only copy of Arash Kamangir to have ever been summoned and so I have all the memories of my previous summonings, so I guess my Main Body probably likes whatever I get up to?" he chuckled.
Tiona's face morphed into one of pensiveness and curiosity before she asked, "Say, Arash, what exactly did you do to ascend to that Throne of Heroes?"
Arash paused, "Hmm, what I did huh? Well it's kinda weird talking about me in the third person but I'll tell you guys."
He leaned against the tent before speaking, "Arash Kamangir, who was also known as Arash the Swift was a hero of Persia known for his unsurpassed technique and skill with the bow and arrow. He was a descendant of Fereydun, the Hero King who battled Zahhak; the incarnation of the evil dragon Azi Dahaka and among all the legendary warriors who served under King Manuchehr, he was the most excellent hero."
"Persia's defeat was impossible when he was on the battlefield, even if the battle was against the very powerful army of Turan. The goddess Armaiti had blessed Arash with divine knowledge, and his body itself was a vestige of the gods, never receiving a wound on the battlefield or becoming sick even once since birth." his face seemed to become one of amusement as he looked at Tiona.
Arash's face suddenly turned to something in the distance, before he sighed, "That girl can't go a moment without getting into trouble. I'm sorry all of you; I'll tell you the rest of my story some-time later." Before he leaped onto a tree and began darting through the canopy.
"Awww! Just when it was getting good, what did he see though?" asked Tiona, whining as she did so.
"Oh! He can see atleast twenty kilometres away, not to mention he can see the future and read minds, so he must have spotted something in the distance… or received a vision of Lily or Miss Mahari needing his help." came Bell's helpful words.
Lefiya choked, "Gwah!? Twenty?! Even Sea Elves can only see upto three Kilometres away… wow, even as a partial copy, Mister Arash seems impressive… especially his ability of reading minds."
"Tione! Tione! Do you think he read my mind!? Uwah, now I'm embarrassed, I thought he looks cute! Oh, that's probably why he gave me that look, don'tcha think?" she wailed, flailing her giant double-bladed sword around as she did so.
Tiona growled out, "Idiot! You're an Amazoness! Act like it! Besides, he might be cute, but he's nothing in comparison to the Captain!" she gushed, her cheeks flushing as she said those words.
A bead of sweat trailed down Bell's forehead, as he wondered how he'd found himself alone with three girls he didn't know. He could even swear that he could feel stares pointed at him from somewhere behind himself.
Tiona seemed to have gotten over her wailing as she bounded upto Bell "Say, you're his Familia Member, Little Argonaut! Tell me what else Arash did!"
"Oh! Err! Sure! Arash doesn't really talk much about his past, but I do know that he ended the war with one final arrow that marked the boundaries of Turan and Persia." came the quick reply of Bell.
"Huh? An arrow? What do you mean?" asked Tione, her curiosity piqued yet again. Bell place his hand beneath his chin as he scrambled through his mental lexicon for the right words before speaking, "He climbed a mountain, and from there he fired his Ultimate Shot: Stella, the Lone Meteor, which flew 2500 Kilometres and landed near the Oxus river, ending the war and marking the boundaries between the two countries. It's said that it created seven coloured lights in the air as it flew."
All three Loki Familia member's jaws had dropped, but Bell continued, his lips curled downwards in a small frown, "But… Arash surpassed his limits for that shot… he put all his body and soul into it, and in doing that… he lost his life and had his body scattered into all directions."
There was a quietness that hung about the four of them for half a minute, before Lefiya finally broke the silence, "He… sacrificed his life all to end the war? I can't imagine putting so much effort into the shot that your very body dissolves and scatters to the wind…"
Tiona interjected, "Wow… I can't believe it! His story sounds so interesting! You're a big fan of his huh?"
Bell nodded, his crimson eyes shining brightly "I like heroes and their stories… and Arash is a true hero! I asked him how he could do that shot a couple days ago, his response was like, "For humans, I think not wanting to die is natural… even I didn't want to die… but in that moment, the feeling of 'I want to end the war' overcame the feeling of 'I don't want to die'… I just wanted to end the sorrow of the people, and so I put my all into that shot.""
He rubbed his head awkwardly before he continued, "Err… I guess Arash would explain it better!" to which Tione shook her head sideways rapidly, "Not at all Argonaut-kun! That was a good re-telling… you really like heroes huh?"
Bell nodded; his arms raised excitedly, "Of-course! I mean, I've loved all stories about heroes ever since I was a kid, and now that I have four heroes in my Familia, how can I not try to learn their stories as well? Oh! Gil refers to him as a hero among heroes, that's how well-liked Arash is!"
Tiona smiled, "Ha! You're just like me then, the story bit I mean! We'll be good friends, Argonaut-kun! But who's this Gil?"
"Oh! I suppose you haven't met him! He's this ancient Demigod called the First Hero! Your goddess happens to be dating him!" was the excited response of Bell Cranell, unaware of the peril he was facing by revealing this.
Both Tione and Lefiya smiled with interest at this, before their brains finally processed what was said and so their faces contorted in shock and awe.
"What? Loki got a boyfriend?" came the strange voice of Tiona, a complete detraction from the cheery and friendly disposition that had been on her face not a second ago. "Say… Argonaut-kun…TELL ME MORE about that traitor goddess?"
Bell Cranell, may not have had much experience with women but he could clearly recognize the danger levels Tiona Hiryute was exuding, and so he did the smartest thing he could have done, being the bearer of this news after all, he turned around, and darted off into the forest, "I'm SORRRYYYYYY!"
====================XeX====================
"Honestly, Grail-kun!" muttered Hestia as she looked over several documents dealing with various plots of land outside Orario. "Demeter tells me she'll help me with setting up that cabbage farm, but all the terrain seems rocky! Maybe I should stick to the plans of opening a small Inn?"
"Ho… you're right Grail-kun, an inn would probably suit me better, but what if Freya thinks I'm ripping her idea off? The gods at Denatus would never let me live it down!" continued Hestia, treating Grail-kun like the sentient cup he was, her divine instincts having given her some intuition regarding that facet.
"Hmm, what's that you say? You think I should tell Luci about Bell's skill? I mean, is there any real need to ? He's smart enough to realise that if I'm not revealing the skill to everyone I must be doing so for some reason… namely that Bell's growth might stagnate if he becomes self-assured in his own growth. Hmm, you're right that I need to tell Bell himself sometime soon… but I don't know." came the mildly miffed voice of Hestia.
"I suppose you're right… Bell probably'd be sad if he learnt I'm keeping something from him… but…" she tapped her pen to the desk several times before yelling, "AAAAAH!" sending several papers flying into the air as she did so.
"I don't know, Hephaistos, Take, Miach, none of them would have any advice on how to deal with such a skill as well… ah… maybe some other god? Demeter wouldn't be any help… Artemis might but she's out of town, even Dia's out. Aphrodite's who knows where… in that Olympia place. Ares, hah right! He'd probably try to kidnap me or something." she muttered, listing off various potential gods she could ask for advice.
"Freya and Loki? Grrgh, that flatty might be Gil's girlfriend now but she won't help me in things like this… and Freya, who knows what that woman would do if she learnt of Bell's skill. Hmmm, Surya's smart about these kind of things, but he's also in some random country! Hermes is acting weird these days…. and Poseidon's definitely trying to ride a whale-monster in some undiscovered ocean… Athena's in Melistora! Ugh! Why are everyone I know scattered about this world!?" she groaned, her ponytails coiling about themselves in agreement.
"I could summon a Divine Spirit from my world." came the helpful response from Grail-kun. Hestia shook her head rapidly, "I don't even want to know how a robot version of myself would be like! No thanks!"
"Not yourself, silly goddess, maybe someone like Chiron!" came the admonishing reply from the cup. "Huh? Chiron? Who's that?" asked Hestia, for her world did not have such an equivalent god.
"He'd be your half-brother! But hmmm, I don't know, maybe Ishtar!" to which Hestia turned a furious scarlet before responding, "No! Definitely not!" before jumping off her chair and going towards the cup. "Gil'd probably try to kill her! Besides, she'd probably try to seduce the entire Familia or something!"
"Even with my gigantic mana supply and the ambient mana, summoning a proper Ishtar would be tough! I meant I'll summon Ishtar inhabiting someone else's body! This one's much better! She even looks a tiny bit like you and her personality isn't insufferable!"
"Hmmm… I don't know… Ishtar's said to be smart, but the risks seem like they're too high! Let's not talk about this right now Grail-kun!" and in saying so, Hestia shut down the discussion.
"Have it your way! Maybe you'll change your tune soon enough!" huffed Grail-kun.
"I don't know about that! Ooooh! A weaponry shop? Arash can make bows, and Gil can sell the mass-printed swords he shoots! Ah, you're right Grail-kun, Hephaistos would probably chew me up!" she spoke, already changing the topic.
====================XeX====================
"Honestly, Bell, you don't need to run-away every time a girl looks like she's about to kill you!" came the chuckles of Welf, as he led Bell back to the clearing.
"And you know this how!?" huffed Bell, still terrified of that scary face he'd seen the short-haired Amazoness make at the mention of her goddess getting a boyfriend. "Girls can be scary, Grandpa! How come you never mentioned that?" Bell thought to himself, though he supposed the village aunts scolding his Grandfather was probably scary for the old-timer.
It wasn't. After all Zeus was the pervert lecher extraordinaire.
"Something's not right about this floor, huh?" spoke Welf, completely ignoring Bell's question about how he knew what was the right way to deal with murderous girls; his arms filled with some crystals he'd broken off from a small section growing inside the forest.
"About it being a safe place?" asked Bell Cranell. "Yeah! That's just wrong… I mean, why would the Dungeon, which hates mortals and gods alike, choose to make an entire floor clear of monsters? It just isn't right… I wouldn't be surprised if the next Great Quest ends up being that the entirety of the 18th Floor is a monster that's been hibernating." came the disgruntled voice of Welf.
"Don't say such things, Welf! Besides, it isn't really safe! Monsters can enter from both above and below!" came the mollified response of Bell, who did not want to contemplate the idea of fighting a floor sized monster… though he supposed that the Black Dragon was perhaps that size.
"Hmm, maybe you're right, who knows if I've just given the Dungeon an idea. Still! We'll be facing the Goliath soon, I wonder how that fight would go. I can't wait to Level Up! There was this bit in Lancer's book about polarizing an object while infusing it with mana to increase its durability! Some guy called Da Vinci's written that, maybe it should work if I have Blacksmith." came the excited voice of the smith.
"Heheh" came the polite laugh of Bell, who had no clue what polarizing an object even meant, before he continued, "Hmmm, we probably won't be in any real danger, but they'll probably want us to work hard to kill the Goliath. I wouldn't be surprised if Arash is the only one going to help us!" his voice low as he contemplated the battle-plan for fighting the giant that was the Goliath.
"Hmm, maybe you're right, but did you see the way Mahari got that Minotaur?" came the depressed voice of Welf. Bell winced, for even if the man-bull didn't have any… parts in its crotch, Mahari had skewered its crotch-area from beneath with her sword, eliciting a shiver of pain from the two of them when they saw it.
"I don't want to think she'll end up doing that to the Goliath… I've heard it has a vaguely humanoid appearance." responded Bell. Right now, he was a man's man, in looking out for even a monster. And maybe, in some corner of the yet-to-span Goliath's mind, it appreciated the sentiment, even it was going to attempt to kill the guy.
Internet died for a few days, got caught up with grinding GudaGuda Honnoji, and three other excuses I won't bore you lot with. I'll try to get the next chapter out within the week. Thanks for reading.
I had the trippiest image of Li Shuwen appearing out of nowhere and one-shotting the OEBD with Wu Er Da, this obviously won't happen in my story, but it was enough to add him as a candidate due to his nature as a friendly masseuse grandpa.
All constructive criticism is welcome, both in reviews as well as PM. Some guy advertised his story in my PM, not welcome, thanks.
Candidates:
Rider: Iskander, Ushiwakamaru, Perseus , Georgios
Caster: Tamamo-No-Mae, Proto Merlin, Alfia.
Assassin: Regend (Saviour of France), Semiramis, EMIYA (K), Li Shuwen (Old)
Berserker: Vlad III, Beowulf, Kiyohime.
Pseudo-Divine Spirit: Ishtar, Chiron, Skadi.