Read the author's note at the bottom after you finish.
"Thank you very much Goddess Hestia." Chiron said, giving the childlike goddess a calm smile as she placed a cup of tea down in front of him on the coffee table.
"No problem, uh, Chiron was it?" Hestia said as she walked to the other side of the and sat down on the couch next to Bell, earning a nod from the strange man as he took a sip out from the cup.
It was only a few minutes after Bell had performed the spell and summoned Chiron. Right now, they were back down in the basement, with Hestia having made a cup of tea for their guest, not that either one of them were sure what he was exactly. Both of them had imagined their own different image of a "Heroic Spirit", and Chiron didn't exactly fit the image either of them had thought up.
That wasn't to say the man didn't carry a certain aura about him. In fact, Bell felt the only way he was capable of describing what it was like to be near the man was to directly compare it to being inside a calm forest. Chiron was calm and gentle, and despite his young appearance, he clearly was wiser than anyone Bell had ever met before. Plus, he radiated a certain sense of strength that Bell couldn't help but feel engulfed by.
"So... Chiron are you really a spirit? Like the ones in the legends?" Bell asked curiously once Chiron was done taking a sip from the tea, catching the attention of both Chiron and Hestia.
"Yeah… I have to say, you're a lot different than any spirit I've ever met or heard about." Hestia said, hesitantly, worried about offending Chiron after how bluntly Bell had asked that question, though Chiron's patient smile would never waver.
"Well I can't say that's much of a surprise." Chiron said as he put the cup of tea down on the table before looking up at both of them, "As I am unlike anything else that you could consider a "spirit" in this world.".
"Wait, "in this world"? That would imply that you're from a different one?" Hestia asked, her tone shifting to one of suspicion and disbelief as she stared at Chiron with a deadpan look on her face.
"Yes, though it may be rather hard to believe, but I'm not a part of this world." Chiron said, surprising both Hestia and Bell with how serious the man was despite how outlandish the claim was.
"So are you like the gods?" Bell asked, his eyes shining with an innocent curiosity as he stared at Chiron in wonder, fascinated by the idea of someone other than the gods being from a different world.
"Haha! Yes! That is an excellent comparison to make, Master!" Chiron said, letting out a laugh in surprise at how Bell was able to make such an apt comparison without having all the information available, "Though there are still a number of differences between me and them.".
"Alright then, how about you do us a favor and explain in what way are you similar to me and the rest of the gods, and why did you just call Bell that?" Hestia said crossing her arms and leaning against the couch, still not buying what Chiron was saying, even if nothing told her that he was lying.
"Well for starters, though the mechanisms and reasons differ a significant amount, we both "descended" down from a higher plane of existence to this one, though I'm getting ahead of myself just a bit. Allow me to explain from the beginning." Chiron said before taking on a more professional air, catching Hestia and Bell's attention as they began to listen closely to what he had to say.
"A Heroic Spirit, like I said before, is not quite the same thing that you would call spirits in this world, which are the closest beings to the gods and are elemental in their nature. Instead, we can also be considered a type of ghost or spectre, shadows of those that had made their marks on history, figures of myth and legend, stored in what is called the Throne of Heroes. The Throne is a dimension into itself, beyond the axis of both space and time and can be considered multiversal in its nature. When certain circumstances have been met, it is possible to summon a Heroic Spirit straight from the Throne, which causes them to become what is known as a Servant. A Servant is bound to their Master, the person who summoned them, since they can't exist for very long without a constant stream of mana, or magical energy.".
"Wait, you're a hero? Like the ones from the stories my Grandfather used to tell me when I was younger? Wait does that mean I'll be able to summon one of the heroes from those stories?" Bell asked excitedly, awestruck at what Chiron told them and his mind running wild with all of the possibilities.
"I'm sorry to disappoint, but I myself am not a hero. I consider myself nothing more than a teacher who just so happened to have made a name for myself in history due to who my students were. And in theory you could, though there are many heroes stored within the Throne, and without a catalyst to do so, an item from that hero's life used to help summon them, a summon would be random. The odds of you summoning one of them would be slim to none." Chiron answered, his gentle smile returning as he answered Bell's question, though it was filled with a small bit of mirth once Bell head fell in disappointment at the news, having gotten his hopes up to see Argonaut or Albert Waldenstein.
"I see…" Hestia mumbled to herself as she cupped her chin in thought as she grappled with what Chiron's explanation meant, and was in a similar state of awe as Bell was, though she kept it under control, "So you're a legendary figure from another world brought to this one after your death by Bell's spell and you're dependent on him to stay here?".
"There is a bit more to it, but you've fully grasped the basics of what it is." Chiron said in response, happy to have helped her understand the situation.
"That lines up with what the spell description says so far, but what's this about class containers?" Hestia said, having picked up the paper from earlier that had Bell's stats on it from earlier, gesturing to the line with her index finger, prompting Chiron to look at it in interest. She had surprised Chiron with the question, not expecting her to have such knowledge. Though it wasn't like he was trying to hide it from them.
"Ah, yes. You see, it's normally imposs- considered impossible for someone to be able to fully summon a Heroic Spirit due to the vast amount of magical energy needed to summon and maintain them." Chiron began, though he had to correct himself mid speech when a sudden change in the air pressure of the room happened, causing the air to become heavy until he made the change, though it lingered for a few seconds. Bell and Hestia suddenly had a hard time breathing for a second due to it, and both wanted to question it. However, Chiron continued on with his lesson before they got the chance to, evidently not noticing it due to some strange familiarity with it for some reason and having made the correction out of reflex.
"In order to get by this obstacle, those who summon Heroic Spirits not only have to gain assistance from a third party, usually the Holy Grail, but to also only summon a part of the Heroic Spirit and to contain them in one of what is typically seven Class Containers that corresponds to the legends of the summoned hero. The classes usually are Archer, Saber, Lancer, Rider, Assassin, Caster, and Berserker, though there have been cases where there are more than just that or one of them has been replaced with another. Each class differs in what they're capable of, though you could probably take a good guess as to the nature of each of them from their names. As a side note, most heroes are capable fitting in more than one class, but their abilities, appearance, and even their personalities can change depending on which "
"Holy Grail? What's that?" Bell asked remembering the name come up in the incantation of his spell. He once again got the image of the golden cup he had seen earlier in the day, before pushing it out of his thoughts again. Though he did make a mental note to ask Chiron about it at a later time.
"The Holy Grail is a powerful magical artifact, often referred to as "the Omnipotent Wish Granter". Though it's a complex enough subject that I'm hesitant to get into it so soon after explaining the nature of Heroic Spirits and Servants. Perhaps a different time?" Chiron replied, knowing that it was best to avoid overloading the two of them with information, even if it did cause Bell to pout lightly, feeling teased from the brief description he gave of the Holy Grail.
"I know you said you were a teacher earlier, but you also introduced yourself as 'Servant Archer' when you were summoned, so I'm assuming that's your class?" Hesita asked, tilting her head in curiosity, earning a quick nod from Chiron.
"Yes, though I am a teacher, I was given multiple gifts from the gods, including that of archery from the twin gods Apollo and Artemis, giving me the-" Chiron began, only to be interrupted by Hestia.
"Hold it! How do you know those two if you're from another world!? And why did you call them twins?!" Hestia cried out as she jumped to her feet, slamming her hands onto the coffee table, causing Bell to jump in surprise and Chiron to reach out to steady the cup of tea.
"I should've expected such a response, it is only natural that you'll have some sort of relation to them in this world…" Chiron said, undisturbed by Hestia's reaction, letting out a sigh before taking another sip of his tea since he had it while thinking on how best to answer it. "You see, in the world I come from, you and the rest of the gods, or rather, versions of you still exist, though there are a number of differences. Such a topic is one similar to the Holy Grail in it's complexity and should be saved for another time to be explained in detail. But to answer your latter question, I will have to say that one such difference is that the gods of my world are fully capable of being born from, being related to, and having children with others, and that the Artemis and Apollo that I know are twin siblings.".
Hestia went quiet at this information as she sat back down on the couch. It was one thing to learn that someone was from a completely different world, but it was another to know that person knew different versions of people you personally knew and that those versions were capable of doing something considered impossible on a fundamental level in your world. Of course, such a line of thought brought about the question on what was she like in this other world? Would she, as a goddess of family, still be a virgin goddess or would she have dozens to hundreds of children to take care of and love.
Regardless, Chiron was at least thankful that Hestia was busy processing the information rather than pressing the subject for more. Her doing so inevitably would've involved him having to explain the Olympian family tree to her, revealing that he was, in fact, her half brother. Once again, it wasn't as if he was trying to hide such information, but if he didn't show it in the right way, he was worried that it might break the young goddess.
"Oh yeah, do you have any idea what this is?" Bell asked while Hestia was still silent, putting his right hand forward to show his red tattoo to Chiron, prompting him to lean forward to inspect it.
"Ah, yes. These are Command Spells, they symbolize your capability and certification as a master. Each red line, or strokes if you will, also represent your ability to give either a boost in strength to your Servant if they need it or an absolute command that the Servant cannot refuse. Even if you ordered me to kill myself, as long as you used one of these, my body will follow it through regardless of how I feel about it." Chiron explained, causing Bell to go paler than he usually was at the example that he used and Hestia to go green.
"W-hy would I ever want to do something like that!?" Bell yelled out in surprise prompting Chiron to let out a laugh at his expense.
"Haha, I'm sorry Master, but that was simply the best way to convey to you the power you hold over me because of these. Not that I'm worried about that happening, you don't strike me as the type to do so." Chiron said in an attempt to calm Bell down, who seemed on the verge of hyperventilating at the idea of forcing Chiron to kill himself. Though he did grow a bit more serious as he looked down at Bell's hand closer, "Though I must say Master you're command spells are rather unique. Usually you only get three per Servant rather than six like what I see here, and all of them are usually the same shade of red.".
"Huh?" Both Bell and Hestia responded to what Chiron said, not knowing what he was talking about until Bell pulled his hand back for both of them to look at the red markings once again.
The Command Spells had changed since the last time Bell and Hestia had looked at them, since before they had summoned Chiron. Like the Archer Servant said, the numbers of individual strokes had doubled, and the newer ones were a slightly lighter shade of red. The result was that the fireball that the command seals was now bigger and brighter than before.
"WAIT! That's right! You already performed the spell before, Bell! We had you summon Chiron because we didn't know what happened to the other Servant and we thought that summoning another one would help find what happened to the first! Remember?!" Hestia yelled out in remembrance of why they had performed the summoning spell so soon after finding out, surprising both Bell and Chiron, though for very different reasons.
"EHHHH?! Oh crap your right Goddess! I can't believe I forgot about that!" Bell gasped out in shock as he remembered, before quickly turning over to the still surprised Chiron as Bell stood up and gave a deep bow, "Can you help us find the other Servant that I summoned?".
Chiron had to take a few seconds to slowly blinked, stunned at the current rate of events. When he did eventually process it, he had to take another second to think on how to word what he was about to say.
"...It's not that I wouldn't be happy to assist you. Rather, I'm just surprised that you were able to summon more than one Servant at all." Chiron replied finally, causing Hestia to give him a questioning look and Bell to look from his bow to do the same as his Goddess.
"Please allow me to explain." Chiron began, once again taking on the professional air that made the others pay closer attention to him. "As I said before, summoning a Heroic Spirit as a Servant takes a frightening amount of magical energy power, and maintaining them takes a constant stream as well. You can get around the cost of summoning like I said with the power of a Holy Grail or a similarly powerful magical device, but you can't get around having to maintain the Servant. If you summon too many Servants, the amount of mana needed to maintain them could drain you dry of mana, causing you to be affected by what is called 'mind down' in this world. In more extreme cases, if may even kill you.".
Both Bell and Hestia paled at that. Hestia of course knew what mind down was before this, though Bell did not. Both, however, could clearly understand what Chiron was trying to emphasise by informing them of this information. And both did not like the idea of Bell dying simply from summoning too many Servants.
"Lady Hestia, may I ask if the spell says anything about how many Servants Bell is capable of summoning?" Chiron asked after remembering about the paper from earlier.
"Oh right! Let me see…" Hestia said quickly in response before grabbing the paper and taking a second to read it. "It says that he can summon seven Servants, one for each of the classes. Though judging by your expression… that isn't exactly normal isn't it?".
"No it isn't, such a thing is unheard of in fact." Chiron said a shake of his head before continuing, "Usually when a master summons a Servant, they only get one. Not just because of the amount of mana to maintain them, but because most of them are only ever tend to be summoned by the Holy Grail so that they can fight in a Holy Grail War, which-"
"Let me guess." Hestia interrupted with a deadpan look on her face, one that was matched by Bell right next to her before both of them spoke at the same time " Is a complex topic best saved for another time?".
"Haha, a pair of fast learners I see! Though I should expect as much from a goddess and a member of her familia. In my defense though, I believe we should focus on the more pressing issue, that is the missing Servant." Chiron said, causing the other two perk up in interest at the mention.
"Right, I should probably use one of these things, right?" Bell asked, rising his right hand up to gesture to the Command Seals on it.
"No, that would be a grievous misuse of their power to immediately call a Servant if it is not a life threatening emergency. Remember, you only get three of them for each Servant, making them incredibly valuable." Chiron said immediately, lightly scolding the boy before speaking again, "Instead, we'll try a different method first. Master, I want you to close your eyes and focus for a few seconds.".
"Um, Aright…" Bell said before doing what his Servant said, closing his eyes and taking a long and deep breath to allow him to focus.
"Good, now focus on me and my voice." Chiron began after a second, while Hestia was watching the exchange silently to the side. "A Servant and a Master each share a bond that connects them between one another. One where the Master is constantly supplying and sending out mana to the Servant. If you focus, you can feel this connection and it can allow you to find where your Servants are. Try to find the connection between me and you.".
Bell narrowed his closed eyes in focus, trying to do what Chiron said felt such a connection between him and his Servants for several seconds.
"I think I fou- no wait, it's going the wrong way… I think it's to the other Servant." Bell said after a couple of seconds once he had found something similar to what Chiron had described.
Chiron blinked in surprise, not having expected Bell to feel the connection between the other Servant before his, but didn't let it affect him and decided to roll with it, "Alright, focus on it even more. If you do that, you should be able to feel their location. Are they close by?".
"Yeah, they are. Really close in fact. Actually, they should be…" Bell began before he raised his left hand up and pointed where he felt the magical energy going, directing Chiron's and Hestia's eyes to where he was pointing as he opened his own… only to find the empty stone floor, "...right there.".
"It was a good shot Bell, but I think you should practice a bit more." Hestia said, giving Bell a comforting smile as she put a hand on his shoulder as the white haired boy's head fell over at his perceived failure.
"Not quite." Chiron cut in as he continued to stare at the spot where Bell had pointed, "It's possible that the Servant is simply in their spirit form, an ability all Servants possess that allows them to hide their presences and lessen the amount of Mana they consume.".
"So wait, the Servant may actually be there? How long has it been there and why doesn't it show themselves?" Hestia asked, quickly looking back to the spot in a slightly worried manner.
"My guess? They've been there the entire time, they may have even been here before my summoning. As to the why, well, I can't accurately guess without knowing who they are." Chiron replied, causing Bell to remember that feeling of being watched when he had been on the way back to the Church.
"So, uh, what should we do?" Bell asked, more than a little freaked out at the knowledge that he had, in fact, been watched that whole time.
"Try telling them to materialize, or exit their spirit form. Depending on what kind of hero they are in life and what class they are, a direct command from their Master should prompt them to materialize." Chiron suggested without moving his eyes from the spot.
"Uh, Alright." Bell said hesitantly before getting up from the couch to stand up and clearing his throat, still not quite certain what he should try to say, "Ahem, um, Y-you can show yourself now!".
Nothing happened for a few seconds after Bell gave his command. All three of them were waiting to see what happened in silence. It was only when Chiron had been about to suggest trying something else did the hidden Servant decide to reveal himself.
It had started as little more than a shimmering in the air, hardly even enough to be noticed by Bell and Hestia. Then a blue light would be produced by the shimmering as it got more intense. A body would form out of the light, a giant, dark form that seemed to hardly fit under the ceiling of the basement, and one that caused both Chiron and Bell to widen their eyes in recognition. Though Bell's were full of fear and Chiron's were full of joy.
Berserker had found his master soon after fleeing the fight with the blonde girl and strange wolf boy, utilizing his spirit form both as a way of escape and to carefully watch his master without being seen. His intention of course was to watch his master to ensure his safety while keeping himself hidden until he had found a way to make it clear that he meant no harm and wasn't hostile to his master. Of course, he had no way of knowing that Bell was going to summon another Servant, let alone it being his old teacher.
The presence of Chiron caused Berserker to have mixed feelings. On one hand, he loved Chiron like a second father, and his wisdom and input was a truly invaluable resource that couldn't be replaced by anything. Plus, he knew fully well Chiron wouldn't hold any hard feelings toward him for what happened and that he held no doubts that Chiron would help him and clear things up between him and his master. On the other hand…
The image of Chiron being struck by the poisoned arrow came to him, followed closely by the image of his teacher writhing and convulsing in agony and misery in his arms. Then finally, the image of Chiron's lifeless body, the pain of the Hydra's venom having been so great he had given up his own immortality...
So he had stayed hidden for just a bit longer as his teacher began to teach their master and the strange girl, which was apparently a different version of Hestia from their world, about Servants. Though he did almost let his presence show at hearing that word, but got a reign on it soon after. However, it wasn't much longer after that until he got a direct order to reveal himself, which forced his hand.
"T-the m-monster?!" Bell cried out in fear and surprise as he jumped off of the couch, inadvertently causing Berserker to once again wince inwardly at causing his master distress. The shock of seeing what he had assumed was a monster he was never going to see again made his brain unable to properly process that said monster was actually his Servant. He had been fully prepared to pick up Hestia and run off when Chiron spoke up.
"Heracles! My, my I never expected to see you here!" Chiron exclaimed in happiness as he got up from the chair for the first time since he had started talking to Hestia and Bell before going up to his old student and reaching up as far as he could, just barely able to put his hand on Heracles' shoulder.
"W-wait, you know what this thing is?" Hestia asked with uncertainty, having jumped back in surprise when Heracles had materialized and had been worried about him attacking Chiron as he approached.
"I wouldn't be a very good teacher if I didn't know who my best student was. Even if his current class has changed his appearance somewhat, there's no way I could ever mistake who he was." Chiron replied, smiling back at the goddess, only for Heracles to shrug his hand off his shoulder and look away from Chiron in a manner that can only be described as uncomfortable. He didn't deserve Chiron's praise…
Chiron frowned at Heracles behavior. He saw that, even with the Madness Enhancement, Heracles was clearly wracked with guilt over what had happened in their lives, and that his presence was only causing that guilt to become all the more present.
"But Chiron, this can't be the Servant! It attacked me in the dungeon earlier!" Bell proclaimed, pointing his finger at Heracles in an accusational manner and causing Chiron to blink in surprise.
"Did you really do such a thing Heracles?" Chiron asked the much larger Servant, with Heracles shaking his head slowly in the negative.
Bell, still thinking that Heracles was a monster, was surprised to give a response like that. He had been about to say something more, had Chiron not cut in just as he opened his mouth to do it.
"Master, I believe this is one big misunderstanding. Please, just take a second to think back to when you think Heracles attacked you. Think about everything that happened and I'm sure what really happened will be clear." Chiron requested Bell.
Bell would fall silent as he did what Chiron asked him, his mind going back to that moment where he had been trapped in a dead end by the minotaur. He remembered closing his eyes in fear of dying. He then heard the roar of the minotaur as it had perceivably been about to kill him, then the roar of Heracles interrupting it- wait…
He didn't think about it due to the heat of the moment, but what had happened to the minotaur? When he had opened his eyes again, it was gone and the only thing he could see was Heracles beginning to turn around to slowly grab him. Wait, now that he was thinking about it, why was it that Heracles moving so slow? From what happened afterwards, he knew that Heracles was fully capable of moving extremely fast.
And the more he continued to think about it, the more he began to realize something odd. In those couple of moments while his eyes were closed he remembered feeling an odd sensation. A sensation that was oddly similar to what he felt when he had summoned Chiron…
"I'M SO SO SORRY!" Bell cried out after a second as everything clicked together and he realized what had happened in its entirety, quickly dashing over in front of Heracles to give a deep bow of apology.
"Master, there's no need to apologize, I'm sure Heracles fully understands why you behaved that way and harbors no ill will." Chiron said, smiling again now that everything had settled.
"Of course there's a need to apologize! I summoned him and he saved my life, but all I did was call him a monster and run away from him!" Bell said, still bowing to Heracles, who was standing as still and as stoic as a statue.
"I'm sure it's alright Master. Even if you did, knowing Heracles, I'm sure he was just happy to know that you weren't injured at all." Chiron said, putting a hand on Bell's shoulder to calm him down.
Bell looked up at Chiron's calm, smiling face for a few seconds before his eyes drifted up to Heracles' face. Since he was not in a fight, he was every bit as still and stoic as a statue, his eyes a dull yellow rather than the burning red that Bell remembered them being earlier. Though, just for a second, he thought he saw the corners of Heracles' mouth twitch upward in a small smile, though it was probably just a trick of the light.
"So, what's with him? You said earlier that his class changed his appearance, so I'm assuming he doesn't always look like a monster?" Hestia asked, bringing their attention to her for a second as she looked up at Heracles with narrowed eyes, finding something about him familiar.
"No, that would be because he was summoned in the Berserker Class." Chiron replied before continuing on to explain what that would entail, "These are Servants who have been driven insane or were filled with rage in their myths, and are given something called Madness Enhancement as a result of being summoned like this. It's a sort of enhancement that increases their physical capabilities at the price of their sanity and reason. As to be expected of the greatest hero of Ancient Greece though, Heracles seems to have maintained some of his intellect and the core of who he is, a seeming impossibility for most that have his level of Madness Enhancement.".
Chiron didn't miss how Heracles hands seemed to tighten at his praise.
"That's quite the title." Hestia said, blinking in surprise as Bell's eyes seemed to shine in wonder, even though they didn't know what Ancient Greece was, being called the greatest hero wasn't a title to be used lightly and they recognized it.
"Though… being a Berserker seems a bit like a mixed bag doesn't it? I mean, that being a bit stronger doesn't seem to be worth the price..." Bell asked after a second, earning a nod from Chiron.
"Indeed. Heracles especially has lost more than he gains through the increase of his parameters. He may be mostly known for his strength, but it was through his cunning and intelligence that he was able to overcome the greatest of his challenges. Though the greatest loss would have to be his inability to use his ultimate technique and Noble Phantasm, Nine Lives. Though I suppose this is probably for the best." Chiron said, shrugging toward the end as he sighed, causing Bell and Hestia to give him questioning looks.
"Okay, putting aside what a Noble Phantasm is or what Nine Lives, since you'll probably just say a topic best saved for later or something, how is this for the best? From the way you've described it, this doesn't seem to be all that good for him." Hestia asked with a raised brow, curious about what Chiron meant.
"Yes, though he may not be nearly as powerful as he would be as an Archer or Saber, him being a Berserker allows us to avoid unwanted attention." Chiron replied, thinking on how to say this, what came next for a second before deciding to be blunt, "You see, Heracles is a demigod, the child between a human and a god. Once more, had he not been summoned as a Berserker, there would've been no hiding his divinity, which had been equal to the Sun god's, even when he was human.".
"Ehhh?!" Both Hestia and Bell cried out in utter shock and disbelief. Even if they had accepted the fact that the gods in Chiron's world were capable of having children, it hadn't occurred to them that one of those children would be summoned. Such a thing seemed obvious in hindsight, but it still had thrown both the goddess and the adventurer through a loop.
Not that either of them believed Chiron was lying to them. Not only did he have no reason to do so or that it was impossible for someone to lie to a god, but now that he mentioned it, they could both feel Heracles giving out the same kind of aura that a god typically had. Though that was only because Chiron pointed it out. They never would've felt it over the monstrous aura that was radiated around him otherwise.
Both were soon knocked out of their stupor once Chiron had turned around and began to take off his armor.
"Uh, what are you doing Chiron?" Hestia asked with a faint blush as Chiron's toned and muscular torso was revealed, prompting him to look back at her with a slightly confused look.
"You need direct access to my back to apply to Falna correct? Or am I mistaken?" Chiron asked, confused as to why they would ask, as if what he was doing was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Wait, are you talking about joining the Hestia Familia?" Bell asked in a pleasant form of surprise, earning a nod from the Archer Servant.
"Of course, I had assumed it would be common sense for me and Heracles to join the Familia. Not only would it be the only way to explain mine and Heracles' strength without revealing our true natures, the only way to enter the dungeon with you, Master, is to register with the Guild, which is only possible if you are a part of a Familia. Or at least, that's what I was informed when I had been summoned through a method that I'll explain another time. Plus I have some theories about the Falna I would like to test." Chiron explained as he finished removing the upper half of his armor.
"Well, when you put it like that…" Bell said with a small embarrassed laugh as Chrion made it seem like it really was the most obvious thing they should do. He had been about to ask why Chiron had wanted to hide what he really was, but common sense was quick to answer it for him. These were both beings from another world entirely, and one of them's mere existence was considered an impossibility. There was no telling what could happen if the knowledge of what they were got out.
"I certainly wouldn't mind Bell having some help in the dungeon, so I don't really have a reason to refuse you. Plus, not that would change the fact that the two of you would probably still stay here." Hestia said as she got up to her feet, not getting a response while she took off her gloves and grabbed a needle in preparation to give the Falna to the two newest members of her Familia.
It wasn't exactly a grand affair like one would expect when someone was giving the blessings of the gods. Instead, it was rather similar to when Hestia had updated Bell's status earlier. She pricked her index finger with the needle enough to draw blood, causing a small drop to fall and land on Chiron's back. Once again, the divine blood caused a reaction.
A "wave" went across Chiron's back until the same hearth like tattoo that Bell had on his back fully appeared on Chiron's. Once it had, the same sphere of blue light materialized above Chiron's back as it had Bell's before Chiron's stats began to appear.
Chiron.
Level 1
Strength: I00
Defense: I00
Dexterity: I00
Agility: I00
Magic: I00
Magic:
Antares Snipe- Fires a laser down from the Heavens with pinpoint accuracy. Does not require a chant to fire, only for the user to point toward the sky. Can only be used at night and once per night. Fires automatically if the user were to die.
Skills
Wisdom of Divine Gift- Allows the wielder to see the flaws in the techniques of others and how to improve upon them and for the wielder to be able easily teach others concepts and skills that he has a solid understanding of.
Mind's Eye (True)- Ability to accurately analyze surroundings and make calm judgment's in the midst of a battle as a direct result of overwhelming combat experience.
Clairvoyance- Limited ability to see the future.
"I've never seen any of these skills! And that spell is incredible! Though… that last bit about it firing if you were to die is a bit morbid." Hestia said as she put the copied status onto another piece of paper before handing it off to Bell so he could read.
"Well I can't argue with that! Though I will admit that it isn't the strongest attack, it's mostly just to hit a weak point if my enemy has one." Chiron replied with a laugh as he began to put his armor back on, "Actually, it seems I was correct in one of my theories.".
"Oh? What would that be?" Hestia asked curiously with a tilt of her head.
"Well, through the Falna, I can feel a slight connection between us now supplying me with magical energy. It's not as much as Masterl is supplying, but it's a noticeable amount and will surely lighten the amount I need from him." Chiron explained.
"Oh that's good! I'm glad I can help! Especially since it'll help Bell in the long run." Hestia said happily as she turned around to give Heracles the blessing… only to look up to see the Berserker servant look down at her while still standing at his full height.
"Ah yes, Heracles, if you could bend down and show your back to the Goddess?" Chiron asked once he noticed Hestia's current predicament, prompting his student to stare at him for a second before doing what he asked and Hestia to send him a grateful look.
"Are you sure you aren't a hero Chiron? You said you were a teacher, but I can't think of many that can come close to you just based on skills alone…" Bell said after reading through the status himself as Chiron finished getting fully dressed again.
"Well I couldn't be a teacher of heroes if I was any sort of slouch in combat now can I? Though, I really am not that impressive when compared to the truly great heroes such as Heracles." Chiron said as he looked over Bell's shoulder to read his status sheet, seeing that all of the parameters themselves were set at zero. Which didn't surprise him considering he had yet to actually earn any excellia with the Falna.
Bell meanwhile, could only mutter out "teacher of heroes?" in disbelief at how casually Chiron said it.
"I don't see how he can be that much better than y-" Hestia said as she began to read through Heracles' status, having already given him the Falna, before stopping mid sentence, something that neither Chiron or Bell missed.
"Uh, Goddess? Is there something wrong?" Bell asked worriedly after she stayed silent for another couple of seconds.
He didn't get a verbal response. Instead, Hestia simply pushed the dome of blue light back into Heracles' back and copied his status onto some paper. After peeling it off, Hestia would turn around, revealing an emotionless expression on her face as she handed it to Bell while walking past him. Once she got close enough to the bed, she quickly slipped under the covers of the bed and promptly began to go to sleep.
The reaction confused both Bell, though Chiron seemed to be amused by it, knowing why she reacted the way she did. Left with no other way to get answers, Bell began to look down at the paper in his hand and read through that status. He didn't even get halfway through the skills before he got the same emotionless expression that Hestia had.
Heracles.
Level 1
Strength: I00
Defense: I00
Dexterity: I00
Agility: I00
Magic: I00
Magic:
God Hand- Ability to regenerate and heal all wounds, and revive from the dead eleven times. All attacks under a certain level and rank are ignored, and also gains resistance to attacks he has encountered before, regardless of if it took a life. (Lives can also be regenerated if given enough time and magical energy)
Skills
Madness Enhancement- Increases Strength, Speed, and Durability to inhuman levels at the cost of mental capacity and Dexterity.
Nine Lives (Sealed due to Madness Enhancement)- Any weapon wielded by the user becomes the ultimate type of that weapon. Adapts and changes based on what opponent is and what weapon is being used. Can range from a series of nine simultaneous attacks at a single target to a hundred slashes launched at the same time capable of destroying armies and fortresses, and beyond depending on what the opponent is. If the target has the capability to resurrect upon death, it is ignored and the target stays dead due to the characteristic of "killing something no matter how many times it resurrects".
Valor/Bravery (Sealed due to Madness Enhancement)- Negates all forms of mental interference such as charms and dazes. Increases melee damage.
Battle Continuation- Ability to ignore fatal wounds and continue fighting.
Mind's Eye (False)- An Instinct to avoid danger that can be honed by experience.
"I… I'm going to bed…" Bell said a second after reading through all of it, in a tone that showed he was clearly just done, before dropping the paper and going to the couch to do just as he said.
All the while Chiron began to laugh in amusement at how they reacted to Heracles' status while the demigod himself stayed in the same position when Hestia had applied the Falna, unmoving.
Early the next morning.
Bell let out a yawn as he woke up. Remembering the events of last night, Bell suddenly lost the early morning daze before searching around the basement for any sign of either Chiron or Heracles. Though the only other living thing he saw was Hestia sleeping on the bed.
"I guess it was just a weird dream…" Bell said as he let out a disappointed sigh.
"Good morning, Master. I hope you had a pleasant sleep." Chiron's voice said, seemingly coming from nowhere, causing Bell to let out a yell of surprise as Chiron materialized in the same manner as Heracles had last night. "I'm sorry for surprising you, though at least now Hestia is awake now too.".
"Yeah, perfect wake up call. Having my child suddenly scream in fear is such a beautiful thing to wake up to at the crack of dawn." Hestia said sarcastically as she threw off the covers and began to get off of the bed, causing Chiron's smile to be that much more full of good natured amusement.
"Why were you even in your… spirit form?" Bell asked as he got up off of the couch, taking a moment to remember the term that Chiron had used the night before.
"Well, as cozy as this place must be for you two, there certainly wasn't any place for me and Heracles to rest after you two had gone to bed." Chiron answered, causing both Hestia and Bell to wince slightly.
"Yeah… sorry about that. I guess this place might not do it anymore if the two of you really are going to stay with us. Where is the big guy anyway?" Hestia apologized, causing Chiron to simply wave it off.
"Do not worry, as Servants, Heracles and I do not require sleep. Though, even if we did, the both of us are used to sleeping out in the wilds, we would be just fine sleeping on the pews or the ground upstairs. As for where he is, Heracles seems to have taken it upon himself to stand guard outside the church, as that has been where he has been since the two of you went to sleep last night." Chiron said, frowning near the end of the sentence, knowing that Heracles was doing so as a way to avoid being alone with him.
"Alright? Not sure why we would need a guard but ok. And that maybe true, it still doesn't feel right to have left you two like that." Hestia said as she went about her morning routine. "So what are the two of you going to be doing today?".
"Well, the first thing that we should do while it is still so early in the morning, is go register myself and Heracles at the Guild building as well as hopefully put out a notice of some sort so that Heracles isn't mistaken as a monster." Chiron answered quickly.
"I guess that makes sense. If we go any later, more adventurers will be out, and that could lead to someone attacking Heracles." Bell mused to himself as he began putting his jacket and armor on, earning himself a nod from Chiron.
"Oh yes, before I forget, Goddess I have a request for you." Chiron began after he remembered something, causing Hestia to pause in what she was doing and to look over to him. "I've given it some thought, I'd like to become the Captain of the Familia with your permission."
The sudden request caused Bell to suddenly look at Chiron as if the man had grown a second head.
"Okay… and what made you pop this up all of a sudden?" Hestia asked before she began to brush her teeth.
"Well, I fully intend to teach Master, and many might think it odd for a Familia's captain to be receiving lessons from someone lower in the chain of command. That, and I wish to help improve Familia's living standards by doing various jobs. If I were the captain, it would allow me more opportunities to negotiate work with others." Chiron explained causing Hestia to give a hum of thought as she thought about it.
"I guess that makes sense, so I'm fine with it. But I'd rather get Bell's opinion on the matter." Hestia said as she finished, causing both of them to look over at the white haired adventurer.
"Oh, um, I don't have a problem with it. I don't really even know how to be a captain to be honest…" Bell said, making it all but official that Chiron was going to be the new Familia captain. "What did you mean to teach me though?".
"I said last night that I was a teacher of heroes, did I not? I see a great amount of potential in you, and I mean to hone that potential as much as I can." Chiron explained.
"Wait… are you saying I could be a hero?" Bell asked after a second as he realized what Chiron was saying, before his eyes lit up in a bright happiness as he looked up towards the Archer Servant.
"Yes, but as any of my students would attest to, the path to be one is a long and hard one… though I'm sure you'll make it." Chiron began with his tone stern in the beginning as a warning before shifting to an encouraging one as he put a hand on the boy's shoulder.
Hestia smirked in amusement at the sight as Bell began to cheer before speaking once again, "So what are the two of you going to be doing after registering at the guild?".
"Well, I'm hoping to visit the Dungeon, both to see Master's style of fighting and to see how it'll react to the presence of Servants. Afterwards, I'll see if I can begin the first training session with Master." Chiron answered as they both finished getting ready.
"Heracles was with me in the dungeon yesterday, and it didn't seem like it reacted to him at all. Well I'm pretty sure it didn't, I did kind of run away from him." Bell said as they all began to walk up the stairs, though he did get an odd sense of foreboding when Chiron said the words 'training session'.
"Ah, that is a relief to hear. I was worried about it reacting to us the same way as it does the gods. Speaking of which, what are you planning to do goddess Hestia?" Chiron asked as they exited the stairs and entered the first floor.
"Well since I'm awake so early-" She paused before glaring at Chiron, who was still smiling that annoyingly patient smile, "I might as well go over to the food cart to see if I can get some extra hours.".
Chiron let out a small laugh at the thought of a goddess working at a food cart, though he found nothing wrong with it or anything insulting about it, it was just a funny thought to him.
They then opened the door of the church, where they immediately saw the back of Heracles, who was right where Chiron had said he had been. The giant demigod didn't turn to face them, only turned his head slightly to gaze at them out of the corner of his eye. Despite knowing that he meant them no harm, quite the opposite in fact, Bell and Hestia still felt just a little bit intimidated by the eight foot giant.
The goddess then said her goodbyes to the group before running off to go to work, leaving the master with the pair of students as the three of them began to head toward the Guild building, after both of them asked Heracles to follow them. For the two weeks that Bell had been living in Orario, he didn't remember a single time where walking through the city had been so stressful. The normally busy city was quite, as it always was this early in the morning, but now there was a sort of tenseness in the air as all of the adventurers and store owners that were out openly stared at the group as they passed, or more accurately at Heracles, his size, appearance, and sheer weight of presence making him impossible to miss.
Bell let out another uneasy sigh as they walked past another group of people without them attacking them. He looked to his left, at Chiron who had waved at them, seemingly unaffected by the tense atmosphere. Bell didn't know how Chiron was handling this so well, but he needed something to focus on something else. He looked around trying to find something to talk about, only for him to look back at the silent statue like a Servant walking behind him.
"Hey Chiron? What is Heracles like when he isn't… like this?" Bell asked suddenly, surprising Chiron.
"Hm, what is he usually like?" Chiron said, taking a moment to think on how to describe how his student usually is. "Well, the first thing that anyone should know about him personally besides his heroic and noble personality, his great mind, and skill as a hero, is that he absolutely hates anything being described with the antonym of possible."
"You mean he doesn't like something being considered imp-" Bell began questioning the odd way Chiron had phrased it before being interrupted by the teacher.
"Please do not use the word around Berserker, Bell." Chiron said as he looked behind him to see Heracles' eyes glowing red slightly and the air pressure having changed just at that singular syllable before returning to normal. Luckily no one was around to see it.
"Wait, why did you call him that? And why did you call me by my name instead of 'Master' like you've been doing?" Bell asked, after recovering from Heracles' reaction, and deciding to follow Chiron's advice on that matter.
"Well it would be odd if I were to call you that out in public wouldn't it? Especially since I am your captain now." Chiron replied before pausing to look around and see if there was anyone else around them before learning in to whisper the rest of his answer. "Servants normally use the names of their classes as a way to hide their identities, since that normally gives away any and all weaknesses they have."
"So you would like me to call you Archer while we're out in public?" Bell asked, understanding Chiron's answer, recalling a few such weaknesses from the stories that he grew up with.
"It's mostly up to you. I don't see anyone knowing who we are or our legends here all things considered, but it never hurts to be better safe than sorry." Chiron said with a light shrug as they continued on.
Bell then opened his mouth, wanting to get back to the topic of what Heracles was like, but was interrupted by a new voice.
"Um, excuse me?" a girl asked suddenly, causing Bell to look over to his right to see a girl around Bell's age with silver hair and eyes dressed in a typical green and white waitress uniform with both her hands out with a small magic stone in the center of her hands. "Uh, you dropped this."
"I did? I thought I had already cashed in all my magic stones yesterday… Thanks ma'am, I really appreciate it." Bell said to himself as he took the stone and bowed to the girl.
"So you are an adventurer right? Are you really going to the dungeon this early in the morning?" the girl asked as Bell put the magic stone and put it into the bag he usually carried magic stones in.
"Well, usually I do, but today, I have to go to the Guild to get the two members of my Familia registered before I can go do that." Bell answered before gesturing to Chiron, who was watching the interaction between the two of them with clear amusement, knowing what the girl was up to since he would've known if Bell really did drop that stone, and Heracles, who was also watching it with no sign of emotion.
The girl then surprised Bell and Chiron a bit by smiling and waving at both of them, showing no signs of fear at Heracles, "They seem nice!".
Bell had been about to question her about what she meant before his stomach growled loudly, causing him to realize he hadn't eaten breakfast that morning. Though that wasn't unusual due to the financial state that his familia was in. It did cause him a bit of embarrassment though due to it happening right in front of a girl.
"If you haven't eaten yet, you should take this." the girl said through a giggle at his expense as she gave Bell a small wrapped up box of food.
"B-but I can't accept this, not from someone I just met! Isn't this supposed to be your breakfast?" Bell stammered out in response.
"Don't worry! I work here, I can always get something to eat when we open." she replied, looking back to the building behind her, which was a large tavern with a sign to the left of the open door saying "the Hostess of Fertility."
"Though if you want to pay me back, how 'bout this?" she continued as she looked back to Bell before leaning slightly and making a cute face at him, "You can come back here for dinner tonight, please? It would make me so happy if you did!"
"Uuuh…" Bell said, not knowing how to respond to something like that, only for Chiron to cut in and answer for him.
"That sounds like a wonderful idea young miss." he said as he walked into her view. "We were probably going to have eat out anyway to celebrate me and my student joining the Familia, especially since we evidently don't have any food at our home.".
"Wait! How do you know that?" Bell asked, not recalling him or Hestia telling him about their food situation.
"I looked around while you and the goddess were asleep." Chiron said, not losing his smile as Bell let out an embarrassed groan at his answer.
"Great! I'll look forward to seeing all of you later tonight then." she said quickly before turning on her heel and making her way back into the tavern
"Before you go, may I ask your name?" Chiron asked before she could leave completely, reminding Bell that though she had given him her breakfast, he hadn't even asked for her name, causing him to blush in embarrassment.
"Oh, it's Syr Flover!" she asked, giggling once again at the sight of Bell going red before disappearing into her place of work.
The Guild Building, soon after
The rest of the walk to the Guild building after meeting Syr was an uneventful one. Bell tried to ask more questions to Chiron in between pointing out different landmarks to them as they walked past them, but most of their attention was on the growing number of adventurers. So far, none of them had made a move toward Heracles, which Chiron guessed was because they were in the city and that they were with the giant of a man. Had Heracles been in the dungeon alone, Chiron held little doubt that many, if not all, of them would've attacked Heracles.
That wasn't to say he wasn't one to count his blessings while he could.
It wasn't long until they had reached the Guild building. Chiron looked over the building as they approached and entered the building, impressed with the architect of its build. Though he supposed that it was only nature that it looked like it did since it was the main headquarters of what was the most influential organization in the entire world, so it needed to impress whoever looked at it. Though he doubted Heracles truly cared in his current state of being.
Once inside, Chiron looked around it, seeing the many adventurers and guild workers going about their business. So far, no one had noticed them or Heracles entered as they were caught up in their own work.
"Miss Eina!" Bell yelled out as he ran over to one of the booths to where he saw his Guild advisor, who currently had her back turned to him. Chiron and Heracles quickly followed after Bell as he went up to the booth. Chiron since she was the reason they were there, though Heracles did so simply because he was still under orders to follow his master.
Eina Tulle was a beautiful woman, Chiron saw as she turned around from talking with one of her coworkers. She had pointy ears from her elven heritage, though they weren't as long as other elves Chiron had seen on the way here, hinting that she was only half elf. She had shoulder length brown hair and a set of kind emerald eyes. She was dressed in the standard uniform of the Guild, giving her a professional air. She was truly a beautiful woman, it was such a shame to see her feature warp into one of fear as she turned around.
"Oh Bell, what are you doing here this ear- LLY?!" Eina said as she turned to face Bell, only to let shriek out the last bit in fear as she looked up and saw the giant and monstrous form of Heracles looking down at her standing right behind the smiling Bell. The shriek caused everyone in the building to look over to its source, only for everyone to finally take notice of Heracles.
"...it's a bit of a long story." Bell said as he scratched the back of his head and both he and Chiron let out some awkward laughs, with the Archer Servant waving at everyone to show that everything was alright.
I probably spent too much time this chapter having Chiron explaining things and concepts I barely understand, but he is a teacher, it's kind of his thing to explain things to people who don't know or understand everything.
For those of you questioning why Bell has more than one set of Command Seals, it never made much sense to me why the protag of FGO only has one set of Command Spells for the hundred or so Servants rather than a whole bunch for each of them like a Ruler or Kirei Kotomine outside of Gameplay logic and Chaldea's summoning system differs heavily from the standard system. Plus, it's my fanfic, I think I'm allowed to bend the rules a little bit if I don't push it too far to outright break it.
Take most things I do with Heracles in this fic with a bit of salt. Since we don't know all that much about how he is as a person besides "great hero" and "kind" because we've only seen him as Berserker or Alcides/Heracles Alter (Since fuck you Alcides that's litterally what you are), most of this will come down to my personal interpretation of him, such as his hatred for the word "impossible", which will be explained down the line. Same applies to the description of Nine Lives, while most of it is more or less me paraphrasing how it actually is described in cannon, the "and beyond" part after Anti-Fortress might just be me looking into it too much and slight bias for Heracles since he's my favorite mythological hero and second favorite servant. (Also yes I know Heracles uses Nine Lives in FGO, but that's the same game where Karna spams Vasavi Shakti without breaking his Spirit core and giving up his armor.)
Speaking of favorite Servants, sorry to disappoint some of you, but no, not all of the Servants will be Greek, though I was tempted to do so admittedly. They'll be a collection of my favorite Servants in each class minus one.
Also don't get used to how fast this chapter came out and these kinds of notes at the end of chapters. As those of you who know about Kaiju Huntsmen can attest to, I have a bad habit of taking awhile between chapters, and I only felt the need to do so to explain some of my weirder decisions before I get a ton of reviews asking about the things that I do.