Chapter 3

Apparently, the good thing about Rivira was that its inhabitants tended to overlook specific details most of the time.

Had it been any other time, Drake would find that kind of ignorance annoying simply because of the sheer stupidity of people.

So, as far as he knew most of the Adventurers didn't care too much about how the Abnormal Goliath had been dealt with, just that it was killed. On the other hand, some thought that Tsubaki managed to deal with it swiftly seeing that she barely got any scratch.

That would have been the best case scenario. The one where Drake wasn't mentioned or associated with the Monster's defeat at all.

Unfortunately, there was a small number of Adventurers that saw him handling the Goliath as they went down the stairs to Rivira. This was confirmed by Bors, who had managed to see him in action as well.

After the event he had approached Drake and Tsubaki to settle the matter of the loot and to speak about the whole ordeal, including the whole situation about the blonde man coming from the lower floors.

Drake honestly didn't care at that moment.

There were too many questions, doubts and possible 'If's' to have a proper talk, so he left it all to Tsubaki, who had a similar idea seeing his current state. Surprisingly enough, the man had accepted the story of him waking up in the Dungeon rather easily, and even more so when mentioned that the blonde wasn't from Orario, which would explain his lack of knowledge about the city.

By the looks of it, abduction cases inside the Dungeon were a thing. It made sense, if you want to get rid of someone without a trace, throw them in a literal monster's den and they will never be heard from again.

He was also grateful to Tsubaki, seeing as she omitted the part that it was his presence which triggered the spawn of the abnormal Monster Rex. But he could feel Bors's doubt seeing that he had come to the hypothesis that Drake and all the weird behavior in the Dungeon were connected somehow… but he didn't press on it, which Drake truly appreciated. It probably had to do with the fact that the blonde helped them, who knows?

"Can you please drop the depressing face?" and here they were now. "I have seen dying Adventurers with a better attitude than yours."

"Not depressed, just thinking."

They were inside Tsubaki's room back at the inn sitting around a table filled with lots of food and drinks, courtesy of the owner since the rumor of Tsubaki dealing with the Abnormal had reached their ears.

As a result, tonight's food was on the house.

"About Bors? Don't worry, he will keep what he knows to himself, unless it somehow compromises Rivira… or him." She shrugged. "The rumors will be a little problematic though. Even if most won't believe the sources, there might be Adventurers that will want to pick up a fight just for their own amusement, annoyed that someone unheard of achieved such a feat, or just for the sake of confirming that the information is legit."

Out of the previously mentioned, for obvious reasons the third one worried her the most. But apparently Drake didn't seem to care, even if she knew he was listening to her.

Too bad she didn't care for his attitude, either.

"I don't know what's gotten into you, but we have to talk about the Silverback in the room."

She barely noticed the small twitch on his right eye.

"Not now Collbrande, we can talk all you desire later."

"Wow, back to last name bases." She snorted, even if her mood was decreasing thanks to the blonde sitting at the table. He was up to something. "And here I thought a near death experience had brought us closer together."

No reaction.

'Well… I tried.'

"What exactly happened back there?" She wanted to lift the mood before heading down to business; but it was impossible. "You denied being a God-"

The grip on Drake's glass tightened a little.

"And I believe you."

The only reason she chose that option was solely because Drake would have been sent straight to Tenkai for using his arcanum. But that wasn't the case, because what he used wasn't arcanum, and because no God or Goddess would dare to face a monster head on like he did.

'Then again, no sane person would have… unless your name is Ottarl.'

But the only doubt in her mind was the Dungeon's behavior.

"I can't help you, if you don't talk to me."

She got a reaction from him, but not the one she wanted.

"You only say that because you want to assess whether I am a threat or not." His reply came from a snort. "Don't think I have forgotten one of the reasons you approached me in the first place."

She mentally sighed.

"That's true. However, I am not lying when I say that I legitimately want to help you."

His slit eyes stared at her for the first time since they sat down. But instead of anger and disbelief, they were filled with boredom and tiredness.

He opened his mouth but seemed to hesitate at the last second and instead gave a snort before regressing to his previous state.

"If that's true, just leave me alone. You already did good on your part, so I will fulfill mine and then we will be settled."

She frowned.

'It almost looks like…'

"The hell we are. I still haven't helped you find a way to get home. Besides, you think surviving with how little information I gave you will be enough, not to mention I am literally the only person you know who is willing to help you."

'Dwarven vow number forty-five: Always live your words worth.' Both thought simultaneously as Tsubaki leaned slightly on the table.

"Which brings me to the following; what are you planning to do exactly? The moment you reach the surface it will be unknown territory for you. So who better to guide you than-"

"I will just leave."

'He's giving up.' She thought.

His words were plain as they were simple. And yet, Tsubaki could feel the edge in them.

She was about to open her mouth, but Drake beat her to it.

"I don't know where I will go. Just that I will leave the moment our deal ends. It would be for the best, believe me." He replied before emptying his glass in a single motion.

"But why? The Dungeon?"

He slammed his glass on the table before answering. "Among other things. I don't know If you noticed, but I am pretty damn sure my little stunt earlier will have your little deities on high alert. So, the most logical decision would be to leave before some of them manage to sense my presence."

Her eyes narrowed. He basically admitted there is something about him special enough to alert the Gods.

"Besides," her train of thought suddenly crashed. Her mind registered the change instantly, not only did his voice change to his usual serious tone, but the atmosphere around them felt significantly colder. No, it was more like another presence wrapped her without making any kind of contact. "You seem to forget I hate deities."

She hadn't.

Holding grudges against a full Familia, their deity included was nothing new. And yet somehow, the hate Drake emitted towards them seemed to surpass every grudge she has seen or felt on her own.

"It would be like a predator walking around their natural enemy." He placed his elbow on the table and rested his chin on the palm of his hand, with a boring expression planted on his face.

She definitely preferred the depressed Drake to this. Not because she was afraid, but because the current blonde in front of her looked like a real asshole.

"So, tell me, Tsubaki Collbrande, do you still want to help me? Even knowing I might just as well damage the way you live?"

He was serious. She knew it, there was no hesitation nor doubt in any of the words that came out of his mouth.

But still-

"Yes."

If Drake was supposed to show any kind of reaction at her answer, he failed to do so. If anything, he looked even more bored.

"I swear, if you are going for the 'You are a good person' trope then tell me right now so I can knock myself out."

And yet she could feel the little tidbit of annoyance in his voice.

"Not at all. You said you are a realist, that kind of pessimism isn't something a 'good person' would have. However, you aren't a 'bad perso'-"

"Tsubaki Collbrande, Captain of the Hephaestus Familia. Level 5. Age 37."

She raised an eyebrow at her sudden interruption.

She was about to ask why he was saying relevant information about her, but then it hit her. She never told him her level.

"When you were little, you hit your hands with a hammer during your first attempts at forging a simple sword. Despite being a heavy drinker, you always throw a comment near the end about how 'this doesn't compare to a good cup of sake'. Despite admiring your Goddess, you can't help but feel annoyed whenever she repeats the same stories about her failures over and over again. Also, you feel a great amount of the same feeling when the name Welf Cr-"

"Enough."

The side of his lip moved slightly upward. Not that he should, no one would like to be in his position as any trace of the friendly Cyclops was long gone with an ominous scowl to replace her usual smile.

"How-" she tried to ask, but nothing came out as she recalled the event right before she cleared the way to Rivira. Every single negative emotion of the Adventurers seemed to have been erased, even Drake himself threw a comment about it. That still didn't explain how he knew so much about her, just that it was probably something similar to what he did with all that despair.

"Did you really believe you and I crossed paths by accident?"

The sly smile he kept giving her at that point could have been seen as provocation, she knew that. But something didn't seem right with this whole situation.

"I needed someone who not only had a lot of information, but that was also nice enough to share them with me. Because let's face it, finding someone like that on this floor is rather hard." He raised his opposite finger and pointed at her. "And guess who fits the bill? I knew it was a risk considering you were well known and strong. But hey, sometimes risks are worth it."

He was mocking her, it was clear. Right in her face as well, but something still didn't feel right to her.

"And I even took the liberty of warning you, remember?"

'Let's make this perfectly clear here. I am using you to my own convenience to gain something out of this.'

His words echoed in the back of her mind. He did say those words, but she also remembered something else, and as she did, something escaped her lips.

"Meh?" Drake asked as a very noticeable twitch was seeing on his right eyebrow.

Tsubaki simply shrugged in response and leaned back as if having figured something out.

"Say, Drake." She smiled. "Why did you take the hit from the Goliath for me?"

Silence.

Complete and utter silence.

That was all Tsubaki needed to confirm her suspicion.

"Back when we first met. You told me you were using me. But," he adopted the same position Drake had been using before as she pointed at him, the same sly smile on her face. "You also said you were brutally honest… you can't lie, can't you?"

Her confirmation came in the form of a low 'tsk' that caused Tsubaki to burst out laughing and finally touch her food.

Everything Drake had said up until now had been the truth.

Yes, he was using her.

Yes, he was a danger to the Gods. Or at least he considered himself as one.

And yes, he even mentioned that he could just as well destroy the way she lived.

But those were just facts.

He never said he would willingly go and murder Gods on a frenzy. In the same way it could be said she was using him as well, not to mention he could have abandoned her and the rest like some tools who were no longer useful when the abnormal appeared and saved himself.

With his skills, Tsubaki knew he could have escaped. Yet he stayed, and he fought.

As for the last statement, he just didn't want to trouble her. Because he knew her presence would only make things difficult in the future.

"You can't answer my question because you acted on reaction, and the thoughts of saving me as a person and not a mere tool you could discard never crossed your mind at the moment." His body language seemed to relax. "You can add an arrogant tone to your statements, but you can't expect to pull the full 'piece of shit' role just like that. Make no mistake, you are an asshole, but only a little."

Her victory was defined the moment he leaned back on the table and sighed.

He really hated her type.

Not only the ones that were perceptive or knew how to read people. But the good-hearted kind, because those were the fools he couldn't trick.

"How the fuck are you so good at reading people?"

She shrugged, enjoying her food as if it was her price. "Blacksmith, remember?"

He didn't need to hear the explanation.

As a Blacksmith you have the responsibility to arm up the people that came to you. One not only needed a good eye in order to see what the person needed, wanted and what suited them best, but also to know what kind of person the blacksmith was entrusting their creation to.

"My brother was the same." He muttered to himself.

"You say something?"

He sighed and waved the thought with his hand, and he ignored the woman stuffing her mouth with food with enthusiasm.

It was a shame he was about to ruin it.

"I killed a deity."

He wasn't testing her. That was never his intention, he just wanted to push her away to not involve her with him anymore than she already had.

She knew that. That's why she was so persistent and the reason why Drake figured out he would just have to try harder.

"I killed a deity before arriving here."

If something that he thought was considered a taboo here didn't push her away, then nothing would.

"Why?" her voice didn't tremble, but he could feel the hint of concern in her voice. "Do you have any idea what fate awaits you when you die?"

He fought the urge of raising an eyebrow. So far, Tsubaki had shown she had a pretty good damn eye to notice little details, and that didn't apply to just forging.

From her suggestion, it was safe to assume a Deityin this world would do something to whoever killed him or her.

He would have said something among the lines of 'Spiteful bastards', but Drake had no right to preach about it.

"All of the acts against you were done solemnly because you are a singularity, an anomaly and abnormality, something that shouldn't exist by the mere fact that you were born."

Tsubaki gave a confused look before figuring out the meaning of his statement. "The God you speak of-"

"Told me those very same words the day we first met."

She didn't want to press.

She shouldn't.

Tsubaki knew Gods were selfish.

The dark age of Orario was the living proof of that. And yet, everyone seemed to accept the damage which had been done after those events. Just like any other whenever the action of a God caused some type of collateral damage.

Why?

Because Gods were a core part of their lives, their culture, their everything. If not for them, humanity would have been done for after the age of Heroes.

So, she was honestly curious. What exactly could a God have done to make the person in front of her hate them enough to kill him?

"I am not like you, or the rest of the Adventurers. I won't ever bow myself to a deity or even stay put against their stupidity." He continued, his voice calm as ever. "If the world bites, I will bite back until I have taken everything from it."

She frowned.

There was no way she could argue against that kind of resolve. But that was beside the point.

With that last statement he was reaffirming his stand that he would retaliate against anyone who dared to provoke him. And that also meant that there was an implicit question in the air.

'Knowing all of this, are you still willing to help me?'

She mentally sighed.

In this debate they were having Drake Aurion held the higher ground.

However, there was still something that bothered her.

"As you can see, it would be for the best if the both of us just-"

"The reason why that God was against you," she interrupted him in a heartbeat, she wasn't one to hesitate and this wasn't gonna be the time to do it either. "Was it the same reason the Dungeon acted that way against you?"

He couldn't lie.

And he made abundantly clear that he wasn't a God.

So, what was so unnatural about him that would make two entities go against him?

At least it looked like she managed to hit the jackpot, because for the first time since she had met him he looked unsure whether or not the answer was the correct decision.

"… Why the hell are you so adamant on helping me? Our deal still stands, so there's no reason to keep pressuring me at all. Also, we both agreed that me staying would be the equivalent of a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off the moment one of your deities decides to pull some crap on me."

He knew stating facts that she was already aware of wouldn't shake her resolve, but he still wanted Tsubaki to be sure of what was at stake before hearing her answer.

Too bad the answer he got was one he was already really familiar with.

"Dwarven Vow #2."

Just like that.

He lost.

Every argument, reason or action he could have done to make her hesitate were gone, or better said, he just didn't have it in him to act at all anymore.

"Fuck you." He replied, as a victory grin adorned her face.

"Didn't take you for the sentimental type." she asked, because right now Drake was resting his back against his chair watching the ceiling as if remembering a wonderful memory.

Unfortunately, he needed to return to reality.

"… I have killed, blackmailed, tortured, crippled, and destroyed lives for the sake of my Revenge." He looked at her, deadly serious. "And something even worse because of my own selfishness." He unconsciously rubbed the back of his right wrist under the table.

"Having said that, are you still willing to help me?"

Her look was blank.

She knew his words were not meant to make her doubt. Because as stated before, although he wasn't a good person, he wasn't a bad one, either.

The world wasn't as black and white as most tended to believe. And she thought this was the perfect case for this situation.

Also, this little confession of his told her something else.

Despite how cold he was; Drake Aurion hated being alone. Him opening up to her was the proof of it.

"Not going anywhere."

He sighed.

"You asked for it… although I may not consider myself a deity. I am the son of one."

'… huh?'

Even if it wasn't his intention, he had rendered Tsubaki speechless.

"…Huh?" she thought out loud this time as she recovered from her frozen expression. "… that's impossible, though?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Gods can't have children. That's a fact… a universal one at that."

He narrowed his eyes.

'So, the same rule also applies here.' Drake thought to herself while the gears on Tsubaki's head went to overdrive mode.

"But you can't lie. All of this until now would mean nothing if you could, not to mention the Dungeon's behavior would make sense… but still…" she rubbed the side of her head in annoyance.

"The same rule also applies to my world, as a matter of fact it is because of that irregularity and some other things that deity despised me, seeing one of his domains was nature itself."

She sighed. "That… would make sense… huh?" she blinked. "Did you just…?"

He nodded solemnly.

One of the hardest parts of this whole situation was finding people who wouldn't look at him as if he was crazy, not that he wanted to tell people in the first place. Luckily, it looked like he was already able to breach that little obstacle. Too bad he couldn't pass over the fact that the person in question was a little unhinged in her own right.

"I knew it!" she softly slammed her fist on the table, making his eye twitch at her outburst.

"I call bullshit." He muttered.

Unfortunately, she wasn't lying. He had given her a lot of hints to at least think about that little theory.

"Who the hell doesn't know what a Familia is for crying out loud?" she rhetorically asked as she also recalled it looked like he didn't know what a Silverback was either.

It all made sense now.

"… I have so many questions." Tsubaki replied with an incredulous voice as Drake rubbed the bridge between his eyes.

"Of course you fucking do."

Her doubts were not only about him. Because right now, Tsubaki the blacksmith had also made her appearance.

'Different world meant different materials and probably even different methods of forging.' Tsubaki thought to herself as she recalled Drake mentioned crystals named Dust, which would explain why she has never heard of such a stupid thing.

"Not going anywhere, by the looks of it." His voice stopped her train of thought. "But only if I get to do some questioning of my own."

"Seems only fair."

They were on this together now, even if one of them was still reluctant about it.

But he at least knew the unhinged individual in front of him was worth trusting… His only worry was her Goddess. Although he could worry about it later.

"There are a lot of differences between my world and yours," he started explaining while Tsubaki grabbed a barrel of ale to fill her glass. "One of them is the diversity in races, so things like elves or Pallums outside of fantasy books."

She raised an eyebrow, but he waved his hand as if telling her 'Don't ask.'

"However, different contents tend to make the information unreliable. So this is something some of my brothers and I tend to discuss the few times this kind of subject is brought up… Elves-"

She rolled her eyes as she drank her glass.

'Of course the first topic would be the most 'elegant' race of-'

"Lewd or Not?"

It looked like Tsubaki at least had the decency of looking away as she spat her drink. In her defense, there wasn't anything else to do in that situation, especially since the blonde asked in such a natural tone.

A tall, red haired man with two black-reddish horns walked through a large hall made of stone.

Several glyphs illuminated the walls, or at least tried to do so as some of them were blinking on and off repeatedly.

And the one responsible for it, someone that decided to drop unannounced.

"I have returned." The man replied after crossing a door.

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

It looked like the space after crossing the door was experiencing the worst energy problems as he could only see a few parts of the space illuminated.

So, seeing everyone in the room was a little bit impossible in the darkness… except for his kind.

"No." the man walked past the gargoyle looming in the darkness. "But I did confirm what I wanted."

The creature made a low growl as the sound of flapping winds approached him.

"How is he?" the man asked of the harpy that landed next to him. "He says he's recovering thanks to those blades. But it looks like he's struggling."

A sigh escaped his lips as they stood in front of another door. "Thank you, Ray." He grabbed the doorknob and entered the room.

"So?"

"He appeared on floor fifty-six." The man answered the moment he entered the room and approached another individual holding two blades; one white and the other black, both giving a faint glow that went on and off. "It also looked like he was assaulted on that very Floor. I found ripped humanoid monstrous arms on it and signs of a fight; his Aura was all over the place."

The second person snorted at the comment of the arms. "Fucking classic. The red head perhaps?"

"Most likely, the arms were that of a female despite their visible muscles." The man walked around the table and sat on a chair to stare at the person he was addressing.

"Even if he didn't intend to, he managed to topple over one and a half years of work."

The second person snorted. "That's putting it lightly, Adam."

Adam Taurus narrowed his eyes at the person he swore his loyalty to.

"I lost the authority I had managed to obtain on the Dungeon the moment he appeared, not to mention its entity managed to siphon most of the divine energy I possessed. Which was used to summon something big on the upper floors."

Adam nodded.

"An irregular Goliath. It looked like it was dealt with by a high-class Adventurer, but we both know better."

"It's gonna take more than one big monster to get rid of him." He chuckled softly before silence took over, but there was an obvious question lingering in the air.

"What now?" Adam asked. "You lost all the authority you had over the middle floors and below and were forced to retreat here. Not to mention that the one person who wants you dead more than anything decided to drop by."

"Believe it or not, the situation is not as bad as it looks." Adam raised an eyebrow. "Out of everyone we know, and out of all of the Guardians, Drake is the most logical one out of all of them. Once he finds out what we are trying to do, he will think about it. Best case scenario, he stays out of our way."

"And his ever-burning hate for you?" Adam raised an eyebrow, knowing full well what their biggest obstacle was.

"He already fulfilled his Revenge, so there's no reason for him to engage me as I am right now."

"… I call bullshit." Adam's response made him laugh out loud. Because he agreed profoundly seeing it was only a possibility, a very low one at that. "And what of your hate towards him?"

The eyes of the Great Spirit sitting on the other table glowed for a moment before stopping. "It's there. But it's not as big as before-"

"You better never tell him that to his face." Adam interrupted him, seeing as he knew what the Spirit did to the blonde throughout the years, only to then say something like what he just heard.

"Sadly, it's the truth. The fact that whatever authority I had over nature in the Dungeon disappeared the moment he arrived means he's no longer something completely unnatural."

The Faunus forced himself to not run his hand through his face in exasperation. Because he knew his lord was trying to be as optimistic as possible… but when it came to Drake Aurion….

"Besides, he might hate me." The Spirit stated. "But last I recall, you and him parted on good terms."

A phantom pain invaded his chest as he recalled the moment a blade ran through his chest and consequently twisted to land the final strike against him.

"… Even if you are right, and he decides to keep his word… what are we gonna do when he knows we took his stuff from the Shadows?" Adam inquired as he gestured to both blades on his Lord's hands.

"Inconsequential." Adam moved his eyes to the side to see a black fog approach him as it took the form a black sphynx cat with purple outlines and yellow eyes. "We needed most of what he had at the moment. It was for a good reason."

"Hate to break it to you Tenebrea, but he's not gonna care. Even our Lord agrees." Both looked at the spirit, appearing somehow pale at the consequences of stealing Aurion's stuff… and food.

"… Too much Cola and sugar is bad for the body anyway." The cat-like creature replied as the others sighed.

"We are screwed on that front… speaking of which." Adam saw the lips of the Spirit move slightly upward, giving in an ominous feeling as he did. "Who do you think is gonna get screwed first, the whore or the clown?"

"Are you kidding me?'' The Faunus raised his voice. "You know how he gets with arrogant people, and deities on top of that just makes it worse. And you want to make a bet about it?"

There was a small pause before Adam continued. "How are you so sure he's gonna do something? He's smart. If anything, he's gonna try to live peacefully and keep a low profile."

The Great Spirit Ratatosk snorted.

"They think we slept together." Drake said as they walked up the stairs to the entrance of the Dungeon.

"You are not the only one with good fucking hearing so shut it." The blacksmith replied grumpily before looking over her shoulder to give her Familia members the bad eye in order to shut them up completely.

"You have so much fucking audacity to blame me. I only asked a few questions; you went overboard on the other hand." He replied as he watched the bag under her good eye.

"It's your fault for not stopping me… how the hell don't you have eye bags under your eyes anyway?"

And she still kept asking.

"Sleeping is a luxury to me; I am just used to this." He replied nonchalantly, although some genes were at work as well.

"Doesn't need a God's blessing to pull bullshit, apparently has infinite like stamina, can put things 'in the shadows' like if it was his personal inventory among other things… your skill set is bullshit."

Drake simply shrugged. "Jealousy doesn't fit you."

"Not jealous, asshole. Just thinking how useful they are, you would be the ultimate supporter with that last thing."

Drake's eye twitched at the comment. "I don't know why, but I feel offended by that statement."

Tsubaki snorted as they finally exited the Dungeon, and officially entered Orario.

"Well…" she gave a step before turning around with spread hands. "Welcome to Orario… please don't make a mess of things while in here."

Drake would have flipped her off had it not been he was admiring the environment.

Clean air, no energy pollution, no loud city noises, almost no negative emission, and-

"No fucking traffic." Drake thought out loud and kept looking around while Tsubaki gave orders to her Familia members. Only to stop abruptly as his dragon-like eyes widened before they narrowed dangerously.

"I don't know if you have forgotten, Adam. But leaving aside brothers and family, I know him the best."

Drake kept his hands in his jacket pockets and turned around slightly to look at the top of a massive tower that Tsubaki referred to as 'Babel'.

"So let me remind you:"

The eyes of the blonde glowed as he focused on the top of the tower in the same fashion he did to address its entity of the Dungeon on the bottom of it.

"Monsters are unforgiving."

Drake's mouth moved slightly upward before returning the glare he was feeling on him with the same intensity, as if looking down at the deity atop from below.

"Dragons never yield."

"Hey, you coming?" Tsubaki called him. Had she not been so tired, she would have immediately noticed what he was doing… and to whom.

"Coming." He turned around and made his way to her before looking over his shoulder at the top of the tower one last time.

"And Drake Aurion bows to no one."