Chapter 22
Liliruca Arde hated Adventurers.
And her current target was no different despite how well he had been treating her; arrogant, greedy, and above all else, full of himself. However, her own eyes had been witness to his prowess in the Dungeon. Had he been one of her usual targets, she would have given up due to no weeks of planning or studying her target bear any truths.
It was only because of her God's sudden interest in her Boss that she went along with this, never mind the small fortune she had managed to gain.
And yet, for some reason, some deity up there seriously had a twisted sense of humor of making the world place in her hands nothing less than a high-class weapon forged by Tsubaki Collbrande herself.
The fates were certainly cruel, seeing that her intentions were none of her usual ones.
And it was due to that same weapon, that Liliruca Arde was now running through the streets of Rivira. No, she wasn't running for dear life because she was trying to steal the weapon. On the contrary, she was trying to protect it from her current pursuers; people she knew very well, her own Familia members.
It had happened a little after her Boss and the Cyclops had left. She had noticed a rather small number of her Familia members approaching her, walking through the ranks of Adventurers crouching on the ground to pick up the various Valis she herself had thrown before to bribe the whole floor as per her Boss's instructions. So, it was quite normal for them not to notice the moment they began to give chase.
Her God had made sure to give the direct order to the whole Familia not to interfere with what she was doing; this happened right after he himself had witnessed Zanis Lustra making inquiries.
But of course-
'Lili knew Lord Soma's order would be for naught!' she knew it was all futile when it came to the greed of that one single person.
She continued running, panting in panic on the empty streets as she noticed another group of her Familia waiting for her, smirks clear on their faces as they waited for her. The Pallum in disguise gritted her teeth, opting to run into an alley. Her mind and resolve remained focused as she reached the end of the alley, only for it all to fall apart the moment a big dark figure stood at the exit.
"… Lord Canoe," Lili muttered in a low voice as Canoe Belway stepped into the alley. Lili embraced the wrapped weapon as she instinctively turned around, only to see the other exit had already been blocked by her pursuers.
"Lili, Lili, Lili." Lili tensed as she heard the heavy footsteps of the raccoon man approaching her from behind. "Why do you always have to make things so-" the man suddenly stopped as Lili suddenly turned around to pull her crossbow out of her cloak and aim straight at Canoe's head, only to be swiftly kicked against the wall. "-difficult?" he asked, seeing as the weapon fell onto the ground, it's wrapping slightly undone.
"I don't know what suddenly got into our God to drop all the production of Soma. But I speak for all of us when I say that has been affecting all of us." He said with a scowl, grabbing her by the collar of her cloak to lift her against the wall. "And all because he decided to show some unnatural interest in a certain someone." That's why Zanis had given the order to dispose of her if the opportunity appeared. "Hopefully, he will lose all interest once his main source of information about his target mysteriously disappears," he snorted. "Hopefully, he's gonna close himself in his quarters and start making more Soma." He grinned, finding pleasure in her suffering.
"But, never, in one of a million chances did we expect to get a weapon forged by the Cyclops herself in our grasp!" he laughed. "This will surely make up for last month's losses; and all thanks to you, Lili."
"Bu-but Lord Soma-" she struggled, trying her best to let her words out despite the pressure around her neck.
"Lord Soma will not know what's gonna happen here." He snorted. "This is the Dungeon Lili, Adventurers die every day and are most likely never found until days, weeks, months later, or even never." He finally let her go, leaving her to cough on the ground as he looked at his companions.
"Take her to the lower floors, break her legs and let her to the monster's mercy." Many snorted at the last part.
"And as for you." Canoe grinned as he went to pick up the weapon, only for Lili to gather all of her courage to stand up and jump towards it, picking it up after rolling on the floor, and quickly unwrapping the cloth.
"Lili, it's futile." Canoe said calmly in between laughs as they calmly watched her unsheathing the finest katana they had ever seen.
"That's the Cyclops for you." He replied with a whistle. Then he unsheathed his own sword as Lili raised the weapon, turning from side to side as if warning them not to get closer; but all it did was humor them.
"Have you ever even used a sword before, you stupid Pallum?" her gaze focused on Canoe, walking at her with all the calm in the damn world before taking a very relaxed posture.
"Go on ahead then, I will be your sparring partner." He taunted her, waiting for her to make her last pathetic move to save her life. He eyed her legs and hands, both trembling, before looking at her teary eyes until she finally released a desperate cry, charging at with a sloppy swing. Canoe simply smirked as he swung his weapon upward, mentally laughing as he saw his own weapon preparing to parry Lili. He couldn't help but find the whole thing hilarious, even when Cyclops's blade managed to cut through his own without any visible effort.
'… huh?' his next thought came after the fact, just mere seconds before the blade Lili held went through his chest in a diagonal cut. All of the members of his Familia stopped laughing, trying to process what they just saw; it was like Canoe's body was made of butter.
They mentally denied the fact, but it all came to confirmation the moment Canoe's upper part slid off his body, falling into the ground and leaving a massive pool of blood to form into the ground.
"What the fuck!?"
Someone shouted everyone's collective thoughts, all but Lili's. The young Pallum couldn't help but stare with a frozen look at what used to be a Level Two Adventurer, cut down with such ease.
'… Just what the hell am I holding!?' she thought in panic as the trembling became worse, but there was nothing to do about it as she saw another Adventurer charging at her.
"You bitch!"
She panicked, making her swing the blade again, severing the arm of the man with ease as blood splashed on her. By this point, the Adventurers seemed to be more panicked than her due to the lack of understanding of what was happening. Still, even so, they charged at her in fear, leaving Lili no other choice but to swing the blade like a hyperactive child with her closed eyes, ignoring the screams and the sound of fallen body parts until she didn't hear anything at all anymore.
She slowly opened her eyes, to see the alley had been painted red, with several limbs and some lifeless bodies on the ground. She quickly turned around from side to side at the remaining Adventurers, being a little surer of herself as the thought of 'actually making it out alive' crossed her mind.
She was still scared, and deep down deeply mortified seeing it was the first time she had personally killed someone instead of just leaving them to their luck in the Dungeon. But she was at least a little positive she could make it… at least until she heard a very deep voice coming from above.
"Fight eternally, indestructible soldiers of lightning: Caelus Hildr." Lili's eyes widened as she saw several orbs of lightning rain down all around her, killing all of the remaining Adventurers as their screams were heard only by Lili.
For a second, she couldn't help but sigh in relief; gathering all of her strength in her legs to not fall into the floor. But even so, she managed to move her head up to see who decided to help her, only for her eyes to widen as she realized she hadn't been saved at all; it was quite the contrary.
She had never really met them, but she heard of their appearances. This was something she quickly recognized the moment she stared at the two pairs of cold eyes looking down at her.
Both were cloaked; the first one was under a very refined white cloak that hid most traits of a blonde elf with red eyes before a pair of glasses. The second one was covered by a black cloak, with white hair and green lime eyes.
White and Black Knights of Freya Familia; Hedin Selland and Hogni Ragnar.
Both Elves dropped down on the alley, each from a different side; giving Lili no way to run once more and trapping her between them.
Hedin narrowed his eyes as he looked at his footwear, scowling at the sight of stepping on blood.
"Give us the weapon, Pallum."
Lili gulped, trying to find the courage to think straight and speak. "Lili isn't a pa-"
"We never gave you permission to speak, vermin." Hogni interrupted Lili, pointing his black sword at her.
She didn't know what to do.
These weren't low-level Adventurers that were scared like the ones that assaulted her not even five minutes ago. No, these were first-class Adventurers, and members of the most dangerous Familia in Orario; waving the sword in her hands like a dumbass was going to do nothing to them.
"Don't make me repeat myself, Pallum." Hedin got her attention, giving a step forward. "Drop the weapon and begone, otherwise we-!"
*Tap!*
Hedin's eyes widened as he felt someone putting their palm on his head. The royal Elf watched straight at his fellow Familia member, whose expression was the same as his; completely caught off guard, even if Hogni had been watching in his direction, and yet he didn't notice whoever was now placing their hand on the blonde Elf.
"Who dares-" his words died in his mouth as the unknown individual grasped the Elf's hair as if he was a ragdoll before forcing him to turn around to receive a strong headbutt, breaking his glasses in the process. His head was then forced down to receive a knee straight to the face before his aggressor let go of him, only to receive a swift kick to the face.
Lili couldn't help but watch with widened eyes as Hedin Selland was sent flying to the other side of the alley. Her eyes then slowly drafted to the newcomer in question, and she let out a small gasp in surprise.
His clothes were different, he was a little bit taller, his hair was spikier to the side, the color of his eyes was a slightly darker tone of green, and the tattoo on the back of his right hand was a Six and not a Zero. But even so, she couldn't help but see how much the newcomer looked like her Boss.
He walked closer to her, tossing the sheath of the blade to her feet before walking past her.
"Who dares? Who are you to interfere with our Goddess' holy task!? Identify yourself, mongrel" Hogni Ragnar shouted, making the blonde sigh as he left a tired smile form on his lips while rubbing the side of his head before replying.
"I am just a rather amazing Guy."
'And there it is!' All of his brothers stated in unison, some more annoyed than others at the sight of an introduction that has been done on more than one occasion.
Truth be told, the situation was fucked up beyond all repairs. They didn't need to hear it from Drake to know Soma Familia would try to do something to Lili the moment she was left alone. That's why Drake had left them to take care of the problem, but they had also been told to only intervene only after she had run completely out of options.
Guy, who had been the chosen one to manifest among the seven, was going to intervene right after she had literally sliced through her problems. However, he and the rest couldn't help but stop to ponder the moment they saw two cloaked men, both identified through the Guardian's eyes as members of Freya Familia thanks to the Valkyrie symbol hanging above them.
This led to one question that led to many more among them: 'How did they know about the swords? Was someone spying on their brother again? But who?'
However, all of those inquiries would be pinned for later, seeing as they now had to deal with two individuals that were supposed to be First Class Adventurers… but among all else, they have to reach a very important decision.
'Ok… how are we gonna baptize these assholes?'
Guy mentally snorted at Luke's question, seeing as Drake had pretty much made it a thing to give names to everyone he didn't like. And since he wasn't there, the honor of the task was up to them.
"And as for you two," he gestured at both cloaked Elves. "You seem to be putting too much effort into trying to rob a poor defenseless girl."
Hedin scowled, rubbing his face as he tried to stop his bleeding nose. "She just murdered various Adventurers."
Lili flinched, seeing as she was still coming to terms with what happened not even five minutes ago.
"In self-defense. But that's not important right now." Guy narrowed his eyes. "Tell me, what does Freya plan to do exactly by stealing a weapon made by Tsubaki Collbrande?"
To their credit, neither of the Elves flinched at the mention of her Goddess. "Goddess Freya? Neither I nor my associate is part of her Familia."
Not just Guy, but even Lili couldn't help but make a blank at Hedin's statement.
'… Are these assholes really assuming we are outsiders and may not know them?'
'Most likely.' Flynn said, replying to Luke's question.
"Are you sure? Because your partner over there just mentioned a Goddess." He gestured to Hogni. "I assumed you were a member of that whore's Familia."
"How dare-" Hogni's words died in his mouth the moment Hedin made a gesture with his hand.
"I would suggest you refrain from insulting a Goddess. Even if she isn't our-"
"Whore." Guy interrupted him mercilessly; making both Elves grit their teeth while Lili's jaw dropped. But Guy, Guy wasn't done there.
"slut, cunt, strumpet, harlot, woman of the street, wench, tramp, cocotte, bawd, hussy, solicit, demirep, vixen-"
'Vixen is not an insult.' Flynn said with a neutral expression while Guy just continued.
'It is if the person in question doesn't have fox traits.'
"Enough! I will no longer stand for another insult towards our Goddess!" Hedin mentally cursed, seeing as Hogni had not only ratted them out, but was now pointing his blade at the newcomer.
"So, she's your Goddess!" Guy clapped his hands together in excitement before his eyes narrowed with a scowl. "I wonder if we should send her another gift of appreciation? Because it clearly seems the two shovels from last time weren't clear enough a message."
And that was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Both Elves recalled the night their Goddess's face had suffered a 'fatal' injury to her face, making all of her children enraged; calling for the blood of the ones responsible. But the Goddess had given the explicit order of not seeking any kind of vengeance in her name.
And her word was the law.
However, both Elves came to a sudden realization at that moment. They were on a mission to retrieve one of Tsubaki Collbrande's weapons, therefore they would have to eliminate any kind of interference in their way.
"Strike forever, indestructible general of lightning/By the power of the demon blade, bring eternal destruction." Both Elves aimed at Guy as they started chanting their spells, making the blonde smirk before he turned around to take the weapon and carry Lili over his shoulder before their chanting stopped.
"Varian Hildr!/Burn Dain!" Lightning and Fire were shot in the middle of the alley, but not fast enough as Guy used the walls to jump onto the roof of another building.
The Sixth Guardian stood over the edge with a smirk as he carried both Lili and the weapon; giving each of the Elves the middle finger to taunt them.
"I would recommend you seize this now. It will only be worse for you in the long run." Hedin stated, his words being the opposite of what he wanted.
"Ok Bootleg Barbie. Put your money where your mouth is first." Guy jumped to another building, not having any other reason to stay as a willing target to the two Elves.
"Um…"
"Yes, Lili?" Guy asked, jumping from building to building at a moderate speed to get out of the city.
"Lili's thankful for saving her, but Lili isn't sure who she's thanking right now?"
Guy laughed awkwardly. "Didn't you hear my introduction? You can call me Guy."
He could almost feel the girl's narrowed eyes as he carried her over his shoulder.
"As for who I am exactly? I am one of your Boss's brothers."
Lili adopted a surprised expression. "… Lili can see the resemblance."
"We are not blood-related though."
"But you look so alike!"
Guy gave a rather depressing laugh; it clearly wasn't the first time that statement had been made. "Wait until you mean Flynn."
"But, Lord Guy-"
The blonde internally cringed at the title of Lord. Even if he was also Noble, he couldn't help but react that way.
"Lili's curious as to why you are here."
"Did you really expect D to leave you alone with a weapon that might gather unwanted attention?"
She didn't say anything, not really expecting that answer.
"However, I didn't make it in time when you needed help. My apologies for that." Guy smiled smoothly, the words leaving a bittersweet taste in his mouth.
"Oh no! Lord Guy doesn't need to apologize." She frowned, thinking the whole thing with her Familia was solemnly on her. But still-
"But… Lili can't help but think something's wrong. Why and how did Freya Familia know about Lady Collbrande's weapons?"
"Not gonna deny it." Guy scowled as they finally entered the forest. "That's been bothering us as well." He could sense her tensing on his shoulder. "Relax, you are off the suspects' list…" he frowned, making a short list of the people who knew about today's weapons testing. "It's the other three I am worried about… but we have to deal with the pair of tweedles chasing us first."
"… Lili doesn't like those odds." From her perspective, it was understandable. They were both Level Six Adventurers, the margin right before the mountain called Ottarl; and one of the very few in number. So, from her perspective, she doubted Guy fit in that margin.
"You have nothing to worry about." He finally landed on an open area in the forest before carefully placing Lili down while he crouched down on one knee. "Go hide over there," he pointed at various trees "And whatever happens, do not interfere, got it?"
Lili just stared at the smiling man with tearful eyes before she ran to the forest.
'Now then…' he stood up and stared at the blade before partially unsheathing it to reveal a clean silver blade with runes on both sides. 'Let's see with what I am working exactly…' his eyes narrowed as he felt a tingle sensation on the handle while little currents of electricity ran through the edge.
'Lloyd… is this what I think it is?' His eyes widened slightly in recognition of the feeling in his hands.
'I can't give a full assessment since the blade is partially sheathed, covering the rest of the runes. But yes, it's certainly what you are thinking.'
Guy whistled as Lloyd continued with his assertion.
'Not bad for a first try…I would give it a Seven out of Ten… really, not bad for her first-'
'I am sorry.' Luke suddenly interrupted. 'But mind filling us who clearly can't read runes or figure them out on your nerd talk?'
'Only because you don't know the subject doesn't make it nerd talk' Yuri shared his thoughts, making the redhead scowl before Yuri beat him to it. 'They are here.'
Guy sheathed the blade and looked to the side to see the two Elves landing a couple of feet near him.
"I see you recognize your efforts were futile." Hogni pointed his blade at Guy. "Now give us the weapon to fulfill our holy duty."
Guy sighed, rubbing the side of his head. "I think you get it all wrong, eight-grader." Hogni couldn't help but raise an eyebrow out of pure confusion at what he was just called. "I decided to stop seeing how apparently I am way too fast for you dolts."
Both scowled before each took a stance. "You really seem to have a sharp tongue." Hedin narrowed his eyes dangerously. "I hope your skills are as sharp."
Guy just stared with a serious gaze before it faded with a shrug, making Hedin charge with a thrust thrown with the bladed part of his weapon.
The Guardian moved his sheathed weapon slightly in front of him, his expression remained lacking any emotion as he watched in slow motion how the edge of Hedin's rhomphaia was a few millimeters away from the sheath before it was inclined slightly to the side to let the edge move forward and then move it back to parry his attack. But despite how little strength was put into such an action, the results were enough to not only push Hedin's weapon back but also make the Royal Elf lose his footing.
Hedin's eyes widened as Guy maintained his calm expression.
"I have been meaning to ask something to someone from your Familia." Guy suddenly said as he moved his head back to watch in slow motion how Hogni's sword thrust the place his head had been in. The blonde then quickly threw his free fist to the side to punch the Dark Elf straight in the face.
"You all talk about the devotion and love shared between all of you towards your Goddess." Guy continued as the Elves quickly recovered and started to perform the same kind of coordinated attacks as the one just now, making him supposedly focus on the one currently assaulting him while the other went to his blind spot. "But does she really reciprocate that love to all of you equally?"
'… Are you going where I think you are going with this?' Zelos couldn't help but ask.
'Absolutely.'
"Of course not." Hedin jumped high in the air and went for a stab at the very position Guy was standing. "Lady Freya has no reason to share her love with those who don't deserve it!" Guy jumped back a fair distance, seeing as Hedin's strength in his attack could ruin his footing. "Only those who get her favor are worthy of her love!"
Guy raised an eyebrow while still airborne as Hogni quickly took the chance to jump in his direction with the tip of his sword aiming at him. However, Guy noticed the slight smirk on the Elf's lips before his instincts kicked in, making him move his sheathed sword in front of him before making a quick motion to parry something that wasn't visible to the normal eye.
"How!? Do you possess some sort of devil sight to see through my Victim Abyss!?" Hogni shouted as Guy used his newfound momentum to deliver a spin kick that the Elf was barely able to block.
"No. Just good instincts."
Hogni's sword: Victim Abyss.
An ominous black longsword, which is actually a cursed weapon. Its curse extends the length of the blade invisibly in exchange for consuming more of Hogni's stamina, so that its victims are unable to tell the blade's true length. However, even if the eyes are fooled, other senses might be able to perceive the trick if they are well-trained.
"Now, where were we?" Guy made a ninety-degree turn to avoid Hedin's slash that had been coming from the back. "Oh, right." He quickly moved his foot forward to make him trip and roll on the floor close to where Hogni was.
"So, you are saying that you have to compete among your peers to gain her favor alone, and that's all you get?"
Hedin groaned as he quickly stood up, throwing his cloak to the ground. "Her favor is all we need!"
"Let me get this straight." Guy crossed his arms before pinching the bridge between his eyes, as if trying to understand a hard equation.
"You guys probably fight each other to near death, make questionable things for her like a common grunt, and all you guys get in return is a damn pat on the shoulder and a sweet-voiced 'well done!' ?"
"If our beloved Goddess so desires it, then so be it," Hogni replied this time, making Guy sigh in disappointment.
"So all of that and none of you gets to fill that glory hole?" He said in a rather disappointed tone. "I can already see a picture of your lot in the damn dictionary if someone were to search the term 'simp'."
They didn't understand his words, mainly because their brains had been stuck processing his previous words. Soon, both of their faces started to become red while veins started to pop out as their expressions shifted into something very Un-Elf-like.
"YOU INSIGNIFICANT PEST! HOW DARE YOU REFER TO OUR GODDESS AS SOME COMMON WHORE WE USE!"
"I don't know if you noticed, but I called her that and many other things like…ten minutes ago."
"ENOUGH!" Hogni raised his free palm, aiming at Guy. "BY THE POWER OF THE DEMON BLADE, BRING ETERNAL DESTRUCTION!" magic started to gather as Guy started to crack his neck, not caring about what Hogni was doing. "BURN DAIN!"
A massive torrent of fire was shot towards Guy, who none of them noticed smirking as he spread his arms to the sides, as if waiting for a warm hug.
Lili couldn't believe what her eyes were seeing.
For yet another moment, it looked like she might actually make it out alive of her current predicament. But even so, she couldn't believe what her eyes were seeing.
The blonde who identified himself as Guy was not only fighting the Freya Executives but mocking them. However, her heart rate increased tenfold the moment he started to provoke them by insulting their Goddess without a single care in the world. And it only got worse as she saw him just stand there to be swallowed by the flames of Hogni Ragnar's magic.
Her legs were telling her to run, seeing as all hope was probably lost at that moment. But she was too terrified to do so.
Therefore, all Liliruca Arde could do right now was just stare as the flames increased and increased to the point it looked like it was going to extend to the trees. But something soon caught her attention, the flames in the center started to diminish little by little until Guy's body was visible.
Her eyes widened brightly as she finally noticed he was absorbing the flames.
Realization struck her, all of his taunts were to cause this very event; Hogni Ragnar using his magic on him.
All of the flames were finally absorbed into his body as a red flame-like energy surrounded his body while his blonde hair shined brightly.
"You…" Hedin growled as he saw how Hogni's flames were now completely gone, staring at the man who was insulting their Goddess with a new sense of dread as he opened his eyes. Long gone were the dark green orbs, now replaced by a pair of fire-red eyes. "… what the hell did you do?"
The corner of Guy's lips simply moved upwards, his red Aura faded completely as he raised his free hand to make a come-at-me motion. "I just ate."
Gailardia 'Guy' Galan Gardios.
Semblance: Phoenix Body.
The Ability to absorb flames to gain more power; the higher the intensity and quantity the better. It used to be needed to activate his Aura, and he actually used to feel the experience of his whole body burning. However, none of those things happen any longer since his pact with Drake.
Hedin gritted his teeth in desperation as he pointed his weapon at Guy. "Fight eternally, indestructible soldiers of lightning, Caelus Hildr!"
Several orbs of lightning were shot in Guy's direction.
The Guardian leaned forward before he started walking without any worry visible on his face. He smoothly moved through the projectiles; right, left, down and so on. From his point of view, all of the incoming attacks were just too slow. But Hedin didn't see it that way.
"It looks like you're only able to absorb fire!"
"You are really simple-minded, aren't you?" Guy's taunt seemed to have no effect this time, as Hedin kept casting the same spell over and over, leaving Guy little room to maneuver.
The Royal Elf quickly gave a glance to his comrade. Hogni, who understood his one offensive magic would not work, nodded, understanding Hedin's plan, and quickly circled the area around Guy. He waited, swiftly calculating the one area where the orbs of Lightning will strike sooner, leaving an opening for him to take advantage of.
And as they expected, Guy was able to avoid the attack by stepping to the side and then quickly moved to prepare for the incoming barrage of orbs, leaving his back wide open.
Hogni didn't take any chances and used the full effect of his cursed sword, making it as long as possible and completely unnoticeable to the normal eye. He dashed with a thrust, holding his breath and words to not alert the blonde. But even so, his eyes widened as he darted his head to the side, avoiding the invisible edge before hastily moving to the side to strike Hogni's face with the tip of the blade's sheath.
"And as for you." Guy eyed his right side to see Hedin falling down on him with the intention of performing another slash.
During this whole time, Guy had been holding the sheathed blade with his right hand; his thump never leaving the blade's guard to take advantage of the perfect moment. He calmly placed the blade a little over his head in a horizontal position and only unsheathed it slightly, right at the position where Hedin's weapon was about to strike.
Meanwhile, Hedin couldn't help but start feeling a sense of victory. He had used Hogni and stopped casting his spells for this chance alone, and even if the blonde managed to parry again, it wouldn't give him enough time to avoid the last barrage of orbs sent his way.
"It doesn't matter if you manage to parry this! It's-"
"You seem to be mistaken; I am not parrying your rhomphaia." Hedin's eyes widened as he saw in slow motion how his blade was easily cut through by Guy's immobile katana. "I am breaking it."
It didn't make sense to Hedin.
He had been the one attacking, he had the strength, speed, and momentum in the attack while Guy just simply left his blade static; and yet, it was his weapon that was broken… no, it wasn't broken, it was cleanly sliced in two.
High-Frequency Blade.
In theory, it was a blade reinforced through a powerful alternating current and resonating at extremely high vibration frequencies. This oscillation weakened the molecular bonds of anything it cut or came into contact with, thereby increasing its cutting ability. Back in Remnant, it was one of the Kingdom of Atlas prides seeing they were the first ones to produce them.
Tsubaki had really overcome herself with the use of Runes with this creation, especially since its flow in Aura was outstanding.
'Just what did the damn Cyclops forge!?' Hedin thought in ire as Guy moved his left hand to grab Hedin's collar and tossed him to where he had previously been; in the middle of Hedin's own magic attack while Guy dashed out of it.
Hogni just could grit his teeth before throwing his cloak away.
He closed his eyes and started to focus. He was already starting to feel fatigued due to the use of his cursed weapon, but this was their last hope if they wanted to complete their Goddess's mission.
"Unleash, king of the magic sword. Compensation of reason, offering of fresh blood. Until the end of the banquet – slaughter."
"Oh." Guy watched from the side in mild curiosity as he saw the dark Elf chanting. He moved closer to the pretty beat-up Hedin, prompting Guy to kick the Elf out of their way seeing Guy knew he was gonna get busy.
"Dáinsleif"
The magic was cast, leaving behind a subtle wind around Hogni before it was dispersed as the Elf opened his eyes; his gaze completely different from the one before.
Compared to the immature Elf with an eight-grader syndrome, the individual in front of Guy seemed more like a veteran warrior; and it was proven; because the Elf dashed forward without saying a single word.
Hogni's attacks become more certain… no. It was more accurate to say his whole fighting style became more refined and smarter; not going for vital spots but rather attempting to go for attacks that were harder to block or cause minor wounds despite the Elf being already fatigued. But this was due to his spell, to ignore everything else and change the person's very being in order to be the perfect warrior.
Guy came to this conclusion, being familiar with the state of being too deep into focus and ignoring everyone and everything else around.
"You really are unlucky-" The blonde calmly closed his eyes. "- for being my opponent."
Guy's right hand suddenly moved to his left side to parry a side strike with his sheath. Hogni simply watched coldly as he quickly recovered his footing to do a frontal summersault attack, expecting Guy to block the attack due to the sheer power behind it as a Level Six.
But instead, Guy moved to the side at the very last moment before delivering a sidekick that the Elf was barely able to avoid by jumping to the side. It was at that moment that the Elf subconsciously noticed something, his opponent had also changed his way of fighting. Or rather, it was more accurate to say he finally shifted into the offensive; the proof of it was in the fact that Guy was not going straight for him.
The Guardian went for a swift [Palm Strike] with his left hand, forcing Hogni to duck to the side and try to take advantage of the new opening given to him. However, had he been in his usual state of mind, his eye would have widened the moment he felt Guy's left hand grab the back of his neck.
It was at that moment that the 'perfect warrior' realized the previous attack had been faint, avoiding it had been the intention so the blonde could take a hold of the back of his neck before forcing the Elf down for a knee strike.
"[Beast]" The Elf heard a very soft mutter as his face made contact with Guy's knee. However, he didn't expect a heated blast of energy in the shape of a burning red phoenix to take place in that very instance, making him fly away and fall on his back.
Subconsciously, very subconsciously, the normal Hogni Ragnar cursed himself for his current predicament. Because the first thing the 'Perfect Warrior' saw when he opened his eyes while being on his back was the 'Amazing' Guy standing next to him already going for the next strike.
"How… how is this possible?" Hedin put a lot of effort into transmitting his words. Yes, he was in pain after receiving his own attacks, and being kicked to the side while unconscious also hurt a lot. But his current struggle to talk might as well be related to the three people sitting on his body.
"Not to give Mister Narcissist the benefit of the doubt, but I am also curious?" Tsubaki Collbrande asked, sitting to the side while Drake sat in the center with Lili next to him.
They had arrived a little over five minutes ago, making Lili rush to her 'boss' and cling to him for dear life, despite her clothes being stained with very fresh blood. Even now she was embracing him while he patted her head under her clock.
"… I am gonna take it that Elf has some sort of focus or self-compelling magic to change his mindset?"
Tsubaki nodded after pondering for a bit. "Yeah, at least that's what rumors say. As a matter of fact, Hogni Ragnar's recognized as one of the best swordsmen in Orario. Guess that spell has to play a hand on that."
"Huh… an opponent that can only use fire magic and change his mentality to fight better… fuck you guys are unlucky," Drake stated, seeing how little by little Hogni Ragnar started to lose more and more footing in their fight.
"Yo- You say that as if he could counter Hogni's spell." Hedin scowled. He understood the fire part seeing he saw the other blonde absorb it. But what about the mental state?
"Not really… Guy just has a better and more natural way to change his mindset."
"… Huh?" Everyone around him exclaimed, not really understanding what came out of his mouth.
There were two types of Artes users despite the specializations.
Those who relied solely on their instinct could be considered Strikers. While those who tried to use their intelligence or reason were technical fighters.
Of course, there was always the case that there was a clash between the two methods due to Aura being a power that relies on emotions, enhancing every attribute of the user; including their instincts.
However, those who could control both would reach a state that Arte's users called-
"Perfect Balance. The combination of Instinct and Intellect; discarding everything unnecessary to the user to focus only on the task at hand, making the body only use the necessary force to deal with it." Drake sighed while Tsubaki awed like a little child.
"Can you pull that as well?"
Drake groaned. "Not under normal circumstances." Tsubaki got the hint, he would have to tap into the divine territory to be able to do that. She guessed it had to do with his instincts inherited by being part Dragon, having no control of them sometimes.
'Like wanting to kill something on the spot.' She thought, recalling how it became hard to hold the urge of tearing Freya apart the first time they met.
"Also, under the same normal circumstances; I am not able to beat Guy in a fair fight." Her eye widened, as did Lili's and even Hedin's; recalling that Drake had been responsible for breaking Allen's leg over a month ago.
"So what, he's some kind of genius?"
"He would say he's more hard working than anything." He replied with a sigh, having to deal with that type of response from Flynn as well. "And yet he's the youngest in reaching the Rank of Master at Fifteen."
Tsubaki couldn't help but whistle, as they saw the blonde in question parrying Hogni's black sword before grabbing Hogni by the collar and throwing him over his shoulder. The Elf bounced on the ground, only to be beaten by a straight [Beast] being delivered straight to his face, knocking him out in an instant.
"And that's that." Drake stood up from Hedin, as did the rest. Leaving the Elf behind as they approached the second blonde, who seemed to be breathing in and out as got off the state of Perfect Balance.
"So… how did your weapon testing session go?" Guy asked, smiling at his brother. "Seven out of Ten." An angry Tsubaki forced a smile at Drake's reply. "What about you?" He gestured at the High-Frequency blade in Guy's hand.
"Outstanding."
"… Why can't you be more like him?" Tsubaki asked, giving him an accusatory glare, making the blonde snort.
"Smiling too much and being nice is bad for my health."
She rolled her eye before noticing Guy standing in front of her with an extending hand. "This is the first time we have officially met; Gailardia Galan Gardios, but you may call me Guy. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"And well-mannered as well," she eyed Drake. "Unlike someone standing close by." The blonde flipped her off as Tsubaki shook Guy's hand. "A pleasure…" Guy raised an eyebrow, noticing Tsubaki's wonder-filled gaze. "… Aren't you the one that used to be afraid of women?"
A vein popped on Guy's forehead as Drake started to laugh in a rather out-of-character way.
"This is what you get for being nice," Drake stated, only to be grabbed a second later by the collar and pulled closer to Guy.
"Only because you keep telling people about my former phobia, you bastard!" The Sixth Guardian started to shake his body back and forth in a fit of controlled anger while his brother simply smirked behind his scarf.
It was really unnatural to her, seeing Drake far more easygoing with someone else other than her. But she supposed it was only natural seeing they had known each other for years. Although, she had to admit it was also a relief though, seeing another face of that stubborn blonde she called her friend.
"This-" the eyes of both Guardians narrowed as they looked to the side to see Hedin struggling to stand up. Both blondes just looked coldly at the Elf, all semblance of humor gone.
"This-"
"Drop it, bootleg Barbie." Drake decided to take the initiative, seeing Hedin was in too much pain to say anything. "I already made your Goddess realize what I am more than willing to do if I was messed up with. And yet she still persists in being a daft cunt."
Hedin gritted his teeth, not even having the strength to defend his Goddess.
"She better start behaving, otherwise we will have no choice but to pay her a visit." Guy finished the conversation, making both of them turn around as they started walking away, with Tsubaki gently pulling Lili by the shoulder.
"This-" but even so Hedin just had to have the last word. "This isn't over, Aurion!"
Hedin really didn't notice it, because they were all showing nothing but their backs. But if he did, he would have seen the brothers with the deadliest expressions on their faces Tsubaki had ever seen, while the blacksmith just scowled. Because his last words had managed to raise a lot of red flags, only Tsubaki knew why.
'How did they find out his last name?'
"Cheers." Both Guardian and Blacksmith swallowed a small shot of alcohol and slammed the glasses on the counter.
"You two look like someone you knew just died," Mia said, cleaning an empty glass as she prepared herself for the night's rush hour.
"Someone's about to," Drake muttered as he served himself and Tsubaki another shot while Mia just shrugged.
Guy had taken the opportunity to say his 'Goodbyes' soon after they left Hedin, only to fade away from the physical plane when he was outta sight; making Drake's shadow finally return to him.
The travel back had been really silent, mostly due to Lili's state. Guy had taken the chance to tell him what had happened to her, not really expecting her to end up taking someone's life in self-defense. Even if she had already been responsible for taking someone's life due to her machinations in the Dungeon or her Familia, it was the first time she herself had performed the deed.
It was completely natural for her to be in such a state, so he would give her some time before he would confront her regarding the whole thing with her God. Especially now that he had another problem on his mind.
The fact that Hedin knew his family name was something critical. Because he only needed his two hands to count the number of people who knew. This was important because it was also related to how Freya Familia knew about Tsubaki's weapons.
At first Guy and the rest had thought about the possibility that Drake and the rest were spotted entering the Dungeon with the weapons visible to them. But that theory was thrown out the window when the potential of the person that revealed his name was the very same that tipped Freya about the weapons.
"Adam and Ratatosk, perhaps?"
Drake instantly shook his head at Tsubaki's suggestion. "Ganesha is one thing, but I can't see either of them having any kind of working relationship with that Familia; not now, not ever."
"Well… then we have no choice but to start drawing suspects… which are not many."
The people that knew his Family name, without including Hephaestus and Tsubaki, were Ryuu, Syr, Anya, Chloe, Anya, Mia, and May.
And this was because Tsubaki had decided to say his name during his first days since he arrived in this World. However, he had asked them not to start saying his last name to anyone.
But the ones that knew about the weapons testing were only: Ryuu, Syr, Lili, and Mia.
The Pallum and most of the waitresses were scratched off the suspects' list.
"Shit." Tsubaki thought out loud at the realization Mia might be the snitch.
"Scared?" Drake asked, a little amused.
"You might consider Gods and many others as nuisances and annoyances without feeling fear or whatsoever. But that thing over there-" she pointed at Mia, who was clearly able to hear what she was saying and had enough patience to not ruin her own counter. "- scares me."
"You realize I can hear you just fine, right?" she asked with a forced smile and a tick mark visible on her forehead.
"Absolutely," Tsubaki said in a heartbeat before she averted her gaze as the Dwarf got closer to them.
"Why the fuck don't you tell me what happened this time and be done with it?" her scowl made Tsubaki look over to Drake, who took his glass before answering.
"You are the one that got her attention, you tell her."
She mentally cursed before proceeding to tell Mia their problems. Her response was rather accepting.
"Well fuck," Mia said, serving herself a drink after hearing Hedin and Hogni had moved on Freya's order. "So, you are suspecting I snitched, huh?"
"Pretty much."
Mia sighed, not really feeling angry seeing his reasons for suspecting her had some logic; and the fact that she was the former Freya Familia Captain didn't help things either.
"You may not believe me, but it's not me."
Drake simply stared boredly at her before looking at Tsubaki. "She's clean."
"Huh? Just like that?" she asked, rather surprised by his response.
"I am not lying when I say I can see through bullshit." His eyes glowed for a mere moment. "You also don't have traces of being charmed, so you are off the list."
"… Huh," Mia said, not expecting to resolve her issue right then and there. "… You realize I will be using you as a lying detector now, right?"
Drake snorted. "Not surprised in the slightest."
"That would leave two names on the list."
Drake narrowed his eyes as he subtly eyed Ryuu. "She isn't charmed either, and that Elf has a strong sense of morality, so to just go and say my name to the four winds…Not really her character. She's also had a poor poker face when she's been caught in the act."
Mia nodded in agreement while Tsubaki pondered on the last name. "That only leaves-"
"Why the sour faces?" The three turned their heads to the Syr Flova, tilting her head cutely to the side. This made Mia scowl, and she decided it was time to start cleaning some glasses, while Drake and Tsubaki stared at each other.
"I already verified two names."
Tsubaki's eye twitched at Drake's statement, pretty much making her the interrogator for this occasion. But she knew it was mostly because he hated dealing with Syr.
"Syr, mind if I asked you something?"
Syr blinked, putting on a confused face. "Well, if it's in my power to answer then-"
"Sweet then." Tsubaki interrupted her, making a near-invisible twitch appear in Syr's eyes. Tsubaki didn't hate the waitress, but her overall cheerful attitude really got on her nerves.
"Did you by any chance go to Freya and started saying things you shouldn't have? Like what Drake and I had planned for today?"
Syr couldn't help but stare in confusion as she slowly shook her head. "No. I can't say I have."
Drake's eyes narrowed as he looked about her head.
True/True
"She's clean." Drake pinched his nose, seeing as all of the suspects were already put into consideration.
"Huh." Tsubaki found herself pretty much in the same state.
"Did something happen?" she asked, only for Mia to shake her head.
"Leave them be, they are dealing with something important at the moment." Mia made a gesture with her head, signaling to prepare for work. Syr simply nodded and retreated to the kitchen, a satisfied smile on her face.
"I will also be going now, tell me if you want to order anything." Tsubaki nodded with a sigh as Mia left.
"So, what now?" Tsubaki asked, looking at Drake for an answer, but the blonde seemed to focus on something else. It was a couple of seconds later she realized he was having a chat with his brothers.
'Are you absolutely sure?'
He could feel Zelos and Guy nodding.
'I didn't fuck the psychological spectrum of almost every Women in Remnant for shits and giggles… Ok I actually did-'
'Dude, focus.' All of the brotherhood said.
'And Guy didn't culturize himself with every source of media to get off his fear of women for nothing, either.'
Guy rolled his eyes.
'Do not believe the nice girl act. I don't know how she managed to fool the Darkness. But I can assure you she's lying on some sort of spectrum.'
Drake sighed. "I just wish the sources came from something more than your experiences and investigations about the opposite sex."
"Anything good?"
He shook his head before looking at Tsubaki. "Keep being wary of Syr."
She snorted. "Could have guessed that one on my own."
"Also, you might need to tell Hephaestus Freya knows I am connected to her Familia somehow."
The Blacksmith ran her hand through her hair in exasperation. "Well fuck… at least I am gonna be able to knock her out of that happy cloud she's been in." She said, remembering her Goddess was still in a rather good mood due to the fact that Drake gifted her something she truly appreciated.
She almost felt bad for her Goddess, almost.
"And what are you gonna do in the meantime?"
He started to serve another drink to both of them. "First, finish dealing with whatever Soma's interest in me is; crossing my fingers it's not another Aeshma situation."
"You and me both… then, cheers," she raised her cup. "For our fucked-up situation."
He raised his own glass before both drank their drinks. Despite not really suffering the effects of the alcohol, he couldn't deny it tasted rather sour due to the situation.
"Nothing of Canoe and his group yet?"
A Soma Familia Adventurer shook his head, making Zanis Lustra internally growl at the lack of communication from his 'scout' party.
Seeing as Soma had pretty much ordered them not to interrupt Lili in her job; whatever it was. Zanis had decided to take matters into his own hands in finding out the source of his God's current, and rather off-putting, obsession.
Yes, Gods usually got obsessed with some poor mortal and would usually try their best to set their claws on the poor bastard. The best examples that came to mind were Freya and Apollo. But even so, for Soma; whose faith in his Familia and humanity had faded, to then become one of those obsessed deities… it was just so out of place.
Therefore, he decided to give Canoe the task of stalking Lili to find out about Soma's VIP. And then, when all of the information had been given to him, plan it so said person would never see the dawn of the next day. The best possible scenario of this would be his God growing detached from everyone once again, to then set his efforts in making his beverage once again.
And if his God asked him if he was involved, he would say the truth; he wasn't involved, but only because there were many people outside their Familia who specialized in that kind of task.
So, all he had to do right was be patient and-
"Captain!"
"What is it now?" He sighed, watching as one of his goons entered dashing through the door with a rather big bag over his shoulder. "As I said before, we are out of Soma. I can't take your money, even if I wanted to." Zanis stated, serving himself a shot of cheap wine as the rather panicked Adventurer dropped the bag.
It was at that very moment that Zanis realized that the bag didn't contain any Valis, because the sound of something heavy hitting the floor was definitely not the one of a bag filled with golden coins. But that was not the only thing he noticed.
"… Why is there a stain of blood on the bottom of the bag?" he asked, making a quick motion with his head to the other Adventurer of the room. The man nodded and moved to inspect the bag, his eyes widened before he instinctively covered his mouth and looked away before he started to cough.
"What!? What is in there!?" Zanis slammed his hands on the table as he stood up, annoyed by the tension that was starting to feel.
"I think it's Canoe, sir." The first panicked Adventurer commented as Zanis finally saw the contents of the bag, his eyes widened at the upper part of Canoe Belway.
But not just that.
"It's not just Canoe." He gritted his teeth, and his eyes became bloodshot as he saw many other small parts of limbs inside the bag. "Where did you get this!?" he asked the Adventurer.
"It was suddenly left at the entrance of the Familia Home," he showed something else to Zanis, a rather familiar weapon. "Along with this." A rather small crossbow, a very familiar one.
"That fucking Pallum!" he turned around and slammed his fist on the table once more out of anger, breaking it in two with ease.
"Send anyone that isn't drunk to search for her and drag her here!"
"What about Lord Soma?" asked the other Adventurer, managing to not throw up after seeing the many severed body parts.
"Even if he wants us not to intrude in her damn job, she has to answer for this!" he pointed at the bag. "Besides, if our God is so obsessed with someone else, I will bring him here myself!" Zanis Lustra shouted, making everyone look at the bag one final time before the Adventurers left, leaving Zanis alone as he looked at what he considered a declaration of war.
