Chapter 45: Day of Returns
Night had fallen on Orario, yet the sound of festivities and people merry making had not yet died out. Orario was a city that never slept, and that description was especially true during a festival.
Caster paid no attention to it as he drummed a finger on his desk. Lying on top of it was a crumbled letter. Its contents were filled with nothing but empty platitudes and flowery language, the worst of which being a promise of a "private meeting" with the Goddess Ishtar herself.
The mere thought of being alone with the goddess sickened him to the point of vomiting.
It was clear as day what the goddess's plans were for him. She would attempt to seduce him, as she no doubt had many a god and mortal and steal his power for her own desires.
Such insolence should have him cut a bloody swath through the pleasure quarter and personally remove her head from her shoulders. No, he would even draw out the greatest of his treasures, no questions asked, like he would have done against those Egos had Ishtar been amongst their numbers during his dream on the moon.
But that was not what Caster truly wanted.
He did not just want her dead. No…that would be too easy. Too simple for the likes of her.
No, Caster would ruin her. He would dismantle her empire, brick by brick. Mongrel by mongrel.
He would have her see everything she built, everything she had, be reduced to nothing. He would have her see every one of her followers fall or abandon her. He would see her powerless beneath his foot before he crushed her with everything he had.
But not yet.
The seeds he had sowed had not yet bore fruit.
He poured over all the information he had collected ever since he was summoned to this era. Every bit of it had been prepared for his war against Ishtar. He knew what she was after, who her allies were, who her pawns were, and the amount of forces that was arrayed against him.
It all came down to that renard woman. She was the cornerstone of Ishtar's power and arrogance in this world. Remove her, and everything will come crashing down. The question was how and when.
There was a ritual to trap a renard's soul into a special stone that could be found in the Far East. That was what he had foreseen and what the information he had gathered pointed to. The renard was special in that she was how Ishtar's forces could boast a power greater than what their Level would have one believe. A slave that had no choice but to obey her masters. A miserable existence that did not wish to accept her fate yet made no move to change it, nor to ask anyone to change it for her.
What was the point in saving someone like that? That did not have even the courage to cry out to be saved? Nor the courage to accept their own fate?
There was no point in helping someone with no agency of their own. Such an existence cannot even be called living. No, it was a mercy to kill her if she could not even beg for a hero. At the very least, her soul would remain her own.
But…what if he were to let the ritual be completed? What if he were to let Ishtar hold the stone of power in her hands…and for him to then destroy or remove it from her? To have her come so close to "victory" only for it to slip out of her grasp. Would not the frustration and despair it would bring to her would in turn give him the greatest pleasure even greater than a thousand climaxes?
Yes…should the situation remain unchanged, that should be how he should go about this.
First, he would have the War God dance. He would use him to begin the stage by riling up the Pleasure Quarter in search of his children's long-lost companion. He would also have the Trickster Goddess expedite her investigations into Evilus. So long as Ishtar was a member, then they shared a common enemy but only so long as that. Once she was gone, he would pay no more attention to them. But for now, that thing in the false Dungeon needed to be taken care of and he will allow the Goddess's Familia to be the bait to draw them out.
A knock suddenly came from his door.
"Lord Caster?" Lily's voice called out. "Are you awake? It's almost time for the meeting…"
Caster wheeled around to see that the sun was up.
What a failure!
He had spent the entire night thinking of nothing but Ishtar!
The war had only just begun, and he already lost the first battle!
His hand lashed out and slammed itself against his desk, causing Lily to squeak in surprise.
"L-Lily will go on ahead then!"
And with that, the pallum scampered away.
He could hear the rest of the Familia exit the building as well.
It was Grand Day after all, a day of festivities. And here he was, thinking about a damned goddess.
Just one more thing he would take pleasure in avenging.
It would be some time before Caster felt that it was time to get going. He was already fashionably late anyhow. As he was about to draw out the candies from his treasury, a wave of uneasiness washed over him. Spinning around, he turned toward the glass doors leading to the balcony and flung them open, allowing him a perfect view of city…and the black spires of wind extending to the heavens above.
The day of festivities had ended as chaos descended upon Orario.
X-x-X-x-X
"W-what is that?" Primo screamed as Emma held onto her to keep her from being blown away by a massive pillar of black wind that was tearing its way down the street, blasting through lamps, benches, and even buildings.
"Don't stay in its path!" Welf shouted, grabbing Gina and Fia, and pulling pulling to his side. "Grab onto the shorties and hold onto something!"
"Hey! I resent that!" Fia shouted back at him as she clung onto his chest.
"I…I have to get to the inn!" Hestia said as Bell held onto her and Assassin. "I need to make sure everyone is okay!"
"Master! Your orders!" Saber shouted as he and Lancer pressed down on Emma's shoulders to keep her steady while Rider helped Welf and Gina and Archer stuck close to Bell.
"Kuh…" Bell let out a grunt as he glanced around as regular people were screaming and running around. "We need to help them! Rider, Lancer…please take the goddess to the inn! Saber…follow that tornado in front of us and try to help anyone in its path!"
"""Understood!"""
The Servants responded as one before moving. Lancer lifted Hestia up into her arms before she and Rider leaped onto the rooftops, carrying a screaming goddess with them while Saber immediately sped down the street after the black wind.
"And us?" Emma asked as the mortal members plus Fia turned to him.
"Fia, I need you to fly around and lead us to where people need help," Bell said as the harpy nodded.
Fia then turned toward Emma with her "arms" outstretched allowing the human girl to pull her cloak off, removing the glamor and exposing the harpy's red feathers to the world alongside her blue tunic with the Hestia Familia emblem on it.
"And…Berserker!"
Berserker's giant form materialized behind Primo before kneeling down to get closer to eye level with Bell and the others.
"We'll need you in case we need to move aside some of the rubble since Lily's not here," Bell said as Berserker acknowledged his order with a grunt.
Archer then held his hand out, forming the steel "backpack" to allow Primo to ride in. Berserker then picked her up and allowed her to climb as he stood up to his full height.
"Archer, please try to find Lily," Bell said, turning to his first Servant. "She said she was meeting some kids earlier…and you're our best shot at finding her."
"Got it," Archer said as he projected Welf's Great sword, Gina's daggers, and Emma's twin swords for them. "Sorry about this Welf."
"Hey, I ain't going to complain during an emergency," Welf said as they picked up their equipment.
Archer nodded before turning to Assassin.
"Make sure your Mommy doesn't do anything dumb, okay?"
"Okay!" Assassin said, giving Archer a salute before the taller Servant dematerialized to move through the city unmolested.
"Then let's get a move on," Welf said as Fia took to the sky and the rest of Hestia Familia followed after her.
"If the wind is too much, don't push yourself!" Emma called out after Fia.
"This is nothing!" Fia called back, her face mask obscuring her voice from anyone without Hestia's Falna.
X-x-X-x-X
"Hurry! Get the citizens to safety!"
Ganesha stood to the front, directing his Familia as they led a crowd down the street toward the Guild.
"Send out the hellhounds!" Shakti called out. "Search for anyone trapped!"
A group of Ganesha Familia Adventurers rushed toward the rubble, directing over a dozen hellhounds bearing the emblem depicting an elephant that ran back and forth across the street.
One of them stopped by a collapsed building and started digging for a moment before letting out a series of barks before howling.
Its Tamer ran over and carefully lifted a bit of the rubble and met eyes with a bloody elf that was covering the body of an amazon child.
"Shakti!" The Tamer called out. "We found two people!"
"Silverback team!"
A pair of Silverbacks ran forward, spurned on by a pair of Tamers. The hellhound and his Tamer stepped back as the large gorilla monsters grabbed the side of the roof and carefully lifted it up above their heads, allowing the Tamers to rush in and help the pair out.
"Next we need to-" Shakti began before one of her subordinates let out a scream.
"It's coming this way!"
"Scatter! Scatter!"
"The citizens haven't evacuated yet!"
"We can't move all the injured!"
"Nooooo! Help! Someone help!"
Seeing no other choice, Shakti moved forward herself. Taking her spear, she charged the black twister and thrust her weapon toward it…only for it to bounce helplessly off the wind.
"Shakti!" Ganesha shouted as he watched his Level 5 Captain be sent flying. However, she easily landed on her feet without any problems. "Are you all right?"
"This is no ordinary twister," Shakti replied. "It's like striking a wall of iron…one that is actively deflecting my attacks…but!"
With another roar, she struck the twister again, forcing it to change course.
"Like I thought…" the woman muttered. "It moves like it has a mind of its own!"
"Ah!"
Shakti turned when her god let out a sound of surprise and saw several more twisters moving toward their position.
"How…how many twisters are in this city!?"
X-x-X-x-X
"FIREBOLT!"
A flash of red lightning streaked through the air and crashed into the twister that was trying to smash its way through a building.
The magic impacted the black wind, but the effect was close to non-existent. However, it did cause it to change direction.
"Uh oh," Bell muttered as the wind charged toward him instead.
"It's going after Bell!" Emma called out.
"What the heck?" Welf shouted. "It's more like a giant monster than a tornado!"
"Everyone stand clear!" Gina called out as she hid behind Berserker.
"Blast away these hapless rejects!" Primo's chant finished in a flash of light. "Lumine Pledias!"
The beams of light shot forward at the twister…only for all seven beams to bounce off and fly off into the street and buildings around them.
"Are you freaking kidding me!?" Gina shouted. "Even Primo's magic bounces off them!?"
The twister charged toward Berserker and the two girls instead, prompting the minotaur to pick up Gina in his arms and dive out of the way.
"I know this isn't the best time to ask, Welf," Emma said as she turned toward the Smith. "But you wouldn't happen to have a Magic Sword, do you?"
"Even if I did, I'd need one that would probably burn down the entire street to get past that thing," Welf replied.
"Magic bounces off, weapons bounce off," Gina shouted, scratching the sides of her head with her hands. "What the heck are we going to do?"
A low growling voice answered her.
"Me…break shell!"
Berserker placed Gina on the ground as his twin axes appeared in his hand.
Then with a roar (and a scream by Primo) the minotaur charged toward the twister, red lightning arcing around him and smashed his weapons into the black wind.
There was a loud crash, similar to metal scraping on metal as the twister was sent reeling through Berserker's sheer physical might. Black ash-like sand scattered across the street as the wind dissipated upon crashing into a nearby wall.
Bell and the others could only gape in amazement at Berserker's monstrous strength.
"Wait…so all we needed to do was hit it really, really hard?" Fia asked as she swooped down and landed beside Welf and Emma.
"It'd take more than a Level 2 or even a Level 3 to hit it really, really, hard enough to break it…" Welf replied. "Wait…what the hell?"
He then turned toward the collapsed wall where a creature Bell had never seen before in place of the black twister.
"W-w-what is that?" Primo whimpered in fear as she shrank in her carriage.
"A black monster?" Bell muttered.
A black beast as dark as ash. It stood on four legs and was nearly as tall as Welf was. Its red eyes contained only pure rage as it shook its monstrous bestial head.
The beast let out a roar, revealing a set of jagged teeth and launched itself at Berserker who dropped his axes to grab the monster by its twisted horns that wrapped themselves around its head like a wreath. With another monstrous roar, Berserker lifted the creature up by the horns and threw it onto the ground with enough force to shatter the stone street. Then, with his hands still on the monster's horns, he began to twist. The creature, realizing the danger, began snarling and scratching at Berserker's hands before-
KRR-AACKK!
A sickening snap echoed in the street as the black monster fell limp. Immediately after, its body vanished into black sand, leaving nothing behind. Not even a Magic Stone.
"…What was that?" Emma asked, her voice breaking the silence.
"No wait, before that!" Bell said as he pointed toward the building. "Let's check to see if the people inside are-"
Before he could finish, a surge of energy swept across the Familia as Bell felt his nerves light on fire. He immediately turned his head upward, prompting the others to do the same.
There…a second sun was shining above Orario.
X-x-X-x-X
Saber threw himself in front of the twister, smashing it to the side to clear the way.
"Run, hurry!" He said as a mother nodded her head before lifting her child into her arms and running away, allowing Saber to turn his head back toward the monster hiding within the black wind.
For some reason, Saber was reminded of the Black Goliath, the abnormal Monster Rex he and the others fought in the Dungeon several weeks prior. The Monster Rex that had been spawn as a warning from the Dungeon to not take it lightly…or at least, that was what Saber had believed.
But this creature did not feel like a monster from the Dungeon.
The beast leaped at him in fury, only to be cut down in a single strike.
Once the black wind had been stripped away, the creature was nothing special. Certainly not to a Servant, but Saber suspected that a Level 2 could easily take it down. That being said, it was not the Adventurers that needed to fear the monsters, but the regular citizens that did not receive a god's blessing.
They were the only reason Saber could not just go and hunt down each and every twister on his own. Too many people needed help in the aftermath of each one's rampage. To abandon them here was unbecoming of a hero, but if he did not move quickly, the casualties would only continue to grow.
"Mm!?"
Thankfully, the solution to his problem came in the form of a golden light in the sky.
X-x-X-x-X
"Run, hurry!"
Led by Milly, Lai, Fina, Ruu and the other children of Maria's orphanage ran down the alleyways, avoiding the main streets where the black tornadoes were rampaging nearly unchecked. Adventurers were managing to regroup to divert the wind away from civilians but there were only so many that were actually strong enough to do more than slow them down.
"Milly…wait!" Fina said, the chienthrope gasping for breath. "We can't keep up!"
"Milly knows it hurts but Fina and everyone needs to keep running!" The werewolf called back, showing zero signs of exhaustion despite being one of the shortest of the kids. "It's just a little further and-"
There was a loud crash as a black tornado smashed through a building across the street from them, sending its rooftop flying into the air.
"RUN BACK!"
At Milly's order, most of the kids managed to duck back into the alleyway with a scream but…
"Fina! Ruu!"
Lai dived at the chienthrope and half-elf, knocking them to the side as the stones came down at the spot they were at.
"Lai!"
Fina screamed as some rubble struck Lai on the side of the head, knocking the boy out as he collapsed on top of them.
Milly had dived forward, being too far from the alley to retreat, leaving her out in the middle of the street between them and the black tornado. Without turning around, the werewolf reached into her pocket and threw a golden bottle toward them. The bottle hit the ground and rolled to a stop in front of Fina and Ruu without breaking.
"Splash this on his head!" Milly ordered as she ran toward the rooftop that had been tossed aside earlier.
Fina once again watched the tiny werewolf girl pick up something over three times her size and probably a thousand times her weight before she ran back and smashed it against the black twister with a roar of both exertion and fear…and then the rock exploded, sending the tiny girl flying through the air before landing in a heap just a few steps away from them.
"Milly!" Fina called out, letting Ruu treat Lai as she ran over to toward the smaller girl.
Small rocks had dug cut through Milly's clothes and were digging into her skin, leaving blood and bruises all over her.
"R-run…" Milly said, looking up toward Fina.
But Fina shook her head as she grabbed the werewolf by the arms and started pulling her away from the black twister. But even if Milly was half a head shorter than Fina, there wasn't much a normal ten-year-old girl like her could do to drag another person away.
As Fina tried to bring the tiny werewolf girl back, the wind sped toward her.
"Someone…please…"
But there was no one else to help them. They were a bunch of orphans with no family and Mother Maria was all the way back at the church and Big Sis Syr was no doubt trapped somewhere else as well. All the adults were too busy running away themselves to help a bunch of kids.
Everyone that would help them was far away.
"Even so, let out your voice."
The voice of a boy who should have lived in a completely different world from them rang out in her mind.
"If you remain silent, your pleas will never reach anyone. So cry out. Beg to be saved. For your voice lets the world know that you are still alive. That you exist. That you do not wish to disappear just yet."
It was one of his weird lectures that made him sound older than he looked at times. No doubt as a result of whatever education being a noble gave him. But he said them so seriously that Fina couldn't help but listen to him.
"To live is to struggle. Those that no longer resist can not be called living. That is why you must continue to do so no matter what. When you find that you can no longer go on on your own, raise your voice and cry out…"
And so, she cried out for the only one she thought could help them.
"HELP US GIL!"
And so, she cried out. She cried out with all of her heart and soul for a hero to save them.
"There is no reason to shout, child."
And someone answered.
Golden arrows and rays of light smashed into the twister, sending it reeling back.
A golden-haired man stepped in between Fina and Milly.
Fina recognized him. She had never seen him in person, but she saw him through one of those Divine Mirrors the gods and goddesses of Orario created weeks before during the War Game.
The man looked over his shoulder down at them. His eyes swept from the two girls to Lai and Ruu behind them and then to the rest of the kids in the alleyway, poking their heads out before turning his eyes back down toward Milly.
"L-Lord Caster…" Milly squeezed out as she reached an arm out toward him.
The man's eyes widened ever so slightly before his pupils seemed to constrict themselves into slits like that of a snake, causing Fina to shiver…but she wasn't afraid…not of him anyway. He had a scent that was familiar to her.
The scent of a boy that stepped down from a different world just to play with a bunch of kids like them.
"G-Gil-?" She began but the man cut her off.
"Hold your tongue, child," the man said as he held his hand out, causing a stone book to appear in it. "You have never seen this glorious form in person and just as this form has never seen you. Do not make any false assumptions."
"No way…" she muttered as golden discs began to shimmer around the man before firing beams of light toward the black wind, scattering it apart to reveal a monster inside.
But the beams of light did not cease firing. Before the monster could even roar out in pain, it was drowned in a torrent of golden light and ceased to exist in mere seconds.
"Not enough…" the man…no, the King said. "This is not nearly enough to quell this burning rage."
The man raised a hand toward the sky, causing Fina to look up as well. A massive golden disc had formed in the skies far above Orario. It's swirling form caused the clouds above to twist and bend as if they were being dragged into it. She didn't understand what was going on, but she could tell it was some impressive magic that was forming above them.
The King then spread his arms out to the side, causing a flash of light to spark out, forcing Fina to close her eyes in pain for a second before hundreds of streaks of lightning arc'd themselves down into the city, striking in the same locations where the black pillars of wind were rampaging through the city.
In an instant, all traces of the black wind had vanished from the city skyline along with the golden light.
Caster said nothing as he shut the stone book while gazing up into the sky.
A moment later, a man in a red mantle landed beside him.
"So, this is where you were," the man said. "Your light show destroyed all the wind but several of the monsters inside them are still alive."
"Far be it for me to do everything in this wretched city," Caster replied, his frown deepening. "The mongrels running around like headless chickens should be able to take care of them now that their shell is destroyed. If they cannot, then they do not deserve to call themselves Adventurers."
Caster then turned away from the other man and walked toward Fina who flinched slightly as he placed his non-gauntleted hand on her hair.
"You did well to stand tall," he said softly, slightly ruffling Fina's cream colored hair. "It'll be all right now."
"U-uun…" Fina nodded as she felt tears well up in her eyes.
Now that everything seemed to be over, all her emotions came gushing out as Caster let out a sigh and allowed her to cry into his chest.
X-x-X-x-X
"…"
Hestia stood silently with her back against one of the pillars of the hall as she scanned the room.
Due to the commotion of the black wind and monsters earlier today, Grand Day's festivities had all been canceled.
Night had fallen on Orario and an emergency Denatus had been called so that the Gods and Goddesses of Orario could decide the next course of action.
All around her, Hestia could see that everyone had dour looks. Whether it was because the city had been damaged, because the people had been hurt, whether they had lost a member of their Familia or because they simply had their fun ruined…almost every deity in attendance was pissed at something.
More than a few were wondering about the golden light that snuffed out the majority of the monsters, with more than a few wondering if Zeus had returned to screw with them, but Hestia already knew the answer to that.
Overwhelming power hidden underneath a mass of gold? It was obvious who was behind that.
"That light show was Goldy's doing huh?" Loki asked as she walked up beside Hestia with a bottle of wine in her hand.
"I dunno," Hestia replied with a shrug waving Loki off when the latter held up the bottle in offering. "I hadn't seen him all day. Probably though."
"Humph."
Loki simply grunted before downing the wine straight from the bottle.
It wasn't a really good excuse, but it was one that Hestia will stick to.
"Hestia."
Ganesha called out to her as he came up to them as well.
"Oh Ganesha," Hestia greeted the "God of the Masses." "Good work today. I saw a bunch of your Children running around with their Tamed Monsters."
"Yes," Ganesha nodded solemnly without any of his usual antics. "Thanks to them we were able to keep casualties amongst the citizens to a minimum. However, their numbers were cut down by the black twisters and the monsters within them."
That was true.
Several of the Tamers had fought to allow the citizens to take shelter when Hestia opened up her inn for them. She watched more than a few hellhounds and other Tamed Monsters get torn to shreds as they threw themselves between them and the twisters. Most of them without prompting from their Tamers even. More than one of those Tamers simply stared blankly at the bloodied remains of their monster with one even crying as her hellhound's Magic Crystal had been destroyed, leaving nothing behind.
Seeing the close bond created by Ganesha's Adventurers and monsters made Hestia believe in the future for the Xenos.
"If you need Lancer to stop by again, I'll let her know."
"I thank you for the trouble."
Both goddesses watched Ganesha leave before Loki spoke up again.
"So? How did your lot fare?" Loki asked.
"Not so good apparently," Hestia said with a shrug. "Bell said Primo's magic just bounced off of it. Same with all their weapons. It was all we could do to keep them from charging into my inn."
Broca and Dex, her inn guards were good, but they were retired and out of practice against monsters, let alone ones that basically reflected attacks off of it. But once Lancer stripped away their wind, the two of them, Rider, Dia's Adventurers and Ganesha's guards made short work of them.
"Same over here," Loki admitted. "Lefiya's spell got bounced and only my Level 6s could reliably break through those twisters before Goldy nuked most of them."
"…Aren't we in trouble?" Hestia asked.
If it took a Level 6 (or a Servant) at minimum to shatter the wind, doesn't that make these monsters conventionally unbeatable? It was unlikely Caster would keep on fighting with the same amount of force. He said it again and again. He was an observer.
"Nah, it wouldn't be that bad," Loki replied. "Apparently Finn said there's a trick to it. The twister surround themselves with that black sand that you've probably seen everywhere in town. Basically, we need it to hit it a lot or hit it really, really hard until it breaks."
"…So long as the Children's bodies or weapons don't break first," Hestia pointed out to which Loki had no response.
X-x-X-x-X
"Are you okay, Lily?" Bell asked as he and the pallum sat in the living room together.
"Yes," Lily replied with a smile. "It was only a bonk on the head. The Floor Boss was much worse than this."
"Lily is a big girl after all," Assassin chimed in, appearing behind the two of them with a smile.
"Lily keeps on telling Jack! Lily is much older than she looks! Lily is older than Bell you know?"
"Huh!? Really!?" Bell exclaimed in surprise.
Morning had come but the goddess still hadn't returned from the emergency Denatus. The others had gone out to survey the damage, but Rider insisted that Lily remain at home for the time being. Thus, Bell decided to hold down the fort with Lily, Assassin, and the two monster members of the Familia.
"Hey, Fia?" Bell switched gears as Lily calmed down, turning to the harpy sitting on the floor of the living room. "Have you ever seen that monster yesterday in the Dungeon?"
"Never seen it before," Fia replied immediately. "Not that I've really gone that deep to begin with. If something like that came out from the Dungeon, that big tower would have been destroyed, right? Maybe it's something from the surface?"
"…Second…Dungeon?" Berserker suggested, causing both Bell and Lily to pale at the thought.
"No…something like that would have been known for a long long time," Lily assured Bell and herself. "Remember the legends of the Dungeon before the gods descended?"
"Yeah," Bell nodded. "The storyteller Orna compared it to an endless tide spawning from a hole at the edge of the continent. If another Dungeon appeared, then half the world would have known about it. But…"
"But that would mean that the black monster is a monster from the surface, right?" Lily finished for him and Bell nodded.
"Aren't monsters up here super weak though?" Assassin asked, looking confused. "Even Primo can beat them by bonking them on the head."
"Don't say that like she's the weakest one of us…"
"…Isn't she?" Came the usual blunt reply.
"That would be the goddess," Lily reminded her. "Still…Lily is worried. If these monsters came to Orario, doesn't that mean there are even more out there? Orario is safe because of all the Familia and High-Class Adventurers but…"
But the surrounding villages and towns outside of Orario with no major Familia presence must be suffering if they haven't been destroyed already.
"Lily knows that face," Lily said as she looked up at him. "It's fine if Bell wants to help people, but Hestia Familia is too small to do that. And everyone but the Servants are too weak to even hurt them."
And didn't Bell know it.
It was times like this where Bell could only feel frustration bubbling up from the bottom of his gut. There had to be something he could do at his level. But until he knew of a way to neutralize the black wind first, he couldn't do anything to help out.
Bell glanced over at Berserker who was sitting outside, next to the window, with his back on the wall. The monster Servant's strength was completely peerless amongst his Servants, beating out even Saber in terms of raw power even if the latter was more skilled with the blade. Caster's magic had also easily stripped away the black wind. These things weren't something Bell could imitate as he was now.
He had to get stronger. The goal he wished to reach seemed further away than ever before. It was starting to feel like he never even made it past the starting line.
"No one ever said that the path of a hero was an easy one. It's a long arduous journey that you spend your whole life undertaking."
"Wasn't that the truth…" Bell muttered in response to the voice in his head that didn't seem to be going away any time soon.
"Bell?" Lily spoke up but couldn't say anything else as Eina's voice suddenly echoed in the distance.
"Emergency! This is an Emergency Broadcast! Calling all Familias in Orario!"
"Another Guild broadcast?" Bell muttered as Assassin and Fia plopped themselves down on the couch beside him.
"Please put any work you are doing on hold and listen. The Guild is hereby issuing a compulsory mission to all Exploration type Familias!"
"Do we count in that?" Fia asked Lily.
"Hestia Familia is technically a hybrid Business/Exploration Familia ever since Lady Hestia opened up her inn," Lily explained. "Therefore, we should listen to it in any case."
"This is an Eradication type Quest! The target will be the Black Twisters and their source, the Black Clouds, spreading not just in Orario, but the entire world!"
"We already know where they come from?" Bell asked in amazement.
"As expected of the Guild," Lily muttered. "They must have sent runners out immediately yesterday and noticed these Black Clouds…wait…if we're going to be destroying them then…is Orario planning on sending all these Familias outside?"
"These are the words of our Creator, the great God Ouranos: 'The time has come. Adventurers, save the world once more! As the great gods Zeus and Hera had done once before!"
A soft gasp escaped Bell's throat as he placed a hand over his thumping heart while Eina's words continued undaunted.
"We will aspire to the prosperous past and set forth to a new future! I repeat, The Guild…Orario is issuing a compulsory mission to the entirety of the world!"
X-x-X-x-X
"What an affair this has turned out to be," Caster sighed as Hestia and Bell sat in front of him across his office desk. "To be part of the armies of the gods to save the world. You must be tickled pink, mongrel."
Bell was trying his hardest not to smile like an idiot due to the seriousness of the situation.
"And?" Caster asked, turning to Hestia. "What is the goddess's decision on this affair? As a Business Type Familia as well, you can opt the Familia out of this Quest after all."
"There is no choice," Hestia replied with a smile. "You're going as well, right?"
"This monster has interrupted my merrymaking," Caster replied in a quiet voice yet the sheer weight behind them was enough for Bell to want to lean back and away from the pressure. "And…I am in need of an…outlet."
"So…it probably isn't the best time to ask what was in that letter?" Hestia asked only to wither away from the glare.
"What have the gods learned of our enemy?" Caster asked, ignoring Hestia's question.
"Uh, right," Hestia said as she placed a map in front of Caster with Bell leaning forward for a look as well.
"Basically, there are three main targets," Hestia said as she looked around for a moment before Caster deposited some pieces on the map and she nodded in thanks. The goddess then picked up two black cylinders and placed one on the northeastern corner of the map between two mountain ranges and the second on the southwestern corner of the map between a forest and another mountain range. "To keep things short, aside from the black cloud on the southeastern end of the land, there are two massive Black Twisters, probably carrying some huge versions of those monsters from yesterday. I hear Loki and Ganesha's kids are going to be taking charge and we, as in all the Familias, will be splitting into two teams with those two in charge. Is that all right?"
Hestia asked the question as an afterthought as if worried that Caster would not approve to follow someone else's orders.
"I have no objections to Deimne's plan," Caster said simply, and Hestia nodded before continuing.
"You guys are going to be a part of Team Loki I think," Hestia said, tracing the route south of Orario to the south western tornado. "The plan is to take out every twister you see. Once you take care of that, you'll head east to meet up with Team Ganesha at the village of Dedain where Hermes's Captain spotted the black clouds."
"The village…" Bell began, and Hestia put on a grimace.
"If that's the place where it began…I can't imagine there's anything left of it," Hestia solemnly replied. "You saw how much damage was done here, right?"
Bell didn't answer as he lowered his head.
"Then the overall objective is the complete annihilation of every single Black Twister before reconvening at Dedain," Caster summarized with a nod. "I can see Hestia Familia being assigned as either a supply line or a flying column depending on the situation. It will depend on what Deimne requires."
"Would the two people you hired to guard the inn be joining us?" Bell asked Hestia.
"No, I don't think they will," Hestia replied. "Brock's prosthetic leg won't let him travel far distances and Dex's mentally exhausted himself from fighting monsters again."
Brock being the cat person and Dex being the dwarf if Bell recalled correctly.
"Trauma from fighting monsters, is it?" Caster muttered. "An all too common ailment to those that have survived the Dungeon and its horrors."
"Yeah," Hestia replied without going into detail.
Bell wondered if the dwarf had an incident similar to Naza or if he had lost members of his Familia that caused him to retire from the Adventurer life.
"Then we shall adjourn for the night," Caster said. "Rest well, boy. You will need every ounce of your strength to save the world."
"Yes!" Bell replied as Hestia placed a hand on Bell's arm.
"You be careful out there, okay?" She said. "I know it's useless to say it but I'm gonna away. Don't do anything stupid, all right? No heroics! I want you home in one piece, understood?"
"Of course!" Bell replied.
This was his home after all. If nothing else, he will always return to where his goddess resides.
X-x-X-x-X
The next morning, Bell and the rest of the Familia gathered outside the gates of Orario where hundreds, if not thousands, of Adventurers were already gathering.
"Wow…" Emma couldn't help but let out a gasp at the sight. "All of these people are Adventurers? I mean…I always knew Orario had a lot but…"
"It's one thing to see for yourself, huh?" Welf asked and Emma nodded.
People from almost every single Familia were gathered and milling about.
"I have heard that Ishtar Familia will be staying behind to guard Orario," Saber said to Caster who turned his eyes toward the other man in response. "The majority of Freya Familia will also remain. It appears that only Ottarl is being sent out to assist the second team."
"That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen," Archer pointed out to which Saber simply nodded his head in agreement. "Leaving two enemy Familia behind to guard Orario."
"I believe it would have been a bigger disaster if they were to come along," Rider chimed in, also looking at Caster from behind.
"Humph."
Beside them, Lily and Primo were loading a large pack onto Berserker, letting him carry the majority of the Familia's supplies while the rest was split amongst Lily, Primo and Emma.
"Everything okay?" Primo asked, ignoring the worried looks that Adventurers of other Familia were giving the three-meter-tall minotaur. "It's not too bulky?"
Berserker simply shook his head as he lifted the giant pack up.
"Guys, Braver's starting to speak!" Gina called out, bringing everyone's attention to the pallum at the very front of the crowd of Adventurers.
Bell couldn't help but admire Finn as he addressed the army of Adventurers. He certainly wouldn't have been able to talk to this many people without flubbing every second or third word, but the Loki Familia Captain was speaking loudly and clearly for everyone to hear as he went over the same battle plan Hestia talked about the previous night.
Even Bell and the others, even if they were at the very back of the crowd.
"It's probably a Skill of some sort," Lily surmised. "One that lets Master Finn's voice be heard by everyone in his 'army.'"
"As expected of Orario's biggest force, huh?" Welf muttered.
"…It isn't an exaggeration to say that the fate of the world lies in our hands!" Finn moved on from the battle plans. "We Adventurers of Orario, the center of the world, are the only ones that can do this!
"I'm sure some of you don't want to be here. Many of you are afraid, apprehensive, and no doubt confused…"
Out of the corner of his eye, Bell saw Lily and Primo fidget slightly.
"But I will say this to you: Rise up to the challenge!" Finn's voice roared across the field. "Rise up to the beginning of a new Heroic Myth! With the world as our witness! Rise up to become its savior! The God Ouranos speaks the truth! We shall follow the steps of Zeus and Hera and write a new legend! A new history! Take these words to heart! Do not falter! Right now, at this very moment, is our new Grand Day!"
"So that's the Braver…" Lily muttered, eyes shining in awe as the army of Adventurers around them roared with burning passion. "He lit a fire in everyone's bellies."
"A true hero of the current era," Saber said with a nod.
"That one wishes to be a beacon of hope to his people," Caster said. "If he did not know how to speak then he would never have gotten as far as he did."
"Even so, he's right," Bell said. "We need to do our part as well."
"You need not remind me," Caster said as he turned to address the others in the Familia while the rest of the crowd began to move. "Our force shall act as support to Loki Familia! Saber, Archer and Lancer shall take the vanguard. Cranel, Rider, Berserker and I shall form the center. The rest of you will support us from the rear! Harpy…are you prepared?"
"Got it!" The harpy replied, folding her wing into a salute.
Caster had already gone to Finn to field the idea of using Fia as a flying scout.
Strapped to Fia's legs were various bracelets with multi-colored gems on them. Five in total. Each time she tapped her leg against one, it would drop a simple light, not unlike a flare. Four colors (red, blue, yellow and green) for the four cardinal directions and a fifth one (black) to be used to signal numbers.
"Then get going."
With that urging, the harpy took to the skies and already surpassed the head of the army where Loki Familia positioned themselves.
"Well then, I shall leave the honor to you, boy," Caster said simply as Bell nodded.
"Right," Bell said as he pointed toward the front. "Hestia Familia! Move out!"
X-x-X-x-X
"Signal spotted!" a lookout announced. "Three lights: yellow-yellow-blue! Three black!"
Three black twisters to the south-south east.
Sure enough, within moments, they could see the targets in the distance with one of them moving away from the other two.
As Finn directed Gareth to take the closest one with a mage squad to support him, his eyes were on the red-feathered monster in the sky.
Finn had been surprised by Caster's offer, though he had phrased it more like a demand, for Hestia Familia's Tamed Monster to do the recon but it was doing its job perfectly. The signals were accurate and allowed them to organize task forces to head them off immediately.
Not only could the harpy move faster in the air than most Adventurers on the ground (and faster than most harpies Finn had seen in the Dungeon for that matter), it was intelligent enough to recognize the cardinal directions and use magic items to report its findings.
Not only that, but during the War Game it was strong enough to lift and carry Bell Cranel from one castle to the other and came to Gina Gwen's rescue without any prompting from the other Hestia Familia Adventurers, risking its own safety and even taking on an injury to insure that the amazoness was safely in the hands of another Familia before it crashed into the grass.
Quite frankly, it scared him that a mere monster could be so intelligent. Was it a result of Hestia Familia's strict training or something else?
Speaking of Hestia Familia…
Finn chanced a glance toward the right flank once he was sure nothing would go wrong.
There seemed to be a rather tense air hovering around the mysterious Familia. Every so often one of their members would glance over toward Gina Gwen while the girl was steadfastly keeping her gaze forward. Marching next to them was Hermes Familia, with the God Hermes inviting himself along for the ride. Whenever that chienthrope girl that Ais and Lefiya knew or Hermes's Captain Asfi drew close to Hestia Familia, Gina would quicken her pace to avoid them.
The Guild did say that Gina did a Conversion from Hermes to Hestia Familia after Ais, Lefiya and Bete returned from the Twenty-Fourth Floor. Or more specifically, after Hestia Familia made a name for themselves defeating the Goliath.
You didn't have to be a genius to put two-and-two together the girl's reason for Converting.
X-x-X-x-X
"…"
Bell couldn't help but feel the weight of the atmosphere on his shoulders.
Gina was trying her absolute hardest to avoid her old Familia and everyone else didn't know what to say about it. The dark-haired chienthrope girl, the pallum and Asfi kept on trying to get her to open up but Gina refuted them at every turn, eventually hopping onto Berserker's shoulder to avoid them
Berserker, for his part, seemed to understand what was going on so he growled menacingly whenever someone from Hermes Familia got too close.
What he wouldn't give for someone to be able to break this dreary atmosphere.
"Oh, there they are! Hey, Archer!"
"Oh, thank the gods above…" Welf muttered as they turned to see Tiona from Loki Familia walk over toward them with Ais in tow.
"So you guys were here too," Tiona said as she walked alongside them.
"Guess so," Archer replied. "Shouldn't you be up there with the rest of your Familia?"
"Gareth's got it handled," Tiona said just as a wave of magic smashed into the black twister in front of the dwarf, allowing him to smash through the mysterious black monster within. "What about you guys? Did you get caught up in the commotion?"
"A bit. We were in the middle of town when it happened, and we split up to deal with it."
"Did you see what was inside the black wind?" Ais asked, turning away from staring at Berserker.
"Yeah…" Bell replied. "Some sort of black monster we've never seen before."
"Don't you think they were weird?" Ais asked and Bell couldn't help but note that she was turning to the Servants when she asked her question.
"It is a creature that returned due to an act of god on the anniversary of Grand Day," Caster replied simply. "Is there anything else to say about the origins of that creature?"
"You make things sound so simple, don't you?" Rider asked.
"The entirety of Orario has been mobilized to slay the beast. Any further inclination toward it is merely academic at best and above all else, I already know everything I need to slay it."
"Then you won't mind sharing that information with the rest of us?"
"I already have."
Rider blinked and turned toward Lancer who simply shook her head in confusion as well.
"Well…I suppose we should just be happy that you're even coming along, shouldn't we?" Rider muttered with a sigh.
"The beast has struck at what is mine," Caster answered. "I am not so merciful as to let that go unanswered."
At this, Bell noticed Archer glancing over at Lily who was fidgeting back and forth.
However, Caster refused to clarify as he quickened his pace to the front of the group.
"Do you get what he's saying, Archer?" Tiona asked to which the bowman simply shook his head.
"That man sees things us puny mortals can't hope to understand," Archer replied. "He'll place himself above the gods if you let him."
"Is that so? You've got it rough."
As Tiona chatted with Archer, Bell noticed another pair coming up to them.
"Yo, Hestia Familia, right?" The head of the group, an orange-haired human woman that looked rather familiar…ah!
"Yes," Bell replied as he turned toward the woman. "You're Dia Familia?"
"That's right," the woman replied with a chuckle. "The name's Orianna. Nice to meet you, Bell Cranel."
Bell wasn't too surprised that the Dia Familia knew his name as he shook the woman's hand. At her side was a girl wearing a purple tunic with a rapier by her side. She seemed to be a little bit taller than Bell and had an air around her that was kind of similar to Caster in a way. Maybe she was some noble from some country somewhere before joining the Dia Familia.
"Seeing as our goddesses are friends, I had been hoping to have a chat with you for a bit, Vice Captain to Vice Captain but…" Orianna continued with a sad smile. "Too bad this all happened before I got the chance though."
"Yeah," Bell agreed. "I would have liked to swap stories about our goddesses as well. Well, nothing says that we can't do that once this is all over though."
"Indeed, indeed," Orianna replied, still keeping a smile on her face. "Quite frankly, I think it's a bit overkill to send all the Familias out to deal with this crisis. Don't get me wrong, I understand that it's insanely destructive but from the looks of things, Loki Familia seems to have gotten it handled, doesn't it?"
Bell couldn't help but agree. Loki Familia, under the command of Braver, were systematically wiping out every twister that they spotted, leaving the rest of the army nothing to do but handle strays.
"Well, I suppose things will change once we get to the supposedly huge twister," Orianna decided, glancing off into the distance before turning back to Bell. "Anyway, I didn't come over here just to chat. Are you familiar with our Familia's method of operation?"
"Umm…the goddess said that you both teach Adventurers before coming to Orario while also collecting Adventurers who wish to go to Orario in the first place and then help them find Familias within Orario to join?" Bell answered, trying to summarize what he had heard from Hestia.
"Correct," Orianna replied as she placed a hand on the shoulder of the girl beside her. Which made walking for them a bit awkward until she brushed her hand off in annoyance. "And Karen here wants to join Hestia Familia."
At that revelation, the others turned to glance over at the girl as well. However, Karen did not flinch, nor did she wither under the gaze of Bell and the rest of Hestia Familia. Instead, she kept her eyes on Bell, waiting for his answer.
"Umm…as Vice Captain, I don't have any say in whether or not we get new Familia members," Bell replied. "That lies solely with our Goddess."
"Of course. But I was hoping that before then you'd let her tag along with you for a bit. To see if she clicks with your Familia and vice versa."
Bell glanced over toward Caster, but the king didn't seem to be paying attention to them one way or another, telling Bell that it would be his decision. In another life, Bell would have happily welcomed her into the Familia without a second thought but considering all the secrets surrounding their little Familia…he had to be more careful about it.
"Well, I don't have any objections to it," Bell said as he glanced in Karen's direction. "Umm, how long have you been an Adventurer?"
"Close to a year," Karen replied.
Her voice was rather soft, similar to Ais in a way. In fact, her dignified demeanor reminded Bell of Ais in a way, but only superficially. He didn't know the Sword Princess well enough to make a more detailed judgement.
"I use a sword in battle and have had prior training before becoming an Adventurer," Karen continued, moving onto her speciality. "I specialize taking down foes in one-on-one, but I recognize that that isn't possible at times."
"Basically, you can consider her a frontline duelist," Orianna cut in, trying to sell Karen a bit more. "She can single out stronger opponents and keep them busy, or even beat them if she's lucky, until you can regroup. She doesn't do well against large numbers of weaker enemies though."
Weaker or not, few people do well when surrounded by a bunch of enemies to begin with.
Since she was still Level 1, she could easily fit into Team B. Gina focused more on utilizing her speed and taking down careless foes from the flanks. Emma shared a similar role but thanks to her Skill, she was more capable of striking down stronger foes in a single hit rather than just lock them down. Something Hestia referred to as an "Alpha Strike." And Primo was the mage so another person to cover for her is already a plus.
"Well, if you're really interested in coming along for a bit…" Bell began, glancing over at Caster who merely tilted his head to the side to say that he didn't care one way or the other. "Then I don't have any objections."
"Yes, thank you very much," came the reply even as there were no changes to her expression.
"…She reminds me of you, Ais," Tiona made the comment Bell was thinking.
""…?""
However, both Ais and Karen could only tilt their heads in confusion.
X-x-X-x-X
The army of Adventurers continued marching for another few hours before a small incident occurred.
Fia stopped flying for a moment, turning her head up toward the sky at the sun to feel its warmth. She didn't really understand how to tell time yet, but she knew that when the sun was straight above the world in the sky, it was time to eat…or at least that's usually when Rider came out to give her and Berserker food.
However, when she turned to look back at all the marching Adventurers, all of them were still marching with no signs of stopping or tiring. According to the goddess, Adventurers could run for hours without growing tired and the stronger ones could probably constantly fight for longer still. It surprised her that they could get so strong without eating Magic Stones like Fia and her fellow Xenos.
"I know these things are dangerous, but can't we at least stop for food?" She grumbled even though there was no one to hear her.
On the bright side, she did feel like she was being useful and not just some deadweight that did nothing but laze around and eat all day. Not that she didn't mind it of course. It was just that she still felt guilty knowing that she was relaxing and living the easy life while all of her other companions were still in the Dungeon.
That being said, she wasn't that strong compared to the others. She had been one of the newest "born" and one of the ones to stupidly get caught too…
"Ranieh…Foh…"
She mentioned names of her friends…friends that she would never see again. Friends that hadn't been as lucky as she was.
…She wanted to go back. Back to where the others were…back down into "Mother."
"…I'll ask the goddess to find a way to talk to Fels again," Fia decided. "Set up a meeting point and then I'll take everyone to meet the others."
There was the risk that the people who caught her would be keeping an eye on them in hopes of using Fia to find the other Xenos, but she believed that Berserker and the other Spirits would be strong enough to spot them and take them down. She did hope that the Lady Goddess would be safe back at home without them though.
"Ah…another one."
She sighted another big tornado in the distance. It was moving toward the army, and by extension Fia, at a rather fast speed.
"Let's see…the sun goes up from that direction so…"
Using the sun's position for alignment, she then tapped her legs together, activating the Magic Items on her legs. The Magic Items shot out colored lights, signaling the army about the wind's movements and sure enough, she saw a large group break off to handle it.
However, when she turned back to the black twister, she noted something was off about it.
"…Isn't that thing…a bit big?" She wondered to herself.
Feeling a bit worried, she flew toward it, stopping when she felt the wind shift and she realized that the thing was big. If the regular twisters were as big as a bench, the one in front of her was as big as the Hearth's Chime inn. Calling it "a bit big" was a huge understatement.
Then, a sickening sound reached Fia's ears. It sounded like flesh was being contracted and stretched followed by the sound of bones snapping. And then, the twister split in two…and then again…and again…
And they were all heading right toward her.
"…Uh oh."
Yet another understatement.
X-x-X-x-X
"What's going on?" Finn wondered.
The harpy had sent out a flare signaling that another black twister had appeared to the east just a moment ago but now she was dropping black flares like crazy.
No sooner did he say that did Bete come rushing back from the advance team.
"Oi Finn!" The werewolf shouted, sounding extremely agitated. "Those fucking things are splitting and making more of themselves!"
"Splitting?" Riveria repeated.
"Like big ones are splitting up into smaller ones and rushing us! Don't ask me how!"
"…"
Weren't there creatures inside those twisters? How exactly were they splitting up?
"Captain! The harpy!"
Anakitty's shout drew Finn's attention and he saw that the harpy, and its flares, had been surrounded and swallowed up by the twisters.
They weren't the only ones to notice either.
A burst of blue flame erupted from the side of the army and Finn spotted Hestia Familia's Lancer zip across the plain to reach the harpy, followed closely by their minotaur shrouded in red lightning…with two unfortunate little girls, the elf and the amazon, screaming as they were clinging onto its back.
"…That ain't no normal minotaur either…" Bete muttered as the fire and lightning overtook the advance team and smashed into the twisters, scattering half of them on impact. "They didn't give a freaking monster a Magic Sword, did they?"
"They already trust the harpy with Magic Items," Finn reminded him. Granted it didn't do more than send out signal flares but even something like that was valuable. "In any case, go back them up. Although I don't think it's necessary."
"…So, the day's come where I gotta go save a fucking monster, huh?"
Bete grumbled and spouted profanities under his breath, as he won't do, but he nevertheless obeyed Finn's command and sped back toward the twisters.
Being the fastest member of the Familia, one of the few things Bete could properly claim to be even better than Ais at, it didn't take all that long to reach the battle. When he got there, the little elf and amazoness kids were scurrying away with the harpy between them. The minotaur and Lancer woman were clashing with the black twisters, their weapons scattering the winds and knocking them back like it was nothing.
"Vanagrand, wait!" The amazoness called out to him.
"What?" He shouted as they changed direction to head toward him.
"You can't go there without this!"
The girl tossed him a small rock or some kind. On it was a set of strange symbols that he felt like he saw on one of Loki's books in her office once upon of time. They were glowing a faint red color and seemed to have been inscribed onto the stone with flame.
"The hell is this?" He began only for a faint light to start glowing around his body.
"It's an impromptu Magic Item that protects against poison!" The girl replied. On closer look, the elf, woman and minotaur were also glowing slightly as well. Only the amazoness wasn't as she had just given him her stone. "Those twisters are scattering some kind of poison!"
Come to think of it, the harpy didn't look like it had any external wounds but its face was an awful color and covered in sweat not unlike how the other members of Loki Familia and Hephaistos Familia did when they got caught by other poisonous monsters on the way back from the Expedition a while back.
"…Ain't it dangerous for you to go without it then?" Bete asked.
"I should be fine at this distance but if you're going to be fighting, it's better for you to have it, right?"
Bete had the Development Abnormal Resistance at G so it should protect him against poisons anyway but considering how utterly bullshit the black twisters were, he wasn't going to say no to extra protection.
"Don't complain if you croak then."
The girl stuck her tongue out at him in response, not unlike a certain other amazon in his Familia. As Bete was about to head toward the fight, he did a double-take back toward the harpy. He hadn't been really paying attention, but he realized that the face mask the thing always wore was off, probably to let it breathe better. He didn't really think much of it before. He figured that Archer's Familia just covered its face because all harpies looked like wrinkly old crones that had more folds on their faces than than one could count…except that one didn't.
Its face was as smooth as the brats carrying it making it look way younger than the harpies down in the Dungeon. It also didn't stink to high heaven like the harpies he knew either though that might be because they probably actually bathed the damn thing once in a while. If it weren't for the fact that it had wings for arms and sharp talons for feet, he might have wondered if it really was a harpy wearing human clothes.
"Umm…is something wrong?" The elf asked.
"Nothing," Bete snapped, causing her to flinch. "Get going before you get in our way."
"Yeah, yeah…let's go, Primo!"
"R-right!"
As the two brats scampered off, carrying the harpy between them, Bete rushed forward toward the fight.
As he drew close, the minotaur seemed to notice him as it spun around, arms wrapped around one of the black monsters' neck and placed it right in Bete's path. Without questioning it, Bete jumped and slammed his feet straight into the black monster's face. The minotaur released its grip just as he made contact, allowing the monster to be sent flying off into the distance, crumbling to ash as it hit the ground.
Now that he was in the thick of things, he could see some sort of black miasma floating in the air. Definitely some kind of poison then. The faint light around him was slowly fading as the poison made contact with him. Looks like it really was just some half-assed thing that was thrown up at the last second to get the harpy out.
On the other side, Lancer was striking the black twisters with her large spear wreathed in blue fire. It reminded Bete of Ais's wind in a way. If that was the case…
"Oi! Toss some of that fire my way!" Bete shouted.
"Raging Flames…"
She glanced his way for a moment before drawing some burning characters in the air, creating a Magic Circle which she then sent toward Bete's Flosvirt boots. Thanks to being made out of mithril, the boots could channel the magic easily. Bete had done so several times using Magic Swords or borrowing Ais's wind and the flames from Lancer were no different.
Not only that, his body felt lighter and stronger as well.
A single flaming kick was all that was needed to scatter the black wind and reveal the monster inside.
One part of him was glad this was easy.
Another part wondered if she was the same as Archer with this strange magic of hers…
"Spirits, huh?" Bete thought to himself, remembering what he overheard Lefiya talk to the Loki Familia executives about. Then there was the fire and wind… "That mean Ais too?"
As the three of them whittled down the black twisters, both Lancer and the minotaur suddenly glanced back at the army, prompting Bete to look back too.
"How the hell?"
Several more of the black twisters had appeared right in the middle of the army, scattering its black haze across them.
"Enough screwing around!" Bete shouted. "Let's kill these things and head back!"
"Yes," Lancer agreed while the minotaur let out a massive roar and smashed itself against the black twister.
X-x-X-x-X
"Well…that could have gone better," Bell muttered as he looked around.
The monsters had sprouted up right from the ground, having actually tunneled underground and waited for the army of Adventurers to cross by them. The black wind erupted from the earth, scattering stone, dirt and Adventurers. Not only that, they spread out some kind of poisonous mist at the same time.
However, thanks to the quick action of Braver, the casualties were limited but several Adventurers needed more healing than just potions and antidotes. Bell could only count his blessings in that since Hestia Familia was at the outskirts of the army, they didn't take any damage from the ambush.
Fia still needed to be treated however…
"…We'll have to split the army," Finn was saying to the gathered Captains and other executives of the various Familia in the army. "Those Familia who are still fight capable will continue onto the large black twister while the rest remain behind to treat the wounded."
"Where would we go to treat them?" Orianna asked. "It's not like there are any villages or towns nearby."
"Umm…that's not entirely true."
Bell, Caster and the other high-ranking Adventurers turned to see Primo walking up to them, looking rather nervous at addressing so many executives at once.
"What do you mean?" Riveria asked.
"There's…there's a village in one of the forests nearby," Primo explained, taking a deep breath.
"Village?" Finn repeated as he spread out a map on a large boulder. "There isn't one marked on the map."
"It wouldn't be on any maps…" Primo replied as Caster placed a hand on her shoulder and steered her to the front. "It's right here…an elven village…"
"A hidden Elf Village all the way out here…" Riveria muttered. "Am I correct in saying that it is the one you are from, little one?"
"Y-yes!" Primo said, snapping to attention before her body slackened slightly. "We uh…they don't really take in non-elf visitors but I'm sure I can convince the elder to make an exception just this once! The forest also has a lot of medicinal herbs if we need them!"
"Then, can I ask Hestia Familia to take care of the wounded, Caster?" Finn asked.
"We cannot allow the wounded to delay the army," Caster said with a nod. "As Libera is the only one who knows the location of the village, we will take responsibility."
"My thanks," Finn replied with his own nod. "Then…I'll give you some Supporters from Loki Familia to assist you. Dia Familia should go as well…and then…"
"I volunteer my Familia to help out as well," Hermes said, slipping into the group between his Captain and Vice Captain, causing Asfi to stare at her god in disbelief.
Finn glanced at Caster to ask for his response to which Caster simply jerked his head to the side without care. Bell wanted to object for Gina's sake, but he couldn't get the words out.
"If there are no objections then that's settled!" Hermes said with a clap of his hands.
"I suppose there's no point in arguing then," Finn said with a wry smile before turning to an Adventurer behind him. "Raul, you'll take care of the second group."
"Got it!"
Raul Nord, dubbed "High Novice" by the Gods, was a Level 4 Loki Familia Adventurer that Bell remembered seeing down on the Eighteenth Floor of the Dungeon before fighting the Black Goliath. He seemed to know what he was doing as he and Finn started splitting their Familia in order to help cart the wounded over to the hidden village.
"By the way," Riveria began as she turned toward Caster. "Bete said that your Lancer was able to make something to help protect against the poison. Is it possible for her to distribute some before you leave?"
"Without the proper materials they would only last for a short while," Caster replied. "Not nearly long enough for you to reach the massive black twister in the first place. And as she is our Familia healer, I cannot have her split from the Familia at this time."
Bell glanced back to where the rest of the Familia were and saw Lancer still combing over Fia. The poor harpy was split between groaning and gagging to try and expel the toxins from her body.
"I understand," Riveria replied before turning to Primo and lowering herself down to eye level with the girl. "Thank you for telling us this. Your decision has helped a lot of people today."
"I-it's no problem!" Primo said before turning her face away from Riveria shyly as the High Elf simply chuckled.
About half an hour later, the army was on the move again, with the main force continuing onto the objective while Bell's group moved toward the forest region. It was rather slow going as people were being carried in makeshift stretchers or just being helped along by their fellow Familia members.
"Are you okay, Primo?" Assassin asked as the elf looked rather downcast as they made their way through the forest. "This is your home, right? Do you not like it?
"Not really…" Primo admitted. "I didn't exactly tell anyone that I was leaving to be an Adventurer."
"Heh? Really?" Gina asked in surprise. "You're a runaway?"
"Uuu…"
"Don't worry, Primo," Emma said with a smile. "We'll back you up should you get into trouble!"
"That's right," Lefiya added. "You've become a proper Adventurer after all."
Lefiya was part of the group from Loki Familia to come with them to the elven village along with several other elves of Loki Familia.
"Something tells me there's more to it then just running away from home," Welf whispered to Bell.
"Yeah, but I have a bad feeling that we might not like the answer if we ask," Bell replied with a nod.
"It would take someone without an ounce of tact to ask that question," Archer joined in.
The three of them then turned to the left where Caster was walking.
"What?" He demanded to which they quickly looked away.
Eventually, they managed to find it.
The village gave off a rather serene atmosphere. The houses were built into the trees with a small river flowing through the middle of the village. Colorful flowers and herbs filled the gardens of each house as several elves poked their heads out to watch the new arrivals with caution.
It was everything Bell expected an Elf Village to be like.
"Primo?" An older elf man shouted as he rushed forward to meet them. "Primo Libera? Is that you, child?"
"Yes, Elder," Primo replied, not meeting the man in the eyes. "I'm home…"
"And you brought quite the number of guests…"
The Elder didn't seem angry at the sheer amount of non-elf Adventurers that dropped in on his doorstep. He seemed more bemused than anything else.
"Umm…did you happen to hear about the black twisters?" Primo asked. "Orario's Adventurers set off to combat them and we were hoping to let our injured rest here."
"'We' and 'our,' huh?" The Elder mumbled as he eyed Berserker warily before sighing and nodding his head. "I understand. Rumors of the black winds have reached us as well. Circumstances being as they are, I'll allow it…although I am unsure if we have enough beds for everyone, I'll get everyone to offer anything they can."
"T-thank you very much, Elder!" Primo said with a bow. "And…I'm sorry for leaving without saying anything."
"No, if we are to survive the black twisters, we will certainly need the assistance of you Adventurers. And while I certainly wasn't happy to find out you had gone; I suppose it was only natural for you to do so in hindsight. Just be sure to give your greetings to your mother while you are here."
"Yes…"
"Then…who should I discuss the details for the lodgings with? In the meantime, feel free to use the space by the river."
Caster and Raul stepped forward and followed the elder into his house while the other Adventurers settled near the river as directed.
"Hey hey, Primo!" Assassin said as she popped up next to the elf. "Show us your house!"
"Yeah! What's it like?" Gina asked as she popped up on the elf's other side.
"Uhh…sure…if anyone else wants to come, I don't mind…" Primo said as she plucked a flower from a nearby bush and started walking with the other two following suit.
The three girls walked further into the village with Bell, Emma and Lefiya following behind them. Welf opted to stay behind to maintain their equipment with Saber. Lancer and Berserker also stayed behind to look after Fia while Archer and Rider started setting up camp.
"Does Primo seem off to either of you?" Emma asked, turning to Lefiya and Bell.
"Yes…the Elder seemed rather reasonable," Lefiya replied. "Maybe it's her mother she didn't want to meet?"
Bell didn't say anything as a cold feeling started creeping up his back. Something about Primo's behavior felt rather familiar.
"What is it?" He wondered as the icy grasp tightened around his heart. "What is this bad feeling?"
The six of them came to one of the buildings deeper in the village, although it looked nearly identical to the rest of the houses.
Primo ran her finger along the handrail up to the front door and held it up to her face. She rubbed her fingers together for a moment before walking to a flowerpot filled with dirt sitting beside the door and dug her fingers into it, fishing out a small key.
As she inserted the key into the door, a familiar face flashed in Bell's eyes.
A smiling old man with gray hair and beard.
Bell suddenly became very aware of the reason Primo probably left her village.
"Come on in…" Primo said as she stepped inside.
"Sorry for intruding!" Gina called out as she and Assassin jumped on in.
However, no one called back out to them. The air in the house seemed rather still, as if no one had lived in it for a long, long time.
As the others looked around in confusion, Bell watched Primo walk up to a small urn in the corner of the living room and place the flower beside it.
Bell understood.
She had left the village for the same reason Bell himself had.
Because there was nothing left for her at home.
Emma and Lefiya stared at Primo for a moment before Emma quickly crossed the room and pulled Primo into a hug, which the elf girl accepted without complaint. Gina seemed to understand what was going on as well, but Assassin had her head tilted to the side in confusion.
"So…there's really nothing here," Primo said. "I'm surprised no one else moved in, actually. Someone's even been keeping the place clean."
"Primo…" Emma muttered, still keeping her arms around the younger girl.
"This village used to just be a treatment facility for the sick, but as more and more people kept coming here, they ended up staying for good and ended up founding the village. Since then, other elves started coming here once they heard rumors about this place. Mom was one of them. Mom used to be in a Familia, but they got wiped out aside from her…and the unborn me I suppose."
"Y-you don't have to say anything," Lefiya said quickly. "We understand."
But Primo kept on talking. Bell wondered if she just wanted to get it off of her chest or that she felt like she had to say something.
"Since she was apparently an Adventurer before, her job in the village was to go out and keep the forest clear of monsters. She worked really hard and was really good at it you know. Everyone was counting on her and she worked hard to make sure to keep everyone safe. Not only that, she did all the chores like shopping, cooking and cleaning in the house as well. I didn't have to do anything."
As she said that, Primo's fist curled up into little balls.
"Whenever I asked to help, she always said 'Don't worry Primo. Just go out and have fun with the other kids.' Even though she worked from the moment she got up to the moment I went to bed, she didn't let me help out with anything. 'It's an adults' job,' she said. And then she went out into the forest a few months ago and then never came back."
An uneasy silence loomed over them before Assassin broke it.
"…Do you hate your mommy?" She asked.
"Of course not!" Primo shouted, biting her quivering lip. "She's my mom! I can't hate her! I just…I just wanted to help her…what's the point of being family if I can't?"
"…So that's what you meant back at Melen…" Gina muttered quietly as she grabbed Assassin and joined Emma in hugging Primo.
Lefiya turned to Bell questioningly but Bell just shook his head.
He couldn't recall anything that stood out from things that Primo said back then. It must have happened after they split up in the morning to go into the city before they found Fia. But…Bell did understand why Primo was always so eager to help out back at Home with various chores when she wasn't playing with Gina and Assassin…and why she jumped at the chance to become Caster's successor as Captain of Hestia Familia.
"Ahem."
Bell and Lefiya turned to look at the group hug to see Gina and Emma looking back at them expectantly.
"Uhh…"
"Umm…"
The two shared another glance before Lefiya jerked her head over to them and the two of them joined in on the hug…with Bell being careful to keep from touching anything he shouldn't.
X-x-X-x-X
"All right, Miss Emma…you look over there and Lily and Miss Morris will look over here."
"Got it."
"Do not go too far. If you get lost, stay still and Lily will find you in about half an hour."
"Oh, come on, Lily! I'm not that bad!"
"Lily will take no chances in a dark forest at night!"
"But there's no need to treat her like a lost child, right?"
"Miss Morris has a lot to learn if she wishes to join our Familia!"
After the somber mood in Primo's old home, they returned to the others in order to move Fia into the house so she could rest in a bed instead of out on the ground. The Elder made good on his word and the villagers were eager to help out in any way they could.
Of course, the number of Adventurers outstripped that of the villagers, so their supplies were stretched thin. Thus Emma, Lily and the newcomer Karen were one of many groups tasked with gathering more of the medicinal herbs after being shown a sample.
Luckily, they grew rather plentifully in the forest surrounding the village, but they couldn't take them all or else the village would be left with nothing. So, they were only to take a little bit from each patch they found and move on to a new one after.
"All right, this should be enough," Emma said after she managed to fill her basket.
Standing up, she took a look at her surroundings and nodded to herself.
"Yep, I have no idea where I am!" She said with a smile before placing a hand against a tree and letting out a long and defeated sigh. "Uuuu…why does this always happen to me?"
"…I see that part of you hasn't changed."
Emma's body froze up at the words.
The voice was familiar and something she had hoped to hear while at the same time had no expectations of ever hearing again.
Slowly, she stood up and turned around to see a robed figure behind her, their features obscured by a hood.
Before Emma could say anything, the figure raised their hands up and lowered the hood, revealing a young woman a few years older than Emma with long purple hair that fell down to her waist.
Emma's jaw dropped at the same time as the basket in her hands.
"…Sophia?"
