I do not own Familia Myth or any of the characters.

New Abilities

Ethan stared at his status in silence.

"What's wrong?" Hestia asked.

"My spell upgraded again," Ethan said.

"Really?" Ryu asked.

"Yeah," Ethan nodded. "Chain Lightning is now Lightning Spree. How does magic even evolve?"

"Well, first you have to master the spell," Hestia said. "Then you have to have a desperate drive to be stronger and to obtain more power, similar to how you felt about defending people and got Guardian Heart."

"And then you get lucky and pull some bullshit out of your ass," Aisha added from off to the side.

"Classy as ever," Ethan said.

"I'm a prostitute," Aisha shrugged. "And I'm correct."

"What do you mean?" Ethan asked.

"Ryu, how many people have you ever heard of who had magic evolve?" Aisha asked.

"Only Ethan," Ryu said.

"Hestia?" Aisha asked.

"Only one other," Hestia said. "A mage in the Hera Familia. Their strongest member. Other than her, no one."

"So then how have I had three spells evolve?" Ethan asked. "Do I have some skill or natural ability I don't know about?"

"Beats me," Hestia shrugged. "Either way, it's useful."

Ethan nodded. "Have the other gods come up with anything to break my curse?"

Hestia shook her head. "The current running theory is that somewhere along the line, your family, either your parents or grandparents, somehow incurred the wrath of an Arae."

"A what?" Ethan asked.

"It's a type of monster that sort of...embodies a curse, or is created from it, I don't remember which," Hestia said. "They're winged, female monsters that curse anyone who anger them. They don't actually attack people normally, and actually avoid people, which is why most adventurers don't know about them."

"So...my family, what, attacked one?" Ethan asked.

"Maybe," Hestia said. "We're not sure."

"Would killing whatever Arae cursed my family end the curse?" Ethan asked.

"Not always," Hestia said. "It also depends which specific curse you have. There are, apparently, several which could cause minotaur arracks."

"Lovely," Ethan sighed, laying his head back. "Well, that's just perfect."

"What does it mean optional chant?" Anya asked, looking at Ethan's status sheet.

"What?" Ethan frowned.

"These hieroglyphs next to Lightning Spree," Anya said. "I could be reading it wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's what it says."

Hestia nodded. "Good. Your lessons are paying off. That's right. Your Lightning Spree now has a chant you can use to strengthen it, though it'll use more mind to do. or, you can use it as is, probably already at a higher level than it was."

"Whoa, cool!" Ethan grinned. "So...what's the incantation?"

Hestia smiled and held out a second paper. "I was going to tell you about it, but we got sidetracked talking about your curse. Memorize this."

Ethan nodded, reading through the incantation, only to grimace. "I think I'm okay with not using it."

Ryu glanced at it then smacked him in the back of the head. "My Luminous Wind is three times longer. Memorize it and we'll work on teaching you Concurrent Chanting later."

Ethan sighed and nodded, beginning to read and reread the incantation over and over. It was a bit more to remember than he liked.

"Blade of Raiko, be free. Shear the sky in two. Will of Raijin. Power of Indra. Rein supreme, enjoy a boundless rampage, and vanish with my foes. Lightning Spree."

"This spell sounds like it'll attack anything in front of me, including my allies," Ethan said.

"So I'll stand behind you while you test it," Ryu shrugged. "It's no big deal."

Ethan sighed. "There's a lot of things about it that could be a big deal."

Ryu smiled and curled into his side again. "After work tomorrow, we'll find something for you to test it on."

Ethan nodded and sighed, wrapping his arms around her. "This is going to be exhausting."

"But worth it," Ryu said.

Ethan sighed, then nodded. "Fine. I'm going to bed for the night, then. Something tells me I'll need to be rested tomorrow."

"You will," Ryu nodded.

Ethan sighed and headed to bed up to his room with Ryu.

Ethan looked around the sixteenth floor as they walked through it silently. Ethan had his sword out, deciding to leave his xiphos in its sheath for the moment. Already they could hear minotaurs bellowing, though they hadn't been ambushed yet. After a few minutes, they walked into a pantry and found a dozen Lygerfangs waiting.

"Alright," Ryu said. "We'll start off easy. I'll kill all but six, then you use Lightning Spree on the rest with Concurrent Chanting."

Ethan grimaced. "Shouldn't I test out the spell at base first so I know what it's supposed to feel like?"

Ryu thought for a moment before nodding. "Good point. Go ahead."

Ethan nodded, holding out his arm. "Lightning Spree!"

A massive flood of lightning bolts exploded from his hand. Dozens of them flashed outward from him, some splitting into more and more branches, others remaining as they were. Then, less than a second after he'd cast it, the lightning bolts all hit and a massive explosion rocked the pantry as the spell exterminated the Lygerfangs in a single blast. Ethan's jaw dropped, his eyes so wide he could swear he felt them starting to roll forward. He blinked and looked to Ryu, who's eyes were also wide, though her expression was more reserved than his.

"Holy shit," Ethan said. "It's awesome!"

"It's so powerful," Ryu said. "And to think, that was without your skills strengthening you."

"Right?" Ethan grinned. "Of course, now there's nothing to test Concurrent Chanting against."

"You can just spar with me, then fire off to the side," Ryu said. "You'll probably explode the first few times anyway."

Ethan sighed. "Good point. Alright. I'm ready when you are."

Ryu nodded and drew her wooden sword as Ethan turned to her, readying himself. She lunged instantly, her sword clashing with his again and again.

After Ethan had adjusted to how hard Ryu was pushing him, he began his chant, "Blade of Raiko, be-" and promptly exploded and sailed backward into the wall of the pantry.

"Ow," he groaned, pushing himself up and dusting himself off, casting his healing spell. "I understand why it's so hard now. It's not just chanting."

"No," Ryu said. "You have to control your magic as well. Concurrent Chanting is like working with a bomb with both hands while still fighting."

Ethan nodded, then took a breath and charged, focusing harder on his magic this time. "Blade of Raiko, be free. Shear the sky in t-"

Ryu's blade crashed into his side hard and he grunted, then exploded. He rolled across the chamber before healing himself and standing.

"I'm going to go Mind Down from healing myself at this rate," Ethan said.

"It took me a year to learn," Ryu said. "You have to be able to split your focus between your magic and your fighting perfectly. Both sides need to be effortless."

Ethan nodded. "Well, that's going to take a while. So. Since we're here anyway, want to go try and kill Goliath?"

"No," Ryu said flatly. "Stop healing yourself so you can at least get some use out of your Berserk skill's status growth. Are you ready to go again?"

Ethan sighed and nodded, readying himself before charging again.

Ethan groaned, dropping onto his bed heavily, lifting his hand and staring at the slowly-healing burn on his entire right forearm. Zero success.

"Tomorrow you'll be working on getting the hang of the spell without having to worry about fighting at the same time," Ryu said. "We'll spend a few days with you casting it with the chant over and over until you can do it easily. Then we'll try Concurrent chanting again."

Ethan nodded, healing himself before setting his arm down on the bed. A moment later, Ryu climbed onto the bed, straddling his waist and allowing him to drink in her naked beauty. His lips curled into an adoring smile instantly and he looked up at her face, seeing a slight blush and shy smile, something he loved seeing, since she rarely showed it any other time.

"How did I ever manage to make someone so beautiful fall in love with me?" Ethan asked, his hands trailing lightly up her legs to settle on the sides of her hips.

"You reminded me of my first love," Ryu said. "The member of my last Familia who had Hero's Sacrifice. I couldn't help her."

"But you did save me," Ethan smiled. "I love you, Ryu."

Ryu smiled. "I love you too." She leaned down, capturing his lips, and shifted her hips to press herself into him as her hands moved to the bottom of his shirt. He smiled, sitting up to let her pull it off, then pulled her tight against himself as they rejoined at the lips.

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