I do not own Familia Myth or any of the characters.
Ruins
Ethan glanced back at the Hermes Familia as the Familia fought a swarm of scorpions while Ethan and the others, including Asfi and the three deities, ran for the Ruins. The original plan had been for the Hermes Familia to create a diversion, despite Ethan and Ryu's assurance that the two of them could deal with the monsters personally and allow the Familia to help with Antares, but Artemis was certain this was the best course of action. However, when the monsters arrived at the end of the briefing, the infiltration group that would be facing Antares split off then and there and left the others to fight. Finally, they reached the ruin and slowed to a stop.
"I never knew these ruins were here," Hestia said.
"It's massive," Welf said.
"A temple to honor the Gods of Old, forgotten by history," Asfi said.
"It's so quiet here," Bell said.
"Not for long," Ethan said, drawing his sword.
"Don't forget, they got us by surprise back there," Asfi said. "Be on alert and keep your eyes open."
"I'm starting to think we should have invited Ais," Ethan said. "And Haruhime."
"Too late now," Ryu said. "Let's get moving."
Ethan nodded in agreement and the two of them walked into the ruin first, the others falling in behind them. As they walked, the tunnel was lit by a soft blue glow from between the stones in the walls.
"What's that glowing?" Bell asked.
"The light emanating from the seal," Artemis said. "The spirits who placed it here were much like myself. In fact, one would even consider them ancient ancestors." She gestured to a carving on the wall of several female archers in identical dresses fighting a giant scorpion, which Ethan would guess was Antares."
"It's lasted that long?" Bell asked, just as Ethan and Ryu stopped.
"We're here," Asfi said. "This is the sealed doorway we spoke of. Still think you have a spell that can get us through, Ethan?"
"Hermes said it was an assault on the ruin, and you said you couldn't make it through the doorway," Ethan said. "I assumed that meant you were trying to fight your way through it."
"It's fine," Artemis said.
"Guess there's no turning back now," Welf said.
"Antares is just beyond here," Lili said.
Artemis walked forward and held her hand out to a stone crescent moon with an arrow inside it on the center of the door, her body shining gold and the sigil doing the same a moment later. Finally, the moon and arrow sigil turned so that the moon was on bottom with the arrow pointing downward and the massive doors began to grind open. Artemis's eyes widened in surprise instantly. Inside were reddish-orange roots everywhere with flesh-colored pods everywhere, large four-way slits on the tops where they looked like they were supposed to open to let whatever was inside out.
"What is that?" Lili asked.
"Something has been nesting in the temple," Ryu said.
"Two guesses what," Ethan said.
"But how?" Artemis breathed.
"I never imagined that it would be this bad," Hermes said, tugging the brim of his hat down.
Just then, there was a wet squelch.
"The exit!" Asfi gasped, everyone spinning and seeing a mass of a pink flesh-like substance growing up to fill the doorway.
There was a wet popping sound behind them just as the door sealed, and Ethan turned just in time for a scorpion to drop to the ground, a thick, clear slime still coating it from the gestation pod.
"Impossible," Ryu breathed.
"Are all of these things...eggs?" Bell asked.
"Yeah," Ethan said, just as more and more began to open, the Scorpions dropping to the floor. "Let's go!"
He and Ryu charged first, slashing a trail through the scorpions rapidly. Welf and Bell followed immediately after, destroying anything they missed. However, before long, one dropped in front of Hestia, making her shriek in fear and fall backward, only for Artemis to destroy it. Ahead of them, more and more began to swarm toward them. Ethan shook his head, growling in annoyance.
"Everyone get back!" Asfi shouted, hurling a pair of glass balls filled with a red fluid.
They exploded into a massive bonfire, but after a moment, the scorpions began to stand again.
"No way!" Bell gasped.
"How's that bastard still alive!?" Welf demanded.
"It survived," Asfi breathed. "My Burst Oil had no effect!"
"Self regeneration, reactive adaptation," Hermes said. "This is unfortunate. It seems that they're evolving faster than we can keep up at this point."
One of the scorpions began to absorb the flames, growing to stand as tall as Ethan on all of its legs and more than four times as long as he was tall, including its tail. More began to swarm down beside it.
"Enough," Ethan said, holding out his left hand. "Lightning Spree."
A massive wave of white-blue lightning bolts exploded from his hand, blasting the scorpions and turning everything for a hundred yards to dust, except the largest scorpion, which had lost its right claw and two left legs.
"Ryu, let's go," Ethan said.
She nodded and they both shot forward, readying themselves. The scorpion roared, stabbing out at Ryu, but Ethan shot forward, his eyes shining crimson, for all the good it would do, and his sclerae turning pitch black for a much better result. He slashed the tail out to the side, then shot forward, a Light Blade forming on his sword and splitting the tail along its full length before he slashed out of the tail and jumped over the scorpion, then spun, removing it at the base. The scorpion shrieked in agony before Ryu shot under it, splitting its underside and killing it. Just as she did, she finished her chant and sent her Luminous Wind out to attack the eggs, only for them to be unaffected, all of them beginning to hatch.
"We need to keep moving!" Ryu called to the others, who all nodded, Artemis shouting directions as they ran, Ethan using another Lightning Spree to clear their path near the end of the tunnel.
They took a ramp downward as the tunnel behind them filled with scorpions. Finally, Bell turned.
"Fire-"
"Don't waste your energy," Ethan said, catching his shoulder. "I need the status boost anyway. Lightning Spree!"
The spell blasted them all, clearing them all before sighing.
"Do you need a potion?" Anya asked.
Ethan chuckled, shaking his head. "I'll be fine. I've used my spells enough that they barely drain anything anymore."
Anya nodded and they continued along the path. After a few minutes, something roared from somewhere inside the ruin.
"Did you hear that?" Ryu asked.
"We're getting close," Asfi said.
"You holding up okay?" Hestia asked Artemis, who was again holding her chest in pain.
"I'm good," Artemis said. "Let's keep moving."
Ethan watched her walk, then looked to Hestia, able to see the pain in her eyes, though she was trying her hardest to hide it. He looked to Ryu, and she nodded silently. Artemis was dying. This quest would end in her death. They all followed Artemis, who was swaying slightly and beginning to breathe harder. However, after a few more minutes, they walked into the center of the ruin. They all stopped, staring at the thing before them. It was a massive creature with a black exoskeleton with glowing red light between the plates, like the skeletons had, a single eye like the scorpions', a head that reminded Ethan of some kind of dragon, two long arms, each as long as four of Ethan and tipped with massive scorpion claws, two more appendages growing from its shoulder above its clawed arms, these ending in sharp points, an enormous scorpion body from where the creature seemed to have a waist, and an enormous tail longer than the creature was tall, and tipped with a pair of pincers. Massive, pulsating tubes were extending from the creature's body to the walls, and the creature was surrounded by a massive, perfectly circular pit more than ten feet wide.
"Is that...Antares?" Bell asked, just as the massive creature roared.
As its ear-splitting roar began to tape off, a thick, purple, smoke-like gas began to seep out of its body and rise rapidly up out of the tower and toward a crescent moon visible through the open ceiling. As soon as it did, Artemis let out a pained grunt and fell to her knees.
"Lady Artemis!" Bell gasped, kneeling beside her.
"Just shoot at it," Artemis said. "You have to destroy it. Please, Orion!"
Just then, the front of the thing's upright body opened in four sections, a massive blue crystal growing from it, white light shining from inside of it, making it seem slightly smoky inside. However, after a second, Ethan realized what he was seeing. Artemis, the real Artemis, was inside the crystal.
"It can't be," Ryu breathed.
"No way," Lili said.
"My gods," Welf breathed.
"How could that happen?" Asfi asked.
"What's going on?" Bell asked, standing and staring at the crystal in confusion and shock. "It can't be! That's Lady Artemis!"
Antares roared again and the purple gas, or energy, exploded out of it and skyward in a massive beam.
"What's it doing!?" Asfi asked.
Ethan stared up at the moon just as the point where the beam seemed to hit flashed and the same attack as had grounded their dragons began to rain down all around the Antares, only it was vastly more powerful this time. The floor of the cavern they were in crumbled in seconds, except the pillar Antares was on. Ethan grabbed Anya and Ryu, pulling them both to himself before flipping and bracing, forcing himself to get mad. Then, he landed hard, shattering both of his legs.
"Ethan!" Anya gasped.
"It's...fine!" Ethan said through clenched teeth. "Restoration!"
His legs snapped and cracked loudly as they healed, though not all the way. He groaned, sliding over to sit back against a rock.
"Are you alright?" Anya asked.
"I'll be fine," Ethan said. "I still have hairline fractures, so my stats will be able to increase faster, and my Berserk will activate to a higher level."
"So you're still hurt," Anya said.
"This is good," Ethan said.
He took a long breath before forcing himself up to his feet and picked the other two up before turning and jumping, clearing the edge of the pit and landing with the others, Ethan noticing Bell and Artemis were both missing.
"What's the meaning of this!?" Asfi demanded as she walked over to Hermes. "That beam was undeniably Arcanum! How was that thing able to wield the power of the gods!?"
"Because it consumed Artemis's body," Ethan said, everyone staring at him. "It's using her lifeforce to wield Arcanum. The only way to destroy it is to shatter its magic crystal."
"Master Welf, where are Master Bell and Lady Artemis?" Lili asked suddenly.
Welf shook his head. "We got separated. They must be in the rubble."
"Hermes, you're going to tell us all everything, now," Ethan said. "You dragged us all into a battle we couldn't win, one we were grossly unprepared for, so now you're going to explain to us what we're really up against."
Hermes was silent for a moment before nodding. "The Artemis we've been travelling with is not Artemis's body. Her thought form dwells within the spear. The last remnants of her divine spirit. She's still the same Artemis in a lot of ways. In other ways, she's not."
"How sad for her," Lili said.
"Now that its body is infused with her divine power, Antares can bend the very laws of nature," Hermes continued.
"How can we expect to defeat something as powerful as that?" Lili asked.
"The magic crystal is nod entirely infused with Arcanum," Ethan said. "Specifically, Artemis's Arcanum. Therefore, the only thing that can break it, is the spear, which contains Artemis's soul. To kill it...we have to kill her."
"That's not quite accurate," Hermes said. "Come on. I'll explain on the way."
They all followed as he ran along a path off to the side.
"The spear is more of an arrow," Hermes said. "Just before she was overtaken, or rather just after, Artemis summoned it from Heaven."
"A Divine Weapon," Welf breathed.
"Is that what it is?" Lili asked.
"Yeah," Welf nodded. "Lady Hephaestus told me about them once. Weapons that destroy even gods."
"The arrow's name is Orion," Hermes said. "Right now, from what I saw, Antares is using Artemis's power to form a massive Arcanum bow and arrow in the sky. One which will destroy the entire world."
"Wait a moment," Asfi said, stopping. "You can't seriously mean to leave the fate of the entire world in the hands of Bell Cranel?"
"There's...nothing else we can do," Hermes said.
Asfi grabbed him by the collar of his cloak, glaring angrily at him. "You can't do this! How can you thrust all of this responsibility on a boy!? You know killing a god is a mortal sin!"
"You have it wrong," Hermes said. "No. No. That's not what this is about at all."
Just then, the cavern shook and a cloud of dust shot up from the pit up ahead of them.
"There's no changing the end result of this battle," Ethan said. "But for now, we can help Bell along. We have to stall Antares."
Ryu nodded and the two of them sprinted for the edge of the pit and leapt off, Ethan drawing both blades and Ryu her stick and a tanto. Below them, Bell was slashing Antares over and over with his hieroglyph dagger, the blade sparking against Antares each time. Finally, one of Antares' extra arms smashed into Bell, launching him away. Ethan and Ryu fell quickly, then slashed Antares down the front as they reached him. All four of their blades did as little damage as Bell's had. They both took off at a sprint as Antares struck at them.
"Ryu, aim for the eye!" Ethan shouted.
Ryu nodded, beginning to chant instantly. However, before she could finish, one of its limbs crashed into her side, sending her bouncing away. Rage and desperation flooded him and he shoved his xiphos back into its scabbard, raising his left hand.
"Lightning Spree!" Ethan shouted, focusing the spell into a single bolt.
It flashed through the air and exploded into Antares' eye, only for the smoke to clear and leave it completely unharmed. A limb swiped across the room and crashed into his chest, hurling him backward into Ryu, both bouncing across the ground. Bell charged and drove his dagger into pink flesh between Antares' exoskeleton's plates, then cast his Firebolt through his dagger, blasting it off and sending himself flying backward, only for the limb to recover instantly. Antares smashed a leg into him and hurled him backward before the crystal containing Artemis exposed itself and fired a beam of Arcanum at Bell, only for Artemis's soul to step into the way, holding her hands out and blocking it.
"Please, Orion," Artemis begged. "I need you to pierce through his heart with the arrow before mine destroys you!"
"Lady Artemis!" Bell pleaded, reaching for her as she began to fade.
"Ryu, get Bell out of the way!" Ethan said, forcing himself to his feet unsteadily.
Ryu shot forward, dragging Bell out of the way just as Artemis faded entirely, the blast ending at the same time.
"Artemis!" Hestia cried as Bell fell to his knees, sobbing.
Ethan raised his left arm. "Lightning Spree!"
The bolts split, crashing into the points between Antares' joins, but only blasted halfway through, all of the damage sealing in an instant. Then, Antares opened its mouth and fired a beam of purple Arcanum at Ryu and Asfi, who were charging from the above, forcing them to scatter. The beam swept down, tearing along the ground and forcing Lili and Welf to avoid it as well before sweeping around at Ethan, who was mid-chant. He swore, diving out of the way, only for his failed spell to set off an explosion in front of him, hurling him backward. He groaned, struggling to stand, only for Ryu to grab him and leap out of the way of a claw, which shattered the ground.
"Drop me!" Ethan ordered.
Ryu complied instantly and leapt off his back to shove him downward while throwing herself upward. As she did, another purple blast shot between them, blasting the wall. Ethan grit his teeth a Asfi bombed its head just before Ryu slammed her stick into it, only for Antares' tail to explode into Asfi, sending her crashing to the ground.
"Please let this work!" Ethan growled, diving out of the way of a purple blast. "I don't have that Luck stat for nothing!" He leapt over a leg, using a Light Blade to slash it off at the knee, then landed and let the Light Blade fade. "Blade of Raiko, be free. Shear the sky in two." He flipped over a leg, slashing it and using his blade to throw himself into the air. "Will of Raijin," Ethan chanted. "Power of Indra. Rein supreme-"
Ryu blasted Antares with her own spell finally, only for the tail to send her blasting into Asfi and both into the ground.
"-enjoy a boundless rampage," Ethan grabbed both women and dove to the side out of the way of a claw, which grabbed a chunk of the ground instead, "and vanish with my foes. Lightning Spree!"
The lightning that he fired were each twice the size of his arm and shining as blindingly as the one he'd killed the Goliath with, though he could feel that even combined they were less powerful. The blasts scattered and flashed across the room, exploding into Antares' joints all at once, blasting its arms, legs, and tail apart, sending it crashing to the ground, shrieking in agony, though it was already beginning to regenerate. Finally, a bell began to toll as pure white light spread over Bell, who was holding the spear again. Antares' tail finished regenerating and stabbed at him, only for Ethan and Ryu to crash down on it, smashing it to the ground. Lili fired a small white magic sword Welf had given her and it was suddenly encased in lightning as it flew, then exploded against Antares' eye. He responded by firing a purple blast, but it missed, blasting the wall of the pit off tot he side. It did, however, cause the wall to crumble, so Welf drew the much larger magic sword on his back and slashed, blasting the rubble into ash just before Ethan sent a focused Lightning Spree into its mouth, blasting its lower jaw off.
Finally, Bell began to walk forward as Antares' legs finished regrowing and it stood. It fired several short blasts of purple Arcanum at Bell, but he dodged around them rapidly. As he broke into a full charge, golden particles of light began to surround Bell along with the blue of his skill. Antares began to form a bow and arrow from Artemis's power between himself and Bell, and Bell moved to hurl the spear. As he did, its silver shaft and head turned gold and Antares fired, only for it to crash into the spear and stop, the two powers fighting each other for a long moment. Then, Bell's attack won, blasting through the arrow and crashed into the plating protecting Antares' heart. It began to crack instantly, the cracks glowing purple. A wave of force swept over the room, kicking up a massive cloud of dust as the cracks spread to the rest of Antares' body. As it settled, Antares collapsed, the crystal seeming undamaged, but Antares' plating over its entire body gone.
Ethan sighed as Ryu landed beside him, catching him as his legs finally gave out. They watched as Bell drew his knife, his hand glowing faintly with his skill as he walked forward calmly. The hieroglyphs shone white until he set the tip of the knife against the crystal, where they turned gold. Bell hesitated for a moment before shouting in pain and effort and pulling the knife back before slamming it into the crystal. It chipped, then began to crack more and more. Then, it shattered. Artemis fell forward, and Bell couldn't stop his hand. Within the span of time it took for Ethan to realize what was about to happen, it was over. Bell's dagger was impaled in Artemis's heart. And then, Antares exploded and a beam of light filling the pit exploded skyward, clearing the massive bow and arrow above them.
Ethan sighed, sitting down heavily, and Ryu sat beside him, Anya joining them a moment later as the others all gathered around Bell, who was sobbing, Hestia holding his hand as a small comfort, for what little good it did. Once he'd settled down, they made their way back out, Bell heading to the top of the ruin with Hestia while the others all went to the bridge out front to wait for him.
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