AN: Hey all, so this story continues to have a good following and a lot of support, so thanks for that I really do appreciate the support! Have to say I've gotten very into Danmachi recently as I've been watching the new season for the anime, and it's been great stuff! It's also given me a lot of ideas for this story, and a lot of stuff to play around with as the story progresses.
I've also been re-familiarising myself with lore surrounding Snow Elfs whilst I come up with racial abilities and continue to build up Azoth's back story. Suffice to say it is sparse, but has a lot of potential.
That said here is the next chapter, I hope you all enjoy it and leave a review.
Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own Danmachi or the Elder Scrolls.
( - )
(Last Time)
Ignorant of Azoth's decision, the wolf boy continued yapping. "What, not you too Riveria? The kid is a waste of space, and is better off giving up on being an Adventurer you know that!"
"Azoth!" Syr suddenly called out in surprise, her grey eyes widening as the white haired Snow Elf stood up off of his stool and started walked over to the Loki Familia's table. "What are you doing? Don't cause any trouble!"
Azoth only sent her a grin in response, he wasn't going to kill or maim anyone or anything like that. He was just going to challenge the wolf boy to a fight, kick him around a bit, and put the little yapping puppy in his place.
( - )
Chapter 4
( - )
(The Hostess of Fertility)
Riveria was not impressed. They, which is to say the Loki Familia, had just arrived at, and settled in at, their local tavern, the Hostess of Fertility, and were in the midst of having a nice night out in order to celebrate their return from their most recent expedition. Even if that expedition had been forced to end prematurely due to the interference of a number of previously unidentified, acid spewing, acid blooded, caterpillar monsters.
Yes, just more of the same for a group of High Class Adventurers.
Still, this night was supposed to have been a pleasant evening, a time for the Loki Familia Executives, and the expedition team, as well as their goddess, Loki, to enjoy one another's company and rejoice in the fact that they had all return from the Dungeon alive, which was quite a feat itself in all honesty.
Unfortunately though, Bete Loga, a powerful, but still young, Level Five Adventurer had decided to run his mouth. Cruelly, in her opinion, mocking an unfortunate Level One Adventurer who had had the misfortune of running into a Minotaur, on the fifth floor.
A Minotaur that was ten floors above where it should've been, which was due in part to their party dropping the ball when they had first engaged a large group of the monsters many floors further down.
Which made Bete's mockery all the more unseemly.
"What, not you too Riveria? The kid is a waste of space, and is better off giving up on being an Adventurer, you know that!" Bete grumbled, his face twisted up in irritation as he saw that the tables had turned, and the rest of their group were no longer laughing.
Bete was not a bad person, in fact he had a good, strong heart and often went out of his way to protect and look after those in his Familia. But he did have a rough background, and as such had developed a bit of a chip on his shoulder when it came to weakness.
It was not his best quality, but for Riveria, and her friends; the Pallum and Captain of the Loki Familia, Finn, their axe wielding, dwarven companion, Gareth, as well as Loki herself, they could at least understand why he was acting this way. On top of which, the fact that he had also drunken too much, was also clear to see.
Still though, enough was enough, it was time to take matters into her own hands. She might not like it when Loki referred to her as 'mama', and claimed that she is the mother of the Loki Familia, but still, it was time to play mother and get Bete back in line.
As the green haired High Elf was about to speak though, her eyes narrowed and her beautiful, aristocratic features set into a look of disapproval, she found herself distracted by another voice coming over from near the bar.
It was the waitress Syr, the pleasant and pretty human girl, and the only member of the staff that was not a former Adventurer.
"Azoth! What are you doing? Don't cause any trouble!"
It was the last word, 'trouble', that caught both her attention, and Finn, Gareth and Loki's attention too as they glanced over at the source.
The three Level Six Adventurers; herself, Finn and Gareth, were all old enough, and experienced enough, to sense trouble when it was on the horizon. It was something every highly skilled Adventurer developed and honed, as in the deepest depths of the Dungeon this sense could be the difference between life and death.
Loki, the Goddess of Mischief, meanwhile, she was older than all of them put together, and as cunning and sly as they came. Despite her outward appearance, and the way she acted, Riveria, knew for a fact that the goddess was smarter and more intuitive than most.
Either way, they all heard the call and looked over to the source.
And it was good they did too.
As Riveria looked to the bar she saw the armoured figure she had vaguely clocked onto when they had first entered the bar, starting to approach their table.
From just a single look, Riveria, could see this elven man was dangerous. He was taller than most, well over six feet tall, and had a large build, which in turn was made even larger by the heavy, dark armour he was wearing. An armour which was made all the more intimidating, due to both how strong it looked, and due to how battered and destroyed it had been, despite its obvious durability.
This man looked like he had been in a ferocious fight with a terrible foe.
But that wasn't what concerned her most. No, what concerned her most was that this guy looked strong, and yet she didn't recognise him at all, either by sight, or by reputation.
Trailing her gaze over the man, Riveria took note of the intricately decorated, double bladed battle-axe on his back, and the faintly glowing, golden hilted sword at his hip, both of which, if she were not mistaken, were magic weapons.
Riveria's emerald eyes widened slightly at that realisation.
Magic weapons were as rare as they were powerful. For this man to so brazenly carry two, and for him to be an elf too. Well that was certainly telling in and of itself. Most of her kin despised magic weapons, due to such weapons being used many years ago to burn down one of the elven forests and to massacre her kin.
Just what he was doing wielding such weapons, well it had her very curious, and also made her distinctly cautious.
Pushing those thoughts aside for now, Riveria instead tore her gaze from his armour and weaponry, after having given them little more than a second's glance, and focused in properly on his face.
He was an elf; that much was obvious due to his long pointed ears and delicate, angular facial features.
That said he was like no elf she had seen before; he was tall and heavily built, with hair and skin as white as snow and intense, faintly glowing violet eyes. He was a visibly striking individual, admittedly handsome in a rough, crass kind of way, even with the scar which crossed his cheeks and nose, and clearly also; no normal, run of the mill, elf.
It was not just his armour and weaponry that told her this, it was his intense gaze, the way he held himself and the sheer aura of danger he was beginning to exude. This man was a fighter, a warrior, a killer.
And he was also clearly drunk… the slight stumble in his step and faintly glazed look in his intense, violet eyes was evidence enough of that.
"Riveria!" Bete snapped impatiently from behind her. Clearly the werewolf didn't like being ignored.
With that in mind she continued to ignore him and instead looked to Finn and Gareth, sharing a look with them as the white haired elf continued walking towards them. All three of them subtlety tensing up as a silent communication passed between them.
They might not be either armed or armoured, but all three of them were still Level Six, three of the very few Level Sixes in existence. They were not push overs, and if this unfamiliar stranger wanted to cause some trouble, well he himself would be the one in trouble when all was said and done.
"Oi, I'm talking to you, why are you ignoring me!?" Bete snapped, his patience finally getting the better of him as Tiona, Tione, Aiz and a number of other Familia members also began to notice the approaching man and turned to look at him.
"Hey puppy!" The elf suddenly called out loudly, his voice somewhat melodic, but also conversely carrying an undertone of feral excitement to it. It kind of reminded her of how Tiona and Tione sounded when they were hankering for a fight.
Almost at once the tavern noticeably quieted down. Syr noticeably palming her face from behind the bar, even as the green haired, elf waitress, Ryuu, and Mama Mia, paused in their actions and turned to watch.
Even from this distance Riveria could see the hint of worryingly excited anticipation in Mia's eyes as she leant against the bar, her elven maid at her side casual cleaning a mug, the elf's blue eyes fixed unerringly on the white haired elf, even as she joined her employer in spectating.
Just what did the former Captain of the Freya Familia know that they didn't?
As for the rest of the clientele, including the pale white and terrified looking, white haired boy next to Syr, they all just became quieter and started watching the potential confrontation eagerly, or in some cases, nervously.
"Who the fuck do you think you're talking too?" Bete snapped, the prickly, short tempered teen instantly rising to the elf's insult and taking offence. With the werewolf standing up from his seat as he did so, his wooden chair crashing down to the floor behind him as he instantly reacted to the blatant provocation.
Great, this was just how she saw her night going.
Now she would need to play peace maker between two hot-headed Adventurer idiots, and stop them from fighting and causing a scene.
She didn't even know which Familia this guy was from, but despite that she would prefer that this not escalate into a Familia War or something worse.
From beside her, Loki, leant forward in anticipation, her red eyes fully open and alight with excitement as she looked back and forth between the two tall, dangerous men.
Clearly her goddess didn't think the same.
Riveria sighed at that.
Sometimes it was hard being one of the only responsible grownups in their Familia.
( - )
(With Azoth)
"Who the fuck do you think you're talking too?" The grey haired puppy shouted back, standing up to face Azoth as he did so.
"Bete something or other…" Azoth replied cheerfully, his gauntleted hands on his armoured hips as he met the teen's furious gaze with his own amused eyes. "I didn't catch your full name, but I did hear your yapping, bitching and whining!"
"The name is Bete Loga, and you better remember it!" Bete growled, slamming one of his feet on the table in front of him and glaring over at the Snow Elf as he did so. "Now get the fuck out of here before I lose my temper, this is a private party in case you didn't notice!"
Azoth smiled as he heard that, even as the rest of the tavern remained quiet, all of them watching the confrontation with tense excitement. Save of course for the green haired elf, short bearded man and blonde child, they all looked up at him suspiciously their bodies tense as if they were ready to move in an instant.
"Hmm, maybe," Azoth nodded, his lips curving upwards as he looked down and met the elf's green eyes. She was pretty damned beautiful, but that beauty he noticed, was an austere kind. Cold and composed, the elf woman had the look of royalty about her. Azoth had met enough Jarls and Queens, and people who thought themselves royalty, to tell.
"Then what are you still doing here?! Or are you just an idiot looking for a beat down!?" Bete snarled, striding around from behind the now silent table as he instead came to a stop right in front of Azoth, the both of them now standing; nose to nose, and eye to eye.
"Oh, so you have the same thing in mind! That's brilliant!" Azoth replied cheerfully, his tone joyous as he clapped his hand on the other man's shoulder in a friendly manner, ignoring the looks of anticipation the two tanned woman, and the red haired goddess, were giving the two to them as he did so.
"What?" Bete replied, his face furrowing in confusion, even as those watching began to mutter amongst one another.
"We're in a tavern aren't we, so how about it? A friendly brawl, me and you, right here and now!" Azoth continued bluntly, expanding on his statement and ignoring the gasps, stupefied expressions and looks of pity people were sending him.
"Are you insane, I'm a Level Five Adventurer, one of the best of the best?! You're just some no name loser!" Bete growled, taking a step back as he looked Azoth up and down, almost like he thought he had some major mental health issues.
"Nah, I'm not insane, and I'm not exactly a beginner either. A veteran Adventurer, that's me!" Azoth replied cheerfully, thumping his armoured chest with his gauntlet as he did so, conveniently ignoring the slight tinkle of metal as a piece fell off his ravaged armour and bounced onto the floor.
The others at the table however didn't, and the look of excitement on the tanned girls' faces turned to incredulity, even as Riveria, the green haired elf, and a couple of others stood up, as if hoping to intercede in the two drunk men's conversation.
It was unfortunate for them though that Azoth was already too amped up for a fight, so much so that even if they had managed to intercede earlier he wouldn't have allowed it.
"So come on what do you say we take this outside and have a brawl. No weapons of course, we're not trying to kill or maim one another. Oh, and let's make a wager on it. If I win you buy me a tankard of ale and stop being so noisy, and if you win I buy you a tankard of ale and apologise for calling you a puppy!" Azoth beamed, flashing his white teeth as he clapped Bete on the shoulder again, ignoring the looks of surprise and confusion all around them.
"Right, I think that's enough." Riveria tried to cut in, forcing her way between the two of them, showing a startling amount of strength for one with such a lithe form as she physically pushed the two of them apart.
"No, I like the way this shit bag is talking!" Bete growled, pushing, Riveria, gently to one side as he met Azoth's gaze. "You're insane and about to getting the beating of your life, kid!" Here Bete's lips curved into a grin. "But I like you all the same, you've got guts!"
"Easy there puppy, don't count me out yet!" Azoth replied, his own smile turning feral.
"I think…" The blonde child began, only to be cut off by his goddess.
"No, let them fight." Loki said, grabbing onto the back of Finn's shirt to stop him from interfering as she eagerly looked between Bete and Azoth. "It isn't serious, and won't do any harm. Besides I want to see what happens."
"Loki!" Riveria hissed.
"Oh come on mama, you, Finn and Gareth will be there to make sure nothing bad happens." Loki waved her away.
"Yeah come on Riveria, let them fight!" Tiona added on excitedly.
"What do you think Captain?" Tione spoke up next, her green eyes flicking over to the blonde child as she did so.
"As long as they keep it friendly, and it doesn't get out of hand, I think it should be fine." Finn, the child and apparent Captain of the Familia, and wasn't that a surprise, said carefully. "That said if Bete goes too far I will stop the fight. The last thing we want is a Familia War because of this."
"Oh I wouldn't worry about that!" Azoth laughed, waving the comment away. "I'm new to town, I haven't joined a Familia yet, or gotten a new patron!"
Again his words caused a lot of muttering, and more than a few doubtful comments. By the sounds of it he wasn't the bookies favourite to win this thing.
"Enough talk elf! You and me, right here, right now!" Bete growled, shoving Azoth backwards as he did so.
"If you're going to brawl, or whatever you want to call it, you can go outside!" Mia called out from behind the bar, her brown eyes shining with anticipation, even as a number of the other patrons started shouting and cheering, and others started making wagers.
"See you out there then!" Azoth grinned, before he headed for the bar, calling over his shoulder as he did so. "Remember, no weapons, only fists!"
"Shitty elf!" Bete replied, draining his tankard of ale and slamming it down, before he headed for the door his hands in his pocket, and his Familia members, most of whom looked excited, following after him.
"Well you sure know how to cause a stir don't you?" Mia said mildly, grinning over at, Azoth, as she did so. "You sure you'll be alright? Bete Loga is a tough one, he won't go down easily!"
Taking off Dawnbreaker, his Daedric dagger and Wuuthrad, and beginning to unbuckle his Ebony Armour, Azoth just grinned.
"It'll be fine, after the day I've had I need a good punch up to work off my stress!" Azoth waved her off, laying his weapons on the bar as he did so. "That said do you mind looking after my stuff while I'm fighting?"
Eyeing the weapons for a moment, Mia then nodded curtly. "Stick them in the back before you head out with the rest of your stuff, no one will touch them."
"Thanks," Azoth nodded as he continued to unbuckle his armour with practiced ease.
"Please, Mister Azoth, you don't need to do this!?" Bell suddenly said, distracting the Snow Elf as he looked away from the patrons and barmaids, including Syr and Mia, who were all heading out into the street and instead down at the kid.
"What're you talking about kid?" Azoth grunted, pulling off his breastplate as he did so, so that he was now only wearing a; sweat and blood stained, padded, cotton tunic over his torso.
The shirt he usually wore underneath his armour. Which even to Azoth, who had become used to the smell, absolutely stank, and was in desperate need of a wash. But still beggars couldn't be choosers, he would just have to bear with it until he got a chance to get a new shirt, or washing his current one.
"You don't have to fight that guy over what he was saying about me!" Bell continued, even as Azoth jumped over the bar, giving Ryuu a nod and a wink as he did so, even as he bundled all of his weaponry and armour under the stairs, and safely out of sight of any opportunistic thieves.
"I'm not doing anything for you kid, I don't even know you properly." Azoth grunted in reply, tucking his stuff safely away and checking it over, before he leapt back over the bar. "Your problems are your own, Bell Cranel, and you'll have to solve them yourself. Me, I am just fighting this guy because I fancy it!"
"What?" Bell gasped, looking up at the taller, broad chested Snow Elf in shock.
"You coming, Ryuu?" Azoth called, stretching his arms as he walked towards the open door. Through which he could already see the large crowd of drunk and cheering revellers waiting, as well as the impatient looking, Bete.
"Yes," Ryuu said after a moment, gesturing for the still stunned Bell to go first. "Don't hurt him too badly."
Azoth cocked an eyebrow at that, and grinned. It appears at least one person had faith in his abilities. "Don't worry, it's not a serious fight."
With that said Azoth grabbed a three quarters full tankard of ale from an empty table and stepped outside, much to the renewed shouting and cheering of the crowd of bloodthirsty drunks.
"Come along Mister Cranel." Ryuu said, ushering the white haired kid out after Azoth, the boy in question mumbling under his breath as he did so.
Only for him to freeze as a voice, Bete's voice called out, "Wait a second, isn't that tomato boy!?"
( - )
(A few minutes earlier)
"Now remember Bete, you'll need to pull your punches a bit. This guy is from outside of Orario, so he probably isn't more than a Level Three, or a Level Four tops." Tiona said from beside Bete, patting the taller teen on the shoulder and smirking up at him as she did so.
"Yeah, last thing we need is a murder charge levelled against us because you went overboard in a bar fight." Tione tagged on, flicking her long dark hair behind her shoulder as she did so.
"Yeah, yeah I know. I'm not actually going kill or cripple the guy, just rough him up a bit, I do still want that apology and free drink!" Bete replied, his hands still in his pockets as he waited for the white haired elf to show himself.
"Still be careful Bete, there is more to this guy than you might think." Finn cautioned, the blonde Pallum standing beside Loki with his arms folded, his gaze not on Bete but on the door to the Hostess of Fertility.
"There is something unnatural about him, do not take him lightly." Riveria added on softly.
"Hn, whatever." Bete growled, waving them off.
"What do you think about the guy Miss Aiz?" Lefiya, the Level Three mage and elf, asked, looking to the tall, emotionless looking blonde as she did so, her blue eyes sparkling as they took in Aiz's lithe form, waist length golden blonde hair and intense golden eyes.
"Strong." Aiz said simply.
"What! Not you too Aiz!" Bete growled, snapping around to look at the blonde, his face going a bit red as he did so.
This was something the two Amazon twins noticed, much to his chagrin, as they almost immediately started laughing and teasing him about it.
Before anymore could be said though, the attention of the Loki Familia and the rest of the excitably chattering crowd was quickly drawn to the doorway as the white haired elf arrived.
Looking over as he did so, Bete started sizing him up at once. The guy wasn't wearing his black armour anymore, or at least not over his torso, his legs and feet however were still booted.
Despite this though the guy still had a broad shouldered, heavily muscled build, something which was at odds with the rest of his race. The guy was an elf that had the build of a particularly tall and athletic dwarf. It was the build of a warrior, not a mage.
On top of that the elf was tall, probably the same height as, Bete, himself, if not a little shorter without the armoured boots he was wearing. Still, he was tall and probably properly proportioned, meaning that Bete wouldn't have the reach advantage.
Rolling his shoulders as he stepped into the centre of the circle, Bete, moved forward so as to face off with the elf. Noticing as he did how the padded jacket he was wearing was stained with blood and sweat.
The thing absolutely stunk, enough so that it made Bete's sensitive nose wrinkle up in disgust.
Grinning slightly as he entered the circle, Azoth, cracked his neck to the side and raised his fists in front of him, his body slowly moving from side to side and his feet shifting with practiced ease as he started to prepare for a fist fight.
Growling inwardly at the cocky smile on the slightly older/ younger man's face, it was impossible to tell with elves, Bete, kept his hands casually stuffed in his pockets, even as he watched the odd elf carefully, waiting for him to make the first move.
It was as he was doing this though, that Bete glanced over the elf's shoulder and saw a white haired, scrawny looking kid leaving the tavern behind him.
One that look vaguely familiar to him.
"Wait a second, isn't that tomato boy!?" Bete suddenly laughed, a grin spreading across his face as he saw the teen freeze at his words, his face going bright red as many eyes turned to look at him, including the golden eyes of Aiz Wallenstein.
A few moments later the red faced boy unfroze, and promptly ran away his face in his hands as Bete's started laughing loudly again.
"Tomato boy… that's clever, did you come up with it yourself?" Azoth shot back dryly, his lip curling upwards in a mocking smirk as he caught Bete's eyes, his words causing the werewolves laughter to die off.
"He's got you there, Bete!" Tiona laughed from the side lines.
"Shut up!" Bete snapped back, his dark eyes flashing with anger as he looked back at Azoth. "Well come on then, let's fight!"
( - )
At Bete's words, Azoth shot forwards, he needed no further prompting.
The cheers and jeers of the crowd around him faded to nothing as he closed the distance between him and Bete in mere moments, his right fist already swinging around for a devastating right hook.
Bete however, was already ready for him, as with a snarl he leapt backwards away from the punch, and lashed out with a kick to Azoth's head.
Only for Azoth to move forward and block it, his right arm raising up as a block, catching Bete's armoured shin with ease. The strength of Bete's blow not affecting the Snow Elf in the slightest as he shrugged off the blow that would have felled a weaker Adventurer with ease.
Growling at this, Bete followed up his first kick with another, and then another, and another. His legs little more than blurs as he leapt forward, unleashing powerful kick after powerful kick at the elf, occasionally leaping into the air so to give extra force to his onslaught of kicks.
Azoth though dodged or blocked all of them, his violet eyes following Bete's movements with ease as he weathered the first half dozen blows without trouble. The white haired elf looking none the worse for it as he patiently waited for an opening, even as Bete continued to lash out at him.
The grey haired man was faster than him, of that there was no denying.
But Azoth was stronger, and far more durable.
The few blows that Bete did succeed in landing, even if only partially, were not that strong. In fact they were no stronger than the blows one might receive from a bad tempered troll.
To a newbie Adventurer they would be devastating, but to someone of Azoth's calibre. Well he could shrug them off easily enough.
The grey haired man could attack him like this all day, and Azoth's durability, stamina and the natural regeneration he, courtesy of his werewolf blood, dulled though it was in his human form, would see him through.
That said, Azoth didn't want to be here all night as he waited for his opponent to tire himself out. No, he had stuff to do. Accommodation for the night to find, for one.
Shifting his feet back, Azoth's violet eyes lit up when he spotted a sudden opening. His hand twisting as he went from blocking with his left arm, to gripping Bete's armoured shin. The other man's metal shin guards, which went from his ankles to his knees, and which were made of some kind of unfamiliar metal, creaking and screeching as his vice like hand gripped them.
"What!" Bete snapped mid kick, his voice laced with surprise.
Azoth didn't answer him though, as with a tug he pulled the other man off guard and landed a straight right to his gut. The force of his unarmoured punch knocking the wind out of Bete's lungs and folding him over, even as Azoth released his leg and landed a left to the side of his head sending him staggering backwards and nearly onto his arse.
Continuing his assault, Azoth moved in close both arms up, and his hand clenched into fist as he unleashed powerful blow after powerful blow. His fists smashing into Bete's stomach, kidneys, liver, arms and head as he weaved from side to side, each punch leading into another one.
Azoth was very skilled at unarmed fighting, after all he was a veteran of many a tavern brawl. Hell he had even beaten a giant in a fist fight before, though in that case he had been wearing his Ebony gauntlets.
Landing another punch to Bete's gut, Azoth then followed this up with a head-butt. His head smashing into Bete's face as his gut shot naturally forced him to bend forward, the blow breaking the wolf boy's nose with a sickening crunch. Only for Azoth to follow this up with another punch to the gut, almost lifting the other man off his feet from the strength of the strike.
Where the power behind Bete's punches maybe as strong as an enraged troll's, Azoth's were more comparable with a fury filled giant.
Every punch he unleashed struck with the force and weight of a steel war hammer.
( - )
"Gah!" Bete spat, a fine mist of blood spraying out of his mouth as the elf continued his assault, his movements brutally efficient as he kept in close to the werewolf, not allowing him time to breath, or space to use the kicks his fighting style relied upon.
It was ridiculous, the elf was moving at the speed of a high Level Four, or a low Level Five Adventurer, fast, but not as fast as the werewolf. But his strength, his strength was easily on a par with Gareth's strength, and Gareth was a Level Six and the strongest in the Familiar.
If it weren't for him being a high Level Five Adventurer, then Bete knew he would have been down by this point. Already he could feel that several of his ribs were broken, and the mist of blood that left his mouth with every breath told him that he had suffered some internal damage.
He was in trouble.
'This elf is mental.' Bete thought to himself, throwing himself backward, his arms up as he tried to weave between the elf's punches, completely on the defensive now as he tried to get enough space to get a breather.
The elf's strength wasn't even the worse part, it was his durability too. If possible the elf was more durable than Gareth. The few punches and kicks he had managed to land on the white haired elf had probably hurt him more than they did the elf.
Honestly it was like punching solid stone, and this was when the man wasn't wearing his armour.
It was impossible, how could this nobody, an unknown Adventurer who just rolled into town today, be this high of a level.
The guy had to be a High Level Five at the least, if not a Level Six.
Throwing himself backwards, ignoring the shouting and roaring from the crowd as he did so, Bete swung his leg around and managed to land a kick on the elf's legs. If he could take his legs out from under him, then he could get on top of him and bring both his weight and strength to bear.
He had to end the fight now, his stamina was already starting to flag.
"Argh!" Bete bellowed, silencing the crowd as he kicked off the ground and landed a few feet away from Azoth, only for him to stumble as his knee nearly gave out beneath him.
He had landed a clean kick on the man, but against his armoured legs. He might well as not done anything. In fact all that had happened, was that he had left himself open for the elf to land a kick off his own, or rather a stamp, as his booted foot had smashed into Bete's own leg.
The kick hadn't broken anything though, his mithril shin guards, his Flosvirt, had protected him from that much. But it had sure as hell had still hurt, and hurt a lot.
"Come on puppy, is that all you've got!?" Azoth called out with a grin, the elf looking none the worse for wear, save for a thin trail of dried blood that ran down from his mouth.
One of Bete's kicks had glanced the elf's face, the force of the glancing blow having mashed the elf's lips against his own teeth, enough to draw blow.
It was the only visible damage he had dealt to the elf. Whilst in return the elf had broken several ribs, damaged and bruised a few organs, nearly broken his leg and nearly dislocated his jaw.
"Come on Bete, don't let this elf show up the Loki Familia! No offence Riveria, Lefiya!" Tiona cheered from the side, her words causing a loud roar of support to come from his watching Familia members.
Glancing to the side, Bete felt some of his fighting spirit return when he saw his Familia, his family, cheering him on. Even Finn, Gareth and the ever stern Riveria were cheering for him. Though notably the High Elf was a lot more reserved, and just clapped for him, and, when he met her gaze, nodded at him.
"You can do it Bete, don't give up." Loki shouted enthusiastically from beside the doll faced, and emotionless Aiz. "Show this poser the true might of the Loki Familia!"
Bete grinned wolfishly at that, sending his opponent a fierce, bloody smile as he did so.
"You've got some good friends there, puppy." Azoth called to him, the smile on his face taking any venom away from his words.
Not that that stopped them from pissing Bete off.
Behind the white haired Adventurer, Bete could see the dark clouds overhead shifting. The clouds moving aside to reveal the moon overhead.
It was not a full one, but it was near to full, and already Bete could feel the beams of light from the moon reinvigorating him.
"Keep laughing asshole, this fight is over!" Bete spat, his eyes flashing as he began to draw on the moonlight, using both his natural, Beastification ability, and his Skill, Úlfheðinn, to use the power of the moon to empower himself.
It might be going too far, but he wouldn't accept a defeat.
For the pride of his Familia, and his own pride, he would take this asshole elf down!
Almost at once the signs of what he was doing became obvious, both to those watching and to Azoth.
His hair visibly became wilder and shaggier, and his teeth longer and sharper, his body shifted slightly as he hunched over and became more feral, and more animalistic. A silver glow also rapidly began to cover his body as he felt all of his attributes rapidly increasing; his strength, endurance, agility and dexterity.
On top of that his face began to twist from angry, to furious as his thoughts became more and more violent and his usual 'civility' turned into fury.
This was his trump card.
All around the circle most of those that knew what was happening began to back off, the cheering and shouting fading as they heard the bestial roar that erupted from Bete's mouth.
The Executive members of the Loki Familia however all tensed up, most of them readying themselves to intercede in the fight if necessary, just in case Bete went too far.
There was no problem with him using his natural skills and abilities. But all of them knew how much stronger those abilities made him, and how much more violent and vicious.
The last thing they wanted was for, Bete, injured and hurt as he had been, to lose control and cripple or kill his opponent.
The fight thus far had been mostly civil. No permanent damage had been dealt, and neither of the two had aimed to kill or maim the other, or at least not yet.
Riveria, Finn and Gareth all exchanged glances. None of them had thought that Bete would be pushed this far.
On the other side of the circle though, Azoth remained calm, his violet eyes flashing even as he sniffed the air, the smirk on his face turning into the grin of a battle fanatic as he seemed to realise just what Bete was up too.
( - )
"Well isn't this a surprise, the puppy, turned out to be a werewolf puppy." Azoth called out, watching, Bete, carefully as the grey haired werewolf roared back at him.
The boy was not a werewolf as Azoth knew them as, but he was a something reminiscent of a werewolf, or this plain of existence's version of a Lycanthrope.
It was interesting, and a part of him. His inner wolf, the part of him that craved battle and challenge, wanted to test what this werewolf could do when compared to a purer version of its species, an alpha.
'He's given up all reason for power.' Azoth thought to himself, his grin widening, his dignified features turning wilder and wilder as he saw the werewolf crouching down lower, readying himself to lunge forwards at any moment. 'Was this what I was like when I first drank the blood of the wolf?'
"Azoth be careful, he's more dangerous than ever!" Mia called out from behind Azoth, forcing her was through the crowd as she did so. "I think you both should stop now, before it gets out of hand!"
"No!" Bete snarled, his words as bestial as his body.
Mia scowled as she heard Bete's response, seeming to swell up with anger and indignation as she did so.
"It's fine Mia, I can handle him. I'll make sure things don't go too far." Azoth added, slowly unbuttoning his padded cotton shirt as he did so, before without a word he pulled it off and let it fall to the ground. He didn't want to wreck his shirt.
As he did this, he heard a gasp and muttering from some of the Adventurers and spectators in the surrounding crowd, and he knew why.
His skin was as pale as freshly fallen snow, and thus it made him stick out in the darkening street, giving him an almost ethereal appearance. On top of that his body was a patch work of scars, some of which he had gained when he had still been a bandit and a sneak thief, these were mainly the ones caused by blades. Whilst others, the more gruesome ones, he had received when he became an Adventurer, a lot of those were from dragons, trolls, Draugr and Falmer.
Rolling his shoulders, Azoth ignored the looks of those around him as he instead drew on the bestial blood that flow through his veins.
He may have the soul of a dragon, but he had the body of the beast, and over the years, just as he had learned to control his draconic soul and all that that entailed, so too had he learned to tame his beast's blood.
"Let's do this!" Azoth spat, his body hunching over as he did so, even as thick, snow white fur began to force itself out of his body, and his arms and legs became longer, and more muscled, his bones cracking an crunching, even as great claws forced their way out of his rapidly growing hands. His violet eyes meaning while became slitted and began to glow brightly in the darkness, even as his face twisted and began to extend, becoming more and more wolf like.
( - )
Riveria took a step back in shock the moment she saw Azoth began to transform.
Even from where she was stood she could hear the cracking of bones as he grew taller and bulkier, snow white fur forcing its way out of his skin, even as his face shifted and contorted. It was almost like he was turning into some kind of monster.
"What in the…" Riveria muttered.
This was not natural. What kind of skill did the pale elf have?
From beside her she could see the shock, fear and consternation of all of those around her. With those who were civilians, and the many Level One and dozen or so Level Two Adventurers, the majority of Adventurers in the city, began to back off fearfully.
There was an aura of danger and menace coming off of Azoth now, something reminiscent of the feeling one would get when they face off with a powerful Monster Rex.
Glancing sideways, she immediately saw the concern that now laced Finn, Gareth and even Loki's faces.
This was unnatural, and they all knew it.
From where she was stood she could feel the power emanating of the giant, elf turned wolf like monster, even as he shifted low to the ground, Bete, mirroring his actions. Though notably the grey haired man's own eyes began to show shock, and if she were not mistaken, fear.
"Finn, I think that you should end the fight now!" Loki muttered seriously, looking to the Captain of her Familia nervously now.
If even Loki was beginning to get nervous, then that meant things were getting serious.
"That's enough, end the fight now!" Mama Mia called out, the former Captain of the Freya Familia no doubt recognising the dread aura too, as she forced her way through the crowd, a number of her; former Adventurers turned waitresses, following after her.
The two brawling men didn't reply though, instead they rushed at one another, both of them crossing the few metre distance between one another in moments. One a glowing silver, grey blur, the other a mass of white fur and clawed fury.
The moment they clashed the size difference between the two was obvious. Bete was a tall man, who stood at nearly six and a half feet. Azoth though, as he was now, was well over seven feet tall, and was probably four feet wide at his shoulders, and all of that was lean, powerful muscle.
"Right; Riveria, Gareth, Aiz, Tione, Tiona, we need to stop this!" Finn called out decisively, even as the two men turned beasts slammed into one another with brutal ferocity.
Bete little more than a blur as he landed a half dozen brutal kicks in but a moment, his mithril, shin guards adding to the impact of his strikes.
Not that it did any good, Azoth barely flinched. No doubt his thick hide deadened most of the blunt force from Bete's kicks, enough so that he could ignore the strikes, strikes which in Bete's current form, were probably at the strength of a Level Six Adventurer.
It was unnerving.
Azoth though didn't take the attack lying down. Instead he countered in an instant, showing off a startling amount of control, and intelligence for his current form, as he used one of his muscled, fur covered arms to block several more of Bete's kicks, before he lashed out. His clawed hand leaving centimetre deep scratches on Bete's shin guards, even as they knocked him off balance.
Following this up Azoth's other clawed hand swung round and smashed Bete clear off of his feet, the force of the blow sending him sailing through the air. Only for Azoth to then catch him by one of his legs and pull him back, nearly dislocating his hip as the then smashed him into the ground like a rag doll; once, twice, thrice.
Hurling Bete away and sending him smashing into the ground, still conscious, likely due to his Beastification, but obviously very dazed.
Turning to face the grey haired werewolf, even as he struggled to stand up. The white furred Azoth slammed both of his clawed hands onto the ground, cracking the cobbles beneath him, even as he let loose a deafening howl.
It was a howl that inspired terror, the sheer sound of it, and Azoth's own inhuman aura, causing the civilians to cower, and flee, and some to faint from sheer fear. The Level Ones and Twos were also notably affected, some of them cowering like the civilians, whilst others just turned tail and fled.
Looking around at her group though, Riveria noticed that the Level Threes and above were all able to stand strong and shake off the terrifying effects of the howl. Though looking at some of the Level Threes, like Lefiya, she could see the sweat beading on their foreheads.
Clenching her hands into fists, Riveria shared a look with Finn.
This Azoth, he was no normal Adventurer. He had to be a Level Six at the least considering his sheer strength, durability and skill, and a dangerous Level Six at that considering this wolf form skill, or whatever it was, and his ability to unleash a howl that cause Level Two Adventurers and below to quiver in terror.
It was concerning, especially since they had no idea who this elf was.
"Let's go." Finn muttered, pulling a dagger out of his boot as he did so. His words snapping Riveria's mind back on track, and making her look up, just in time to see the giant, white anthropomorphic wolf approaching the dazed and injured Bete.
"Right!" Gareth grunted, clenching his hands into fists as he prepared to move.
Seeing this, Riveria nodded silently. They were right, enough was enough. It was time to stop this brawl here and now.
Suffice to say, it had well and truly gotten out of hand.
( - )
Azoth's heart was beating like a battle drum, his blood was burning as it pumped through his veins. This is what he loved, this is why he was so compatible with the beast within, both the wolf and the dragon. He loved fighting against a worthy opponent.
This might not be a life or death battle, which was a pity as they really got his blood pumping. But even so it was fun. Whatever this Bete character had done to enhance himself had worked. Bete's strength was now on a par, if not greater than Azoth's own natural strength, and his speed had pretty much double what it had been before.
It was phenomenal, and glorious.
Of course whilst in the form of a beast, Azoth's strength had also tripled, and his durability was even higher.
Still despite that his opponent's kicks still stung, and the little damage they did cause, before his regeneration healed it, gave him pause.
Still, despite his struggling, the other, lesser werewolf, was not in the same league as him. Already he had had to hold back on some of his strikes whilst in this form, and had deliberately not used his claws. He didn't want to disembowel or kill the man after all.
Growling in the back of his throat, Azoth began to lumber forwards, his sharp, lupine eyes glowing in the dark as he advanced on the struggling grey haired werewolf, even as he unsteadily got to his feet.
This was it.
It was time to end the fight here and now, before the other man got too badly hurt.
As he took a step forward though, Azoth soon found himself facing off with three other members of the Loki Familia.
The blond child, the green haired elf and the short, bearded manling.
Pausing, Azoth growled in irritation when he felt the doll like, blonde human land behind him, the two tanned girls also stepping up behind him at the same moment.
He was surrounded, and they all looked very serious.
Raising the dagger in his hand, his other hand held out in front of him in warning, the blonde's blue eyes locked with Azoth's.
"That's enough, this fight is over!"
Pausing as he heard that, Azoth could see that many of the people in the crowd were mumbling, and looking tense and scared, even as Mia and her girl's looked like they were unsure whether to get involved or not.
Letting out a huff of irritation, Azoth quelled the beast within. His bones cracking and crunching, even as his thick, white fur began to recede. His form becoming smaller and more elf like by the moment as he let out a loud groan.
Forcing himself back into the form of an elf when the beast within him was not ready, was never a pleasant task.
Tensing up as he did this, Azoth watched all the members of the Loki Familia cautiously, even as he returned to his natural Snow Elf form.
"Yes, yes I know, I was already planning on stopping. I just thought I would give your friend one more chance before I brought it to an end." Azoth shrugged, rolling his shoulders to get rid of any lingering stiffness, even as he looked down at the kid.
The Loki Familia noticeably relaxed at this, and at the fact that he had returned to his natural form.
"Sorry, things got a bit out of hand. I guess I got a bit over excited when, Bete, went all beast on me." Azoth continued, grinning slightly as he saw the bloodied and bruised, but still conscious Bete being helped to his feet by the short, bearded man.
"No hard feelings?" Azoth continued, sticking out a hand to the blonde. "Sorry but I don't think I got your name?"
The blonde kid blinked in surprise at this, even as the other members of the Loki Familia looked at one another in bemusement. It appeared they had not expected this reaction out of him.
Personally Azoth found it amusing. What did they expect that he would be in such a blood rage that he would try and fight them all?
"Finn, Finn Deimne." Finn replied, cautiously taking Azoth's proffered hand in his own much smaller one, before shaking it. "And I don't see a reason to make an issue out of this. It was a friendly spar that just got a little out of hand. All, Bete, needs is a few potions and he'll be fine."
"I'm glad, I did try to pull my punches at the end there. But I did figure that your guy was tough enough that I didn't need to hold back right from the start." Azoth nodded, noting as he did how the crowd around them seemed to relax, as too did the Loki Familia Executives, the more him and Finn talked.
"That was you holding back?" The short, bearded man spoke up with a bark of laughter, even as he held Bete still, whilst the green haired elf gave him some kind of potion. "You're one crazy elf, I would love to see what you can do when you really let loose!"
"Yeah that was crazy, what was with that whole transformation thing?" Tiona asked, bouncing forward cheerfully now that the danger had passed. Her green eyes wide with curiousity as she quickly invaded Azoth's personal space.
"Tiona leave him, he's from another Familia, it's not polite to question other, unfamiliar Adventurers about their skills and stats!" Tione, the other girl's elder sister shot back.
"Aww!" Tiona complained.
Smiling slightly at this interaction, Azoth took a step back, only to pause when he saw Ryuu behind him, his shirt in one and that ever curious expression on her face as she handed the garment to him.
"You fought well." Ryuu said with a nod, even as he took the shirt and pulled it on over his torso.
"Thanks Ryuu!" Azoth replied with a grin.
"Yeah and you definitely need a bath, you smell like a wet dog!" Tiona added in in an overly friendly manner, pinching her nose as she caught the smell emanating off of his shirt.
"It's been a long, long day!" Azoth replied defensively.
"Urgh, what hit me!?" Bete groaned out, his catching the attention of the others, before they could say anymore.
"Your opponent did," Riveria spoke up dryly.
"Did I win?" Bete asked weakly, pushing himself off of Gareth as he looked around.
"Nope, you got completely crushed!" Tiona laughed, her words causing Bete to flush, before he looked up and locked gazes with Azoth.
"You beat me?" Bete asked hollowly.
"Yes, and I do believe you now owe me a tankard of ale!" Azoth nodded, a wide grin on his face as he stuck his hand out. "Good fight though!"
"Urgh, yeah!" Bete nodded after a moment, taking the proffered hand and shaking it. His eyes fixed on Azoth, his gaze holding both curiousity and caution to it as he remembered what had happened. "What the hell are you?"
"I'm… complex…" Azoth replied with a shrug.
"We noticed." Riveria replied coldly, her gaze locking inquisitively with Azoth's. From behind the green haired elf, he could also see their goddess sending him a burning, curious look, one which was partly curious, partly hungry, and partly cautious.
Meeting her gaze for a moment, Azoth knew without a shadow of a doubt that whatever the divine being was planning, it wouldn't end well.
Pushing that thought away for now, Azoth instead started heading for the tavern, ignoring the nervous, wary, excited and curious people around him as he did so. "Come on then, Loga, how about that drink!?"
"Urgh, fine!" Bete groaned in response, following after Azoth, the rest of his Familia and the crowd following his lead.
( - )
AN: So what did you all think? We got to meet some more character, Azoth got to stretch his legs, and surprisingly doesn't make any enemies, though he does make some people nervous. Unfortunately though that comes hand in hand with my character, he is a warrior/ spellsword type, a bit of a battle fanatic and although smart, is more than a bit reckless. That said he is not stupid, nor callous. He just likes a good fight and to test himself, and I think a bit of that comes from his upbringing in Skyrim, after all in the game there is quite a few brawls you can get into. Some of which leads to you getting a friend, some what you want from them and an enemy.
Still, I did enjoy writing the fight scene and playing around with Azoth's abilities. That said that does lead me onto an issue a few people have brought up.
Now I do know that a falna is not supposed to take into account a person prior experience and is instead supposed to start off whoever it is given too at Level One. I am more than aware of that. That said in a fantasy world, a world or magic and gods, there are a lot more grey areas, and not everything is yes and no, or black and white.
This is why I've decided for my way forward, that since Azoth has previously been blessed, and made the Champion of the Daedric Prince, Meridia, that he will not start off as a Level One. Partly because I don't see the added drama of having a Level One with the abilities of a High Class Adventurer adding anything to the plot. Especially since I've got quite a lot of stuff planned, some of which could potentially become convoluted if I am not careful.
So with that in mind I have decided that although they were in a different realm of existence, and he didn't have a falna as exists in the Danmachi verse, the skills, abilities and strength he acquired as the Champion of Meridia will be transferable. Due to godly reasons and divine technicalities and what not.
Hope this doesn't disappoint too much, but in a world of gods and magic, I feel there is a lot of scope to play around with the laws and what not, which is exactly what I am going to do, because reasons.
That said I do hope you all still continue reading and enjoying my story, and try out some of my other ones if you have the time.
Thanks a lot for reading, please do leave a review!
Catch you later.
Greed720.