-Thud

Allen was thrown onto the ground in Freya's private chambers. Freya took a seat on her throne while Ottar took his place by her side.

She gazed down at the injured cat, contemplating what to do with him.

'I could have Ottar do all kinds of humiliating and painful things to him. I could skin him with a rusty spoon. I could break all of his ribs and hang him from the neck. I could, I could, I could…'

Freya thought about all of her options. Allen had caused too much trouble for her to turn a blind eye too. Anya and Ryuu deserved justice, and she was going to make sure they got it.

But before she went through with any of that though, she decided she would ask her vice captain why he had acted of his own devices before she followed through on any punishment.

"Why?"

"..."

"Why did you do it Allen? You disobeyed a direct order from your Goddess. I told you to observe only, and not only did you make yourself known, you assaulted them! Did you honestly think you could hide this from me?"

"..."

"Answer me!"

Freya demanded the truth from her Familia member, and she was going to get it.

"Because of you..."

Allen finally answered back at Freya. He wore a face of both frustration, and shame.

"You, Lady Freya. I wanted to get the boy to pay more attention to you. Your love for him is destroying this Familia. Nothing you have been doing has gotten him to fall for you. In fact, he has been driven into the arms of another woman. I was trying to help you."

Allen was telling the truth, but his intentions weren't pure. He just wanted attention and affection from her. All of her children did. But this wasn't the way to get it. If these had been any other people in the world, Freya would not have paid it any mind. But this was different. Allen had crossed a line.

"That's only partly true Allen. You didn't do it solely out of love for me. You acted selfishly as well. You were jealous of Bell Cranel and wanted to make him suffer."

"So what if I did?"

"You could have killed someone Allen!"

"I know my own strength Lady Freya. Anya and that elf didn't suffer any fatal blows."

"I wasn't talking about them…."

Allen wore a confused look on his face. He had only attacked Anya and Ryuu so who could she be talking about?

Freya sighed. Her child obviously had no idea the severity of his mistake.

"What about your sister? What's your excuse for attacking her?"

Allen looked down to the ground. He hesitated. Of course he loved his sister, she was even more important to him than Freya. But she had skewered his arm with a spear, and had also, been in his way.

"That's not how I wanted it to go down, but she attacked me first. I simply removed her from the situation."

"She was half dead after you were done with her!"

Freya had heard enough. She had made her decision on what his punishment would be. It pained her to do it, but it's what needed to be done.

"Lady Freya, what shall I do with him?"

Ottar was prepared to do whatever she asked of him. However Freya said nothing to him. She did not need Ottar for this.

Freya rose from her chair and calmly started walking over to Allen.

"Lady Freya?"

Ottar addressed his Goddess, concerned for her safety as she made her way towards the Vice Captain.

Freya stopped in front of Allen looking him dead in the eyes.

Then, what Freya did next, surprised both Ottar, and Allen.

She hugged him.

Allen stood there motionless, he didn't know what to do.

He wanted to say something. Wanted to ask his Goddess why she was hugging him. He expected her to have Ottar to tear him apart, not a hug.

Soon though, Freya spoke.

"Allen, I hereby disown you as my child. You are to be exiled from this Familia and this city. If you ever show your face in Orario ever again, I will show you no mercy."

Allen had no words, he just kept his eyes glued ahead in shock.

Freya wasn't done with his punishment though. As she touched his back, a burning sensation went through him.

"I'm sealing your status Allen. You will never use my blessing to hurt anyone the way you did ever again."

WIth that, Freya separated from Allen and turned her back to him. She refused to face the former vice captain of her familia.

"Get out Allen."

Allen stood there, his legs wouldn't move. For the first time in twenty years, he had no falna. But what shocked him more was what his Goddess had just done. One mistake, and she had stripped him of everything. His whole life had been her and this Familia, and now, he had nothing.

Ottar made a step towards Allen after he saw that he wasn't leaving as Freya had ordered. Seeing the Level 7 approach him, Allen quickly bowed his head in shame and left the room hastily.

"Lady Freya, what do you want to do now?"

Freya stood still, staring off into space for a little while. Contemplating her next move.

"Ottar…. Can I trust you?"

"Of course my lady. All you need do is tell me your will, and it shall be done."

Freya remained silent for a moment. She couldn't keep this up, it was causing too many complications, causing too much pain.

"Bring me Ryuu, Ottar. It's time we met, face to face."

The Hestia Familia was gathered in the common area. They had just finished breakfast and now were discussing what to do next.

"We need to go check on Anya. She could be really hurt. She saved our lives, we have to go make sure she is okay."

Ryuu and Bell were both worried about their savior's safety. The first thing they wanted to do was go see what became of her after they fled from Allen.

"Lilly doesn't think that's a good idea. If Freya Familia really is after you two, than it's only a matter of time till they come here looking for you. We need to get you out of the city as soon as possible."

Bell didn't like the idea of leaving the city. But he knew that if the strongest Familia was after him and Ryuu, it may be the only way to keep everyone he cares about safe.

"Lilly, what if we were to-..."

-Ding Dong

"Someone is here?"

Welf asked surprised. They weren't expecting any guests here today.

"I'll go check who it is."

"I'll come with you."

Bell and Ryuu went down to greet their mysterious guest waiting for them in the front.

Bell put his hand to the door and felt a cold chill run down his spine. Cautiously, he began to open the front door.

"...!"

Bell was shocked to see who it was.

"The King…"

He didn't know what to do. He was frozen with fear.

It was true! Freya Familia was after him and Ryuu. He needed to try and hold Ottar off so that Ryuu could escape.

"Bell Cranel…"

Bell was freaking out. His hand slowly gravitated towards his knife that was attached to his belt.

"Ottar…..wh-what can I do for you?"

"..."

Ottar glared at the young adventurer, noticing that he was reading himself for battle.

"Calm yourself Rabbits Foot, I am not here to fight. Nor shall I inflict any harm on anyone here."

Bell didn't stop glaring at Ottar, ready to pounce on the Level 7 at the slightest hint of danger to Ryuu or his Familia.

"I'm here for Ms. Ryuu, Her presence has been requested by Lady Syr and I have been instructed to tell her where to go."

Bell didn't move an inch. He continued to reach for his knife as he did not trust the adventurer before him.

"Your vice captain attacked us Ottar. So you'll have to excuse me if I am not too keen on taking requests from you at this moment."

Bell knew talking to the Captain of Freya Familia like this probably wasn't the smartest thing he could be doing. But he was still very upset over what happened last night.

"Allen Fromel attacked you of his own accord. That was not the will of Lady Freya. Rest assured he has been punished and will never cause you or anyone else in this city trouble ever again."

Bell and Ryuu stood there both, relieved to hear that they wouldn't have to flee the city anytime soon due to an assault by Freya Familia..

"Bell…. It's okay."

Ryuu grabbed Bell's hand and looked into his eyes as she attempted to calm the young man down.

"But Ryuu…?!"

"Ottar, where does Syr want to meet me?"

"The overlook she took you back when you first met. Do you know where that would be?"

"Yes I do. Thank you Ottar."

Ryuu turned to Bell and held his hand in both of hers.

"I'm going to go see Syr, Bell. We have things we need to talk about. I will come back to you soon."

"I'm coming with you!"

"Lady Syr has requested that Ms. Ryuu be the only one in attendance. And I am to remain here to ensure that no one else interrupts their meeting."

Ottar stood there, fully intending to fulfill the orders that Freya had given him.

"Bell, please don't fight. I'll be careful I promise. You stay here and keep watch over your Familia."

Ryuu brought Bell in for a kiss, but then cut it short after realizing Ottar was right there staring at the two of them. Both Bell and Ryuu started to blush in embarrassment.

Ryuu let go of Bell's hand and walked out of the manor. Making her way to the gates of the manor, she turned around one last time, her eyes meeting Bells, before turning around and heading off into the city.

Ottar and Bell stood there, each waiting for the other to say something.

Eventually, Bell hesitantly broke the silence.

"W-Would you like to come inside and have some tea?"

Ottar said nothing. He simply nodded his head and entered the manor. The doors closing behind the two of them as they went inside the Hestia Familia home.

Ryuu was walking through the streets of the labyrinth city. She was on her way to the place Ottar had told her to meet Syr.

It was the place Syr took her after they had first met. A balcony overlooking Orario. Syr had described it as perfect, not too high or too low. Five years ago, they had looked out across the city and Syr had shown Ryuu how the city was changing with Evilus gone, how the hard work of her and all of the members of Astrea familia had paid off.

"Syr…"

Ryuu was lost in thought as she went over the events of the previous day.

'How did she get Ottar, The King, to come and collect me?'

She couldn't figure it out, it just didn't make any sense. Did Syr have some sort of connection to Freya Familia? She knew that the pub was owned by Mama Mia, who was the former captain, but she didn't think Syr had that much influence with them.

Ryuu finally arrived at the location Ottar had told her to go and looked around.

There, standing by the guard rail, overlooking the city, was Syr. She was in a beautiful white and red dress, and her long grey hair was worn down.

Ryuu couldn't help but think she looked like a Goddess.

Even though it had only been a day, Ryuu felt like she hadn't seen her friend in weeks.

She couldn't bring herself to call out to her, so instead Ryuu slowly began walking towards Syr trying to buy a little more time for her to steel her nerves..

Ryuu began to question what she was doing as she continued quietly approaching her best friend.

"Is she still mad at me? Does she hate me?"

A pit in her stomach began to open up as she thought about when she last saw her friend and how poorly it had gone.

Before Ryuu could get any closer, Syr noticed someone was approaching her and turned around to meet them.

The two of them locked eyes with each other. Ryuu felt herself choke up a little. She was so scared about what Syr was going to say to her. Had Syr called her up here to tell Ryuu that she hated her and never wanted to see her again? If she had, Ryuu couldn't blame her. She deserved it after everything she had done to Syr.

They both remained motionless for a while. Just looking at each other. After what felt like hours, Ryuu began to speak.

"Syr. I am so sor-...!"

Ryuu was cut off as Syr broke into a sprint and launched herself into Ryuu's arms.

Ryuu was surprised, but quickly caught the grey haired waitress and held her tightly.

She didn't understand...how come Syr wasn't furious with her?! Ryuu fully expected to be yelled at and shamed by her best friend.

"Ryuu! Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Syr began investigating every part of Ryuu, her arms, her head, her neck. She wore an incredibly worried look on her face.

Eventually Syr made it to Ryuu's stomach. Her hand lingering there, touching it for a long amount of time.

Almost immediately, Syr's face softened. She let out a deep sigh of relief and focused back on the elf in front of her.

"Syr, you…...you're worried….about me?"

"Of course I am stupid! When I saw Anya at the tavern and she told me about your run in with Allen. I did everything I could to try and find you."

"Oh, so that's why Ottar had...i'm sorry for worrying you."

Ryuu looked away from the girl hugging her. She felt unworthy of this kindness and love coming from her best friend.

"I'm so sorry Syr, i'm a terrible friend! I stole your love away from you, even though I knew you wanted him to be yours, and you still went through all this trouble to come find me. You're so amazing."

Ryuu began to cry, she felt immense shame at the way she had treated her best friend. All she could do was cling to her friend and sob.

"Shhhhh. No Ryuu, it's okay…..we're okay."

"...huh?"

Ryuu didn't understand. Syr had forgiven her?

"What….what do you mean? We're okay?"

"I mean that I forgive you."

"B-But...I lied to you. I kept Bell and I's relationship a secret from you. I hurt you! Why aren't you furious with me?"

Syr paused for a moment. Then she gave her friend a knowing and mischievous smile.

"Well, you see Ryuu, I have come to realize very recently...that I haven't got a lot of room to judge people and their secrets."

Ryuu just stood there not knowing what to say. What was her friend talking about? She just looked on as her friend took a few steps back from her.

"Syr, is everythin-...?"

"I also have a secret I have been keeping from you…..from everyone."

Syr looked up into the sky as she continued speaking to the confused elf.

"It's caused pain, heartache, and violence. It's put the lives of everyone around me at risk. I should have never let it get this far. It nearly ended an innocent life…and for that I truly am sorry."

"Syr, you have nothing to apologize for! I'm the one who-..."

"No Ryuu, I intend to make things right with you, with everyone. No more games."

Ryuu looked at her friend in absolute shock at what she saw next.

Her friend's eyes flashed violet. Her hair turned from a light blue-ish grey, to a beautiful silver. A divine aura suddenly surrounded her best friend as she took on a new, more mature figure.

Their standing before Ryuu was the Goddess of Beauty.

"Lady...Freya?"

Ryuu's whole world stopped moving. All she could do was gaze at the newly revealed goddess with her mouth hanging open.

Freya smiled.

"Hello Ryuu. It's nice to finally meet you."

Authors Note:

What a fun chapter. Everything the story had been leading up to all in one grand "final" chapter. Don't worry, it's not the end of the story. If I was to try and place where this is in my overall story timeline, I would say this is the end of the prologue.

I know I said Ryuu would find out about her child this chapter….. But I decided to move that to the next chapter. Made more sense.

Now as for future content I will be working on for the foreseeable future, I have a few projects I'm working on. First of all I am working on a english fan translation for Danmachi Vol16. As such I will be busy with that till about Mid January. So I will be taking a little break from uploading. But only for now. I also am going to be updating every chapter I have written so far to be more inline with how the author writes. Rewriting an entire novel of his really does show me how far I have to go with my writing. So I hope you all will give my previous chapters a nice reread when that's done.

Finally I am also going to be working on brainstorming a second story. Danmachi related of course. It's gonna be a Hestia X Bell Fanfic and it's gonna be amazing!

…

Just kidding. The truth is I wanted to leave it up to you guys on who I should write another story about with our favorite white hair hero. Here are the ones I am interested to work on right now in no particular order …

Ais

Freya/Syr

Another Ryuu (heh heh)

Harem! (Basically my thought on this is instead of a complex story that all weaves together, it's just a bunch of long one-shot stories. 10K to 20K a piece.)

Let me know your thoughts on what you want to see next from me and as always, leave your thoughts on the chapter and what you would like to see next.

PS. I went back into Chapter Three and got rid of a lot of the "fluff" in the Allen section. I obviously couldn't change too much. But I would say the most common criticism, the only criticism I have gotten, is that he is a bit out of character. So I think what I cut down and reedited has him more in line with his canon self. Not that I have to worry about him anymore. Hopefully that makes reading that section, and the following sections with him, more bearable. :)

Thank you all.

Until next time,

CGQ