THUMP!

A dull thud echoed through the Fertility Hostess' warehouse as the 'sweet and innocent' Syr was roughly pushed into the wall.

"Y-you're so rough, not even a kiss hello and already you want to move on to that? You're naughty, Flo-chan."

Flora's pale red eyes flashed in anger at Syr's words, which made the waitress shrink in on herself.

"What do you intend by disguising yourself as a waitress, Freya? I've seen you disguised as a maid, in a ball gown, as a dominatrix, and yet this is the weirdest thing..."

Freya whose name was also Syr, sighed wearily. The possibility of Flora Leukos appearing out of nowhere in the tavern and discovering her with ease had not crossed her mind, but it made too much sense considering the girl's origins.

Yes, Syr/Freya was one of the three deities aware of the true nature of the adventurer named [Bloodsight].

The temperature between the Goddess and The Hunter began to subside, but not in a hostile manner, rather both were beginning to calm down and were ready for a civilized catch up.

"... While this is my only escape from the perpetual worship of my [Family's] children, it is also one of closely observing the growth of my beloved Odr."

Flora froze.

Was it the tone of adoration Freya had in her already seductive voice? The answer was that in part it was, but the most shocking thing for The Hunter was to hear her utter the forbidden name.

Freya, a goddess of great power, representing love, fertility, but also war and death, herself one of the few deities in the Tenkai who was a bridge between opposites. And yet she could not understand the quality of 'love'.

Gods and Goddesses were exalted as beings that could comprehend everything in a way superior to any intelligent species bound to mortality, such a thing was not wrong, but only in certain aspects.

Unable to fully comprehend what love was, outside influences and Freya's own ideas created the image of Odr. A soul so unique, so beautiful, that when she found they among the length, breadth and vastness of the world, she would know what love was.

From that love everything in creation would become vivid, garishly colored and vibrant to represent the end of the colorless eternity that Freya had been burdened with since the appearance of her Pantheon in the Tenkai.

"Odr...?" muttered Flora to herself, coming out of her lethargic shock. "I don't know how to react if I'm being honest..."

"Maybe be happy for me?"

Flora was about to tell her yes when a terrible realization hit her. Such were the advantages (or disadvantage in this case) of having a photographic memory.

"... Freya, didn't you once tell me that, should you find your Odr, you wanted to see the glow of his soul when he faced impossible trials?"

"Ehm, yes?" the silver-curled goddess replied dubiously, breaking into a cold sweat and regretting for the first time in years that Ottar wasn't at her side.

Not that that was going to be much help against Aurora Selene's daughter.

"And didn't you say that, if necessary, you would put those tests on him yourself?" The Hunter's tone of voice grew increasingly inhuman, comically making 'Syr' look for a way out and inevitably fail in the process.

She could only implore the rest of the Host girls, let alone Mama Mia herself, to see the embarrassment she was about to go through.

"Augur of Ebrietas," Flora conjured her favorite punishing spell.

... ... ...

... ... ...

Syr slumped limply onto one of the bar stools, causing Mama Mia and the rest of the girls to glare at her.

"Oi, I don't pay you for slacking off. I was lenient enough for you to catch up with your friend," Mia said, but that was all the effort she put into trying to get Syr back to work.

It had been one night that the establishment had been open late that Syr had come clean with the other girls at the bar, telling them how much she missed a certain friend, but not the punishments the friend herself meted out.

Mia Grand knew that 'Freya' was referring to Flora, what she didn't know was how [Bloodsight] was able to elude the Goddess' [Charm], as well as instill fear, respect and humiliation in her perennial self.

The less people knew about Flora Leukos' true nature, the better off things would be.

"... I don't even want to know what happened back there," Daphne said looking empathetically at Syr.

Flora and the two [Apollo Familia] girls were at a table on which there was a considerable amount of food, a courtesy The Hunter had offered them. This alone sat badly with Daphne.

The young redhead had always trusted her instincts, and if her instincts told her that Flora had hidden intentions, then she would go by it.

She wasn't wrong.

'It's funny to see her being so cautious,' Flora thought with amusement, unleashing her sadism a bit. Since before they entered the Hostess, she was aware that Daphne probably knew that her kindness and willingness to help two ladies get out of a rain that had already stopped had a few hidden intentions.

More than hidden and perverse intentions, what Flora intended was to satiate her curiosity.

And it was time to do so.

"So, girls," she said to get the attention of Daphne and the shy Cassandra, "How much has the Pleasure District changed these past few years?"

To say the girls gasped would be an understatement.

They both blushed like tomatoes, which Flora had to work hard not to burst out laughing and probably attract unwanted attention.

"Ha... hahaha... you should see your faces. Seriously now, has she changed much? Is Ishtar still a bitch or did she rise to a new level? Why the hell is the [Apollo Familia] harassing Bell Cranel?"

The last question was absolutely out of place, but it was said so suddenly and with such a casual tone that it took the girls' minds a noticeable lapse of time before they processed it and realized what had been said.

Cassandra paled sickeningly and looked as if she would run away at any moment, the opposite was the case with Daphne whose gaze on The Hunter hardened and she rose slightly from her chair.

"That's not something that concerns you-"

"It is concerns upon me, and all the more so when I learn that a treasured friend has an interest in that wabbit," she said as she also stood up and placed her hands on the table retracting the sleeves of her coat, stifling any attempt by the younger Lauros to try to gain any ground as far as intimidation was concerned.

Unnoticed by both of them, Cassandra was beginning to gasp for breath, and it was only getting harder and harder with every second she looked at Flora. The panic and tension in her body grew more and more until she reached the breaking point, that being said, this was the sight of the runes tattooed on Flora's arms.

Suddenly, Cassandra's panic became something comparable to a weak fear that she fought with an inexplicable peace for the control of her feelings in the moment.

The hidden Sibyl knew those Caryll Runes, she remembered them, but the runes would not allow her to go to that memory. It was as if a gentle, feminine voice was telling her, "You are not ready yet, my child."

"... Well, if you're so dying to know," Daphne relented letting a venomous tone seep into her voice, "Apollo plans to take him away from Hestia, just as he has done in the past with anyone who catches his eye, but this one in another [Familia]. Is that what you were looking to hear, Miss Hunter?"

Both girls thought they heard Flora mutter certain vulgar expressions against Apollo as she stood up at the same time reaching into her trench coat and pulling out a small bag of coins which she tossed on the table.

"Hey Mamma, that covers the food for these girls and the debt we have outstanding."

"Hmm, about time you paid up," Mia Grand said with a big smile, remembering how common these sights were 5 years ago before Flora's departure. It was nostalgic.

Without hesitation she headed for the tavern door, before stopping and facing Daphne and Cassandra who were stunned by the sudden change in Flora's personality.

"I guess that was the voice of experience talking, huh?" she declared giving them both a sympathetic look.

Daphne couldn't help but shudder and her face to turn red.

She appreciated Flora's sympathy, but part of her disliked the thought that she felt sorry for him. Besides... she found it disturbing how easily she could insult a god.

By the time she made up her mind to at least give him a thank you regardless of whether it sounded forced or not, Flora was no longer there.

"Flora...?" from the kitchen, a worried Syr watched her friend leave so suddenly, at the same time a dire feeling hovered over her that swayed with anticipation.

The actions of the young Leukos could range from pure barbarism to pantomimes or news that would shake the city in the heart of the world, Freya/Syr counted on this certainty.

... ... ...

... ... ...

The heat of the forge embraced her sweaty brown skin and covered her already dirty clothes with soot, and yet she could not be happier doing what she was passionate about. That was how Tsubaki Collnbrade, Captain of the [Hephaestus Familia] who was forging in the late hours of that rainy night accompanied by her patron Goddess, thought.

"Do you think I'll be done before dawn, Hephaestus-sama?"

"Pfh, I'm surprised you have so much energy girl, didn't you spend half the day harassing Welf with the excuse of congratulating him on his level up?"

"Well, yes, but my energy is stored differently."

"Heh, what kind of logic is that?"

Describing what kind of person Tsubaki was was simple: passionate. Her passion for blacksmithing was such that she would go so far as to test what she forged in the Dungeon, that being how she reached the Lv. 5 even though it wasn't her intention at all. She also had a curious fixation for hugging whatever she thought was cute, a fact proven by a certain girl with pale red eyes years ago.

The best thing for Tsubaki was not to remember such a thing, that ended up in something that could be described as a phrase that the aforementioned girl hit her with; "it backfired on you".

"Sigh, this rain is a bit demotivating. It's like just the sight of it drains your energy," said the Blacksmith Goddess looking out the workshop window. While the intensity with which the water was falling had lessened, a thick mist was now beginning to girdle over Orario, making it difficult to see so that even the towering of Babel was not at all visible.

Shrugging her shoulders, Hephaestus set about gathering her things and heading for her quarters, leaving Tsubaki to work on her own. She would have done so but for the fact that out of the corner of her one eye, she could see a figure in dark clothing and large stature approaching the workshop.

To say she was suspicious was not incorrect, that person had approached the workshop without alerting the guards guarding the entrance to the grounds where the home of the [Hephaestus Familia], Valka's Crimson Chamber, was located.

Captain and Goddess shuffled through several possibilities, from a skilled hired thief to an assassin sent to make an attempt on the life of one of the Hephaestus children. Needless to say, the latter possibility made Goddess' blood boil with anger.

"Tsubaki."

"Yes, Hephaestus-sama, I noticed that too," said the Captain who had gone ahead of her Goddess' orders and was already holding a suitable sword.

They waited.

And they waited.

And they kept waiting...

Until Tsubaki felt a strong arm wrap around her waist.

"I won, I finally took you by surprise," whispered a woman in her ear.

The Lv. 5 Great Blacksmith did not hesitate and at great speed spun around ready to slash with her katana at whoever had the audacity to do that, completely ignoring that whoever the individual was had entered the workshop completely undetected.

"Tsubaki, stop!" the panicked voice of her Goddess reached her ears and made the woman realize who the person behind her was, only... she didn't remember her as tall or as...

"Beautiful..." she didn't realize she said it out loud, which earned her a stern look from Hephaestus.

Short hair of very dark blue, as dark as the night sky only without stars in the firmament.

Eyes of a pale red, ghostly one might say.

And porcelain skin like the moon itself, weathered by a few scars and tattoos.

"Flora...?"

Hephaestus felt her only eye get wet at the sight of her daughter whom she hadn't seen in five years. She had changed quite a bit; taller, stronger, her hair was longer than in the past and to Blacksmith Goddess's surprise and dismay, her embraces were now adorned by Caryll Runes, or each and every one of them, even the ones she had no mastery over.

Mother and daughter looked directly into each other's eyes and to Hephaestus' surprise, Flora's intimidating eyes had become docile, beginning to wet as well.

In the 16 years she had raised her, it was the first time the red-haired Goddess had seen her daughter shed tears.

And in her 21 years of life, it was the first time Flora Leukos had cried in front of another person.

"Sniff, you disobedient brat, five years without seeing us and the first thing you do when you come back is try to seduce the Captain of your [Familia]," Hephaestus said with her voice cracking and a smile that didn't leave her face.

"What can I tell you? She and I had a wager pending."

Mother and daughter shared a smile as they laughed lightly, pushing away the sadness that formed within them on the day of their separation so many yesterdays ago.

It was a moment that felt eternal until Tsubaki's voice broke that very eternity.

"Ugh, I forgot about that."

"I expected as much, Miss [Cyclops]."

Not wanting to procrastinate any longer, Hephaestus approached her daughter and encircled her tightly drawing her into a desperate hug, letting out the melancholy that had accompanied her every since 5 years ago when Flora announced her departure. The young Hunter did not hesitate and hugged her mother too, admitting to herself that she had missed her, that she had always longed to see everyone with whom she had forged a bond in Orario.

Meanwhile, the ever-cheerful [Familia] Captain did not know how to react, choosing to avert her gaze with an uncomfortable grimace. Tsubaki wanted nothing more than to do the same as her Goddess and hug Flora tightly, but if anything it was her own guilty conscience that prevented her from doing so.

Flora Leukos and Tsubaki Collbrande shared a curious connection that could be interpreted in different ways; teacher and pupil for some, older sister and younger sister for the new members in the [Familia] and the last interpretation, known only to the veterans and the Goddess herself, was the closest to reality.

The young Hunter loved the Captain of the [Familia] and since she had received her [Falna] she did nothing to disguise it.

There was an imaginary scenario that some time ago went through Hephaestus' head: should Welf Crozzo (considered a little brother by Tsubaki herself) and Flora Leukos meet, the former could interrogate the moon-skinned girl about her feelings for the Captain and she would answer with all the naturalness and confidence in the world that she want to marry with her.

'How am I supposed to see your eyes after you left such a letter...?' the half-Dwarf woman thought mortifiedly, trying and failing not to be embarrassed and moved by the contents of Flora's farewell letter. A letter whose contents even Hephaestus had not come to know in all this time, something that was Flora's own request.

The Captain was pulled out of her speeding mind when an arm full of those strange runes encircled her and drew her into a three-way embrace.

Goddess, Captain and Huntress.

"Come on Tsubaki, don't just stand there like one of those ugly statues I found in the ruins I visited. I want to hear how you've been doing these five years, I hear you've progressed quite a bit in your smithing and your strength... both of which are suspiciously related," finished Flora giving her a dead stare. "Mother, are she still testing the weapons she create in the Dungeon?"

Tsubaki's spirits began to rise once more, pleased at how naturally Flora acted around her.

"Hmm, yes, she keeps doing it," Hephaestus said with amusement, "until she breaks them."

"Sigh, you're hopeless."

"Ghu-uk, scolded by someone so young..." she tried to sound hurt, but the truth was that she also found it amusing.

Burned into her was the memory of the first time Flora encountered her after she ventured into the Dungeon to try out a battle axe she forged from some rare materials she had purchased from the Guild. The look of horror on the then [Red Hunter]'s face was priceless, not because Tsubaki had been injured or anything, but because the axe had splintered, lost its shining and the leather on the handle had peeled off.

"Hah, in case you haven't noticed, I'm much taller than you now."

"And you still have no boobs."

"I don't care, it's not like I'm Loki to be self-conscious about it."

"Ha... haha... n-you shouldn't insult her so casually, hahaha..." Hephaestus struggled to keep her laughter at a low volume, "poor thing has enough on her plate with Hestia telling her she's a chopping block every chance she gets."

"Ah yes, Hestia..." Flora's good humor almost died at that moment, they both noticed, but she made an effort to keep it down. "I hear her only son has been making waves in Orario, broke the record in level up and whatnot."

"Did you come to Orario a long time ago, or how come you know so much?" questioned Tsubaki.

"Pfff, over my rotting corpse I would go back and not visit them on my first day. Nothing like that, I spent most of the day at the Guild catching up on the Orario situation and what those assholes Apollo, Ishtar and Dian Cetch have been up to since I left."

This time it was Hephaestus' mood that soured at the mention of the triumvirate of gods whose mission had become to hinder Flora's career when she chose to join a [Familia].

That The Hunter had joined her mother's [Familia], one that had worldwide recognition due to the quality of its products, was no impediment to the triumvirate's plots, only led them to make them subtle and clever.

Dian Cetch was interested in her because of the properties of the [Choir Bell], one of the many objects that were part of Aurora Selene's inheritance.

Apollo, known since those times for snatching adventurers who caught his attention in one way or another, sought in Flora something close to a priestess, he saw in her someone capable of raising the [Apollo Familia] to the level that [Familias] such as Zeus and Hera boasted.

And Ishtar... Hephaestus needed a long, long time to cool her head and not do something reckless like allying with the [Freya Familia] in order to raze the red light district of Orario and consequently destroy the [Ishtar Familia]. After all, the intentions of the Goddess mundanely associated with depravity began as a simple difference of ideas with Hephaestus regarding Flora Leukos not being considered as part of the [Familia] of the Blacksmith Goddess when she reached the age of six..

As time passed and Flora grew older, the conflict of ideas became something more, something that Hephaestus at first believed and wished it had been simple dislike on Ishtar's part towards her daughter, but unfortunately it was nothing of the sort... Ereshkigal's sister had become infatuated with The Hunter and only wanted her by her side in one way and nothing else.

As her lover.

In her twisted thinking about love, Ishtar had attempted to enchant Aurora's daughter shortly before the final war against Evilus, exposing all of Orario to a shocking fact: Flora Leukos could not be enchanted. The rumors and theories were wild, from it being some sort of protection given by her mother the divine blacksmith, that she was a mortal born with [Charm] of her own, to the nastier sayings such as that she could not be caught by a Goddess of Beauty due to the fact that she could only find beauty in bloodshed.

A strange thing to say, but by then word was already starting to spread about Flora's visceral methods.

There was only one good thing in all of this, and that was that the triumvirate did not currently exist as a result of the actions of the daughter of Hephaestus herself shortly before she left Orario five years earlier.

In the alleys of Daedalus Street, in the heights of Babel, in the brothels of the Pleasure District... and even in the depths of the artificial dungeon Knossos, word spread that [Bloodsight] had destroyed the unreasonable ambitions of the triumvirate in a single night.

"Ishtar has been... quiet, at least by the standards she can be put to, Dian Cetch is still the same greedy old man he's always been, as if that will ever change," Hephaestus snorted, "and with Apollo, well, you know, he keeps forcibly adding to his [Family] those who have the misfortune to become the object of his affection."

"Like that child, Bell Cranel," Flora commented casually, surprising both the Goddess and the Captain.

"Cranel-san?" muttered Tsubaki. "Don't tell me Apollo's got his eye on the Little Rookie..."

"I wish I could tell you no, but-" The Huntress shrugged. "Before I came here I grilled some of the [Apollo Familia] girls about a few things. Too bad they got mad at me, they were pretty cute."

"Sigh, Hestia's not going to like this. Neither her nor Miach and Takemikazuchi."

"Allied familias?"

Hephaestus nodded.

"Hmm but still, Apollo knows how to play his cards, he's a smart bastard. I highly doubt he'd start moving without having public opinion on his side or at least, most gods screaming for something entertaining."

"Tch, he'll probably do something like a party. No, not probably, it's certain he will, it's just a matter of when."

"I don't think it will be long before he makes any moves," Tsubaki said taking a seat next to Flora, beginning to feel tired at the unstoppable barrage of information and intense emotions. "The Little Rookie's record in leveling up and his role in the Eighteenth Floor battle have created a powder keg that Apollo will gladly set fire to."

"... A party would be the ideal time, eh?" said Flora mischievously as an idea flashed through her mind. "Hmmm, I guess I should look presentable, you know: a new outfit, another hairstyle, a status update... Just the basics."

"Uh? Dear, what are you up to?" Hephaestus questioned with obvious concern written all over her face.

"I don't think the news of my return will stop Apollo, but it will certainly hinder whatever he's going to do. He must know how close Lady Hestia and you are, and that, if she asks for your help, then the [Apollo Familia] could come face to face with the strongest adventurer in the world."

"I'm sure that title belongs to Ottar-sama," Tsubaki said with confusion.

"He is level seven..."

It was then that Hephaestus and Tsubaki understood what Flora was implying.

... ... ...

... ... ...

With the arrival of a new day in Orario, Bell Cranel set about putting his affairs in order, beginning by going to the Guild and striking up a conversation with his advisor, Eina Tulle, who was surely mortified after hearing about the mishap that Welf Crozzo, Liliruca Arde and he had suffered in the Dungeon after a "Parade Pass" by three members of the [Takemikazuchi Familia]. Sadly, he could not give her all the details of what happened there on the 18th Floor and the day before, despite having visited her, they had not touched on that subject due to the interruption of that intimidating woman.

On the other hand, the information about the appearance of the Irregular Goliath in Rivira had been censored by the Guild, and those involved were asked for their absolute silence, all this under the justification that, if such information was leaked to the public, then things would get out of control, something understandable.

"So, when do you plan to return to the Dungeon?"

"I would say within two days until Welf has my new team ready. Our goal is to conquer the thirteenth floor before we go any deeper."

"At least you're being reasonable..." there was some discouragement in Eina's voice, which Bell noticed occurred when he mentioned Welf.

The worried face the white-haired man was surely making was noticed by Eina because there was a flash of regret in her eyes.

"Eina-san, is something wrong?... Your mood started to down when I mentioned Welf."

"Sigh, it's nothing Bell-kun. It's just that something is going on with the [Hephaestus Familia]. Their Goddess has been here since before the sun rise in a meeting with all the high ranking Guild officials."

"How strange, Welf never said anything was going on in his [Familia]."

"Surely it's because he didn't know, I caught a glimpse of Hephaestus-sama mentioning that it was a surprise visit, a request from her... daughter."

There it was again, a droopy tone of voice, tired if Bell was honest.

"Daughter...?"

"It's not a pretty story, Bell-kun, and I'm glad you don't know it," the half elf said with a small smile. "Maybe I'm being prejudiced, I mean, I've never met her, but the older ones here in the Guild talked about Hephaestus-sama's daughter as if she was a harbinger of bad luck or an adventurer whose [Falna] was to be locked and thrown into a cell only to lose the key. Her adventurer alias is [Bloodsight], can you believe it?"

"Sounds... like quite a story."

Before Eina could utter a word, a barrage of voices came through the Guild building, the half elf being sure she heard her co-worker, Rose Fannett, yell "why did Royman ask me to put up the damn announcement!" or something like that.

Adventurer and Overseer left the consultation room where they were, with the latter a bit reluctant because she still wished to admonish the boy for fighting with adventurers from another [Familia] in the Hibachitei bar the night before.

What they saw left them speechless.

In front of the board where the level upgrades for all the adventurers in Orario were announced, a crowd had gathered and kept talking, mixing emotions such as fear, anger, frustration, surprise, happiness and many others.

They both made their way through the crowd.

There, in the center of the board, was the reason why Hephaestus had appeared early on in the Guild, why it took all the high office and Rose's complaints, after all, the poor thing had been Royman's chosen martyr to break the news, as well as hang the announcement.

"Wh-what..." the words died in Bell's throat.

[Flora Leukos]

Affiliation: [Hephaestus Familia].

Alias: [Bloodsight]

Race: Human.

Floor reached: 55.

Weapon: [Moonlight Rakuyo].

LV. 8

Strength: E683

Endurance: G946

Dexterity: S999

Agility: S999

Magic: S999

In the center of the paper, Eina and Bell saw a face they recognized.

The woman who had requested Eina's assistance yesterday.

Unnoticed by both of them, two female adventurers were watching them: one, with obvious fear and the other with frustration, so much so that she had started biting her right thumb nail.

"Tch, this is bad..."

"D-Daphne?"

"... How do we tell Apollo-sama that the first level eight in years is also after the Little Rookie?" the young Lauros asked her friend Cassandra and herself.

... ... ...

... ... ...

In the depths of the Dungeon, a whirlwind of darkness and blue light tore through the monsters, staining the walls with dried entrails and littering the floors with drained corpses, dry as raisins.

Where was the blood going?

It became part of the whirlwind, adding crimson to the murky orbit of colors whose center was that woman.

When no other enemy had the audacity to approach her, the woman stopped her dance in its tracks and all the blood around her shot out in all directions, creating a bloody, abstract work of art on walls and floors.

"Ahh~ I missed this," Flora Leukos said, feeling her mind numb at what she had done, what she had enjoyed. And the same enjoyment had not ended when without a hint of hesitation, she licked her lips, wiping away the few drops of blood that had splattered on her.

In the past, her mother Hephaestus and she had come to worry about this fixation of hers, about whether it would lead her down a path whose only destination was to become like the people of Yharnam, whether... whether it would cause her to lose herself as had happened to Aurora Selene for a time.

These five years away had shown her why that would not happen.

Here in Tenkai, she had her blacksmith mother watching over her.

And beyond dreams and nightmares, Aurora protected her, the true Hunter who stood up to the horrors of Yharnam and in a way, had triumphed.

"...from the moon, from the dream..." chanted Flora, turning her back on her work of art.

From the corpses of monsters still intact by keeping their Magic Stone, life sprang forth.

Hundreds of beautiful pale flowers.