Last update was three years ago? ... really?

Yes! I am back from the dead to present to you Chapter 7 - Monster Festival.

*Keep in mind that I don't follow cannon entirely. Shalltear is a bit oc, spells and mechanics of the DanMachi world may be a bit different, the gods deciding to break their vow using their powers to stop a greater evil and the Lesser Vampire in this chapter won't follow its specific abilities and limitations (because Kugane Maruyama and Fujino Ōmori didn't expand on any of their abilities).

Beyond a simple fight against a lesser vampire and Shalltear one-shot killing mobs, I wanted to do something cool with the fights so I took some creative liberties. Take that in mind before you flame me in the review section.

NOTE: this chapter is incomplete. I've dropped the story, but I already had some parts written out before. I felt I should publish what I already wrote down 3 years ago. Some of the parts might feel rushed and have more grammar mistakes due to lack of editing. I'm sorry about that, but I hope you can still enjoy.

x-X-x-X-x

I do not own Overlord nor Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka

x-X-x-X-x

Chapter 7 – Monster Festival

Hestia ran her finger along the black lance that she'd spent the last couple of days helping Hephaestus forge. The hieroglyphs on running on both sides of the pole's blade lit up with a glow after her finger passed over them. The glyphs glowed an ethereal white blue for a few moments before the light faded away.

"And we're done." Hephaestus smiled as she looked at the completed lance. The weapon was made of Mithril, Hestia's hair and blood, and was finished by her own blessing.

"We're done?" Hestia's beautiful smile of joy nearly lit up the smithy. Her blue-eyes were sparkling, and Hephaestus couldn't stop herself from smiling.

"Does it meet your expectations?" Hephaestus asked as Hestia looked over the completed lance.

"Absolutely! No complaints at all!" Hestia beamed as she looked up from the black lance. "Oh yeah, this weapon needs a name! Hmm…I've got it! It was born from the love that Bell and I share: Lance of Love! Or Heart Piercer, because it pierces my heart!"

"Please don't!" Hephaestus held out her hand towards Hestia at the horrible name. "That makes it sound like a piece of junk!" With a sigh Hephaestus picked up the lance and held it before Hestia's eyes. "This lance…it can't be described as anything but a Divine Weapon. So how about 'Hestia Lance' instead?" Seeing Hestia's eyes light up and practically sparkle, Hephaestus sighed in relief. "Listen closely, Hestia. This lance is alive, it has your blessing. Right now it's about as strong as tissue paper, but once it reaches the hands of Bell Cranel, it will take its first breath and grow. However, it can only be used by a child that has your Falna; that is also its defect. It grows with its wielder. It will never be too strong or too weak. A weapon that can instantly become more powerful is like cheating to us smiths, so I won't be making one like this again."

"Thank you, Hephaestus!" Hestia smiled as she wrapped her arms around the redhead in a warm hug.

"Let me repeat myself," Hephaestus smiled as she returned the hug. "Do not go back on this loan."

"Okay!" Hestia squeezed her slightly and smiled when Hephaestus did the same. Their Pantheon was a mess sometimes, especially the family relations because of Zeus, but she very much adored her niece.

"Leaving already?" Hephaestus blinked as Hestia slipped her flip-flops on.

"Yep, I want to give this to Bell right away!" Hestia grinned as she looked for something to carry the lance in.

"It was a long night, shouldn't you rest?" Hephaestus sighed even as she wrapped the sheathed pole of the lance in a cloth and then tied the cloth over Hestia's left shoulder and under her right arm.

"Thank you, Hephaestus!" Hestia beamed as she hugged the Goddess of the Forge again before heading out in a rush. The redhead could only sigh as she undid her ponytail and let her locks cascade down her back.

x-X-x-X-x

{Here I was planning on having an interaction between Bell and Shalltear as they visited the festivities around Orario during Monsterphilia, but couldn't be bothered, sorry}

x-X-x-X-x

This place was always filled with people, but now, it was extra busy with all the extra people coming here from all across the world.

Indeed, the Monsterphilia was a matter of fact, the most profitable event of all Orario.

This place was not only filled with people, but because of the event, many new street stalls also opened in the hope of some extra profit. Restaurants and other shops filled to the brim, not an inch of free space from the bustling crowd of people.

Not far from this scene, on the second floor of a café, a lone person sat, covered by a simple cloak and hood. But even this ragged and brash guise couldn't hide who she is! Even through this dirty rag, her beauty and the air of allure filtered out.

Strangely, the second floor was entirely silent, the people sitting almost like some oddly strong charm affected them, eyes clouded, mouth practically drooling. Only the cloaked person sitting near the window moved, tilting her head ever slightly as she watched the scenery outside.

"Yo, Freya!" Loki grinned at her fellow Goddess as she walked towards a table on the second floor of the establishment "You been waiting long?"

"Not at all, I just got my drink." Freya picked up her teacup and took a sip. The Goddess of Beauty was covered head to toe in a black cloak to prevent others from inadvertently falling under her Charm. Those of weak will folded to her Divine Existence rather easily. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"

"Ah right, this is your first time meeting!" Loki smiled happily. "This is Loki Familia's Ais Wallenstein!"

"Nice to meet you." Ais bowed slightly to the other Goddess.

'Such a cute one.' Freya thought as she looked Ais over.

"Since it's Monsterphilia and all, I thought I'd take Ais out on the town!" Loki explained with a laugh as she gently patted Ais' back. "Hardly get the chance. The Princess is always heading for the Dungeon. She just got back from a big expedition too! If someone didn't force her to take it easy, she never would!" The redhead chuckled while Ais looked resigned to Loki's shenanigans.

"Well then," Freya set her teacup down. "Why don't you explain why you called me out here?"

"Huh?" Loki smiled at Freya. "Just been a while since we had a good chat."

"Stop lying." Freya challenged with a grin and a sudden tension filled the air. The waiter bringing over Loki's drink froze mid-step and started trembling while Ais held out her arm to prevent him from getting any closer.

"I'll ask you straight." Loki looked at Freya directly. "What're you planning?"

"Just what are you suggesting, Loki?" Freya feigned ignorance.

"You think I'm dumb?" Loki retorted with a scoff. "You showing up to a Banquet of the Gods is already suspicious. It's clear that you're gathering information for something. So what's your scheme this time?"

"Scheme makes it sound bad." Freya giggled with her fist in front of her mouth.

"Then spill it." Loki opened her red-eyes and locked gazes with Freya. The two engaged in a stare down for a long moment before Loki let out a heavy sigh. "A man, huh? You've got your eyes on some other Familia's child, I take it? You have a bad habit of that with men."

Ais looked confused at the blatant accusation and only grew more confused when Freya didn't deny it. The Goddess of Beauty merely giggled softly. The golden-haired Adventurer was confused by the lack of denial. Trying to take members from other Familia was one of the fastest ways to start trouble. It could easily lead to a War Game. Yet this Goddess didn't seem to care at all about the consequences of such actions.

"Ugh, you amorous bint! You're friskier every year!" Loki groaned at her fellow Norse Goddess. "Do you even have standards anymore?"

"Preposterous, I know the good from the rest." Freya replied with a small smile.

"Give him up!" Loki wanted to nip this potential problem in the bud right now. "You already have some idiot Gods wrapped around your finger, isn't that enough?"

"They have their uses." Freya smiled teasingly.

"So," Loki leaned forward on the table. "Who is the one that has your heart all aflutter this time? You've strung me along this far. I think I have a right to ask." The red eyes of the Trickster Goddess were nearly sparkling.

"He's only just beginning to grow," Freya spoke up, her eyes looking slightly distant. "He's not overly dependable yet, he still gets hurt easily, and he wears his heart on his sleeve." She took a deep breath as a longing smile formed on her lips. "However, he was gorgeous. He was clear. He's a color my eyes have never seen before."

She looked out the window with a sigh. "I found him by accident one day when I looked out the window."

"I wanted to watch him grow from the sidelines, but then, that thing arrived" Freya let out the venom in her words.

"What thing? Don't leave me hangin' like that!" Loki complained.

Freya turned back to her with a disturbed look that made Loki and Ais flinch "That thing… This void of darkness where no light shines through. Impure, devoid of life, absolute evil…" She looked out the window with a sigh "I'm afraid the two have become interconnected and that… If I don't something about it soon, this monstrosity will corrupt the boy's purity…"

Loki sweat dropped "I sure as hell wouldn't like to be whoever you call that 'thing'. I swear, you're just upset cuz someone stole your crush!"

Freya didn't respond however as she continued scanning the exterior and frowned when she noticed a sinister aura belonging to the very thing that she was talking about walking through the crowded streets along with another familiar, pure, white aura.

"You okay?" Loki questioned as Freya suddenly stood from her chair.

"My apologies; something urgent has come up. Let's meet again." Freya excused herself and was heading for the door quickly.

"What's with her dashing out like that?" Loki looked perplexed even as the waiter placed her drink down on the table. The man had been held back by Ais the whole time the two Goddesses had been talking. "Wait a minute…she left me with the check!"

x-X-x-X-x

Meanwhile, outside of the café, the street was so full that it was difficult to move forward. However, the abundance of beautiful fresh flowers and other decorations not generally seen on the buildings made it worth the hassle. Long ropes ran from rooftop to rooftop across the street above everyone's heads.

Flags bearing the official logo of the Monsterphilia and the elephant mask of Ganesha Familia hung down from them in such abundance that they cast shadows over the crowd while dancing in the breeze.

The food stalls in the middle of the road drew in many lines of customers with an appetizing mix of amazing smells and the sound of searing meat. Juicy fried chicken and fresh beef came off the flames of grills at a record pace, the vendors trying to keep up with the ravenous fairgoers ever intense.

The Monsterphilia was in full swing. There wasn't a frowning face to be seen.

"So, miss Fiora…" Bell began.

"Hmm~? Yes?"

"Bell!" Hestia called out happily when she saw her lover amongst the crowd. She headed towards him with a glowing smile.

"Hestia?" Bell blinked at seeing his Goddess for the first time in three days. "What are you doing at Monsterphilia?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Hestia smiled at him. "I wanted to see you!" She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight.

"I wanted to see you too." Bell returned the hug warmly. "But it has been three days. I was starting to get worried." The two gazed into each other's eyes for a moment before their lips met in a gentle kiss. "You're in a very good mood, did something good happen at the Banquet?"

"I have a present for you, Bell!" Hestia smiled at him as she finally left his embrace. "But to make it as good as possible, let's find somewhere private and update your Status."

"What does my Status have to do with the gift?" Bell blinked in confusion.

"You'll see!" Hestia giggled as she took his hand and they walked off towards a backstreet together.

Once they were secluded, Bell removed his breastplate, his jacket, and then pulled up the back of his shirt to expose his Falna. Hestia borrowed Bell's new knife to prick the tip of her right index finger. A single drop of her blood and the hieroglyphs began to glow. Hestia looked through Bell's Excelia, seeing his experiences over the past three days. She moved the Excelia into the Falna and let it grow. Her eyes widened as something appeared within the Falna for the second time ever. With a bright smile that Bell's hard work had paid off, she reached into her pocket. She took out a folded up piece of blank paper that she'd borrowed from Hephaestus and placed it against his back to transfer the updated numbers.

"You've been working so hard, Bell." Hestia pulled his shirt down after removing the paper. She leaned against his back happily. "You've gotten your sec-…I mean, you've earned what you've always wanted, Bell, a Skill of your very own."

"A Skill!" Bell turned his head to look at her over his shoulder. "Really?!"

"It's right here, Bell." Hestia handed him the paper and Bell took it excitedly.

"Look at how my stats have grown!" Bell was beaming at the paper as he read over his Skill a few times. An increase to two of his most used stats while having a weapon in each hand! His use of dual knives had earned him a Skill! He couldn't wait to test it out in the Dungeon!

He turned to Shalltear and bowed in a ninety-degree angle "Thank you miss Fiora! It must be all your help!"

"Sure sure." All she's done is beat him up and throw him at monsters. But she supposed it worked well as long as she ensured he wouldn't die. Quite honestly, this boy might throw himself to his death a day she wouldn't be adventuring with him.

He also noticed that over the last three days he'd gained a total of 374 points. That was more ridiculous growth! Sure, he'd stayed a bit late in the Dungeon each day, since Hestia wouldn't be at home waiting for him. He'd also stayed mostly on the Fourth Floor, so the Monsters were of significant strength for his stats. 'But over 350 points is crazy growth, right?' Bell questioned himself internally.

"Here's the present I mentioned, Bell." Hestia smiled lovingly at him as she undid thecloth around what looked to be stick. She pulled the cloth off to reveal a black lance. She heard Bell's sharp intake of breath and her smile widened slightly.

"Goddess…this…is this?" Bell took the lance in his hand and his eyes briefly saw the hieroglyphs on the metal glow. He could feel the power in this lance! It had to be a Skillful Grade or maybe even a High Grade weapon!

"This lance is yours, Bell." Hestia told him warmly. "It's the only one like it in the whole world. It's alive, and as you grow stronger, so will it. It's called the 'Hestia Lance' and I want you to have it."

While Bell was admiring his new weapon, Hestia turned around and stuck her tongue out to Shalltear, who snorted and looked away in response.

"Hestia!" Bell put the lance aside and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her with all of the love and affection he had for her. He wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her body flush against his. Hestia eagerly reciprocated as she straddled Bell and their kiss deepened. "I love you, Hestia." Bell told her once they finally separated for air.

"I love you too, Bell." Hestia snuggled close and just enjoyed the warmth of being held by him.

A short time later the two released each other and stood up. Bell put his jacket and breastplate back on and the two walked out of the backstreet hand in hand. The Status Update paper was tossed into a food stall's grill and burned to nothing. It was never a good idea for anyone outside of your Familia to know your Status. So, burning the papers with the Status updates on them was common practice.

Suddenly, the sound of screaming could be heard in the distance.

Shalltear looked up and smiled as she turned back to look at Bell "Well, that was a nice outing~, but I really need to go somewhere, so see ya, Bell~!"

"Wait, miss Fiora! There's fighting going on this way, we should get to safety and-"

She didn't wait for him to respond before vanishing from their sight.

x-X-x-X-x

"Uwaaaa!"

The crowd erupted in an ear-shattering cheer at the display of sheer athleticism. The Fifty thousand strong crowd in the stands created a whirlpool of energy. The audience was livid as it bore witness to the performance on the stadium floor.

The stadium, or the Colosseum, was located in Eastern Orario.

Inside a luxury box that provided an excellent viewing of the events, the god Ganesha looked on with a smile as his children performed inhuman feats thanks to their falna.

This was just an appetizer while the seats of the Colosseum were being filled. Soon, thousands of citizens will be gathered in the stadium to witness the spectacle. The main event involving tamed monsters had yet to start.

While appreciating the view with a sangria, the god turned around as he heard heavy footsteps stop behind him. He looked at a guard with a questioning look as the man was breathing heavily with his hands on his knee.

Before Ganesha could say anything, the guard gathered himself and croaked "We need to get everyone to safety!"

This strange behavior sent a chill down the spine of Ganesha.

"I am Ganesha! What's happening?!"

At this question, a haunted look appeared on the guard's frightened face.

"Swarms of monsters! They're moving towards the Colosseum! We can't hold them off at this rate!"

If one listened carefully, they would be able to make out a sound which sounded like ten thousand horses galloping.

Upon realizing that this was serious, Ganesha looked at the guard.

"... Let's make sure everyone's safe, but more importantly… I am Ganesha!"

A second trembling guard that had just arrived shouted.

"Lord Ganesha! Come take a look!"

The god looked through an opening to look outside.

There were pale-decomposing bodies and even skeletons moving clumsily towards their location. Everyone was struck dumb by the scene before them.

A massive quantity of man-looking monsters — so great as to render all who saw them speechless — approached the entrance of the Colosseum.

Ganesha was struck. "Why, in such numbers..."

"Looks like it's more than one or two hundred... there should be a thousand of them... or more..." A guard panicked.

"Hey, what's the commotion?"

The guards turned around and all felt relieved upon seeing Tione, Tiona and Lefiya of the Loki Familia.

Ganesha sighed as he reminded himself that everything would be alright. With Loki's children and the rest of the adventurers seated for the event, they should be able to repel the monsters.

The monsters didn't look too fast, only they had numbers, but that's nothing to high-level adventurers who could take on armies of these things. He was just worried about any civilians who'd get caught up in this mess.

"These monsters have surrounded the Colosseum as you can see…" A guard told the Loki familia while pointing at the outside window, seeing his God was lost in thought.

"Whoa… What are these things!" the amazon, Tiona, shouted.

"Those are undead…" Ganesha answered with unusual seriousness.

"""Un-what?!""" they collectively asked.

"Undead… They're mortals living after their death… I knew this ritual could be done but… Not so many at once..." The god appeared pensive as he looked on at the swarm coming ever closer to the Colosseum.

"Really? That's disgusting! Most of them still have flesh!" Tiona stuck her tongue out in disgust while Lefiya looked on in disbelief at the idea that some sinister magic spell could raise the dead.

Ganesha clicked his tongue "Yes, that is perplexing – Well no time to waste! Gather all the adventurers to fight these off and make sure no one is harmed! Also, I AM GANESHA!"

"Got it!" "Please count on us!" ""Understood, Lord Ganesha!"" The Loki familia and guards answered before leaving in a hurry to get in defensive position. They would not let the Colosseum be sieged.

As Ganesha was left alone, he looked back inside the Colosseum and noticed his children had stopped performing, with men and women all around arming themselves for combat. Meanwhile, he could see uneasiness growing in what was left of the crowd.

'Well, there's no point in hiding it. The panic has begun.'

Ganesha sighed, sitting back down and feeling powerless.

'So much for organizing an event for mortals and gods to enjoy… It just had to go wrong…'

x-X-x-X-x

"Oh no, it's startin'!" Loki exclaimed as she suddenly noticed the noises coming from the Coliseum.

"Are you sure this is the right street?" Ais asked.

"You bet it is! The main street is bustin' at the seams. This is a shortcut!"

She'd lost track of time exploring the street stands and shops.

The two women raced through the backstreets in an effort to reach the Colosseum before the main event of the Monsterphilia.

It was true, there was almost no one in their way. Without a map, Loki and Ais made their way toward the Colosseum on pure guesswork. The backstreets were narrow and lined with two- and three-story buildings, covering their route in shade. Magic-stone lamps dotted the walls along the way, but none of them was turned on.

Catching glimpses of the Colosseum in the distance through the small spaces between the buildings, Ais and Loki adjusted their course accordingly.

"…?"

Ais frowned.

Her ears caught the sound of screaming in the distance.

She tried to convince herself that was just a tamer fighting with a monster in the Coliseum, but for some reason she couldn't shake the dread bubbling up within her.

At long last, Ais and Loki emerged from the backstreet. The Coliseum stood right in front of them.

"Don't like runnin', makes me tired…" Loki tried her best to catch her breath. That's when she noticed a crowd surrounding the coliseum and adventurers from the Colosseum's wall pushing them back. "Uunnn? Whassup with them?"

Something was wrong; the adventurers were fighting a strange crowd…

"These don't look like regular citizens…" Loki began as she observed the situation.

A seemingly endless swarm of staggering skeletons with some having leftover flesh were coming from the south to the Coliseum. Did they come from Orario's graveyard? This fight was especially violent. To add to the chaos, it appears that some of Ganesha's monsters escaped and were now running rampant among the crowd of skeletons.

Ais had to help with the confusion. She looked back over her shoulder toward her goddess.

"Loki."

"Yeah, yeah. Go on. Can't be on a date at a time like this. I'll let Ganesha borrow ya for a bit."

Now wasn't the time to worry about their date, Ais needed to help out fight off the monsters and stop whatever it is that those skeletons are doing.

Ais took hold of the hilt of her rapier and dashed toward the Colosseum in hopes of saving the lives of any citizens who got caught up in this mess.

Loki sighed as she turned around and ran to safety at the Twilight Manor. "Man, what a mess. It's like a three-sided fight between monsters, mortals and the dead! Just what did you do, Ganesha!?"

She really needed to warn Finn and the others about it…

x-X-x-X-x

"Ah-ha-ha, they are persistent. Can I keep one as my punching bag?" Tiona joked as they fought by the Colosseum's entrance.

The two amazon sisters easily punched through crowds of walking corpses. The only issue was that no matter how far they went flying, they would rise back up immediately and run off to the nearest living thing.

Because of that, they had to keep the undead close enough so that they wouldn't go off after citizens of Orario. What didn't help was that many of Ganesha's monsters escaped, targetting undead and adventurers alike and further adding to the chaos.

None of them had brought any of their equipment. Large blades and a staff would only block their view in the stands, and Tione didn't want to accidentally sit on one of her knives. Wearing armor to the festival would have been just as uncomfortable.

But little details like that didn't bother the Amazonian twins. They were confident in their ability to fight as long as they could clench their fists, and the other warriors were doing the same whereas casters like Lefiya couldn't even fathom the idea.

The only problem is that the monsters stood up even after getting punched and pieces scattered to the floor. Their pieces would find a way to attach back, and they'd keep moving toward the Coliseum. They couldn't disagree with Ganesha's words; these monsters were the very definition of undead.

"Ah~. I really wish I had the sword on me!" Tiona complained.

"Lefiya, are you done chanting?" Tione asked the elf girl behind the group.

"… Loose your arrows, fairy archers. Pierce the target with the utmost accuracy!"

The spell was complete. All that remained was to concentrate all her magical energy on the undead and pull the 'trigger'.

"This-this is my chance." Lefiya also realized this situation and came to the conclusion that it needed to be stopped here and now. She then raised her hand and began chanting, her magic was more than strong enough to tear that beast into two.

"…?"

"Tiona?" Tione asked her sister, who was frowning, senses on high alert. Hunched over and looking left and right as Lefiya was preparing her spell. "Is something the matter?" She repeated.

Tiona looked at her sister. "Tione, is the ground shaking?"

"…Now that you mention it, yes." Tione said suspiciously, not liking this feeling.

"Perhaps it's just… an earthquake?" Tiona tried finding an answer.

But they knew that the shaking was much too local to be an earthquake. Only the Colosseum was shaking. Babel Tower was steady as a rock in Central Park and for the earthquake to happen at this very moment...

The girls knew something was very wrong. Their senses had been sharpened from years of dungeon crawling. Hearing an unexpected sound was a sign of things to come.

Then, an explosion erupted from the floor underneath Lefiya as she was in the middle of her chanting.

"Ah!" Lefiya screamed before she was caught by tione and dragged away from the eruption.

"?!" All the adventurers turned in that direction and saw a pyre of smoke rising to the sky. A part of the Colosseum's wall had been blown off.

The smoke and dust wavered as it started to clear. That's when a plant-like monster came into view. Its tail was still emerging from between the ruins.

It raised its lump-like head toward the sky. Crick! Crick! Lines appeared—and it bloomed.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Its roar reverberated through the Coliseum. People covered their ears. Many petals stretched out to sunlight. Each of them was an ominous deep red. They all met in the center; a gigantic mouth lined with fangs. Pollen shook free with every movement.

"What is that!?" Tiona shouted as she then got a decent look with the dust dissipating. Seeing the plant with snake-like tendrils. "Is this a new species?"

"How did Ganesha even capture something like that!?" Lefiya said in disbelief as she felt the same way that something wasn't right with the strange beast. How it escaped along with the other monsters is still a mystery...

The three girls felt chills run down their spines.

"Tione, this one mean business!"

"Finally, it's our turn."

"Lefiya, start casting again in case we need backup."

"Y-yes."

Tione issued orders to the others as they took up positions around the monster.

The ground trembled again as the monster shifted its attention to the Lefiya as she began casting her spell, charging at full speed. A moment later, it used its entire body like a whip planted in the ground to attack the elf head-on but was blocked by the Amazonian twins.

Lefiya took off just behind them. 'Why is it after me?!' She whined in her head. The girls raced across the rubble and crowds of undead, jumped, and landed in front of the plant and pushing it as hard as they could.

Broken bricks flew in every direction as the plant's body slammed onto the Colosseum.

Fragments flew through the surrounding, opening countless holes. Another cloud of smoke and debris filled the ten-meter-wide street.

Crick, crick, crick. The monster's body made a truly unnerving sound as it straightened up once again and started slamming its tendrils in the dozens of undead in the surrounding area.

As the plant was busy attacking the undead, Tione and Tiona circled around the creature to attack from behind. Together, they punched it with all their might.

"?!"

Sharp pain shot through their arms the moment their punches connected.

"What's this thing made of solid steel?!"

The monster's skin repelled the attack.

Despite being unarmed, the Amazonian twins were top-class adventurers. Hundreds of thousands of monsters had been literally torn apart by their hands. And yet, neither of them could make a dent in this one. All their powerful fists had done was make the creature flinch. In fact, the creature's armor had inflicted more damage on them.

Tiona shook her right hand so fast it was a blur, eyes opened wide in shock.

"—!"

The creature let out a ferocious, angry roar. Perhaps their attacks had done damage after all. It started violently whipping its body around like an angry bull trying to buck off a rider, sending flying even more undead that were in the way.

This was bad. If it keeps going, the undead propagate all over the city.

The twins quickly retreated to a safe distance before finding new windows to attack.

"We can't end this with our fists!"

"Ah, what I wouldn't give for a sword right now!"

The girls yelled back and forth as they landed blow after blow against the monster but couldn't seem to land a decisive hit. The Ganesha familia was too busy keeping the undead away to lend any help.

The monster was very quick to counterattack, but its tendrils were cleanly cut in a flash.

"Ha look who's here!"

Tiona cheered at Ais' entrance.

The plant-like creature had turned most of the street into rubble but had yet to make contact with its opponents. Neither side could gain an advantage. The battle was a stalemate, but neither side was backing down.

As Ais charged back at the plant monster, it turned away and moved.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" From the ground itself that shock, everyone soon felt the ground quake where suddenly a noise from a familiar source entered their ears.

"Oh no." Tiona said as she recognized that sound.

Multiple plant monsters had just burst out like the first one. 'More of them!? Three!' She mentally calculated. It is a bit curious how Ganesha gathered these beasts. She felt like there was something more to it. Just like how the undead had nothing to do with Monsterphilia either.

"What's happening!?"

The Loki familia members being a relative distance away, the plant monsters seemed to have changed targets. Their tendrils began specifically targeting the undead swarms, shattering their bones and sending them flying everywhere.

The plants monsters followed the trail of incoming zombies and skeletons that seemed to take them away from the Colosseum.

"They're going South! Perhaps the source of the undead are the Graveyard? Should we follow them?" Lefiya asked.

"I'm going to the source. You, stay here." Ais gave parting words before activating Aria.

"Guh! Ais is stealing all the fun once again." Tiona grumbled.

"Lefiya, how about you use a spell on all the monsters over there? They won't get back up if their pieces get shattered, right?" Tione told them both running.

"That would take too much mana! I can't do it for everyone! And what about the other monsters running rampant?" Lefiya reminded them.

"Well, they're not after you anymore… They're targeting the undead, so it's fine to sit back and watch, right?" Tione asked.

"That's right! The enemy of my enemy can fight my enemy for me!" Tiona chimed in.

"Hey Loki familia help us out here!" An adventurer to the side shouted. "Our guys got nasty bites and are suddenly turning into those flesh monsters!"

"""What?!""" The three collectively shouted.

x-X-x-X-x

Mortimer, the Lesser Vampire nurtured by Shalltear Bloodfallen was in a good mood.

Everything was going just as his mistress told him.

The black orb in his palm pulsed with an eerie purple-reddish light. He was raising bodies and summoning as many zombies as he could before taking a short break to regain mana so that he could make more!

He could feel the immense magical power he had been so generously given. Yes, his mistress will be delighted by his efforts.

He raided a graveyard and now uses it as a source to resurrect the dead. He must've known this place existed through memories of his past self... He frowned as this was not the time for thinking of his blurry past. His life now was to serve his mistress, and he will not tolerate failure on his part.

He had to concentrate on the situation at hand; make as many zombies as he could so that the plague would spread swiftly. That was why he aimed at the Coliseum. With large crowds, the zombies would have no issues with finding someone to bite, and thus kickstart the spread of the disease that will soon turn Orario into the City of the Dead.

It may be bold to make himself an open target in the middle of the graveyard, but he paid it no mind. His mistress' blessing was truly a gift. With this favor, how could he even think of hiding himself? He would overpower any pest standing in his mistress' way.

"Ku-kU-kUu!"

Seeing such a powerful army walking within the palms of his hand was exhilarating. All that of course, was to serve her, his sunshine – no, his moonlight!

x-X-x-X-x

{Here's a part I haven't bothered to write, so here are the SparkNotes of it}

Bell against zombies. Uses Hestia Lance. Fights the zombies, but gets bitten and turns into one. In fear, Hestia throws a healing potion at Bell and he turns back to normal.

Knowing the cure to the zombie curse, Bell informs the other adventurers about it.

Now they're all throwing healing potion and casting healing spells. (The undead raised from dead corpses don't come back to life but the others do).

"Hear me out! The undead are converting adventurers into undeads. That's how they multiply! We can bring them back with health potion!"

"Send someone off to Dian Cetch's. We need as many potions as possible."

x-X-x-X-x

As she passed the plant monsters, Ais shifted her weight onto her back foot and tilted her blade to a slight angle, then launched at the hordes of zombies that filled the main street.

With the use of her skill [Aria] she gracefully cut down all monsters in her path. Cracks in the horde became ever more present.

She reached the graveyard which was overflowing with flesh monsters. Then, in a matter of a few seconds, only a handful of these monsters remained after Ais had thrown herself in their midst and unleashed the raw power of a level 5 adventurer.

"Guh! WhY aRE YOu stAnDiNG iN My WAy?!" One of the remaining flesh monsters shrieked in anger.

He was a strange one, carrying a crystal ball in one hand and had a disfigured face with red eyes and a body twisting in inhuman fashion. His red eyes clearly indicated he was a monster, yet how was he capable of speech?

Despite having pushed herself way beyond her limits, Ais remained strong as she held her sword before her, calmly standing before the convulsing monster.

The monster dropped the orb, making it shatter. Then, his abnormally tall body significantly grew in mass, his clothes ripped apart from the expansion of the body. Muscles that didn't exist grew, his jaw dislocated, revealing a set of giant pointy teeth. Ais had no doubt that this monster had evolved into something much stronger than the regular flesh monsters she had previously fought.

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!" He stepped forward with a heavy foot that shook the ground beneath them.

Without further words, Ais dashed toward the monster.

During the split second it took for Ais to close in on her opponent her mind became plagued with questions. He isn't carrying any weapons or is he simply waiting until the last second to reveal it?

As she was finishing her swing to his shoulder its fist had blocked her sword. The Sword Princess glanced down to make sure she was not hallucinating, she wasn't. That monster followed her movement at that speed.

Ais jumped back as the monster threw a punch her way in retaliation and observed her adversary in full. He used his fists to parry her attack, so he was most definitely a brawler. Still, the sword princess had never encountered this monster before in the dungeon… Just what was he and where did he come from?

She had no time to ponder as in a split second, it closed the distance, and its punches came at unreadable speeds and all Ais could do was duck and remain on the defensive as the relentless onslaught of punches didn't give her any chance to move.

This monster had to be under some effect of rage as it threw punches everywhere in folly, smashing through earth, trees, tombstones and Ais herself. Before she finished evading two simultaneous strikes, she would see two more closing in, forcing her to back up to give more space to respond.

As she was slowly being pushed back out of the graveyard and onto the main street by the monster's onslaught, Ais noticed something that caused her even more stress. Even though she had been blocking several of its strikes with the sharp edge of her sword, the monster's knuckles remained unscathed.

She ducked once again as the monster punched a building and she used the dust generated by that attack to move around undetected and slashed the back of his neck.

It went halfway through the undead's thick neck while it turned around in motion to retaliate against Ais. As she pulled her sword out, she noticed the flesh of its neck quickly growing back as if nothing had happened.

In shock, Ais had been too slow to parry and felt a hit land on her chest, then was subsequently spiked to the ground, making her bounce off the ground multiple times over before landing into a building in the distance.

Ais felt immense pain as she failed to get back up. Her internal organs had been mashed by the overpowered creature.

'I wasn't strong enough' She thought in anger, before feeling a sudden surge of energy and coming back up.

She exited the building in rage and looked to see her target, the pale muscle monster looking livid as he lost track of Ais location when he had previously sent her flying.

However, he quickly turned his head in glee once he noticed her approaching figure.

He readied a punch her way, but with her newfound power and her skill [Aria] activated, she quickly dodged by landing below it and slashed at the creature's chest one, two, three times before it readied a punch her way, which she avoided and continued slashing more and more against his regeneration skills.

Ais, lost in her madness, kept on slashing more and more, ignoring the pain and growing in strength which turned the tides of the battle in her favor. Clearly, this fight had triggered a level-up.

However, as much as she swung her sword over and over, the creature would not stop regenerating and seemed to be invincible. As her madness calmed down, she finally started to despair once again and the monster started to gain ground on her.

But suddenly, "Take that!" She heard from behind the monster a familiar voice and a giant hammer slamming into the monster's back before another familiar figure slashed it in pieces.

She looked on as Gareth and Finn had arrived.

"Stand back. You've done enough, Ais." Her other executive, Riveria stood in front of her.

Her world became dizzy as once the adrenaline faded, her injuries got the best of her.

She clenched her Desperate as she recalled her one-on-one fight. As much as she tried, she couldn't defeat this monster… She was not strong enough…

The last thing she saw before closing her eyes was a giant column of blue that came from Riveria's Spell.

x-X-x-X-x

"Lord Dian Cetch, there is a request from the guild to hand out all our healing potions immediately!"

"Go ahead and make sure to send them the receipt. Add additional fees for emptying my stocks."

"Right away, sir." The young man withdrew in haste.

Dian turned to his familia's captain. "What's the meaning of this Airmid?"

"I don't know. All they said related to these monsters was a strong curse type of effect. Healing potions and spells seem to cure those cursed by the monsters…"

Dian moved to a large window behind his desk, with a view of the city, and some of the action from far away.

"Fuahhahaahaha. Today is my lucky day. With everyone having no choice but turn to us, I'll no doubt be the richest god in Orario!"

"Lord Dian, should we start brewing more potions in case there is an even greater demand?"

Dian turned to her, forming a greedy smile.

"What a wonderful idea that would be! Yes! I want all staff on hand to stop whatever they're doing and start mass-producing healing potions."

Airmid nodded, then she gasped, and her eyes turned wide.

"Hm? What's the matter?" Dian asked to which she responded by pointing to the window behind him.

"Greetings~. I hope I'm not interrupting something important~." A masked lady in white robes opened the window and entered Dian's office, seemingly making herself at home.

Dian growled in annoyance. "You are, in fact, interrupting important business. What do you want, outsider?"

"Is that how you greet the lady that blessed you with this 'lucky day'~? I started the plague just so you know~"

"Oh? You mean the strange monsters at Monsterphilia? Could this be a confession? To a god, no less?"

"You heard me right, but it does not matter what the dead say~. In the end, they all bow to me~."

Dian chuckled. "How foolish you are! Not even famine would bring someone to kill a god. We are the ones awaiting you in the afterlife, after all. I could make you subject of eternal torture."

"Oh-oh~! I love watching you play strong~! Unfortunately for you, I hold the blessing of much more powerful gods~." The mysterious figure stood up and began walking forward.

"Stand back, Lord Dian!" Airmid shouted as she put herself between Dian and the masked lady. "This woman is crazy. Let me handle it."

Her god nodded. "Yes, take care of it. We've already wasted enough time as is."

{Airmid dies. Haven't bothered describing it, but it was a one-sided fight.}

"YOU!" Dian shouted with anger.

"Ah~ I love that expression~. You're finally giving in to despair~."

"I won't give up that easily! [Water Surge]!"

A spiral of water materialized from Dian's hands and shot out water spears toward the mysterious figure.

"[Impure Shockwave Shield]!"

A reddish-black wave of force spread forth from the masked girl's body and destroyed the spears.

"Oh my~. That caught me by surprise~. Didn't expect an attack of this caliber~."

"That's it… You're also a god… You must've descended on other means if Ouranos can't limit your Arkana... Do not underestimate the deities in Orario, masked fiend. The other gods can sense our battle and they'll put an end to this in no time."

"Are they not allowed to use their powers~?"

"Who cares about rules if it's to get rid of you! [Great Dragon Stream]"

Multiple water dragons shot out in the masked god's direction.

"[Greater Teleportation]" She then vanished.

Dian looked around to spot her when he too late felt a blade running through his crouch.

"Guaaahh." Dian screamed in pain as he was sliced in two from top to bottom.

Holy water spurred out of the two sliced halves of his body, entangling and sticking back the two parts together.

Dian coughed. "Hehe. Thought you could get rid of me that easily?" He said weakly, crouching with a hand placed over his belly. Although the pain was gone, the memory of it was still fresh.

"Guh. Not fair~!"

"Hah. Fuahahaha. You evil god should know this is the healing power of the mighty Dian Cetch. You may slice me all you want for I'll be back up in no time."

Fortunately, he had a trick up his sleeve as he called back the water dragons the masked god had teleported away from.

She sensed them from behind, turned around and parried just in time the strike of the incoming dragon, but the other two went past the first one and struck her sides, splicing her with their water blades head.

This was Dian's ultimate move. He confected this attack thousands of years ago and was quite proud of the results. Of course, his arsenal was lacking compared to other gods. He remained first and foremost a healer.

Fortunately for him, the masked god was overconfident in her abilities and as a result, failed to pay attention to their fight.

"Damn it. She has resurrection powers too?" Dian muttered in horror as the blood spurred from his opponent's body reassembled and brought her back on her feet, outwardly unharmed. Even her dress healed back…

He shook his head out of his stupor. 'No worries. All I have to do is stall for time. Maybe seconds, possibly a minute. Initiate a conversation.'

Dian stood up and smiled. "So we both are gifted in healing? And yet you are also far superior in combat. I feel somewhat worthless…"

His opponent laughed at that remark.

"You are being too harsh yourself~. I was simply blessed with many powerful items and abilities by beings far superior to you~. It's only natural that you'd feel worthless~."

"Howdy, what seems to be the matter here?" A blonde man with a feather hat butted in.

"Hermes!" Dian rejoiced. "She killed my entire familia and is after me! She's wearing a mask; I don't know who she is."

Hermes turned to the masked goddess. "Are you the one behind the mess going on in the city?"

She giggled. "In short, yes."

Another man jumped in. "What's going on here? Three gods fighting? You can't be serious! Amidst all the chaos that's going on outside?"

"Takemikazuchi, this one used her powers to murder a familia. She's also behind this whole mess to begin with." Hermes answered in a serious tone that was unlike his usual nonchalant attitude.

Takemikazuchi frowned and looked to the masked demon god. "Is that true?"

She sighed. "Are you guys going to keep piling up over and over~? I only care about him~." She pointed to Dian. "[Implosion]".

"What-?"

Takemikazuchi and Hermes turned around to see Dian collapsed and burst inward. Small pieces of him flew everywhere.

From behind them, they heard; "[Vermilion Nova]".

A column of fire burst out from the sky and caught the three gods in the crossfire.

The other two gods jumped out, looking a bit roughed up with their clothes disintegrated, but otherwise ready to strike at their enemy.

Hermes and Takemikazuchi charged towards Shalltear at full speed, Takemikazuchi summoning a katana, gathering immense power within the blade to slay his foe while Hermes moved behind.

In response, the vampire used her [Negative Impact Shield] in contact with Takemikazuchi's blade, which pushed him back and quickly turned around to parry Hermes' incoming hits.

Using her Negative Impact Shield could be considered careless considering she had a limit to how many times she could use this skill, but she had no intention on fighting these two gods and the others that may join the fight soon. All she needed was to make sure her target had been killed.

As Hermes retreated shortly, they looked on as the column of flames dissipated, and could see none of Dian's imploded particles. This means the flames had successfully disintegrated him and he had not been able to recover from this attack. The god was on his way back to tenkai.

The two gods were stupefied at the sight, but quickly turned their attention back to the enemy.

Hermes clicked his tongue. "Seems like she's an undead god. Haven't seen someone gubble up my negative energy bursts in a while..."

Takemikazuchi frowned. "The others are bound to join us. We'll just have to stall her in the meantime."

While she felt capable of handling these two gods, considering they had no equipment whatsoever, the fight could turn messy if more were to show up. Plus she came her to kill Dian Cetch. She had no reason to stick around.

"Well, gentlemen~. This fight was certainly refreshing, unfortunately I have other matters to attend~. See ya~!" She waved innocently.

"Don't think you can leave so easily!" The feather hat god called out to her indignantly, but she didn't care.

"[Greater Teleportation]!"

She teleported miles away from that location, concealing her presence, on rooftops of a building near the Colosseum to observe the chaos she set up for Monsterphilia.

'What's going on? Is the fight over already~?'

She could see a few remaining zombies here and there with plenty of adventurers around, throwing healing potions.

She smirked. Unfortunately for them, they would soon run out of this precious resource. She had just annihilated most important potion-making Familia.

Then, suddenly, she sensed her connection with the Lesser Vampire vanish. "I see, the fight is indeed over~."

She was already bored looking at the half-destroyed Colosseum. While she's at it, she might as well check up on Bell.

"Where could that little brat be at~? Or perhaps he died in the crossfire~?"

x-X-x-X-x

Written By: NuclearNachos

Sorry it took so long for an update. I have so much work irl that I just didn't have the time nor the will to write this part. I eventually forced myself to somewhat 'polish' what I had already written 3 years ago and publish it so that I could drop this story on a better note with some great action scenes.

If I had to force myself to write this, it means I lost the passion to write this fanfic. University is just that much time-consuming from studies, parties, friends, family and my girlfriend, there just ain't any time left for me to care about this. With that, I'm sorry to announce this will be the last update ever made to this story.

If you wish to pick it up and write your own subsequent chapters to this story or spin-offs or whatever, feel free to, but make sure to credit me. You can tap on my profile to read my other danmachi x overlord fanfic if you'd like.

And that's it. Thank you for the support throughout these years with the kind and insightful reviews.