Orario and the Ghost of Sparta
Chapter 3
"Hestia Knife"
As Bell ran off to lead the Silverback away while also confronting it, the memories of how he became an adventurer came back to him. 'That's right. It was a clear day, just like this one. My grandfather was attacked and killed by a monster up in the mountains. They said he fell into a chasm, we couldn't even go look for him.' he thought before remembering the last words he said before leaving his home, which were telling his grandfather that he was going to become an adventurer. But when he reached Orario, he was constantly turned away by every familia he approached. 'The problem was, it was impossible to find a familia out there that would accept an adventurer as weak as me.' he continued as his memories continued to flood his mind, including the moment he met, her. 'And there she was. A goddess. My goddess.' he thought as he remembered the moment that he met Hestia and became the only member of her familia.
Elsewhere, at the stadium, as the crowd watched an adventurer attempt to tame a dragon like he was in a rodeo, Ganesha was informed about what happened. "The monsters escaped? How did this happen?" he asked. "There's something wrong with all the guards, they look like their spirits had been completely drained somehow." said one of the subordinates. "We have reason to suspect that an outsider may be responsible for this." said another. "We'll have to figure that out later. Tell me, how many did we lose?" Ganesah stated. "We've lost nine, my lord." said the first subordinate. "And a suppression force has already been assembled and is already exploring the area around the stadium." said the second subordinate, causing Ganesha to stand from his throne.
"They're not going to be fast enough. We'll need assistance from other familias. Now, go forth and request aid from the other deities." he ordered. "Yes, but, my lord, our familia is the one at fault for letting them get out in the first place." said the first subordinate. "Asking for help from other sources would be a great dishonor to us." said the second. "I am Ganesha, leader of this familia. Our concern is for the happiness of our children, not petty status or prestige. The safety of our beloved citizens comes first." Ganesha stated. "Yes, Lord Ganesha." the subordinates said. "Now, in the meantime, try to keep the chaos contained. The festival shall proceed as planned. Begone!" Ganesha ordered, to which the subordinates agreed before doing so.
'What is it they're after? Are they trying to create a diversion? Or maybe, something else.' Ganesha pondered. Elsewhere. Freya stood atop a building, smiling at what she had set in motion. Down on the streets below, Bell had gotten another knife and was trying to fight the Silverback, only for that weapon to break like his first. 'Goddess Hestia. I'm sorry.' Bell thought. Meanwhile, Hestia was running through a tunnel, trying to find a way to get to Bell as she looked at the wrapped up weapon she was carrying before the memories of when it was finished came back to her. Specifically when Hephaestus told her that the knife generates a status that accompanies whatever hieroglyphs that were engraved into it, meaning that the weapon was actually alive, and once Bell takes hold of it, it will draw its first breath and start growing along with the boy. Hestia then stood up and kept running, more determined than ever to get the weapon to her only familia member. 'I'm coming Bell.' she thought.
Meanwhile, Eina was approached by one of her coworkers from the adventurer's guild, who whispered the news from Ganesha to her. "What?! Are you sure?" Eina asked. "Yeah, I just heard it straight from the Ganesha Familia. They said about nine monsters escaped from the from the west gate." said the coworker, only for Eina to shush her. "Please, Misha, don't be so loud. We don't want to cause a panic." Eina insisted. "Right. So, anyway, they said to ask for help from any adventurers I could find regardless of what familia they happen to be from." Misha explained, quietly. "Great. Not sure we want the ones around here." Eina said before their attention was derived towards Ais and Loki, who had overheard them. "Excuse me, but what's going on?" Ais asked. "Whoa. The Sword Princess." Misha said in amazement.
"Ais Wallenstein." Eina said before Mordecai and Kratos showed up. "Is something wrong?" Mordecai asked. "Mordecai. And lord Kratos!" Eina said, doubly surprised that Kratos, the god of destruction himself, was out and about. "Well, you see, it seems that nine of the monsters for the festival escaped, and the Ganesha Familia asked for any adventurer in the area, regardless of their familia, to help track them down." Misha explained. "I had a feeling something like this would happen." Kratos said before setting his eyes on Ais and Loki. "So, you're this Sword Princess I've heard about. And this must be your goddess. Loki." he said. "Well, yeah, that's who we are. And quite frankly, I'm an admirer of yours." Loki said as she got a bit closer towards Kratos. "I don't need any one admiring me." Kratos said bluntly as he stared coldly down towards Loki.
"That's, fine. I guess." Loki said nervously as her up close and personal behavior turned to nervousness, as she knew Kratos' reputation. Soon, their attention was diverted by the cry of three different monsters. An Orc, a Crystal Mantis and a Wyvern. "Well, looks like we found some of the escaped monsters." Mordecai said before Ais drew her sword. "Leave them to me." she said. "No, we fight together." Kratos insisted. "But, Lord Kratos, I didn't see you bring any weapons." Mordecai stated. "You didn't. But I certainly did." Kratos said as he removed his cloak to reveal two blades and the chains connecting them together wrapped around his forearms and wrists. 'It can't be! The Blades of Chaos!' Mordecai thought to himself, completely shocked. As for Kratos, the memory from earlier that day while Mordecai was outside the familia home came back to him. The moment he brought out those very blades. As he did and wrapped the chains around his forearms and writs, he heard and saw a familiar figure talking to him, that being a goddess he once knew, known as Athena.
"There is nowhere you can hide, Spartan. Whether its in one world or another, you can put as much distance between yourself and the truth as you want, it changes nothing. Pretend to be everything you are not, teacher, husband, father, leader. But there is one unavoidable truth that you will never escape; you cannot change. You will always be... a monster." Athena said. "I know. But I am your monster no longer." Kratos said as the memory faded. "Sword Princess, you deal with the Orc. Mordecai, you can take the Wyvern. Leave the Crystal Mantis to me." he said, determined to slaughter his chosen quarry. "As you wish." Ais concurred before charging at her target. "Yes, Lord Kratos." Mordecai said before heading towards the Wyvern. "Alright brother, let's see what those blades can do." Loki said quietly from the sidelines as Kratos charged at his target. Using his Enemy Tracking skill, Mordecai easily maneuvered around the wyvern and stabbed into it with his spear, xiphos and javelin.
As for Kratos, he started cutting the Crystal Mantis apart, for not even crystal could stand up to a pair of blades forged by Ares himself. Meanwhile, Bell was still running for his life from the Silverback, before he ended up getting cornered. 'I hope, goddess Hestia was able to get away.' he thought before the memory of his encounter with that minotaur came rushing back to him before he stood up. "Miss Ais isn't going to save me. Not this time." he said as the gorilla looked right at him. 'I wanted to meet her, at least one more time. But I guess this is for the best. I can't let her see me like this again.' he thought. Meanwhile, Mordecai had managed to slay the Wyvern with a javelin through the heart, Kratos had sliced the head off of the Crystal Mantis with the Blades of Chaos and Ais just cut the Orc in half before Loki collected its magic stone. "That's my girl, kicking mad monster bootay!" she said.
"Speaking of which, you saw how me and Kratos handled those two stinkers, right?" Mordecai asked. "Oh, I saw, just goes to show you don't mess with the Ghost of Sparta." Loki answered. "Do NOT call me that." Kratos stated, causing Loki to back up a bit. 'I may admire and respect the guy, but he's a bit scary.' Loki thought as Ais turned to Eina. "How many more are still out there?" she asked. "Well, the other adventurers are keeping them contained for the time being. But there should be about three or four." Eina answered before another creature, a Ligerfang, made an appearance. "Better make that four or five. Lord Kratos, what say we handle this one?" Mordecai asked. "As you wish, just stay out of the way of my blades." Kratos advised. "On that we're quite agreed. Ais, you can handle the rest." Mordecai said before Ais took off with two guildsmen. "Hey, wait for me!" Loki called out as she followed her best adventurer.
"Wow. The Sword Princess sure is something, huh? Not to take anything away from Mordecai and Kratos." Misha said. "Right? I can certainly see why Bell has become so attracted to her. Hopefully, he's not caught up in this mess, too." Eina responded, worried about Bell. Meanwhile, Bell was waiting for the final blow from the Silverback. 'Goodbye, goddess.' he thought, ready to face his end, until Hestia called out his name and showed up. "Oh no. Why are you here? You weren't supposed to follow me!" Bell said before the Silverback turned its attention towards her. But before it could grab hold of her, Bell snatched her up and sent both him and her tumbling through a wooden door, down a flight of steps and through the door at the bottom. "Are you okay, goddess Hestia?" Bell asked. "Uh huh. I think I am." Hestia answered before they both sat up. "What were you thinking coming here? I asked you to save yourself. So why...?" Bell asked. "You still haven't figured it out yet, have you? There's nothing in this world that could make me leave you, Bell." Hestia responded, shocking Bell.
"You want to protect me, don't you? Well that's exactly how I feel about you. And besides, you made me a promise, remember?" she continued, bringing back the memory of when Bell made his promise to Hestia to not leave her alone after she told him her opinion as to why he gotten stronger so suddenly. "Yeah, but... Now the both of us are going to die." Bell said, breaking up a bit before Hestia put her hand on his. "It's too early to surrender. And I think, you still have a chance." she said, placing her hand on the wrapped up knife tied around her before taking it off her person. "You can't give up just yet, okay?" she added before the Silverback spotted them, prompting Bell to scoop Hestia into her arms, bridal style, and start running all over again as the beast started crashing through people's homes to get to them.
"Forgive me, goddess." he said as he ran. "It's nothing. And I know this is a really bad time, but I just wanted to tell you you're making me very happy right now!" Hestia said, blushing. "What the heck are you talking about? I'm just carrying you!" Bell responded before coming to a stop at a nearby wall, realizing that there was a secret door within it. "Thank the gods." he said as he went through the door as the gorilla made its way out of the alley, unaware of where they went. "Well, it looks like that thing's definitely after you, but it won't be long until it finds us again." he said. "Then you'll have to change your strategy. You're going to have to fight and kill that big, ugly gorilla. I'm going to update your status right now, that way you'll have enough power to beat that thing for sure." Hestia stated.
"I can't. I may have just had a huge increase in my stats, but, my attack wasn't even strong enough to put a scratch on it or its armor the first time. I'm sorry, but there's just no way I can win with a broken knife. It's impossible." Bell said sadly as he brought out the handle of his shattered weapon. "Please. Since when did you ever start thinking you couldn't do something? I've always believed in you, you know. Every time you head down to the Dungeon, I have confidence that you'll come back stronger than before, and I always will. Even Mordecai would agree with me. The Bell Cranell I know is so busy trying to reach the same level as the Sword Princess, he doesn't have time to worry about nonsense like if he can do something or not. He knows he can defeat some stupid monster, no matter how big it is." Hestia stated.
"But, goddess. My knife is broken." Bell reminded. "Well, in that case, I brought something for you." Hestia said as she showed him her present for him and handed it to him. As soon as Bell took hold of it and unsheathed it a bit, the hieroglyphs glowed a bit, indicating that it had drawn its first breath. "This is..." he began to say. "It's not your weapon alone, it's our weapon. I called it, the Hestia Knife. It's the key to winning this fight, so just go fight it. Have faith in me, Bell." Hestia interrupted, causing Bell to tear up a bit before he dried the tears and smile. "Right!" he said, confidently.
Meanwhile, Kratos, Mordecai and Ais were destroying one of the other escaped monsters. "Well, you, Mordy and Kratos really wrapped things up. Now that we bailed out the Ganesha Familia..." Loki said as she picked up the magic stone left behind by the monster, but the two guildsmen from earlier approached. "Excuse me. There's a Silverback Gorilla still unaccounted for. And according to the report of some witnesses, it chased a young adventurer down to Daedalus Street." said one of them. "Daedalus Street, huh? That's a sketchy part of town." Loki said, but in Mordecai's mind, he knew of only one adventurer that a monster could easily chase. "That's true. The Ganesha Familia's already sent their suppression team, but as you might've guessed, they've been unable to find it yet." said another. But upon hearing the roar of the beast, Ais took off. "Hey! Can't we take a breather first?" Loki asked, clearly not in the mood to run again but followed anyway along with the guildsmen. Mordecai, knowing it was Bell, looked to Kratos, who also nodded, before they both followed after the Sword Princess, but took more expressive ways of getting to Bell.
Meanwhile, the Silverback was sniffing around for them. As for Bell and Hestia, they hid behind a drinking fountain and using the tip of the living weapon, Hestia drew her own blood and drops fell onto the familia insignia on Bell's back, unlocking his stats while remembering when Hephaestus told her about the power of the blade and how it seemed like heresy to make a weapon like that, which she described as a top of the line weapon for adventurers that are just starting out. 'Now, to find out just how much his status has increased.' Hestia thought. As for the gorilla, it managed to sniff out the wall with the secret door Bell used to escape, and once it peeked over the top, it spotted Hestia's hair.
As it roared, Freya was atop her perch and listening while Ais, Mordecai and Kratos rushed towards the source. As for Hestia, she was surprised at how much Bell's stats had increased. 'Whoa. His total skill level is above 600?! This might work!' she thought with joy. "Look out, here it comes!" Bell shouted before the gorilla smashed through the wall just as Hestia put his stats back into his back. "There you go." she said before lowering his shirt as the gorilla came closer, though Bell was trembling. "It's okay, Bell." Hestia said before placing her head against his back. "It's like I said before, I've given you the key to victory." she added. "Alright." Bell said. "You believe in me, right?" she asked. "Yeah!" Bell answered, confidently. "Then get out there!" Hestia declared as she tapped his back, causing Bell to SPRINT into action. The gorilla tried to smash him as he came in, but Bell effortlessly leaped over it.
The beast tried to attack with one of its chains, but when Bell positioned to block, the chain broke! 'Wait a second.' he thought, surprised at what just happened. "This is the kind of power you're capable of! Use it! That knife I gave you, it's alive! And as long as you keep getting stronger, it'll grow with you!" Hestia shouted. "Is that, true?" Bell asked as Mordecai and Kratos appeared on a rooftop. "There he is." Kratos said. "Yes, but do you feel that? There's something, different, about him. He's more, confident." Mordecai stated. The gorilla tried to punch Bell with a straight left, but Bell effortlessly leaped up and ran up the gorilla's arm as Hestia told Bell to believe in his knife, himself and in Hestia herself as he sliced of the faceplate covering the gorilla's upper face.
Angry, the gorilla swung and managed to send Bell airborne, only for Bell to grab onto a clothesline while telling himself he believed in his goddess, his weapon and more importantly, himself before he slingshot himself down and sliced the chest armor in half. 'For the sake of my goddess.' he thought as he remembered all the trials and tribulations he went through when and after he met Hestia before dodging more attacks from the Silverback. 'Is that really the boy I met today?' Kratos thought, impressed with Bell's performance as he leapt forward and plunged his weapon right into the heart of his opponent, killing it instantly before it fell and turned into a puff of black soot and ash leaving only its magic stone and its remaining armor behind.
"Was that me?" Bell asked before the townspeople in the area of the fight, along with Kratos and Mordecai up on the roof, having seen the whole thing came out and applauded his performance. Even Kratos had no choice but to be impressed, though he was rarely impressed, and clap. "Well done, boy. Well done." Kratos said while Mordecai just smiled. 'Looks like you're on your way to becoming a top rank adventurer already.' he thought as Hestia ran up to her familia member. "Oh, Bell, you did it!" she shouted before hugging him. "Yeah, I guess I did, didn't I? But I couldn't have done it without you, goddess." Bell responded. "Hey, I'm the one who should be thanking you, you goof." Hestia said. In the alley, Ais had seen what had happened when Loki showed up. "Oh, man, is the show over already?" she asked before Ais took her leave.
As for Bell, he was still surprised at what he accomplished. "Wow, this really turned into quite a big deal, didn't it?" he asked. "Yeah, sure did." Hestia answered, though she sounded somewhat exhausted. "Are you alright?" Bell asked. "You know, you did, a really great job." Hestia said weakly before collapsing, to the worry of everyone around, especially Bell. "Goddess Hestia!" he shouted as Freya looked down from her perch. "I suppose I might've done something to put Hestia in harm's way. But we'll play again soon, won't we, little rabbit?" she said before vanishing from her perch just as quickly as she arrived there. Later that night, Ganesha and his subordinates were busy cleaning the stadium after the festival had concluded. "From what I heard, the challenge was a tough one, but those who responded to our call for aid did well! For that, I am grateful." he declared.
Over at the adventurer's guild, Eina was finishing her report on the situation. "...however, there have been no casualties or sever injuries to report." she said before taking a sip of her coffee. "But who could've been responsible for causing something like this? What were they trying to accomplish?" she pondered. Meanwhile, at the Hostess of Fertility, Bell, Mordecai and Kratos were keeping close by where Hestia was resting before Syr came up behind them. "Hey, Bell. Is Hestia feeling alright?" she asked. "Nothing serious, just a case of exhaustion. Thanks for lending her a bed and everything." Mordecai responded. "Sorry to be a bother." Bell said. "Oh, no. I'm happy to help, and Mama Mia doesn't mind, so no rush. You can stay as long as you like. Besides, I feel kind of guilty. If I hadn't forgotten my wallet, you three wouldn't have ended up getting involved in any of this stuff. I'm sorry." Syr said, sadly.
"No. It's not your fault." Bell reassured her. "The boy is right, it was the fault of whoever let those monsters loose in the first place." Kratos added. 'Well, at least it was a chance for me to see the fabled Blades of Chaos in action' Mordecai thought as he remembered watching Kratos slash the Crystal Mantis the pieces before beheading it and then helping him completely gore the Ligerfang. "You know something? Everybody's been talking about you, Bell. It's because you were so brave and strong when you fought that gorilla." Syr pointed out. "I'm not brave. I did a lot of running away." Bell said, clearly knowing he wasn't a hero who would stand and fight something like a Silverback Gorilla. "Bell, she was referring to when you did stand and fight that thing. You were moving so fast that gorilla could barely keep up with you." Mordecai pointed out.
"Still, I mostly did a lot of running." Bell said, modestly. "No, that isn't true at all. And, well, actually, I got to see a little bit of the battle, and I liked what I saw." Syr said, making Bell blush a bit. "Well, I better get back to work. I'll check on you later, Bell." she added before heading downstairs to the dining area. "I. I think she might've been messing with me." Bell said as he recomposed himself. "Possibly. Anyway, I think it's time me and Lord Kratos took our leave." Mordecai said. "I agree. Farewell, Bell Cranell." Kratos concurred before he and Mordecai took their leave. Soon after, Hestia was waking up and called for Bell. "She's okay." Bell said in relief before heading inside to check on her.
"You have no idea how worried I was when I saw you collapse." he said. "Yeah, I guess I was more tired out than I thought I was. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Hestia responded, apologetically. "So, I talked to Miss Syr, earlier. And she told me that all the other monsters that escaped had been taken care of. And I heard Miss Ais Wallentien, she helped with them along with Mordecai and Lord Kratos." Bell said. "Well, how about that? Kratos actually stepped into battle." Hestia responded. "Oh, I almost forgot." Bell said before picking up his new weapon and looking at the scabbard. "I was looking at the scabbard of this knife, does that really say Hephaestus?" he asked, looking at the name of the Divine Artisan engraved on the scabbard.
"Yes. As in, the Hephaestus. The one and only." Hestia answered, surprising Bell. "Come on, I've seen how you've had your face squished against the window of one of her shops. Now, it may not be exactly what you're looking for, but it's the only one of its kind in the entire world. That's pretty neat, right?" she added, while Bell was still in speechless surprise. "Listen, Bell, I don't want to just sit and watch you fight all your battles. I've never liked being, taken care of, or fussed over." she added. "How'd you get this? Hephaestus Familia weapons are insanely expensive." Bell asked, concerned about how much the weapon cost. "It's all been handled. You want to be stronger, and I want to help you. I know it's not much, but at least let me do this, okay?" Hestia responded, causing Bell to start crying. "There's nothing I want more than to be the source of your strength, Bell. I love you with all my heart. Always." she added before Bell tearfully embraced her.
"Please, put your faith in me forever. Because I'm more than just your goddess, I'm your family." she said as she hugged Bell back. Meanwhile, down in the Dungeon, two folks were diving through, while one of them was getting impatient. "Hey! Hurry up, now, I don't have all day." he called to his companion, a small girl with a large backpack. "Come on, quit dragging your feet. Why do I even put up with you? You haven't accomplished much in your life, have you? I know you haven't made me much money, that's for certain. Well, if we end up getting attacked by a much larger monster, at least I can use you as a decoy. So maybe you're not completely worthless." said the adventurer before laughing and continuing on with the young lady following close behind.
