I do not own Familia Myth or any of the characters.
War
"Even if Lady Freya says no, we will fight and win to stop Syr!" Ahnya said firmly.
Ethan and Ryu smiled, thanking them before turning and racing to the site of Bell and Ottar's battle. To say it was a nightmare was an understatement. Bell's blood decorated the amphitheater in which the one-sided slaughter was taking place. Ottar was burned in a few places from Bell's initial Argo Vesta, but aside from that one strike, he bore not a single wound. On the other hand, Bell was on Death's doorstep. However, as Ottar turned to the new arrivals with a murderous glare, Ethan raised his hand.
"Healing Rain," he chanted. "Serenade of Water."
Rain began to fall in the amphitheater instantly, Bell's wounds hissing and steaming as they sealed themselves. Ottar's eyes narrowed further.
"If you interfere, I will kill you," Ottar warned.
"I understand," Ethan nodded.
"Bell, let's finish things up here quickly," Ryu said.
Bell nodded, standing as the last of his wounds healed and he raised the Hestia Knife in his right hand, already beginning to charge his Argonaut Skill. And then, a new voice joined them.
"I'm butting in."
All eyes turned, staring at Mia Grande as she stepped into the amphitheater. She had neglected armor, or any form of battle gear. In fact, the only thing she'd added to her Hostess of Fertility uniform and apron was a steel shovel so large it could almost be mistaken for an axe, which she rested lightly on her shoulder.
"Mia," Ottar said lowly.
"You don't seem surprised, boar boyo," Mia noted.
"I suspected you would come, too," Ottar said.
Ethan blinked back his surprise at hearing her call a level seven "boyo," but when her gaze swept around to them, she shook her head.
"Bell, don't forget what I told you," Mia spoke. "The last one standing is the top of the pack. Ethan, you can finally repay all those meals and drinks you free-loaded, now that you're under the effects of a complete Limit Off."
"Limit Off?" Ethan blinked. "What's that?"
Mia sighed heavily. "Later. For now, you can help."
"Come, Mia," Ottar said, swinging his sword around into a combat stance, Bell's eyes widening just slightly, signaling that he'd never bothered against Bell.
"Don't go gettin' cocky!" Mia thundered, then pushed off, the ground below her exploding.
Ryu renewed Alise's enchantment magic and followed Mia, and Ethan bent his knees, then pushed off, exploding into movement, Bell's mouth falling open and his eyes going wide as he, too, recognized the fighting pattern from their battles against the Juggernaut.
Then, Bell had joined the melee. And with his addition, there was no discernable change. Even between the four of them, even with Mia leading the charge and pressing Ottar for all she was worth, even with Ethan, Bell, and Ryu's hit-and-run tactics, they couldn't break the impenetrable barrier that was Ottar's defense. He brushed Mia's strike with a shovel aside with his sword, brushed Bell's Firebolt aside with his hand, deflected Ryu's blade with his own, swatted Ethan's sword down. Bell lashed out with his blades rapidly, then retreated from the counter-strike. Ryu lashed out as she shot past him, only to miss entirely. Ottar met Mia's strike head-on and countered with a punch. Ethan's sword exploded down on Ottar's own, not moving it an inch. Ethan twisted, his xiphos lashing out, only for Ottar to tilt his head aside, evading the strike. He shoved upward with his greatsword, only for Ethan's sword to offer no resistance. Instead, Ethan's feet slammed into Ottar's back, allowing him to jump off of the Boaz warrior and escape from Ryu's Luminous Wind. Except, Ottar slashed all of them, all but the last, which he caught in his hand and crushed. And then, he continued.
Over and over they struck out at him, and over and over, they were repulsed. They pressed Ottar with everything they had, but no matter what they tried, they couldn't break through. His defenses were perfect. Flawless. Unbreakable. And yet, relentlessly, endlessly, they hurled themselves at him. They struggled desperately to topple the indomitable figure, the mountain that peaked all of Orario. To call it an iron wall was an insult to Ottar. Ottar's defense was Orichalcum. It was completely unbeatable.
Ethan growled in effort, pushing himself harder, leaping faster, putting more power behind his strikes, attacking from odd angles. As Ryu swept in from the left and Bell from the right, Ethan struck from above with his sword and directly behind with his xiphos. Instead of a successful strike, he instead was rewarded for his efforts with the back of Ottar's hand. As Mia assaulted Ottar from the front, Ethan launched himself from the left, only to flip over Ottar and struck from the other. However, Ottar responded by transitioning a slash at Mia to a slash at both, sending Ethan exploding through a massive chunk of debris.
Over and over the rose, and over and over they were sent crashing to the ground. And then, he was chanting a spell. Mia swore, lunging to try and interrupt him, as did Ethan, only for Ottar to deliver the first true, serious wounds, slashing Mia across the torso at the same time as smashing a fist directly down into Ethan's skull. Ethan's consciousness vanished even before he hit the ground. A moment later, it returned as an attack, a strike of unimaginable power, rent the world before Ottar apart. And then, a few moments later, as Ethan was struggling to rouse himself completely, a second strike was sent out. His eyes slowly dragged themselves open, and he found that Hedin had joined them. He was rapidly speeding around Ottar, spreading enormous lightning bolts through the air around them by the dozen.
Ethan struggled to scrape himself up, but he had slipped out of his Berserk's empowered form, and he was in so much pain that he was struggling to get even Guardian Heart to activate.
"Are you really just going to sit there, Guardian?" Hedin spat.
"Shut up, Hildrsleif!" Ethan growled. "Healing Rain, Serenade of Water!"
Light shimmered over his body, and he struggled back to his feet as his smashed skull and mashed brain healed. Then, he snarled in rage as eyes shone crimson again, his sclera black but no longer in his enhanced Berserk form. He charged forward, but he could feel the difference. Whatever had been strengthening him before, his Limit Off as Mia had called it, was over. He no longer had the right to participate. He no longer had the strength. And a moment later, Ottar proved it. He blocked Ethan's first strike. That was it. He blocked Ethan's strike, then turned to deal with Mia's. With no further movement than that, he sent Ethan exploding to the ground, every impact like an explosion. As Ethan struggled to his feet again, Hedin had begun to assist the others in their fight. His lightning bolts were striking at Ottar from random angles in short bursts times along with the others' strikes, forcing Ottar to try and counter multiple simultaneous strikes from odd angles. It was working, but not well enough. Ethan rose, gritting his teeth. He didn't have enough Mind left for magic. He didn't have enough strength for his weapons. He was worthless now. But as he watched Ryu be batted aside with a back-handed slap, he ignored that, charging back into battle again. And again he was sent exploding away as though an after thought. And then he rose again, only to be once again repulsed. Again and again he struggled to aid the others, but all he dot for his efforts were a steadily mounting number of broken bones.
"Stay out of the way!" Hedin snapped, finally. You're useless!"
Ethan grit his teeth just as Ryu was slammed with a direct punch, sending her crashing to the ground. No. He refused to be useless. He refused to let her fight Ottar without him. He grit his teeth, summoning all his rage, all his pain, and all of his will to protect her. His body darkened slowly, not fully into his enhanced Berserk form, but closer. This tine, as he rushed in, he ducked under Ottar's swipe and Hedin covered for him by filling Ottar's vision with incoming bolts. Ottar slashed them out of the air and swung a kick up to meet Ethan, but he spun around it, narrowly escaping, and slashed from behind. Ottar's hand swung back, batting Ethan aside, but at the cost of a gash in his forearm from his sword. Ethan's consciousness swam between the darkness of oblivion and the agony of his battered body.
As he dragged his battered body up once more, all of the remaining lightning bolts exploded into Ottar, who had lost his sword while Ethan was dragging himself back to awareness. Bell added a flood of rapid firebolts to the barrage, and for several minutes, the destruction filled the amphitheater. Finally, the attacks let up, only to reveal a shadow remaining amid the smoke. A towering monster who refused to fall. Ottar had crossed his arms to shield himself during the attack, but as he gazed at them, it was through the slitted pupils of a transformed beast. Then, he let out a bellowing, terrifying roar and charged. A full-power charge that blasted into Hedin before anyone could react.
Even as Hedin screamed, Ottar gripped him by the face and hurled him. Then, he turned on the others. A clumsy swipe that barely counted as an attack shattered Mia's body. A finger that grazed Ryu sliced her flesh like a blade. Four fingers tore through Bell's flesh through what little remained of his armor. A backhanded slap exploded into Ethan's chestplate and shattered it like it was nothing, caving in Ethan's ribcage. Ryu screamed not in pain from her own wounds, but out of terror for Ethan. She fled toward him, desperate to save him, but the Boaz was far from finished. His rampage had only begun, and lasted seconds, but as he came to a stop at last, none remained. His final strike, a full-powered punch directly into the ground, had obliterated the amphitheater, turning it into a crater surrounded by debris and partially burying them all in it, Ethan being buried entirely.
"I don't want to die."
"All mortals die."
"But I swore to protect her."
"It's too late for that."
"But..."
"I like you. Tell you what, I'm going to lend you my power.
"Won't that kill you?"
"No. It'll just take me a while to regain my powers. But in the meantime, you'll be able to protect her. Next time."
"Please. I can't lose her again."
"Do any of you know?! The goddess's face as she was tormented by love even as she searched for it! Do any of you understand?! Her regret and anguish, even after she has cast aside everything other than 'love'! Have you noticed?! That her cheeks are even now wet with tears! If you have, then how can you allow yourself to lose?!"
A weak groan, barely more than a rasping exhale of trembling breath, slipped between his lips. His consciousness swam, but he fought the fatigue back. He didn't care about Freya. He didn't care about saving Syr.
If you lose this battle, those tears will never stop! With a lonely victory, she will have love, and she will remain forever the goddess! So she must be sullied! To perform the noble goddess's last rites!"
"Even if Lady Freya will not forgive that deed?"
"What retainer would I be if I failed to do everything in my power for my master out of mere self-preservation! What follower would I be who lacked the resolve to be hated when I do what must be done! This is my devotion that I offer up to her! So get lost!"
"Be gone!"
"Get outa the way!"
"I will defeat you..." a broken voice this time, as battered and exhausted as Ethan felt. "And go to Ms. Syr!"
He didn't care about Freya in either form. But Ryu did. And so, he had to rise. He had to fight.
"Uchide no Kozuchi! Dance!"
"Ethan!"
Ethan's eyes creaked open as the rubbe above him shifted, Anya's face staring down at him in terror.
"E...lix...ir," Ethan choked out.
Anya scrambled to pull one out, her pale face warning Ethan both that it was her last elixir and also the severity of his condition. She poured it into his mouth, and his body shone for a moment. Both ignored the crashes and shouts of the others fighting Ottar.
"Dig...body...out," Ethan ordered her.
Anya nodded, scrambling to unearth Ethan as he watched the progress of the battle through crimson eyes. Mia, Hedin, and Ryu had been Level-Boosted, but still they couldn't match up to Ottar. And then, sensing the imminent return of yet another challenger, Ottar moved. He all but raunched himself at Anya and Ethan, pulling his greatsword back. Ryu shrieked in terror, flying after him. Then, just as the greatsword fell, there was a terrible, unearthly scream, and a pitch-black fist exploded into Ottar's face at almost the exact same time as the ground where Ethan had lay exploded apart. Ottar grunted, stumbling backward in stunned silence as blood splattered across his face.
"YOU WON'T FUCKING TOUCH HER!" Ethan roared, his entire body spasming, jerking, and contorting.
His wounds all over his body sealed rapidly, his concave chest jerking and cracking as it expanded back to its normal shape before Ethan rapidly chanted his healing spell. Light shimmered over Ethan's body, fully restoring him, at least where his wounds were concerned. Anya held out her own sword, and he accepted it, drawing the Juggernaut Dagger in his free hand, its purple blade catching the light cruelly. Then, Ethan bent his knees and was gone. Ottar grunted in surprise, then spun, Anya's blade colliding with his own in a shower of sparks.
Mia, Hedin, and Ryu instantly surged in to join Ethan as he leapt and flipped around and around Ottar, Anya's sword singing against Ottar's blade, the Juggernaut Dagger flashing out again and again, shrieking angrily as it tore against Ottar's blade and ringing as thpugh singing joyously any tine it found flesh to bite, though the wounds were never major and were few and far between. Finally, Anya hurled Ethan's xiphos into the air, and her own sword instantly stabbed into the ground at her feet as Ethan caught the xiphos in reverse grip. And then, Bell had joined them. Hestia had arrived with Anya and Haruhime and had updated Bell's status before he was Level-Boosted and joined them.
But even with his help, and no matter how hard they fought, they couldn't break Ottar. After their crushing defeat before, they had adapted, aided by their Level-Boosts, except for Ethan, and were fighting Ottar to a stand-still. A single of his blows would be faral, so they avoided any impacts. Meanwhile, even Ottar couldn't fight ao many opponents of that power alone without being wounded. Yet, even as the wounds began to accumulate across his body in the gorms of cuts, scratches, bruises, and burns, still Ottar wouldn't fall. He merely roared all the louder for their defiance and fought on. He fovused on offense, his tree-sized arm and his black greatsword flashing around and around through the air. He kicked a chunk of stone from the ground at Ethan, and Ethan risked using his Mind to form a Light Blade around his xiphos, splitting the stone down the middle and turning sizeways to try and slip through the gap. The chunk behind him grazed his back, tearing at his flesh and Ethan shouted in pain, but then returned to the battle. He flipped over their impossibly strong opponent's sword and spun himself, his two blades tearing down is front in a series of slashes, the Juggernaut Dagger singing each time. As he landed, it was with his xiphos arm in the air, and Ryu flashed over him, yanking him out of the way of Ottar's kick. Then, Ottar had batted Mia aside and roared as he charged Hedin, who had stilled for a moment. Hedin immediately chanted a spell, using Varian Hildr to send a single, massive lightning bolt, stronger than a hundred Caelus Hildr blasts, directly into Ottar's chest. Except, despite the monstrous power of the blast, despite it being more than strong enough to erase the body of a Level Five entirely while Hedin himself was still Level Five, Ottar merely grunted, then snarled in rage, slashing. Hedin's rhomphaia snapped up to block the blow, but Ottar's blade slashed through both weapon and wielder.
Bell cried out in terror, exploding into motion to save Hedin. The wound was already fatal, but Ottar raised his sword to finish him. Bell ranced forward to save Hedin, and only barely reached him. As Ottar's sword exploded to the ground, the sheer force of the blow hurled both Bell and Hedin. Ethan narrowed his eyes, focusing to channel his Guardian Heart into his Spirit Healing, forcing it to speed up. He couldn't do it for long, but he needed a few moments. And then, with the last of his strength, Hedin had given it. He'd used his ultimate magic, a Lightning Enchantment called Laurus Hildr that exchanged all of his magic in exchange for a power boost comparable with Ais's Ariel, to enhance Bell. Bell roared, exploding forward and lashing out against Ottar. For a moment, Ottar defended, only for the electricity to transfer through his sword to strike Ottar anyway. Then, as Ottar fought back, Ethan stared at him. The fight was terrible and desperate. Impossible, and yet unavoidable. And it brought to mind the memory of Bell facing the Minotaur that had earned him his first Level Up. But this time, it wasn't Bell's fight alone. Ryu and Mia threw themselves into the battle as well. Ethan nodded to himself and raised his hand.
"Healing Rain," he chanted. "Serenade of Water!"
Hedin's body shimmered, stitching itself back together rapidly, even as Ethan hurled himself into the impossible contest of wills once more as well. With Ottar's body being constantly assaulted by Bell's blades and lightning, he was slowing down. Ethan's blades bit inyo him over and over, and did Bell and Ryu's. None of the injuries were excessively dangerous alone, but the sheer number of them should toppe anyone. And yet, still Ottar would not fall. Still his will to fight remained as impossible to crack as the Orichalcum doors of Knossos. Everyone shouted in effort and exertion, driving at Ottar with everything they possessed, but still Ottar stood his ground. And more than that, he was beginning to push them back. And so, Bell began to charge Argonaut. Not its normal, high-pitched chime, but a loud, echoing toll of a grand bell.
Ottar let out a snort, then a roar as he focused on Bell. He knew the attack, and the devastation it could cause. And he had no intention of letting it go off. But Ethan and the others had other plans. Ethan's blades tore into Ottar, Ryu blasted him in the side with Alise's flames. Mia smashed her shovel into his head. Ottar ignored it Roaring and moving to charge.
"Knight's Bulwark!"
Ottar crashed into the over-large shield hard, and Ryu immediately slashed his back, Mia slamming a devastating punch into his side. Then, Ottar's sword slashed through the shield, smashing the armor along the outside of Ethan's arm and shattering the bones, hurling him aside. Then, as he continued to charge down his prey, Bell moved to charge as well. Except, in his focus on his ultimate attack, his arm was drifting again, telegraphing the strike. Ethan swore, struggling to stand, only for his head to spin, falling to his hands and knees again. He was bordering on Mind Down. He couldn't keep fighting. But he didn't need to.
As Ottar moved to use the opening Bell had left, Bell dropped, kicking hard for Ottar's knee. As Ottar staggered, his stance finally, completely broken, Mia struck. She alone had seen through Bell's plan, and so she alone delivered the counter strike. And as her shovel exploded apart, she released it, trading it for a salvo of punches. Then, just as Mia finished her barrage of strikes and retreated, Ryu finished ger chant, sending seventy two balls of wind magic exploding into Ottar directly. As Ottar began to stand, Anya suddenly appeared behind him as her invisibility cloak's hood fell as she slashed, her sword tearing through the tendons in th back of his knees before she all but hurled herself backwas and away, toward his unarmed side, preventing him from striking back at her. Then, Bell charged.
"FIREBOLT!"
Unleashed in the same instant as Bell's fist struck Ottar's chest, the Argonaut-enhanced spell erupted, swallowing Ottar completely before continuing to what little remained of the western edge of the amphitheater before erupting into a truly enormous explosion. Everyone waited, staring at the smoke as they watched for any signs of movement. Finally, as the smoke began to thin, revealing Ottar, walking forward from the smoke once more.
Everyone stared in horror at the warrior before them, who had taken a blow from Bell's Argonaut directly to the chest and yet still stood. This is what it meant to be the strongest. To be the unattainable peak of Orario. However, just as Ottar reached the middle of the amphitheater, he pitched to the side, then frll to one knee with a grunt. Blood coursed down his body, he was littered with burns, and every labored breath was a heaving gasp. Ottar was finished. He didn't have the strength left to stand, much less fight. They all remained silent and still, watching Ottar carefully.
"Ottar, this is our win, right?" Mia's gruff voice broke the silence, at last.
Bell and Lyu both turned while Hestia watched nervously as Ottar raised his head. His right eye was covered with blood, but his left eye was focused on the boy who stood perfectly still.
"Can you free her?"
"Eh?" Bell's gaze met Ottar in surprise and confusion.
"Can you save her?"
Bell's eyes widened. "I can!" His answer was a single nod.
Looking at the badly battered boy's face, Ottar slowly closed his eyes. "Five minutes."
Everyone stared at him in confusion.
"I will wait five minutes."
Everyone other than Mia looked shocked.
"When my body has recovered, I will stop you," Ottar informed them matter-of-factly. "In that time...show me your answer."
Ethan sighed, sheathing his knife and xiphos as Anya ran over with his sword. He thanked her, then stabbed it into the ground, leaning back against it as he sat on the ground, facing Ottar. After a moment of discussion, Bell ran for the House of the Gods, Ryu and Mia both remaining. Only Bell could do it. Ryu and Mia were so injured and exhausted from the battle that they couldn't move, Ethan was still wounded from a direct hit to the chest by Ottar, Hedin was still unconscious, though healed. Only Bell could finish things.
"Ottar, while we have time, I have a question," Ethan said, Ottar looking over at him. "Have you given anymore thought to what I asked you about during the Goddess Festival?"
Ottar shook his head. "I don't know anything. All I know how to do is fight. I'm simply a weapon. I asked Lady Freya about it, though. She said she didn't have any interest in that subject."
Ethan nodded. "I understand. After this War Game, win or lose, please try to look into it again. Have Hedin help. He's smart."
"What will you do?" Ottar asked.
"First I'm going to heal from you slapping me," Ethan said. "Then I have to get new Durandal Armor. Then I'll be looking into it, including speaking with someone at the Guild and the Loki Familia."
Ottar nodded. "Sorry about your armor, but if it was Durandal and it broke, you need a higher level smith."
Ethan chuckled. "Welf forged it. I'd want him to forge it again, but you may be right."
"What level are you?" Ottar asked.
"Four," Ethan said. "All Statuses nine hundred fifty or above."
Ottar nodded. "You fought against me as a Level Four. The Freya Familia has ore that will make better armor than what I broke, if your smith is able to forge it. I'll have it delivered to you as a reward for your strength, even if it did come from a Limit Off."
Ethan nodded. "What is Limit Off?"
"Limit Off is a state where an adventurers emotions, their will to survive, or to win a fight, and even external conditions all add up and remove the limit of the adventurer's capability, granting them access to a massive reserve of power," Mia explained. "It allows them to tap into the entirety of their potential."
"The vast majoroty of advebturers have never experienced Limit Off a single time," Ottar said. "Including myself."
"Seriously?" Ethan blinked in surprise.
Ottar nodded. "It's why you were able to face me on the same level as someone with a Level Seven's power."
"It's why you were able to fight the other executives on level ground," Ryu added.
"Limit Off can also be more or less powerful, dependent on the conditions that cause it," Ottar added.
"Your enhanced Berserk form is a form of Limit Off, but it's only for your Berserk skill," Hestia explained. "When you were fighting against Ottar, and probably against the executives as well, you were using a complete Limit Off. Then your Guardian Heart was enhanced, and from what I could see, its effects doubled."
"Wish I could learn to use it on command," Ethan sighed.
"Only one person was ever able to do that, through a skill," Ottar said.
"Hera Familia's strongest member, Alfia," Ryu said, eyes narrowing slightly, then sighed. "But it was a double-edged sword. As a trade-off, she was constantly growing weaker over time, faster when fighting, and eventually would have died from it, if she hadn't died during the end of the Dark Ages."
Ethan sighed, nodded. "Shame. She'd be a powerful ally."
"She was," Ottar nodded. "And a terrible foe."
Ethan nodded, then raised his hand. "Healing Rain, Serenade of Water."
As the rain fell on them all, everyone who had fought against Ottar began to heal. As they waited, Hestia suddenly began to scream.
"Allen's up!" Hestia shrieked. "He's coming!"
Ryu scrambled up to the top of a piece of debris beside Hestia to watch. However, from their commentary, Ethan, even without being able to see, was able to tell what was happening. Bell was faster. His Escape Development Ability had activated, and he was faster than the fastest in the city. And then, there was an explosion.
"Welf!" Hestia cheered.
"He took down Allen and everyone else with Will-o-Wisp!" Ryu cheered. "Bell's in the clear!"
"Not yet," Ethan said, pushing himself up and pulling his sword from the ground. "Five minutes is up."
Ryu's eyes went wide as Ottar also rose, completely restored. However, just as he raised his greatsword, a voice split the air.
"It's over! Freya's flower was taken!"
Ottar swung his greatsword around to its harness on his back, nodding. "It's been decided, then."
Ethan's mind swirled as he followed Ottar through Folkvanger. After Allen had woken, sometime during the fight with Ottar, Ahnya and Hogni had fought him, only for him to reveal that everything he did, and his devotion to Freya, was all for Ahnya's protection, then used his magic, which increased his speed to completely unmatchable levels, to take down anyone still standing. But it still hadn't been enough. Freya had been banished from Orario, but her Familia was ordered by the Guild to stay. However, before she could leave, Bell, Ryu, and the rest of the Hostess of Fertility staff had gone to convince her to stay with them as Syr. Not only had she agreed, she had admitted to that being what she wanted all along. And so, her Familia was scattered, and all of Freya Familia's wealth was being distributed. All but what Ethan and Ottar were here to collect.
"It's here," Ottar said, pressing an unassuming section of wall aside and revealing a storage room filled with valuable weapons, materials, and ores.
Ethan followed Ottar inside, touching nothing, and after a moment, Ottar turned to him with a sack, withdrawing from it a single chunk of pitch-black ore. Ethan's mouth fell open.
"Orichalcum."
Ottar nodded. "Even without the Durandal trait, this will create indestructible armor and weapons. Even I can't break it."
Ethan nodded, accepting the material gratefully. However, rather than immediately leave, he directed his eyes to the most valuable asset in the room. "I want you to train me."
"I will," Ottar nodded.
Ethan blinked in surprise. "Wha...Just like that?"
Again Ottar nodded. "You're a Level Four, and you achieved a complete Limit Off several times. As a Level Four, You fought and defeated several Level Sixes, and you fought on level with several who had been Level-Boosted to Level Seven. You've earned my respect for your power. And for your reasoning."
"What do you mean?" Ethan frowned.
"I am called Warlord because I am the strongest, but I exist to be Lady Freya's shield," Ottar said. "You are the Guardian. Your entire existence is to protect Gale. You, like me, are meant to be a shield, and so, I recognize you as my successor."
Ethan's eyes went wide in shock.
Ottar stared at him for a moment. "B. No, A."
"What?" Ethan frowned.
"Starting in one week, I will break you three days every week, and by the time your Endurance reaches rank A of Level Six, you will be able to withstand my blows," Ottar intoned, Ethan having no doubt that Ottar meant what he was saying. "You will not be Leveling Up until I am satisfied with your progress. If you accept those terms, I will forge you into the ultimate shield of Orario, even stronger than I am."
Ethan nodded, smiling. "Deal. Just don't kill me."
Ottar nodded. "I won't kill you. But you'll wish I would."
Ethan merely nodded, and together, the two of them walked back out of the fortress.
Ethan frowned as he stared at his status sheet. On Ottar's orders, he'd waited to have Hestia Level him up, despite definitely having earned it, but his statuses had all gone up over a thousand as a result. However, along with that, he'd gained a skill that confused him. Dienekes' Courage.
"Who is Dienekes?" Ethan asked.
"I don't know," Hestia shook her head. "The skill should be useful, though. It gives you almost a full level of status boost when you fight an enemy significantly stronger than you."
Ethan nodded, following Hestia out into the main room of the mansion. "Hey, Haruhime."
"Yes?" Haruhime asked, currently folding laundry.
"You know all the olf hero stories, right?" Ethan asked, receiving a nod. "Have you ever heard of someone named Dienekes?"
Haruhime's eyes widened, and he nodded. "It's not a very popular story, but it's tied into one of Argonaut's. Dienekes was one of the Foolish Three Hundred, or the Three Hundred Fools."
"The who?" Hestia frowned.
Haruhime nodded. "Like I said, it's not a very popular story. Everyone thinks of them as fools and as a black mark on the age of heroes, but I think they were among the bravest heroes of the time. Dienekes and the rest of the Three Hundred were just ordinary people. They didn't have great power like the great heroes of the time, but when their home was attacked by monsters, instead of evacuating, they tried to fight.
"Dienekes was the bravest of them. He'd already lost his entire family to monsters in the past, and before the monsters attacked, he met one of the Three Great Poets, Ryuulu, and fell in love with her."
"Ryuulu?" Ethan frowned, the scene he'd dreamed after his first fight with Allen returning to him.
"She was an elf, and had the power to heal others with magic, even without the help of spirits or the gods," Haruhime said. "When the monsters attacked, she used her power to try and help them, but they lost the fight. More and more of the Foolish Three Hundred died, and eventually the entire village was destroyed. But Dienekes kept fighting, and Ryuulu kept trying to help him. Eventually, Ryuulu was killed, and Dienekes followed suit not long after them. However, before the monsters could go anywhere else, Argonaut arrived and wiped them out. Argonaut is widely remembered as a hero who stopped an army of monsters in that fight while Dienekes and the rest of the Three Hundred Fools are remembered as worthless trash who got one of the Three Great Poets killed because they were too stupid to run away. But I always believed that they were the real heroes of that story, and Argonaut was simply too slow to save them. They were just ordinary people, but they did everything in their power to try and stand up to an army of monsters with only three people."
Ethan nodded silently, staring at his sheet. "I think...Dienekes might be my past life."
"What!?" everyone shouted in surprise.
"What makes you say that?" Hestia asked.
"When Allen knocked me out...I think I saw that fight," Ethan said. "Or, at least the end of it. I saw myself holding...someone who looked just like Ryu, and seeing an army of monsters coming."
Everyone looked to Hestia for an answer.
"I don't know," Hestia admitted. "I don't think there's ever been a case where someone remembered their past life, since all memories are supposed to be removed. But I suppose it's possible."
"I think he also made a pact with a spirit," Ethan said. "I remembered some conversation about borrowing someone's power, but if he did, it would explain the new magic." He stared at it. "Moon Serenade, which restores Mind but doesn't affect wounds, and Lux Embrace, which grants me a Light Magic enchantment that also boosts my statuses."
"Gods, with all those status boost skills, you must be able to go up almost two levels, now," Aisha mused.
"It varies," Ethan said. "I've always punched above my weight class, but yeah, it'll be a lot, the next time I have to fight someone as strong as Ottar."
Everyone grimaced at the though of another battle against Ottar. It was completely obvious that even with Hedin's help, and even with Bell being Level-Boosted and bearing Hedin's Enchantment, and even with Ryu and Mia being Level-Boosted and Ethan being under the effects of a complete Limit Off, their victory over Ottar had been pure chance and only conditional. If he hadn't let them pass while he healed, if they'd had to continue fighting, they'd have lost.
"So, what's next?" Hestia asked.
"Probably something even more unreasonably crazy," Ethan shrugged.
"Speaking of, what's this I hear about you asking to have Ottar beat you to death three days a week until the end of time?" Ryu asked as she walked in with Ahnya.
"Excuse me?" Anya asked, hands on her hips.
"I'm the Guardian, but he did better at my job than any of us," Ethan said. "So I asked him to help me get stronger and he decided on that. He said he'd chosen me as his successor."
Everyone's reaction seemed almost as extreme as the city's reaction to them defeating Ottar. However, after a few minutes they'd mostly settled down, and while not agreeing with Ethan's decision, they'd accepted it. And then, finally, Welf returned from his forge, where he'd been for the last twelve hours, only to shake his head.
"It's no good," Welf sighed. "I'm not strong enough."
Ethan nodded. "I'll take it to Hephaistos, then. Keep half. Then when you're strong enough, you can upgrade me."
Welf nodded, grinning. "It'll be a chance to prove I can do better than her."
Ethan nodded, then tossed him a chunk of Adamantite. "I swiped this from Freya Familia, too. Make Bell something good. He's earned it."
Welf nodded, grinning, and turned, heading back to the forge. As he did, however, Ethan headed up to his bedroom, Ryu following, and catching up to him just in time for him to vollapse, gently laying him on the bed. She sighed heavily, sitting beside him and picking up a cloth on the bedside table, beginning to wipe the sweat rapidly forming over his entire face. This had been unsettlingly common since the fight with Ottar.
According to Airmid, it was an after effect of his repeated use of Limit Off. His body simply couldn't handle the amount of power it had given him, and he was suffering a horrible backlash from it. He would recover, but he understood now why Alfia had been dying due to constantly being under a state of Limit Off. He was glad, now, that he hadn't gained whatever ability she'd had that made it constant. This was Hell.
"Why is me nursing you back to health so common?" Ryu asked.
"Because I'm an idiot," Ethan smiled frailly. "I should only have a few more days of this, though, right?"
Ryu nodded, sighing. "Never again."
"Agreed," Ethan nodded. "Never again."
Ryu nodded, then sighed, beginning to sing softly, helping him drift off to sleep within a few minutes.
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