Chapter 49
And what do you know, I managed to wrap this up together in only six days after the last Chapter. Feeling pretty good about that, not going to lie.
Guess squeezing in Chapter 50 by the end of the year is a very probable reality at this rate.
But yeh, a lot of things await for you in this Chapter.
Though only 10k words long, I managed to outdone myself and actually move the plot forward, all the while writing a scene of Fuzen talking face to face with everyone's either loved or most hated Goddess.
Because apparently, everyone either loves or hates Freya. It's never any kind of middle-ground with her.
Also, some of you are probably going to also either hate or love me for that 2nd scene I squeezed in there. The one with the nightmare. You'll know what I mean when you get there.
Anyway, I hope you all have an enjoyable read, as enjoyable as the time I had while writing this Chapter, and I'll see you all at the end.
Kay bye.
PS: If you are the type to listen to music while reading, I recommend, HIGHLY recommend that you listen to "Statement by NEFFEX".
That song pretty accurately represents Fuzen and his quest. I'd even go as far as to say that song
covers his character spot-on 90% of the time.
I rest my case now for good.
XXX
'Ten times, though...That is too much.'
'Master, you have to remember she just started training.'
The two mentally communicated as the dragon flew back to their mansion, Mikoto passed out on her Master's chest from the long hours of running on the city's walls.
'...Still, do try to cut down on the help you give her.'
'Yes, my Master~ But if I don't help her, she will collapse.'
The two went back and forth, Raiju's extended help to Mikoto the topic of their back and forth.
Unknown to the girl herself, Fuzen had tasked Raiju with following her throughout the day in his smallest form, helping by directing small amounts of his Ki at her when the girl was about to collapse from fatigue.
Obviously, this was not something everyone could pull off. However, just as Fuzen could remotely use Raiju's Magic even when the Dragon was far away, Raiju himself made use of Fuzen's skills, as well.
Changing the vibration of his own Ki to almost match that of Mikoto's own was not beyond him, and so he could help without putting the girl in danger.
But, he had helped her too many times.
'...Better that she collapses than her getting used to external help. The main idea behind your task is to help her call upon the strength she does not know she has deep inside of her.'
Keep going.
And keep going.
And keep going some more.
Always keep going.
At the heart of his school was a mindset of always facing forward, no matter the pain, suffering or misery you experienced. For those born weak and talentless, that was the only way to grow.
To get stronger.
To survive.
To be more than just an ant under the boots of the strong.
Fuzen was not a good Disciple, he knew that much.
He was even less fit to be a Successor. However, out of all the ideals and principles of the Lightning Sword Style, that mindset was possibly the one thing he excelled at more than any other. And he valued it just as much.
'I know, my Master. But do we not need to first built the vessel for that power? You can't expect her to just break through her limits this fast.'
As much as he hated it, Fuzen had to admit the lizard's words were true.
No matter how impatient he was to see the girl grow, it would still take time.
'...Yeah. Then, keep doing it this way for one more week. We'll check on the progress then, and make changes accordingly.'
The lizard agreed and he continued the slow, rather pleasant flight back home in silence. It was not a long distance, especially via means of flight, but Fuzen had him take it slow.
As of late he had grown to appreciate the feel of the wind on his skin.
He guessed that this training regime would have to continue for about three or four more weeks.
It wasn't actually that productive for the girl, however it had its uses. Teaching her disciple and routine were among the most important ones.
The initiation into his martial school was no joking matter. At times, some training exercises could take days. And though the girl had been trained as both a swordswoman and tested as an Adventurer, she still lacked many things.
She still had a routine: waking up, spending a certain amount of hours training, a certain amount of hours fighting, then a certain amount of hours sleeping. Multiple actions throughout a single day.
However, she would sooner or later be forced to perform one single action, over and over again, over the span of multiple days.
It didn't sound that hard, of course.
Then again, most people could not stand still for twelve hours or twenty four hours without moving or failing in the end, either, despite how 'easy' it sounded.
Fuzen looked down, at the sleeping expression of his apprentice. She looked tired, yes, but also...at peace.
And that worried him.
Because in all honesty, despite having lived through it, he didn't really had an idea what he was doing.
Would he rip that peaceful look on her face from her forever? Would he mess her up the same way others had irreparably messed him up?
'No. I won't allow that to happen. I need to do better...'
They arrived at his house before long, the moon hanging high above their hands: it was already well past midnight. However, just as they stated they would, a couple of the women living at his place were still up and waiting for him.
As soon as Raiju went down to ground level Fuzen grabbed Mikoto and brought her inside. Seconds later the ones on duty today came his way. "Sorry, I know it's late...But can you bathe her and put her to sleep, Akemi, Hitomi?"
The two women nodded vigorously at the request. "Of course, Young Master! We'll take care of it."
"Thanks."
It would have been far faster for him to do it, and it would not have required others to lose sleep hours, but common sense dictated otherwise. While he himself cared little about the bare skin of others, he doubted Mikoto would have appreciated him bathing her.
With that out of the way, he made his way to the second floor of the house, walking to the room closest to his own. Fuzen slid the door open just enough to peek inside. A sigh immediately left his lips. 'That hair's gonna be a pain to untangle in the morning…'
He mentally shook his head at the sight of Alya sleeping in a very unorthodox position: her hair would be nothing short of just an unkempt broom by morning.
Still, it was understandable to some degree: having realized she would no longer need to go and live with strangers, she ran around the place all day, even pulling Ais into her games after the Sword Princess and Fuzen finished their conversation.
That also reminded him…
Sliding the door closed he walked down the hallway, took a left and then peeked inside the last room on the left. His eye began to twitch the moment her sleeping face came into his sight. 'Well...at the very least her sleeping form is normal.'
Having been forced to go along with Alya's requests for about four hours it was no surprise Ais quickly ran out of energy, as well. Even more so since she fought a swordsman of superior skill just hours prior to that.
Luckily for her, Fuzen had enough rooms in the house to let a guest sleep overnight. But…
'Just falling asleep in someone else's house...This dumbass has no sense of danger...Haaa…'
From what he heard, it was mostly Riveria who mostly took care of raising Ais. However, for as much as he respected the High-Elf, failing to instil even just simple, common sense in the blonde airhead...Apparently, parenting did not count among Riveria's strengths.
With another shake of his head he closed the door and walked back down to the ground level. Fuzen could sense that the Akemi and Hitomi were still in the bath with Mikoto. Everyone else was asleep, however.
After the fight earlier he honestly wanted to rest, as well.
But obviously, that was not an option. Making his way to his office Fuzen sat down at his table and reached for the stack of papers waiting for him there, prepared by no other than old man Yamamoto himself.
In truth those were all reports that didn't require his immediate attention, nor were they urgent, but seeing how he was an Adventurer, only fate knew when he would be required to dive into the Dungeon, and for how long.
It was better to take care of them as soon as time allowed for it.
Reports on extra, unforeseen costs, requests for help by the District residents, materials required for non-urgent repairs at the establishments he owned…
Overall, he could just let Yamamoto deal with all of them. However, the old man was adamant about doing things the way Fuzen wanted to.
Very adamant about it, in fact.
So he opted to leave simple notes to each report.
What amount of money to use.
Which people to assign to which problem.
Where to buy materials.
How fast to deal with something.
Or even just a note saying 'Do whatever you think is best'.
This was the approach he decided upon, and the old man seemed very pleased with it.
Not a hard work to do in of itself. However, it was frustrating as with each problem he was presented with and he pondered upon, he soon discovered two or three more problems somehow related to the original one.
Like a wall that needed to be patched, every time he fixed a hole in it another chunk fell apart on the other side.
A never ending cycle of headaches.
Though most of the hard work in the District was taken care of by Yamamoto and the other business owners who were part of his inner circle, Fuzen had gained a bit more respect for politicians and officials who dealt with problems like these on a daily basis.
Thinking back on the last couple of meetings, the one problem the District faced was the lack of recognition and the lack of support. This in turn also created an unemployment problem, as many of his residents lacked a stable workplace.
Well, that wasn't completely true.
Everyone who wasn't employed somewhere worked for Fuzen directly, be it as runners, messengers, guards, handymen, eyes or ears.
Using his own funds, he kept everyone busy with work, day by day as it was.
However, finding them jobs would help not just the people themselves, but the economic situation of the District as a whole.
The factories of the Industrial Sector popped up in his mind: large workplaces which provided jobs for dozens...no, hundreds of people. Something like that would be desired.
But their District was a residential one.
And even if they somehow found enough space to construct a factory of that size, the costs would be beyond their capabilities: the cost of the special equipment required to implement every day items with the complex system which allowed them to run powered by nothing more than Magic Stones was sky high on it's own.
'...Haaa...A problem for another day. My own funds are running low. It'll be a while before we see any significant profit from the gallery, too. Just have to trust that Director Brightgrove can build a profitable network for us soon...Gotta make some money ion my own n the meantime, though...Haaa...'
With a note written on the last report he completed the stack, having taken him a bit over three quarters of an hour to finish. He could have done it faster by just skimming through them, but that hardly seemed like a good idea.
Better read them thoroughly in case something came up later, was at least what he thought.
By now Mikoto had also been brought to her room, Fuzen having sensed the Ki signature being moved there roughly twenty minutes earlier. With that everyone at the mansion was now asleep.
Everyone except him, that is.
'...Haa...Time for my own training.'
XXX
'...Ok, that's it.'
Fuzen sighed as he sheathed his sword, pleased with his sword strikes and Techniques he had performed over the last couple hours.
He looked up to the sky and eyed the position of the moon for a second: there were still two hours until he needed to wake Mikoto up and resume her training. That would be what his sleep for the day would amount to, as well.
Ready to let the fatigue which he built throughout the day go away, Fuzen took a quick bath and went to bed straight away.
He was too tired from having fought against three Level 5's and from training on top of that to maintain concentration while his body was asleep. Tonight, he would go to sleep in the true meaning of the term.
He hoped this would mean a good night's rest.
However, his brain had other plans for him...
"...Ngghh..."
He turned in his sleep after drifting off, a frown on his face.
"...Nhgg..."
Sweat was already starting to soak his clothes as well.
...
...
...
"Ais. This is Alya. And you...are the mother."
The blonde's eyes widened as she looked upon the little girl. Then she looked back at him, a miniscule smile forming on her lips. "Oh...I see."
"Mhm. And as I am the adult here..." His point of view changed, Fuzen now watching himself from outside his body. However, instead of the eleven year old he was supposed to be, he had changed into a tall, young adult man. "I will take responsibility. I'll treat you both the best I can."
Ais seemed to be taken aback by his words, but a blush quickly set in. She moved one hand to her face, tilting her head to the side. "I know you will. Thank you...my dea-"
His eyes shot wide open and he robotically sat up in the blink of an eye-
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
...and with a Ki-enhanced sonic scream which could have, literally, ripped flesh off the bone, he sent his bed sheets, the tatami tiles and even the sliding door in front of his bed flying away into the handrail of the balcony opposite his door. At the same time, the vases on his night-stands exploded into pieces.
"W-What's going on?!" He heard Alya, whose room was besides his own, shout out in fear at the sudden sound which shook the very mansion they were in.
His scream finally died out, his body covered in sweat from head to toe. Surprisingly even to himself, the calm and controlled breathing he never allowed to slip was gone, his whole body shivering while the beat of his heart echoed in his ears.
Just as he heaved in and out, trying to calm himself down, footsteps approached his now doorless room. And as he lifted his eyes, he saw her.
"What...happened?" The Sword Princess asked with a look of complete confusion on her face.
The dread he had felt until a second ago evaporated in the blink of an eye, replaced by a fury he had rarely felt in his life towards anything or anyone. "...You...are…" Fuzen reached for the wooden night-stand to his side, his fingers gripping into the material and almost crushing the part he grabbed. "Not Amid!"
He lifted the object above his head and threw it at the blonde, who dodged it just in time for it to not hit her, but the frame of the door instead. It then flew over the balcony and landed with a loud 'Crash' in the garden.
XXX
'God damn airhead...Why did I ever decide to reveal anything to her…? Haaa...No, focus, focus…'
It had been two days since his nightmare, yet every time he was not busy Fuzen was reminded of the blonde, and subsequently also reminded how much she pissed him off.
The nightmare had scarred him enough for the boy to wish never to dream again. The Lightning Sword Style's passively attained skills would be perfect for that, as he could just let his body fall asleep all the while forcing his consciousness to remain active.
And he planned on doing just that every single day for the reminder of his life, all because of the blonde swordswoman.
The annoyance on his face, however, did not go unnoticed. "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing. Just let my mind drift for a second, that's all." He replied with a shake of his head, looking back to the woman for a moment before resuming his work.
As it so happened, Fuzen was currently on the top floor of the Babel. The date of the appointment had come, and so he was here: painting a portrait of Goddess Freya, as per her own request.
His Director, Cellica, had managed to haggle a good price for his services, a staggering one point eight million Valis. In the world of Adventurers that amount was hardly anything, however seeing how his usual paintings were worth anything between five to eight hundred thousand Valis, this was a good deal, indeed.
The materials needed for the work, his canvas, the brushes, the paint had already been brought here by the staff members of his gallery, who were standing by outside to take care of the portrait once it was finished.
With all the work taken care of, he had simply taken the elevator up to the highest floor of Babel and showed his invitation letter to the guards, who then led him to their Goddess. With the greetings and pleasantries out of the way, he took a seat after telling the Goddess how to sit to make the most out of natural light, then got to work.
That had been roughly twenty minutes ago.
The Goddess of Beauty had chosen a backless red halter dress for the occasion, with the strap going around her neck, combined with a pair of red ankle strap stiletto.
"My, letting your mind drift while painting? You must be very confident in your skills."
"...We all have talents we are born with. Unfortunately, mine happen to be in the arts."
"Unfortunately, you say?" The Goddess asked with a smile, apparently curious as to his choice of words. However, Fuzen did not answer her, simply looking over at her for a moment before continuing his work.
The Goddess did not seem to mind however, and nor did the Boaz standing quietly by the wall. "Well, how about we talk for a bit? You would obviously not be distracted by it, and we could pass some time. You said it will take about four hours?"
"Yes, it will. Usually I could paint solely from memory, but you are physically too perfect for that method to work. I apologize: my lack of skills requires you to remain seated for the duration of the process." Fuzen answered, stopping his painting and then looking over at the Goddess. "As for your request, I will have to politely refuse."
"And why is that?" The amusement on her face somehow pissed him off.
"...I am of a different Familia. I know nothing of your personality or your temperament: I won't allow for a conflict between our respective Familia to start because of something I might say which would be offensive to you."
"I would give my word that such a thing won't happen...but you probably won't take me at face value. Ottar." She looked over to her Captain, who stepped forward. "Will you prepare a letter which will convince Kenshi?" She looked over at Fuzen, her smile as ever-present on her lips. "Would that suffice?"
Fuzen nodded and proceeded to paint as the Boaz left the room. The minutes passed by in silence, neither the Goddess nor the boy speaking, only the faint strokes of his brush audible. After some ten minutes, Ottar came back and walked up to Fuzen, holding a piece of paper towards him.
Scanning the letter, Fuzen nodded: it was a signed letter stating that nothing which would be said between Freya and Fuzen would be used as a reason for conflict. He grabbed the letter and slipped it inside his sleeve, then went back to his work.
"Is that letter enough?"
"It is, Goddess Freya."
"Then, mind if I ask questions of a slightly more personal manner?"
"I don't mind. As long as I don't think the answer would be detrimental to my own Familia, I will answer."
She smiled, even more than before. "Then, how come you decided to take up painting and even open your own gallery? It is not something I would expect of an Adventurer, of all things. Do you like the arts?"
"No, I don't care about them at all." He answered, and to Freya's mild surprise, he did not lie.
"How come you decided to enter this trade, then?"
"My paintings, and the recognition which I gain with each completed work, will prove very useful to me in about a year's time. That is all there is to it."
"Oh?" His words gained her undivided attention. "And what is it that will happen in a year's time?"
However, to her amusement, he simply shrugged casually. "I'll shake the current world with my actions."
"...That sounds rather serious. What is it that you will do? Perhaps…" Her eyes moved to her Captain, who had resumed his place near the wall. "As a swordsman, you wish to defeat my King?"
"No. Not yet."
With each passing moment, Freya had to try harder and harder not to let her real smile come forth. She had expected many things when thinking of how their first meeting would be, but Fuzen had shattered and gone beyond all her expectations. He was different. Interesting. So very interesting. "But it is something you plan on doing?"
"Obviously." He looked at her with a raised eyebrow, his reply almost a confused question. "Your Captain walks the path of strength. I walk the same path. Eventually, sooner or later, we will face each other."
The Boaz himself let a grin take shape on his face at the sound of the words.
"Is that so…? Then, if you were to fight him now, what would you say your chances would be?"
"Hmmm…" Fuzen took a moment off his painting to scan the Boaz from head to toe. "About zero? I would probably die at my current level."
"That is rather casual of you."
Another shrug. "It would simply mean that I am an individual who could only reach so far. The sun won't stop rising each morning just because of my death."
"You said you would lose at your current level...Does that mean that somewhere in the future, you see yourself defeating my Ottar?"
"Yes." He answered casually as he continued to paint the portrait.
"Not many people would have the gall to talk like that to me."
"I am not 'many people'. I am Fuzen Katsumi." He peeked over at her. "And besides, you wanted me to talk to you. I assumed you wanted me to be honest with my replies. I am."
"That is right." Freya nodded. "And I hope you can continue chatting with me like this."
"I have no problem with it."
"You are often the main topic among the ranks of the Gods, did you know that?"
He nodded as he took a second to mix some colours. "I assumed as much."
"And why do you think that is?"
For the first time since he entered the room, Fuzen threw Freya a rather deadpan look. "I don't know what goes on in the head of your kind. I could only assume."
The Goddess wondered in that moment if perhaps Loki had somehow coached him in advance, taught him how to reply to questions she herself as a Goddess could somehow see coming.
But that didn't seem to be the case. At least, her instincts told her that much. All his replies were his own: he was hardly thinking about his answers and replies. He simply answered and replied.
Not like the other Gods, or the people of Orario, or even her Children. He treated her like he would anyone else he just met for the first time.
For Freya, a Goddess so beautiful she stood at the centre of attention for as long as she could remember this was a first-time experience. He didn't threw himself at her feet. He didn't take a knee in front of her. He didn't try to impress her, or gain her attention.
He looked at her without interest, without wanting anything from her.
And it was in that moment she understood.
Equality.
The best way to describe Fuzen Katsumi's approach to anyone he encounter would be: he saw everyone equally.
But not in the orthodox way.
Because he didn't see everyone as his equal.
No, he saw everyone as equally his inferior, be they mortal or divine.
The events from that time in the bathhouse backed her line of thought up.
"Well...You achieved many things. Your victory over Altena, the Were-Jaguar man that Ganesha Familia was hunting, your fight with the Amphisbaena and Udaeus-"
The boy looked over at her, the focus in his eyes solely targeting her. "That is supposed to be classified information."
"Many things are supposed to be just that, Kenshi. Many, many things."
"Is that so?" She smiled at him, warmly and softly, enough to make the boy feel uncomfortable by her stare.
Silence set in for a couple of minutes as the strokes of his brush continued to add details and colour to the portrait. Then, the opposite of the previous event happened: Fuzen took the initiative. "I was actually thinking of joining your Familia when I first came to Orario."
"Oh?" Her eyes widened ever so slightly, and even the Boaz by the wall turned his head ever so slightly towards him. "I don't think I remember ever seeing your application on my desk…"
"I never applied in the end."
"Why is that?"
"Your Familia had my attention at first. With the sole Level 7 individual in all Orario under your banner, I thought joining you would allow me to quickly reach my goal: grow stronger. However, I quickly changed my mind regarding that."
"Is there a reason for that change?"
To her surprise, he shrugged. "I saw what you guys were doing at your Home, and I didn't like it."
A quick silence set in before he continued. "Your lookouts at the time were not very serious regarding the duty they were entrusted." He voiced, more or less subtly telling her that he spied on her Familia...and they failed in spotting him.
"And what aspect of what you saw was not to your liking, exactly?"
"Everything?" Fuzen's deadpan reaction was nothing short of a slap in her face. "Do not misunderstand: fighting each other every day is something I can relate to, and something my own current Familia could implement more in our mandatory routine, as well. But...it was wrong."
Freya's smile began to fade away. "That is somewhat contradictory of you, is it not?"
"No." Fuzen shook his head. "It is not. Because all I saw were men older than me behaving like children, fighting to near-death not because of ambition, but solely because of a desire to be seen. To be noticed."
Fuzen himself would not downgrade Freya Familia: they were strong, there was no doubt about that. However, that is where anything worthwhile about them ended. They had no ambition, no goal, no individuality, no code.
All each member wanted was to be acknowledged by their Goddess and that was very sad in his eyes, indeed.
"Is it so wrong to wish to be loved, Kenshi?" The Goddess asked, her smile returning to her cherry-pink, plumb lips.
"I do not know. Speaking for myself, I do believe that it is wrong."
"And why is that?"
"My opinion holds no value: I myself know nothing of love...but is it really 'love' anymore when it needs to be earned?"
Yet another short silence set in as the Goddess stared at him, Fuzen being unsure what exactly was going on in her head. "Tell me, Kenshi: to be so distrustful of love...Have you never been loved in your life?"
"Probably not, no."
"And you never wanted to experience the feeling of being loved?"
"No, I never cared about-...Ah, my apologies."
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
"I was about to insult you by lying. I apologize. Let me rephrase myself: I no longercare about being loved or accepted. It is of no importance to me."
A calm honesty.
To even Freya herself, this came as a shock.
From her Captain to her Executives, to every other single mortal she had ever come across, all people wanted to be loved to some degree and extent. It was human nature, something that even animals possessed.
Even a dog wagged it's tail when it saw its owner, knowing that it would get a pat, a hug, a treat...It would be overjoyed, knowing it would be loved.
"To answer your previous question as to why I did not apply for your Familia, let me ask something something in return, Goddess Freya: would someone like you even accept someone like me?"
"No." Her reply was instantaneous, without hesitation.
"The feeling is mutual, Goddess Freya." He replied in turn, letting the Goddess experience for the first time what it felt like for a Child to reject her Familia, where so many others would even kill for the honour.
'Such an ugly, undesirable soul...And yet, how interesting this little swordsman is. So very interesting…'
"So why are you following me around, then?" His next question managed to leave the Goddess dumb-folded.
Of course, they could not know that the boy could use Ki, and also use that ability to differentiate people from among many. While he himself never saw the King until today up-close, the moment he stepped inside the room earlier he immediately knew his Ki signature was the one he felt stalking him in the Dungeon over the last couple of months, from time to time.
"What are you referring to?"
He was unimpressed by her act. "I'm here just as a painter today, so we can play that game if you want. I don't mind. However, it is confusing to me."
"What is?"
"You are not interested in me, just as I am not interested in you. So, the question is why you are ordering your Familia to follow me around…?"
"…"
"Goddess Freya, contrary to popular belief, I am a child." His words gained her attention, as well as a look of surprise. "I'm not good at adult stuff. So I hope you can help sate my curiosity…"
It was then that a shiver went down her spine. It was not her imagination, either: the sounds of her Captain's leather gloves stretching reached her ears, the Boaz closing his hands into fists, very much ready to use those fists to protect his Goddess.
"Goddess Freya. Do you…"
His brush continued to draw on the canvas, but his eyes slowly turned to look at her.
"perhaps wish to…"
And she felt it: that ugly, ugly colour of his soul spreading, stretching, encompassing all of his being.
Wholly.
Completely.
"...become my enemy?"
If 'lack of emotions' had a manifestation, then the look in the boys cold eyes would have been that manifestation.
"I'm a child, so please answer in an easy to understand way. I don't want there to be miscommunication, you see? Bad things happen when miscommunication takes place."
She stared back at him, time almost slowing for the duration of the second their eyes locked together. Then a smile appeared on her face, the Goddess tilting her head to the side ever so slightly. "Now, why would I want to become your enemy, Kenshi?"
To her inner surprise, he smiled back at her and were it not for the chilling cold eyes he had displayed just a moment earlier, she would have thought he was nothing but a normal boy. "I'm glad that we got that out of the way, then."
With that said he returned to his work, obvious enough that he did not want to continue their conversation any longer.
Minutes passed by, and nothing else happened.
Freya sighed internally: this was about all she could get out of this meeting with him. She pushed herself up with the help of the armrests. "I appear to be tired. I'll pay you the agreed amount, so you can just leave that portrait as it is-"
"Sit down."
"...Excuse me?"
"I said sit down." He repeated, his eyes staring her down. "You wanted a portrait and you will get a damn portrait. Whatever you do with it afterwards is for you to decide, but you will not disrespect my establishment and my employees by being sassy and moody. That is not an option you have, or ever had after making a request of 'La Muse'. So. Sit. Down."
'...Oh.' It was then, in that moment of experiencing the first time someone talked down to her, that she felt it happening.
"...I will excuse myself to the toilet for a moment." The Goddess voiced before she made for the exit, the movements of her body rather rushed.
"Be back." Fuzen replied before she closed the door, the boy deciding to work on the background while she was gone. "Your Goddess was leaking...Is that healthy?" He asked the King a couple of seconds after the Goddess left.
The Boaz standing by the wall simply stared at him with slightly parted lips for a long, long second before he grunted in response.
XXX
"Damn shorty, how dare you humiliate us?!"
"Damn shorty, we haven't forgotten that day!"
"Damn shorty, don't think we will stay idle!"
"We aren't supposed to talk about it-"
"Shut up!" The three shouted in unison at the fourth of their group.
'...What is going on…? Pallums? Four of them...Are they the Bringar?' Fuzen questioned with a raised eyebrow as he looked at the four Pallums who had stopped his elevator from going down, two of them holding the door on each side as they pointed their fingers at him.
If his memories of his time rampaging as a drunk had stuck with him, Fuzen would have understood why the four Pallums hated him so much.
However, he had no memory of any such event happening.
"...Can I help you?"
"Stupid shorty, acting like he doesn't remember!"
"Stupid shorty, don't think we will back away!"
"Ok, that's enough!" The fourth of the group yelled as he pulled the two away, letting the door close.
"Stupid shorty, you better watch your back!"
"...I'm...taller than you?"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"...You god damn-!"
The doors closed and the elevator started descending, Fuzen still confused about what just happened.
'...What's their problem…?"
XXX
"I think…"
"Ahahahahaha!"
"We passed the one minute mark…"
"Ahahahahaha!"
"...Haven't we?"
Fuzen asked as he looked at the Pallum in the room with a raised eyebrow, the blonde giving a shrug accompanied by a tired smile.
Having returned home after his duty as a painter had been fulfilled, Loki had asked him to report to the office where the three Executives were waiting, as well.
He proceeded to inform them of what had happened, and once he got to the part where he told Freya to sit down against her wishes Loki burst out laughing, now rolling around on the floor while holding her abdomen. Tears were visible in her eyes, as well.
"...Well, I don't think what happened is enough of a reason for them to try anything funny against us." The Pallum added with nod, ignoring the laughing Goddess.
"Oh. Right." Fuzen reached for the inside of his sleeve and walked up to Finn, handing him the letter he got from the King. "I had them write and sign a letter for me."
"A letter?" Finn asked with a raised eyebrow, taking the letter and quickly scanning it. A smile appeared on his lips. "Seems like you learned how to think ahead."
"Well...Though I do want to fight the King, I have no intention to cause a Familia War. This seemed appropriate, especially given that I know nothing of Goddess Freya or her temperament."
"Mhm. Excellent judgement. I'll hold onto this, if that's ok."
"Sure."
"Still, to force a customer to go along with yer request even when they made their wish to stop clear...Ye don't take well to refusal, do ye lad?" The Uncle of the Familia asked with a chuckle.
"I won't allow anyone to disrespect my establishment with their moodiness, be they Gods or mortals." His response was so Fuzen-like, the Executives were not even surprised.
"All in all, I'm happy this turned out ok." The Pallum voiced. "I was a bit worried about this at first, since people could use your gallery to throw jabs at you, but it seems you know how to handle yourself."
"Mhm. The old man has been teaching me."
Yamamoto, the old official who had worked at the Imperial Palace of the Far East took great care in teaching Fuzen what he had learned dealing with politicians and people of great importance, their way of talking, the way they subtly try to extract information, how they try to manipulate you into given them a reaction that is useful to them…
Overall, Fuzen cared little for it.
As someone who had strength, situations would turn out how he wanted one way or another. But even so, the things he learned from Yamamoto did help him in dealing with Freya more easily, not giving her anything she could use against him in the future.
And the old man's teachings had also helped him with the timing of his revelation: that he knew they had been keeping an eye on him. He guessed they would back away now. At least, he hoped so.
"Anyway, that was it for my report." Fuzen decided the encounter with the Bringar was not important enough to mention. "Do you need me for anything else?"
"Not at the moment." Finn replied.
"I see. I will head to the Dungeon, then."
"Is that a good idea?" Riveria inquired. "Didn't you say Freya was keeping an eye on you?"
"Mhm."
"It's nothing that surprising, is it?" Finn replied. "Given Fuzen's accomplishments, many people are keeping an eye on him. I myself am not surprised even they had been doing the same. And while I have no idea as to how our swordsman picked up on this…" He looked over at Fuzen, who simply stared back at him. He wasn't going to tell him how he sensed Ottar, as that would require him to explain the concept of Ki to them. "I think Fuzen can handle himself."
"You are correct."
"There you have it."
The others seemed to accept it. After all, it was nothing new: even Ais had been observed by others from the shadows as she rose through the ranks. It was a normal thing in the Dungeon City. Having your guard up was necessary, but not one of the Executives doubted Fuzen's ability to do just that.
"Are there any groups in the Dungeon at the moment?"
"Bete and a couple of our Level 3's and 4's headed for the Dungeon a while ago. It wasn't a Quest, they went to fight and raise their Status. They should still be on the Lower Floors."
"I see. I'll try to go and catch up with them, then. If you'll excuse me..."
The boy bowed slightly and made for the door, but Riveria stopped him. "Wait, there is one more thing I wanted to talk to you about."
"Hmm? What is it, Alf-sama?"
"It's about Ais-"
"What about her?"
The room grew silent, and even the Goddess laughing on the floor stopped her antics. They initially thought the boy had Ais in his sights again, but one look at his face showed them something else: not the anger he once held towards the girl, but instead just annoyance.
Sheer, unadulterated annoyance.
"...She has been rather down the last couple of days-"
"Hell if I care! She can go throw herself in a lake for all I care. God damn airhead. Gives me the fricking creeps..."
The fact that he had spoken rudely to Riveria before quite literally walking away and slamming the door on his way out surprised everyone, the Executives exchanging a look of 'What the hell happened between those two again?' amongst themselves.
Only Loki stood up and stared at door he had just left through before a grin slowly split her face in two.
"Ohhh~?"
XXX
'Been a while since I was able to do this at my own pace...Feels good.'
He had an eye on Mikoto through the senses he shared with Raiju, everything was going well on that front. Alya was spending time learning from the mentors he had re-hired for her. After that, he told Yua and the others to play with her.
The meeting to discuss the District's reports was a couple of days away, as well. His gallery was running efficiently thanks to Cellica, and his quota had been met thanks to the all-nighters he pulled recently.
Overall, he was completely free for most of the remaining day. Not a rare case by any means...but not a common case, either.
It was because of this that Fuzen took his time strolling through the Dungeon, having almost reached the Lower Floors a couple hours after leaving the Twilight Manor, his sword cleanly cutting through all of the Monsters jumping his way.
Unlike a year ago, they no longer posed a threat to him whatsoever.
'Growth...Is this something I should consider as such?'
A Level 2 who could take on a Level 5. Such was the reality of one such as himself. With that fact in mind, could he see something like this as growth?
Or was it the exact opposite, as someone like him should have never been threatened by mere Monsters from the Lower Floors in the first place?
Even with Raiju's downsides, he was still much stronger now than the version of himself who first stepped into the Dungeon City.
He also doubted he could grow much stronger than this currently. Monsters were weak to him now, and Monster Rexes didn't spawn nearly fast enough for him to enter a semi-permanent state of fighting with them.
Neither was he capable of monopolizing them: other Familia in Orario also needed to face Monster Rexes.
And adversaries like Sakda...they were rare. It was rare enough for Fuzen to find competent Ki users. It was even rarer to find a Ki user stronger than him.
'...Mhm. The next step of my goal is the best and only chance I have to break through to the next level. One more year...I could do it now, no doubt...No, I am not prepared enough. Can't get ahead of myself. I don't even have the armour yet...Haaa...Gotta be patient…'
I'll shake the current world with my actions
What he said to Goddess Freya was not a lie. If everything went according to plan, very soon he would shake the world by taking the next step towards his goal.
However, that one step required preparations. As impatient as he was, there was no denying that fact.
Yet the other problem was...his Familia.
Realistically speaking, there was no way that Loki Familia could get in his way. They were not at that level yet. However, he had seen absurdity before, experienced it even.
He needed to keep his guard up against them.
Sabotage...he had considered that option in case they took actions which would prevent his own in the future. But, after considering it for a long time, he concluded that there was no need for that.
Because if it came to that, he would simply proceed with his actions even if the preparations were not completed. That would most certainly result in a total failure, but…
'Better that than to be a back-stabbing piece of shit.'
Of that he was certain.
Fuzen continued his walk deeper into the Dungeon, having reached the 27th Floor by now.
Raider Fish came flying at him from the waters: he cut them all down with one stroke of his sword.
Iguazus came at him in swarms, trying to use their speed which made them invisible to most Adventurers: he cut them all down with strokes even faster than that.
Groups of Lamias came next.
Hordes of Kelpies.
Mermen.
All cut down.
'I almost died on these Floors a while back, didn't I…? Still took on the Amphisbaena. I'm...pretty reckless, ain't I?'
Fuzen realized in that moment that his casual approach to these Floors was probably a slap in the face to all the Adventurers who died there over the many, many long years. Would they still be alive, they would probably throw profanities at him.
But he cared little: his duty wasn't to respect the dead of others.
Another group of Mermen made themselves known. Fourteen of them. Without the use of Techniques, he cleanly cut through their lines.
'Is this confidence something which came forth from my victory over Sakda, and over the three Level 5's…? Can't get arrogant, though. The Were-Jaguar taught me that.'
While still cutting through the Mermen, a memory popped up in his mind: Tione's kick to his back, which he had received no damage from.
Suffice to say, he had been rather excited in that moment, but he remembered covering his body in a layer of Ki to protect himself back then.
However, Ki was not all-powerful.
Even though the energy output outside the body would help cushion blows, it could not negate them.
For example, if he was a normal Level 2 and he was facing a Monster estimated at roughly his Level, like an Infant Dragon or a Minotaur, then covering his body in Ki before an attack from them would allow him to escape roughly forty or fifty percent of the damage, but the rest would still be inflicted.
The Ki energy projected outside his body would negate about thirty or forty percent of the power, depending on his concentration, and the momentary increase in muscle and bone density would absorb roughly ten more percent. The rest of the attack, however, would still go through.
The fact that he felt nothing from the kick of a Level 5 Amazon, an angry one at that, made no sense to him.
Fuzen swung his sword to the side, the last of the Mermen having been cut down. Only the Leader remained, growling lowly at him as he gripped his trident.
'...Am I doing this? Am I crazy…? Ah, right. I am.'
He exhaled and lowered the Ki he naturally kept enveloping his body, then raised his left hand and gripped the edge of his sword, then a moment later slowly ran the blade down. The sharp pain came a split second later, Fuzen wincing at the sensation.
As crazy as he was, he did not enjoy pain, even if others might believe otherwise because of his actions.
He opened his bloody palm and looked at it.
'Right. I am flesh and bone, no doubt about that. Never was, really...Why the hell did I cut myself?' His eye began to twitch.
Even so, he raised his head and looked at the remaining Mermen Leader. The Monster showed great hostility towards him, but had not dared to approach. Even for a mindless Monster, seeing his kin cut down in single blows must have been a shocking sight.
All such instincts were gone as he noticed the boy half his size sheathing his weapon and facing him, casually and naturally.
It roared and dashed forward a moment later.
'Ahh...This is not going to be pleasant. What the hell am I even trying to prove…?'
Fuzen had no doubts that he was hardy enough to survive being skewered once or ten times. However, the fact that he decided to just stand around and take a hit by his own choice pissed him off.
The Monster was approaching fast, and he let his Ki flow outwards once again.
It was stupid, really.
Because while Ki could help negate blunt force trauma to a certain degree, it was almost useless against edged weapons. After all, how is a body supposed to naturally resist a thin sharp edge? No matter how much you enhance the body, that is an almost impossible ability to train naturally.
The Leader was upon him, drawing his trident back just a step away from Fuzen, then thrusting the weapon forwards towards him.
The sharp pain made itself known a blink of an eye later.
'Fuck, that hurts! I am an...absolute...idiot...waitwhat?'
He looked down at his abdomen, where the trident had pierced him. And indeed, the weapon had reached him, there was no doubt about that: his clothes were already absorbing the blood the weapon drew.
However...Only the tips of the three spikes managed to penetrate his abdominal muscles. Less than one third of the length of the spikes.
The Leader in front of him seemed as shocked as Fuzen: even it understood that the weapon should have gone cleanly through. It growled again, grasping the handle of his weapon harder as he tried to push it through Fuzen again.
But it could not go through any longer.
A moment later a hand grabbed it's head and slammed it into the ground, hard enough for the skull to shatter on impact. The Monster turned to ashes a moment later, as did his nature weapon.
Fuzen continued to look down at his abdomen, his eyes unblinking. After some long, silent moments he pulled his vest to the sides to look at his bare skin.
There were holes on the left side of his abdomen. However...on closer inspection, they were only about as big and deep as the upper digit of his little finger.
"But this...is impossible."
Through his studies of Ki and its nature under Hachiman, Fuzen learned that each person had an individual vibration to their inner Ki. Just like how everyone's faces were different, so was their signature: unique to themselves.
This in turn made it impossible for any one Ki user to take another person's Ki into them without hurting themselves in the process: the two different types of vibrations would cause imbalance within the body.
Senses would go out of control, pain would spread through the body, and in some cases, the inner conflict between the two different energies could even cause organ failure. Death was not uncommon, either.
However, some Ki users could, with a lot of effort, change the vibration of their own Ki to closely resemble that of another person.
Fuzen was one talented in this art: it was solely because of his talent in such matters that he was able to heal Ki disturbances not only within Ais, but within Alicia, as well.
Yet, that is where that art would cease to be useful. Because despite changing his own vibration to closely resemble that of Ais, he had still been a mess after absorbing her Ki into him.
The girl herself was unaware of it, but the pain from that action continued for weeks for him. Luckily, with a lot of meditation and channelling, he was able to get all that Ki out before it got risky.
But that is why it made no sense: even if he was far more talented than others at changing the vibration of his Ki, absorbing another person's Ki still had the same effect on him as it would on any other person.
He could not make use of another's Ki.
However...however, even more important than that…
He drew his chisa-katana and tightly clenched his left fist, holding the arm in front of him. Gritting his teeth he raised his sword and with the same amount of strength and speed he would use against Monsters, swung the sword down.
"Grrrhhh…!"
Blood gushed out of the wound, some of the drops splashing his face. He had cut himself, obviously...but the blade barely reached the bone. His swing had cut through the muscles on his forearm and reached the white of the bone, but was unable to cleanly cut his arm off.
Pulling the blade Fuzen brought the arm closer to his face. The cut was about a centimetre deep.
Without a doubt, it was [Bulwark].
Sakda's Reflection.
And it made no sense whatsoever, thus the reason why Fuzen's mind simply went blank. He took a seat, then stretched himself out in the middle of the way.
Even…
Even if a person was somehow able to safely use another's Ki without drawbacks, the most they could do with it is use it as extra energy.
A Reflection was different, however.
It was one's innermost desires and impulses made manifest through the change and transmutation of the user's Ki catered to fulfil those desires and impulses.
Sakda's wish, as per his own words, was to 'a desire to never be brought down again.'
In response, his Ki gave him a body which Fuzen's swords were unable to cut.
However, Fuzen himself had a Reflection of his own: [Rupture].
The ability to place his own Ki on others, unable to be sensed even by Ki users, and remotely force that patch of Ki to do what it did at the time of the placement.
Usually when using this ability, he placed Ki at the tip of his sword and placed it on the opponent by grazing or cutting them. Then whenever he so desired, he could activate the ability and enhance the effect manifold.
Delayed double-impact...that term could also be used to describe it.
A small cut could be turned into a wound deep enough to cause blood-loss.
A slap could be later turned into a punch.
A punch into a hammer-like strike.
It all depended on the amount of Ki he decided to use.
Once wounded in any shape or form, any foe was at his mercy, just like Sakda had been, despite the Were-Jaguar being many, many times his superior.
His secret and dishonourable desire for violence and carnage made manifest.
A manifestation of the soul, of one's truest nature.
And that is why there was no logical way he should be able to use another person's Reflection.
"What...the fuck am I…?"
While the fact he could use another person's Reflection worried him, there was another, even bigger problem he had to tackle: [Bulwark]...Was it something honourable? Or was it not?
Unlike his [Rupture] which needed a conscious desire to be used, Sakda's Reflection seemed to activate whenever the user coated their body in Ki.
Boosting his defense was something Fuzen did in every fight. [Bulwark] would no doubt activate each and every time in the future, as well.
He could simply choose not to use his Ki for defensive purposes ever again...but that was not exactly an idea he liked to consider. He had almost died one too many times, already.
But using another person's strength...was that not dishonourable? Would that not bring shame on his school?
He pondered on that thought.
A minute passed.
Then four minutes.
Nine.
Twelve.
Fifteen.
Finally, he stoop up, drank a potion he had on hand and continued on his way deeper into the Dungeon.
He would take Seiji's advice for once: if your mind distracts you, just focus on one single thing.
'Being simple-minded is nice, too…'
His life was about to become more complicated. The experiences with Raiju and Alya already assured him of that much.
However, it could come later.
For now, he would focus on finding his Familia members. Killing Monsters. Making some money.
The complicated things could come afterwards.
XXX
With that said, however, his Familia seemed to be harder to find than he thought. Fuzen had walked through most of the 27th Floor, but there was no sign of them.
His initial thought was that they must have gone further down. However, he would rather not miss them, and so decided to scan the 27th Floor a while longer.
He also liked it, in all honesty.
As someone who grew up in a fishing village by the sea, he was no stranger to water. And while the waters here were indefinitely more dangerous than the simple sea on the surface, it was beautiful. The Water City was certainly one of his most liked Floors of the Dungeon, the humidity in the air and the sound of the waterfalls one of the few things he still passively allowed himself to enjoy.
It was then, during his casual stroll through the dangerous Floor, that he picked up on something.
'Ki signatures?' He wondered as he looked to his right, at what was just a simple wall.
He was not Finn: he could not memorize a million types of information like the Pallum. However, he had made it a priority to memorize the Floors where Monster Rexes were present down to the smallest crevice.
And it was because of that priority he gave himself a while ago that he knew there was no path leading to any area like the one he was sensing the Ki signatures from.
Because there wasn't supposed to be any area there.
'Did someone find a new part of the Dungeon…?' While it was rare for it to happen, new areas of the Dungeon on the already explored Floors could be found every now and then.
Fuzen got closer to the wall and closed his eyes, concentrating to allow himself to sense lifeforms to the very upper limits of his radius. It took a while, a dozen or so seconds, but finally it stretched far enough.
'About...thirty signatures? A mid-sized Familia, then? Ganesha Familia, maybe?' There weren't that many Familia who could safely reach the Lower Floor, with thirty members no less.
However, who they were mattered little. Finn once mentioned that any monopoly a Familia could have over the Dungeon, they would take.
'So they could just as well never mention this, and keep the knowledge of this new area only for themselves...I'm not really interested in inter-Familia politics, but…' Fuzen reached for his sword after giving the wall a couple of knocks. 'If this knowledge could be used to ever ambush the Loki Familia sometime in the future, I have to reveal it.'
Grabbing his sword with both hands he took a step back, inhaled..."Lightning Sword Style:" then exhaled and stepped forward again. "[Fivefold Slash.]" And with five strikes delivered at blistering speed, cut the wall in front of him down.
He had initially thought that he would be required to repeat the procedure multiple times to cut through the thickness of the wall. However, as it crumbled down it revealed a crevice.
It was very narrow: Riveria and Ais, or anyone except Pallums of children would be unable to squeak through. However, his body was small and thin enough to make it through.
Fuzen looked up and down, checking if the ceiling was okay and if the floor was stable enough. Once he confirmed it as such he began to walk sideways through the crevice, sword arm first and ready to stab anything that might try to jump him.
The crevice went on for a good couple of meters, becoming narrower and wider at certain points on the way. Even so, he had managed to squeeze through and before long, he saw faint light at the end of the crevice.
For the last stretch he had to exhale and make himself smaller, but in the end, sword first, he had made it out. In front of him was a thin patch of floor, and ahead was what seemed to be a rather large hole.
Sword still at the ready, he took a couple of steps forward until he was able to see into the hole.
And then slowly, he tilted his head to the side as his eyes narrowed on the sight in front of his eyes.
People often talked about how different mortals and Gods were.
They were of course right: but not one of them could understand the depth of those words as much as Fuzen.
As someone who could sense the very life energy in other mortal beings, he above all understood just how alien Gods were compared to mortals.
They possessed no Ki after all. No life force.
Not even the tiniest bit of it.
Because of their immortal, timeless nature, Gods were beings as different from mortals as water was to fire, as Heaven was to Earth.
However, they were not the only ones strange.
Monsters, too, lacked any sort of life force within them.
If Fuzen was to speculate, it was because while they bled and died, they were not born: they were created.
They were not 'life forms' in the orthodox way of speaking.
He had not once felt the tiniest bit of Ki from any Monster he had cut down.
However, right now…
The chatter down in the hole died down as one of them, a Goblin, pointed up to where he was.
All the Monsters turned to look at him, and the silence set in.
Right now, Fuzen was sensing about thirty different life-forms. However, there were no mortals, no Humans, no Pallums, no Amazons and no Beast-People around him.
Only Monsters, all of them looking at him.
And what's more…
"Oh my God!" One of them, a Harpy by the looks of it, exclaimed loudly and shattered the tense silence. "He's so small and cute! Hello!" Then she waved her arm...wing at him.
What's more...they were talking.
"Hmmmmmmm…." Fuzen's eyes went up, to the ceiling. Already today he had learned something which turned his life upside-down. And now, apparently Monsters who possessed Ki and were able to talk were a thing. His take on it? "hmmm...Nope."
He had no mind for it at the moment.
So he turned on his heel and walked back to the crevice, slowly squeezing his body back through.
XXX
And done!
Now remember at the top where I said you will either hate or love me for the nightmare scene? I guess now, after having read it, you understand why there are really only two options to that scene.
But, hear me out over here...Romance isn't a major focus of this story. So whatever weird ideas your brain might have forced you to imagine reading that, it will most likely not happen.
It was just comedy relief, I swear.
…
Or do I?
Who really knows? I certainly don't…
Anyway, next: Freya scene.
Probably one of the hardest scenes I had to write so far. That character is not someone easily written without making her OOC (out of character, everyone knows that, but just in case).
And I'm gonna be honest: despite how good I feel about this Chapter, I still think I wrote her somehow OOC.
And yet, compared to others who have written her as just a complete, sex-driven whore, or who have written her so OOC she became a completely different character...I'm gonna give myself some credit and say I did a decent job of writing her.
Not good, not bad: but a solid "decent".
Also, I didn't exactly try to have the thing between them turn into a "winner-loser" situation. I tried to approach it more as a situation where "opinions were exchanged". Nothing more. No one lost an argument, no one won an argument.
They just exchanged opinions.
And what is that? You ask if she got wet at the end?
Yes. Yes, she did.
Nothing sexually, tho (really, guys...not everything in this anime, or any anime or story has to be sexual -_-)
However, imagine yourself living for a million years. Every day, you eat vanilla. Every single day, for a whole million years.
But then someone comes and shoves chocolate in your mouth: you'll get a mouth-orgasm because of the nex flavour which you have never tasted in your life.
Somehow, I imagine the same applies to Freya: everyone has always treated her the same: Gods, mortals, men, women.
But I wrote Fuzen as someone who is abnormal, and holy shiet does he fulfil his role well.
So I personally think that, especially for a Goddess of Beauty, being treated differently for the first time in probably forever would be enough to force a reaction like that from her...or better said, especially because it was her?
And yes, I know all that late story stuff: Bell and Freya, a certain date, his response...I know, ok? And I know that his response didn't make her wet her panties. But this is different, because while she is intrigued by Fuzen, she would never be interested in him.
So yeh.
I hope you (yes, you reader) can tell me if I managed to get what I wanted across, or if you got a completely different vibe while reading their exchange.
It's important to me as a writer to know if I am capable of getting my ideas across clearly, so it would help if you could let me know.
With like, you know...a review?
That would be appreciated.
…
…
…
Gimme reviews -_-
Gimme one, gimme two, gimme all of them~
And hey, the Xenos were introduced.
Good thing that two of them helped Fuzen by carrying him to safer Floors after he fell unconscious after his fight with the Were-Jaguar. That will help them...greatly.
Anyway, that is it for me.
I hope you enjoyed the read, and until next time.
See ya.