For a moment, the silence stretched as Zeus let Alfia take his words in. He didn't expect her to understand or believe him, but at the very least, he hoped that Alfia could recover enough to move and witness the subjugation for herself.
It would be less about the results of the prior subjugation and more about closure for its initial failure and the losses they had suffered.
"You-"
"You must be wondering about Bell too."
No.
No she was not considering she'd already seen him.
If Alfia had the strength she'd be sneering or curling her lips in disappointment.
Moreover, she'd been keen to notice a detestable frivolousness in his gaze while talking to women that reminded Alfia of a man she still wished to maim; preferably by gouging his eyes out.
Her sister had been too good for that man…
Bell's only redeeming quality was his resemblance…
Alfia's thoughts grew into a jumble at the thought. Not about the oaf who fathered Bell, or Bell himself, but about her sister and Caster with his medical abilities.
Even death was not an end for him.
"Zeus," Alfia rasped, eyes growing solemn and staring the God of Lightning down. "How is she?"
There could only be one person Alfia could be referring to in Zeus's mind, but the answer wasn't one that was forthcoming. If 'she' was truly doing well, then Zeus would not have had to raise Bell ignorant of the woman who birthed him.
Zeus fell into silence, recalling the first day he met the pair of terminally ill sisters. One who could not get off her bed, and the other, too stubborn and skilled to let her illness weigh her down from being a high-level adventurer.
It was easy to determine which sister was which considering few if any modern Adventurer could match Alfia in her heyday.
But that wasn't the point.
Alfia was clearly asking about the other sister.
"..."
"Don't patronize me, you senile philanthropist." Alfia spoke softly, but her words were sharp and cutting just as they had always been. However, there was now a notable difference, one born from a miracle of a doctor that could cure the incurable. "Out with it. Dead or alive, you should understand just by seeing this room that it doesn't matter at all."
Indeed.
Zeus had no choice but to admit it upon seeing the occupants of the room and Astraea's sobbing in the background.
This place was essentially the very border that blurred the lines of the living and the dead.
Hades would have had a field day. Enough to pester Zeus that Caster was encroaching on a forbidden domain.
Sighing, Zeus eventually spoke. "Her ashes are buried in the mountain."
As expected.
Alfia didn't even blink as she let out a hollow breath. A chuckle escaped her lips at the thought of digging up those ashes.
"I see," Aflia murmured before closing her eyes and going silent.
"Alfia-"
"I'm tired, Zeus." Alfia cut in, no longer paying Zeus half as much attention as she used to.
Beyond Zeus's declaration of completing the final Grand Quest, it wasn't her Zeus would have to worry about in regards to witnessing the subjugation. Rather, it was himself.
"You have other more pressing concerns."
Alfia had seen the process of how Caster drained Loki's blood to revive and resuscitate Loki's Familia members. Considering the scale of the Zeus Familia members present, Alfia could determine that Zeus would have to start eating a lot more red meat for a soon to be urgent case of iron deficiency.
"?"
Zeus furrowed his brows, unable to grasp the extent of Alfia's warning until his attention returned to Hestia, Caster, and Astraea who was heatedly demanding an explanation from Caster.
The contorted expression on Astraea's face, coupled with Caster's nonchalance, and Hestia trying to diffuse the situation inevitably woke the sheep sleeping on Caster's head.
"What is going on here?!" Apollo snorted, snout raised haughtily as Caster dragged a hand down his face.
Zeus approached by this point, everyone rounding to stare at him in dead silence.
Hestia was nervously biting on her nails.
Astraea was too distraught to care about Zeus.
Caster was glaring with muted tension, due to what Heracles had said about differences in this world's Gods. But Zeus was still Zeus, making it impossible for Caster to have any real good feelings for the person who vaporized and murdered him in another world line.
Then there was Apollo, a God who dabbled in prophecy and knew of their weight.
The room temperature spiked, flames igniting over Apollo's golden wool as the normally carefree sheep stood up on its four legs and grew a pair of sharp horns.
"Zeus…" Apollo sounded like he was seething.
"Apollo?" Zeus could not understand the growing aggression.
Even Hestia and Astraea had never seen Apollo's eyes so murderous, granted Hestia could relate with the vision Apollo had likely seen about a future where Zeus reduces Caster to ashes.
Ah, yes. That was definitely why.
The best way to stop a prophecy is to cull the source.
Pawing Caster's hair, Apollo charged Zeus and tried to stab Zeus's eyes with his horns. However, Apollo had forgotten his current vessel was far weaker than normal considering his prior use of an Arcanum.
Zeus grabbed Apollo by the fluff of his wooly coat and nonchalantly tossed Apollo away.
At a certain distance in the ward, Apollo phased out of existence and appeared on Caster's head again.
"Baahaaa! Lucky shot!" Apollo charged again as if used to it; Caster had made him an expert.
Dubious, Zeus grabbed Apollo and threw him again.
"The sun never sets!"
Apollo reappeared on Caster's head, pawing before charging once more.
.
"No matter how tall the mountain is, it can never block the sun!"
.
"Ere the Sun Rises!"
.
"...Oh c'mon! J-Just one eye!"
"ENOUGH!" Caster's hood had been pulled back and Apollo's hooves were now leaving Caster's hair in disarray. The scowl on Caster's face made it clear he wanted to rid the place of all distraction.
Apollo grudgingly restrained himself while Zeus lowered his arms away from a catching position as if he and Apollo were playing some game.
"My name is Asclepius," Caster said bluntly, staring at both Astraea and Zeus whom Hestia guided to Caster. "State your business."
"Zeus, Greek God of Lightning, Thunder, and the Sky," Zeus introduced himself before Astraea could. "I wish to do what I must for my Familia members in your care."
Zeus raised a hand in formal greeting.
Light flickered from Caster's face as he stared at Zeus's hand, a quick calculation done in his mind about the best way to exploit the most material in the coming transaction.
The thought of furthering his research had Caster smiling, knowing the contrast to what Zeus would see with Divine Perception and his current expression would increase the effectiveness of the coming blow.
This world's Zeus seemed to have a whole lot more empathy than the Zeus Caster knew.
If so-
Caster strongly gripped Zeus's palm in a firm handshake, Divine Perception enabling Zeus to see snippets of the other person's divine nature.
If Zeus could not understand Apollo's prior hostility, then a potential prophetic vision of one of his own divine lightning bolts killing Caster, clued him in.
Apollo's blood shot eyes appeared in Zeus's view.
This…wasn't going to go as well as he thought, wasn't it?
"Fuck off you old man! And stay away from my Boy!"
The Golden Sheep continued to rage.
The time would soon come for the raid party to deploy, and Shirou was doing his best to expedite the process along with his Servants.
Beyond the brave warriors that lead the subjugation party, the raid itself hinged on the integrity and quality of the arms and protections provided.
Shirou's role was no less important than that of Archer or Rider as a primary provider of equipment and weapons. Tracing weapons in a world without Gaia's influence made the impact of his Tracing beyond this new world's understanding. On a whim, he could very well flood the market with quality weapons, but that wasn't the intention.
What he needed now was unity and cooperation.
It was no easy feat to supply and maintain the equipment of an entire subjugation force; not to mention the constant drain in his energy reserves before his Magic Circuits overheat beyond critical.
Hestia had asked him to meet up with Hephaestus as a favor, but Shirou had already intended on doing so to cement his cover in this new world.
If he was able to obtain the God of Blacksmith's support, then few if any could try to pick apart his background.
He wasn't sure if he'd be able to maintain the intended ruse of being her child, but getting her support in order to convince others was the goal of this negotiation.
Shirou was sure that he would have something that he could offer to Hephaestus that was tempting enough to earn the Blacksmith God's favor.
Perhaps a new trap for Aphrodite? Or maybe something that could trouble Ares?
Shirou had a lot of options to consider if he went by the mythological lore he knew about Hephaestus.
The Familia of the Blacksmith God was not difficult to find in Orario.
Due to the reconstruction efforts the city was facing, the busiest location where the echo of hammers and steel reverberated was Shirou's destination.
The Hephaestus Familia was large and primarily filled with craftsmen who didn't spend as much time trying to improve their levels as they did perfecting their crafts and smithing techniques.
Shirou's arrival was met by an onset of silence.
The sound of the hammers stopped, and the heat of sizzling water quenching steel bubbled in a cooling bath that someone had accidently dropped a heated metal ingot into.
Shirou stood out like a sore thumb, whispers echoing around him.
Members of the Hephaestus Familia were not spared in regards to the rumors circulating about Shirou and their patron God. His distinct shade of red hair, and the way he could conjure weapons on a whim only further added to the speculation.
While many were happy or thoughtful about the rumors, not all were willing to accept them lightly.
The sound of a single hammer echoing drew Shirou's attention to a tall adult man with short-spiky hair and dark blue eyes. A scarf was worn on his neck, and his attire primarily consisted of a long-sleeve shirt beneath a dark kimono he wore over his person.
Oddly enough, the man's hair closely resembled Shirou's own. The only real difference between them was the shade of their eyes.
The man's name was Welf Crozzo, and he grunted before standing up and staring level with Shirou.
Welf had heard many things about Shirou, but he could care less for any of that. He only believed in what he saw as a straightforward and honest person. Though, arguably, he wasn't in the best mental state as the rumors never failed to get a rise from him.
It was no secret that Welf held feelings for Hephaestus, and as far he knew, she was single.
Welf would much rather believe the prior words of his Goddess than that of a stranger's.
Therefore- Shirou was a fake.
And Welf would prove it on his title as High Smith.
Welf had just been waiting for a chance.
"Oi, you!" Welf bluntly called Shirou.
Shirou perked up and put his full attention on Welf.
Teeth gnashing together, Welf raised his hammer and gestured to one of the many forges within and inside the vicinity of the Hephaestus Familia.
The intention was as evident as Welf's irritation with Shirou.
A test then?
Shirou mused, a wry smile tugging at his lips.
Considering his objective, there was no reason to refuse.
-Respect wasn't given. It was earned.
"Very well," Shirou said, Welf nodding in agreement as his tight expression softened.
"At least you've got a back bone." Welf grunted before tying a bandana around his head and growing utterly serious.
In the crowd, Tsubaki grimaced with her arms crossed as she could sense things were about to go awry.
Hephaestus had tasked Tsubaki with quickly escorting Shirou to meet her, but it was unlikely that he would just follow given Welf's provocation.
Whether or not Tsubaki was actually curious about Shirou's skills and didn't actively try to shut the impromptu competition down was anyone's guess.
"Clear the area, and gather their forging supplies!"
Rather, Tsubaki yelled with more enthusiasm than anyone else, her eyes blazing with fiery passion.
"I'll stand as a judge!"
'Why wasn't he here yet?'
Hephaestus bit down on her lower lip, her mind a jumble of thoughts, doubts, and insecurities as she paced back and forth in her office. However, no answers would come to her no matter how hard she tried unless she could get Shirou in front of her to ascertain everything with certainty.
Hephaestus had tasked Tsubaki to escort Shirou to her the moment he arrived, so it didn't make sense that she was tardy.
Unless Shirou didn't come at all and Hestia's favor was worth nothing?
It wouldn't be a surprise considering Hestia's track record for reliability in the Lower World…
Frowning, Hephaestus walked to her office's window that overlooked her Familia's forges and noticed her entire Familia crowding at the entrance of the smithies.
A ghost of Tsubaki's image could be seen in the distance, and Hephaestus was starting to grow increasingly suspicious of foul play. Tsubaki had never failed her before, but there were some curiosities that blacksmiths just couldn't shake.
Without another thought, Hephaestus found herself drawn to whatever attraction was interesting her entire Familia to forgo their own smithing. If anything, it could pose a distraction from losing herself to her thoughts while waiting for Shirou.
Of course, Hephaestus's thoughts on the situation changed when she arrived to see Tsubaki overseeing some sort of competition involving Welf and Shirou. Everyone was gathered around the two competitors with separate forges made for the both of them.
"Tsubaki," Hephaestus hissed, scandalized.
"Shh." Too caught up in watching every minute detail, Tsubaki didn't notice it was Hephaestus scolding her and shushed her Goddess.
Tsubaki gestured forward with a growing sense of admiration in her eyes.
Welf had never looked so motivated and filled with passion then he did now. The arrogance that had been flawing his work was being chipped in real time as the two began the initial forging process of melting their ores into pure ingots to be heated and shaped.
There was no doubt in Tsubaki's mind that Welf would likely produce his best work ever in this competition spurred by emotions.
In contrast, Shirou's process was taking longer.
Shirou was struggling, but not for reasons others would dare hope for.
Every single blade, shield, armor, or weapon stored within Shirou's Unlimited Blade Works had its own blacksmithing process his Tracing made him privy to; the complexities of which could not be further overstated for Noble Phantasms.
Right now, he had to pick and choose a forging method.
Shirou tuned out whatever Welf was doing and focused solely on himself.
In the end, if he wanted to impress, then there was only one method of forging the current spectators wouldn't fail to recognize and appreciate.
Circuit patterns flared over his forearms, his eyes glowing with a sheen of blue as he activated his Magic Circuits and drew out a reflection of his inner world made real.
"I have forged over a thousand blades."
The declaration was met with an unseen yet riveting pressure that caused the hairs on the back of the neck to raise.
Shirou shut his right eye, losing his perception of depth as he placed a heated ingot over the anvil and brought the provided hammer down.
Clang!
Hammer and mold.
Clang!
Heat and quench.
The actions were no different from Welf's, but the underlying weight of each swing carried a broader resonance that drew the attention of all blacksmiths.
Slowly, but surely, only the sound of a single hammer began to echo as eyes turned.
Murmurs pervaded.
CLANG!
What unraveled before them was a sensation that many had only ever felt while under the direct supervision of Hephaestus herself.
"...at the forge of the Blind God, the One-Eyed Giants are assistants."
Beyond the level of High Smith.
Hephaestus's expression in the crowd grew unreadable in the face of a competition that had only just begun.
The quality of a Divine Smith.
Thanks for reading! And thanks to my newest patron: ILikeBirds!
Free web novel :[The Apostate in Grim Fantasy] (For those that asked, the web novel is available on webnovel and the patron main page, leave a review if you'd like! New goal is 20 reviews)
Next update: To be announced
P a treon. com (slash) Parcasious
Book links:
Fatedlegacydark
New Book: Out on Amazon (Remove dash on link)
Survivor's Log Reflection: Amazon.c-om/dp/B08VDDGN7Z?