Dawn approached, and when the gate guards noticed the familiar group of the Holy Witch and her companions, they waved at her. The girl waved back with a fond smile as she was finally home. Home where the hearth is.
The minute she stepped in Orario though, did she not now what was going on underneath. As the goddess trapped below sensed her, realizing she was the one who ventured to the temples and knew the truth. The way these adventurers were getting stronger wasn't to her liking. It takes years to even get some that had slayed two of the three chaos monsters she spawned to even rise to that rank or even reach deep to where she had been kept. The rest were all pathetic in her eyes, and since she already caved in the Dungeon and those fools had evacuated, she began renovating and planning. The roots growing from her back and latched into the walls resounded to her will as the Dungeon quaked, and a cocoon was being nurtured in front of her while souls gathered into it.
If there was one thing that all mortal races will understand, War is constant and eternal. It is conflict between two forces competing for something greater. She called upon the forsaken children of Pan Human History as their souls, casted to this world into the prison she was bound to became one of her chosen four champions. The being fueled by countless souls of soldiers that died for their now erased lands given a new shape, new purpose, and new life. Clad in red, the being named War was born as he let loose a roar of savage anger in the darkness.
/Chamber of Prayers/
Hakuno walked into the sanctum of Ouranos, giving the old god a polite bow as she was alone with him. This was an important meeting, and she held all the cards. "I have some news, but I have a question…why call it a Dungeon when it isn't a true dungeon?" she asked as Ouranos raised a brow at such a question.
"Isn't that what the word is? A location where monsters and labyrinths are ever challenging?" he questioned while Hakuno shook her head in disappointment.
"That's a fictional variation of what a dungeon is, something you gods seemed to have known from modern history that is completely wrong. A dungeon in the truest definition, is a prison underground. The one who named it that had done a deliberate wordplay there with the nature and definition to those not aware of the word 'dungeon' in its truest sense." Hakuno explained as Ouranos looked troubled. It was genuine concern in his eyes.
"Then are you saying that…"
"I am. Something or someone is locked down in the depths of the Dungeon as both prisoner and master of the world below our feet. The one who created these monsters and responsible for countless deaths throughout the ages long remembered. Whomever they are, they hold a grudge against you gods for some betrayal." Hakuno confirmed as Ouranos slumped against the throne and looked his age for once.
"So…this prisoner is the result of the God's sins…" he breathed quietly. To think, the reason why their creations, their children had suffered so long ago was because of the gods themselves in the first place. This was the mess the Gods had made and they're not even trying to clean it up right. He sat up straight and cleared his throat.
"During your time away, the Dungeon has gone through some sort of metamorphosis. The upper floors have merged into four massive floors with the monsters being much stronger and smarter than usual. Dozens of casualties have been made and we've had the Dungeon entrance on lockdown. We're preparing a strike force to push back the growing swarm and cull the numbers down." The god explained as Hakuno cupped her chin in thought.
"How are the numbers with the monsters?" she asked.
"Full-scale invasion of Orario." The sky god answered.
Hakuno clicked her tongue in annoyance. If there wasn't enough trouble as it is, this happens. Why is it that every time she gets close to relaxing her guard that something terrible happens?
Is it wrong to ask for a vacation?
The Regalia secretly beeped a response. [No, it is not.]
She gave up, she was going to use the Moon Cell's resources for this endeavor and cause more headaches for Mother, which she'll apologize in advance. "I'll get the army then." She told him. The god raised a brow while Hakuno raised her index finger to her lips and gestured 'secret' to him. He nodded. The girl had helped providing some crucial information on the Dungeon's nature, he had the right to give her the benefit of doubt. Once she left, he felt a familiar figure walk in just in time.
"Lord Ouranos, they have been hiding well in a newly discovered sanctuary after the reformation of the Dungeon-was someone here?" the black robed figure spoke as Ouranos smiled.
"The Holy Witch returned with a vital clue of the Dungeon's nature. We're going to have to…improvise in getting more expeditions to the lower floors now." He stated while the robed mage bowed his head in understanding.
*Abandoned Church*
"WELCOME HOME!" Hestia cried out, tackling Hakuno in a body enveloping hug which she returned in kind. Primo joined in as Bell, Haruhime and Ais greeted her back with warm smiles.
"Did I miss anything while I was gone?" she asked while Hestia chuckled and puffed her chest up in pride.
"Ais and Bell-kun just leveled up! He took on an Enhanced Minotaur all by himself while Ais took on a Monster Rex solo, even if I had my own opinion of their choices." She told her daughter while giving the two offenders a glare while said people looked away.
"Marvelous! As expected from my Familia!" Hakuno beamed and everyone was captivated by her positivity that seemed to glow. Next thing they knew flowers bloomed out of nowhere and they radiated quite a bit of magical energy from them, and she looked around in confusion.
"Flowers…?" Bell asked, picking one up and examining it oddly.
"They're so pretty…!" Primo exclaimed, holding a bunch in her arms.
"These flowers are quite lovely…" Haruhime noted as one fell on her head.
Ais was dumbstruck by the flowers, as a calmness and joy swept over her as the flowers had made her black flames fade to mere embers like the times she's interacted with Bell. Her blood was singing of joy as her own wind magic resonated with the flowers, allowing the scent of the flowers to fill the room.
"Oi, oi! What is this?! I know we're having a happy time but whoever is responsible for the flowers ought to knock it off!" Hestia exclaimed as she was buried in a massive pile of flowers. Hakuno blinked, confused as well while wondering if a certain wizard locked in a tower was involved again.
She got an email from the Regalia.
[Not me this time! ─Merlin]
Damn him, ever since she landed in this Lost World, the self-proclaimed big brother has been pestering her in her dreams. He was a nightmare incarnate with him messing with her peaceful dreams and no matter how many times she killed him in her dreams he always pops back like it was nothing.
She never felt so irritated with someone in her whole life until now and wished for a way to permanently kill the smug troll for being such a pest. But for now, she'll have to deal with him and see what he wants this time if he's deciding to email her in the real world.
A day of celebration for Bell and Ais leveling up and Hakuno's return was celebrated, and a small party at the Hostess of Fertility was made.
*Dream*
Hakuno walked on the vast plain as the wind tugged at her dress slightly. She looked to see the white-haired, white-robed magus known as Merlin rushing towards her with a big wave of his hand.
Kill Merlin.
She willed herself to calm down and wait. Knowing Merlin, he probably has some answers she needs.
"Oya? No attempts on my life today Hakunon?" Merlin asked in an amused way while she gave him a rather flat look.
"Can this world be saved? No riddles, no wordplays, just a yes and no."
The cheerful magus deflated a bit, pouting at how straight to business this girl was. Then again, being a descendant of Vivian/Morgan was natural. They were always focused on the tasks ahead. "Well…yes in a sense. If you can best the dragon and the four powerful servants of the Dungeon you can save the world once she's liberated. But that's not what you're looking for, are you?" Merlin asked.
"I'm trying to fix this mess those Gods caused without the people of this world suffering for their blunders. There is one final foe out there in the Dungeon besides them and the Goddess locked away down there. You must know of the sins these Gods have committed, don't you?" she answered with her own question in there. The mage was quite, trying to contemplate something before making his decision that could affect the outcome of the very story itself.
"…Then let me tell you a story, the one from where the Black Dragon now lives." Merlin began, the plains turning into a flowery garden. Filled with the very same flowers that bloomed in the church earlier that day. It was the story from the Dragon's Lair, recorded by those long ago.
"Long ago, many eons in this Lost World. Those that govern time and fate foresaw an attack from the stars and the possible future if the threat was to successfully land on Earth."
Velber, he was referring to Velber.
"They knew if this star were to arrive, their golden age would end, and they would no longer influence the world compared to Pan Human History. So, they decided to seek aid from different pantheons to see if any would risk it to stop the threat from arriving. None had agreed to take up this challenge and those that watch time and fate wept."
"But one God did take them for their word…didn't they?" Hakuno guessed. Merlin merely smiled, confirming it.
"This God was beginning the rise of a new era for the world with the others. The creation of new life and races as this God fashioned a mortal race in the image of divinity through only dust and his "breath of life" and from that mortal did he take one rib to create a companion for them."
Hakuno felt her blood run cold. That was a familiar tale most of the modern world has known given the faith surviving in the 2030s. She could see the fake priest reciting that like gospel now.
"These two were blessed with nothing but innocence. And while the other Gods created the other sentient races, the ones who observed time and fate spoke with this deity. They asked for aid in repelling the evil from the stars before it destroyed everything, they held dear, and the God accepted."
They didn't…
"Confirming this threat for sure, the God entrusted his creations to his wife, to make sure they prospered in the future He believed in…unaware of the trap the other Gods had planned."
Hakuno didn't like where this was going, this was one of the worst-case scenarios she never imagined.
"The God flew to the stars and confronted the evil, successfully repelling it while suffering major injuries Himself! Then the other gods sprung into action and murdered Him. They knew that if His creations were to thrive, their own would be extinct and their influence and power would be gone."
Hakuno fell to her knees, eyes widened in shock and horror at this revelation.
"The beloved wife wept and rage as they caged her, bound her to a pit with no light in the lower world as the winged children she and her beloved sired were hunted one by one. The two mortals the God made were sent to the lower world to die, only to survive from the aid of kind-hearted fairies while the Goddess cursed the Heavens for betraying her beloved and casting her out to be forgotten."
It was…the Biblical God was dead in this world, Adam and Eve were thrown into this world without eating the fruit that caused Original Sin, and God's wife was doomed to be forgotten. This was how the world diverged from Pan Human History.
"But the nightmare didn't end, due to the machination from the Gods of Time and Fate, a rift between history was made by their actions…and countless human souls from a bleached Earth were thrown into the pit alongside the Goddess." Merlin finished before taking a breath and looking at Hakuno. "I'm sure you know the rest." He stated
This was heavy. From what Gareth-chan said, the Alien God bleached Earth to rewrite history with Lostbelts. The actions of the Gods of this world and of the Alien God had doomed the humans of Pan Human History…to become monsters of the Dungeon.
Her stomach did somersaults and the urge to vomit was rather pleasant compared to this disgusting revelation that dawned her.
Curses upon curses. A witch was educated to know that if curses pile up overtime, it would be a world-ending calamity that would destroy even Gods. She shivered as she willed herself to be calm.
She faced a Demonic Bodhisattva, Buddha himself, and countless heroes from myth and legend on the moon. Even befriending the White Titan Altera was one of the many feats she pulled off. If anything, she's resolved herself into finding a way to purifying the curses and saving this world from itself.
"Merlin…would Chaldea destroy this world if it came a threat?" Hakuno weakly asked. She was done, she cannot stay in this dream any longer if the next words sent her over the edge. What she got was a laugh.
"Well…in Fairy Britain, this was a similar situation with the curses. But both humans and the other races are real enough to exist outside of this world so some could move over to Pan Human History if they wanted to…But ultimately no, Chaldea wouldn't destroy this world unless the threat cannot be contained in time. If you explain the situation to them and forge an alliance, you can save this world as a second Master." He explained as Hakuno stiffened.
She had worried about the threat Chaldea posed, but if they weren't looking at this place as a threat and are willing to ferry several souls to safety, then perhaps her Familia can be spared. Even better, if Chaldea were to be her ally in the quest to slay the Black Dragon and take on the Dungeon then they could leave without this world being destroyed! …and giving those Gods of Time and Fate a piece of her mind for the crap she's going through because of them.
Hakuno was certain that the Forgotten Goddess would love some payback as well for all the suffering she endured and looked forward to liberating her from her prison in that case.
─Wait.
"Second Master?" she asked, tilting her head quizzically as Merlin tripped from the innocent expression.
"Damn, and here I thought it died with Vivian!" the wizard cursed as it seems that the head-tilt had been passed on for generations to Hakuno herself. Vivian's cuteness had been passed on to Hakuno and now he cannot resist the old teacher instinct from kicking in.
"That's right!" Merlin replied, trying to regain his composure. "In Chaldea, over a hundred Heroic Spirits were summoned in order to restore the world. But with one Master, she could only handle so much before the strain of the upkeep kills hers. With you and your high-quality magic circuits, some of the more powerful Servants can be brought in, along with this spell I'm going to teach you!"
Oh no.
Hakuno didn't like the idea of Merlin teaching her anything.
Morgan's Grimoire warned her of the incubus' perverted antics and be careful if he was going to teach you something.
"I'm gonna teach you your very own variant of Garden of Avalon! Imagine being able to summon so many wonderful flowers from Avalon and giving your allies healing and mana recovery! And given your fairy blood, it would be more potent than mine!" Merlin explained.
…That sounds like a dream come true.
"Alright, you can teach me…but I'm warning you!" she told him, pointing her spear as black mana seeped out menacingly towards him as Merlin sheepishly held a hand up and laugh nervously. He got the message. Teach her right and no funny business. Just like her ancestor.
A/N: Hakuno, did you think making an alliance with Chaldea would be easy? No, I'm gonna have you both fight due to misunderstandings on behalf of [Redacted]'s stupidity. Which won't happen for several arcs away.
