Chapter 15
One day ago...
The Goddess of the Forge was a deity that took her role as the pillar of her Familia seriously.
Always showing professionalism, responsibility and seriousness when she had to deal with the matters of her Familia.
Right now, that Goddess… wanted nothing more than to disappear.
It had been a day unlike any other; Hephaestus had been minding her own business when she felt a familiar shift of power in the Dungeon. She was pretty much sure every deity felt it as well, even if it had been for only one short second.
Thankfully, no meeting was called for that incident. However, that didn't stop her from stressing herself seeing as she knew who was responsible for that little event.
So, here they were now, one day later.
The Goddess who was currently giving a narrowing look at the people. Her elbows lay on the table, her hands intertwined and her forehead resting over them.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the table sat her unruly captain. She only sat there with a scowl on her face and eye bags under her eye.
'Good. At least I am not the only one having a bad day.' Her single eye moved to the other source of her headache.
Drake Aurion on the other hand had his elbow over the arm's chair, the side of his head resting over his fist. His glare, although it looked like a scowl, gave her a message that she could start whenever she wanted.
"…" The Goddess took a deep breath and sighed. "What happened yesterday?"
The only reason she wasn't being blunter in her inquiry was because of her professionalism.
"Well… you could say it all started while I fought Udaeus."
Her skin paled, her eye narrowed, and suddenly the urge of having a drink early in the morning was so big that Loki would be proud of her.
'Being responsible ain't easy.'
"Ratatosk… the deity that had been pretty much responsible for every bad event in your life, and wanted to destroy and remake your own world is here, and alive." Hephaestus pretty much summarized the most important part of his retelling. She pressed her lips as her eyes remained normal, as if a young child tried to absorb some new knowledge.
"…" her hand moved to her drawer without a hint of hesitation as she pulled a big bottle. The blonde reluctantly nodded to the deity's need of alcohol seeing the stress he alone was causing. "Not gonna say anything about this?" she asked, almost annoyed as she served a shot for herself and drank it in a single swing.
"Unless it's divine, it will not really do anything to me." He stated, Tsubaki on the other hand went for the bottle, but the Goddess mercilessly slapped her hand away. "You and I will have a talk later, young lady." Hephaestus stated, clearly not letting go of the fact that her captain pretty much took advantage of her argument with Welf to approve that little idea of facing a monster rex.
Her Captain groaned as she laid back in her chair, arms crossed.
Tsubaki was clearly in a bad mood because of something. They had come together early in the morning, so it's possible that she and Drake already had a talk regarding yesterday's events and was sour about something.
"At least that confirms that Ratatosk and… Adam Taurus?" she stared at Drake for confirmation, who nodded in return. "Were the ones responsible for the first shift of power in the Dungeon one and a half years ago."
"Which doesn't make any sense. Between their deaths and mine, there shouldn't be more than three hours of difference at best." More questions than answers it seemed, even so, she shook her head.
"The small details aren't relevant at the moment." She started to ponder. "It worries me. The deity you had described until now wouldn't just stand idle for so long."
His eyes narrowed. "I know. And that's the thing that has been bothering me the most. It looked like he had lost all of his Centurions when he arrived here. So his power has been diminished greatly. But even so, he could have enough power before my arrival to do some damage. Even if I stripped his domains from him, he should have enough power to do something like sealing the entrance of the Dungeon."
She raised her eyebrow. "Why do that specifically? Couldn't he just gain command over the monsters in the Dungeon to invade the surface?"
He snorted. "That's too simple minded, not to mention apparently he and the Dungeon have two different agendas." He crossed his arms. "By sealing the Dungeon, it would only take a month at least for the economy to fall, seeing as one of the main sources of economy here are the crystals that monster drops which serve for your daily life purposes. From that he could only wait until it happens, or even side with rogue Adventurers and criminal groups to accelerate the process."
She couldn't help but narrow her eyes. It could happen, as a matter of fact the certainty in his voice made her think it was an absolute possibility. "You seem really certain of what you are saying."
The mood in the room tensed the moment he narrowed his eyes. "Because it's what I would do." Hephaestus said nothing, already knowing there was a hidden meaning behind those words. "Ratatosk is not dangerous because he's just one of the Great Spirits. But because he understands mortal life better than anyone. And he got all that knowledge and experience from none other than yours truly."
She couldn't help but feel confused. Drake had stated that the hate between him and the Great Spirit was mutual, so why would he learn the blonde. "That doesn't make any sense. Why would you teach something to someone who clearly wanted to destroy you?"
He sighed. "Because I was never aware of it." He stood up from his chair before he started to remove his scarf and jacket and was not unbuttoning his shirt, the simple action of it made the Goddess turn slightly red, but quickly hid it by taking another shot of alcohol.
"In Ratatosk's first attempt on my life when I was six. The entity he sent after me managed to land his attack on my back." He showed his back and slightly removed his shirt to show several wounds on it. But she focused on the two big ones, which had divine energy coming out of them. She could also feel a third one coming from his chest, but she didn't dare to ask to see it.
'Just what could possibly make these wounds?' she wondered, the blacksmith in her almost taking over. But Drake beat her to it.
"See the black wound?" he didn't wait for her answer and proceeded to put his shirt back on. The Goddess felt a little bit annoyed for a moment at the sudden action. "Ratatosk managed to put a curse in that one."
Her eye couldn't help but narrow at the word curse.
"With it, he managed to see and hear everything I did for eleven years."
'Eleven years.' Hephaestus couldn't help but ponder. All the information a deity could absorb from a 'mortal's' point of view. She wasn't gonna deny it, despite caring for all her children, a part of her accepted she was never gonna truly understand or know how they feel, or learn when faced with multiple challenges.
Now, have in mind that it was from someone like Drake, who was not only dangerous, but also admitted was a capable and smart individual… It was scary.
"I take it that generated more problems than simply having your daily life intruded on."
He scowled as he put the rest of his clothes back on. "There was a time I wondered if there was a traitor in my circle of trust, seeing as something always happened when it shouldn't have." He snorted. "Turned out I was the mole all along."
Hephaestus could actually picture it, but going back to the main topic, she couldn't figure out why the Great Spirits of Monsters wouldn't do what Drake just stated.
"It's also bothering me." The blonde replied, the reason for her worries written all over her face.
"What about his Centurions?"
She didn't see any logic in keeping on thinking on something with no clear leads. So might as well move to the next topic.
Ratatosk's source of power.
According to Drake. As the Regulator of the elements, the Great Spirit had created eight beings of divine origin that equaled each of the normal deities from Drake's world in power; Each for one of the elements.
"The blessing Adam Taurus received from Ratatosk is different from Origin's. His power comes from Ratatosk's current level, which also means it's dependent on how many centurions are in his power." He looked at the ceiling. "However, when I saw him yesterday. He didn't activate his blessing, but I could still see and feel how many elements were linked to him."
He raised two of his fingers.
"Darkness and Earth. Ratatosk only has two of his centurions at the moment."
The Goddess pinched the bridge between her eyes. "I take it he had all eight of them last time you saw him?"
He nodded. "I stripped him of his domains on that occasion. So it's only natural his connection with his Centurions was also severed."
The Goddess sighed in relief as laid back on her chair; seeing it was kind of a relief that the deity's power had greatly diminished.
And yet, something bothered her deeply.
"But then why would his Centurion act in such an irrational way?" The Goddess recalled the recent events. Reports about a mysterious monster moving up the deeper floors and causing earthquakes wherever it went. Yes, it turned out it was a centurion, but it's behavior seemed weird, even though she didn't have a full grasp of them as sentient divine beings.
"When Ratatosk loses a connection with his Centurions, or if they are destroyed; they will take their time to reform into a cone-like object. This is an indication that their consciousness is being sealed, at least most of it."
She raised an eyebrow.
"If someone interacts with it, they can more or less be aware of their surroundings. However, they are not fully conscious, so acting irrationally it's only natural. My best bet is that the Centurion of Earth became conscious enough to build itself a body seeing it didn't have a host."
"Wait." Her eye widened. "They can possess others?"
He shook his head. "Think of it as a symbiotic relationship. The Host will feel a surge of power, not knowing nor realizing that the parasite is degrading his mind little by little, taking advantage of every single thing that troubles the host."
'Power Corrupts.' That's the message the Goddess got from all of this. She started to think about all the information that Drake gave her and pondered on it. The simple fact that a deity that truly understood mortals and was not bound to their rules regarding the use of their divine power existed… it truly scared her.
'Things just keep getting more and more complicated. Ever since he-' her eyes widened in realization.
"Drake… you said that sealed Centurions would start to act up if someone interacted with them… but what are the chances that no one was able to do that with the Centurion of Earth? I mean, the reports stated she pretty much came from the deep floors, also there are only two Familias that can reach those floors, and yet-"
"And yet the Centurion hadn't possessed anyone." He rested his elbows on his knees as the thought sunk into his head. He couldn't help but ponder about it as he reached Hephaestus' same conclusion. If no one interacted with the centurions, how did they start to stir up after more than a year of being in this world?
"I did this."
Tsubaki blinked out of her scowl. It wasn't just the tone of realization that got her attention, but also the way his eyes narrowed in a way that could only be described as 'I fucked up.'
"You awakened them." Hephaestus stated, eye partially narrowed. "When you made that shift in the Dungeon after the Goliath fight, you overwrote the Dungeon's whole authority, even if only for a short while, and the Centurions would have noticed it, right?"
He nodded slowly, but without hesitation. His presence had alerted them.
"Given as we have come this far, and considering what has already happened, I have the right to ask." Her eye remained narrowed. But this time, he could feel the hesitation coming from her. "What are you going to do now that you know the source of your rage and revenge is alive? You already said you almost lost control yesterday just by knowing he was still alive, but how long before you can't keep it in you?"
Tsubaki looked at her Goddess with a critical eye. She understood her, she truly did. Hephaestus didn't want her or the rest of her Familia to be dragged into Drake's personal war, which also included Orario.
"Hephaestus-!" Tsubaki tried to reason with her Goddess. But the redhead only needed to raise her palm to stop her as her single eye lay solemnly on Drake, waiting for his answer.
"… Nothing."
Both looked at him with confused noises, a clear "Huh?" came out of each of their mouths as Drake laid back on his seat and focused on the ceiling, a very tired sigh released from his lips.
"Nothing." The blonde re-stated as he stared the Goddess straight in her eye. "I fulfilled my Revenge the moment I managed to strip him of his domains. I stopped him from pretty much remolding Remnant in his image. And more importantly, I made sure to leave my brothers an open path in order to change our world."
Her eye returned to normal. His words were understood in an instant as she concluded that his reasoning was so very human. Nothing is eternal, just like it was mortal life, as well as dreams and aspiration; whatever they are fulfilled in the end or not, they also end at some point. But to refuse something like Revenge, or rather acknowledging that it was already enough showed some grade of maturity on its own.
'I truly can't get you.' Hephaestus thought. Deep down she understood why; she couldn't get it in her head a deity that denied it's divinity and refused to acknowledge it and instead saw itself as a mortal. And yet, at the same time, it understood the Hopes and Despair of people so easily, therefore knowing when to stop in their own endeavors.
Although she figured out his brothers' influence also had a play on that.
"But still," his palm rested on his chest. "My rage, my hate, the Dragon inside of me. I admit that my rage might be the undoing of my previous words. I have always been a person that has opted more for a reasonable thinking than relying solely on instinct, even if the latter is also better at some times. Having said that," he grasped his clothes. "I am not sure if I will be able to keep it caged."
Despite what he had told Ryuu Lyon yesterday in the Dungeon, she was the sole and only reason as to why he didn't snap; knowing full she would become collateral damage. He didn't care for the members of Loki Familia there, and Zelos was just manifesting himself using his shadow as a medium; either way, his best friend knew how to deal with him and survive.
Drake didn't lie to Ryuu either. He made her contemplate all that could probably happen if he snapped, not telling her simply 'I didn't want her to die'.
"I was able to hold it for someone else's sake. Had it not been for Zelos… things would have been very different."
Tsubaki's eye twitched, but Hephaestus didn't notice it. Instead, the Goddess let silence take over as a little tiny bit of guilt took over.
"… Is there anything you can do about it?"
"Mentally prepare to calm it. But as I said, it will always be there."
'Looks like everyone really is a slave to their instincts.' She counted herself among them, of course. More than one deity or even her own children had seen her lose her cool to a weapon. However, this was completely different. 'It was a good thing Zelos had been…'
"I am sorry." The Goddess said abruptly. "But I need to backtrack a little… isn't Zelos one of your brothers?"
"… Yeah, I think I skipped that part." He stated. It wasn't on purpose though, he just focused on the most relevant subject of importance; that being Ratatosk.
"Are they here?"
Tsubaki sighed, taking this as the moment to intervene. "Drakey here missed his brothers so much that he recreated his brothers perfectly in his mind and soul."
"… You are making me sound like a lonely, friendless child." His eye twitched.
"I am pretty sure you would only need one finger seeing I am the only person you trust completely."
The truth hurt, and it could be shown as the twitch in Drake's eye continued while Tsubaki explained how his brothers really came to be in Orario.
"… can I meet Lloyd?"
'Of course she would like to meet the blacksmith.'
He deadpanned at the Goddess; mainly because Tsubaki asked the exact same question when he told her about them yesterday.
"None of them are available at the moment."
Tsubaki groaned. "You can't tell me they are still going at it."
The Goddess couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
It turned out that after exiting the Dungeon, his brother started to pester him about letting them out more often, seeing they might actually find a way to kill each other out of being locked down in his mind.
He succumbed to their annoyance after a while, which led to the problem of deciding who would get to go out when and for how long. To which they decided to-
"Rock-Paper-Scissors? Really?" Hephaestus asked blandly.
'Roshambo!'
'Aikodesho!'
'Sho!'
'Sho!'
'SHO!'
"They are still going at it by the way."
Tsubaki sighed before returning to her former position, looking away from the main conversation. This however, didn't go unnoticed to her Goddess for a second time.
"What's up with you? Usually you would either be boasting about something or trying to convince me of another crazy idea."
With the most recent one sitting in this very room…' Thought the Goddess as she avoided staring at the blonde.
Her Captain sighed, which worried Hephaestus seeing as it seemed like a rendition gesture. She knew because many of her children would usually do that same action in a similar fashion when they realize there's something they can't do
But from Tsubaki of all people? That was new.
"… I just realized I have been a little closed minded." Tsubaki eyed Drake. "It turned out Ratatosk was the one that took all of Drake's things that remained inside the shadows. Among them," her hand calmly moved to her bosom to retrieve something in between her breasts. "There was this."
Hephaestus wanted to scold her the moment she noticed the object of her apathy was a knife, but stopped as her eye widened the moment she had a better look at it. Her chair suddenly fell back after she abruptly stood up to go around the table.
Tsubaki couldn't blame her Goddess reaction; because she had acted the same way when she figured out what it could do. Of course, with Hephaestus being the Goddess of the forge it was only natural that she would figure it out instantly.
"The knife really has no edge. However, what's important about it is the body of the weapon itself."
'I rest my case, your honor.' Thought Tsubaki as her Goddess continued with her assessment.
"It seems like it was forged with a metalized crystal of energy, but not one I have ever seen before." Her eye landed on Drake for a moment. "I take it this is the Dust from your world?"
He nodded. "A Custom made one. One of the people that helped with their creation had the semblance to see everything around her like Formulas, so we had the idea of making Dust that could not only store energy but also mold it in a way that would suit us."
His words were absorbed with ease by the Goddess, reaching a conclusion in an instant. "It can memorize, just like some normal metals that could shape memory, can't it?"
He titled his head for a moment. "The term we used was store." He let his last explanation sink in as her eye narrowed to see several flying glyphs organized like formulas dancing inside the knife's body; with a big space in the center, as if it were a magic slot.
"Spells." Hephaestus concluded as her eye landed on the blonde. "You can store spells in this dagger."
"And it only took her two minutes at best." Tsubaki thought out loud. Her comment went over her Goddess's head as her focus remained on all the possibilities that this could bring to Orario. She knew that a certain Royal Elf would probably start a War Game for something like this.
But there was something bothering her.
'If what he says about Formulas is right, then this was most likely made for Magic Artes. So, there's a high chance our spell system might not work. But I might be able to do something about that, all I need is…' realization hit her. Even if she found the way to change the Formula inside the knife's body, there was no way she could forge something like this without the prime materials.
'Which are literally out of this world…' Hephaestus groaned as the feeling of annoyance started to invade her, it was only then that she realized her captain had been giving her an all-knowing look.
It was then she realized why her captain's mood had been so sour; Tsubaki had reached the same conclusion as her.
'So that's what it was.' The Goddess noticed as her Captain sighed, staring boringly at the knife in Hephaestus's hand.
Tsubaki Collbrande had full confidence in her abilities and in being called the best Mortal Blacksmith in Orario. But that's just it; only in Orario. Knowing there was something more out there, something that not even her own Goddess knew or understood made her desire of being the best burn brighter.
But after reaching the same conclusion as her Goddess, she felt irritated, or in better terms; salty. Not being able to do something because of your own lack of skills is one thing, just get better and try again. However, not being able to do it because you didn't have the right materials or tools for the job made her reach a rather childish yet definitive conclusion.
'It's not fair.'
The moment those words had left her mouth yesterday, Drake had witnessed a tiny bit of Despair spark off her for a short moment.
The fact that Drake's world had so much more to offer in every aspect irked her at that moment. Also adding the fact that she hadn't even been close in recreating his armored clothes using all of her own materials, talents and experience while using some of the methods Drake himself had used to make them; but without Aura it was impossible.
The same applied to every single blade she had forged Drake; the last one being completely turned to dust after yesterday's trip to the Dungeon; not even the hilt remained.
Not to mention, it only made it worse since the blade had the Durandal attribute out of all things.
"If it makes you feel any better," Her Goddess snapped out of her thought by placing her hand on Tsubaki's shoulder. "You are not the only one feeling frustrated."
It took her a few seconds to register Hephaestus's words, blinking a few times before releasing a soft snort.
"I suppose there's nothing to do about it, if even the Goddess of the Forge reaches the same conclusion." Tsubaki calmly stretched her arms after sitting in the same way for too long. "Well…" she stood up and approached Drake. "If there isn't anything else to talk about, I am gonna go and start working with the new material I got yesterday."
Hephaestus raised an eyebrow, only to widen a second later after remembering Drake had fought a Monster Rex. "Udaeus dropped something?"
"Apparently, the rumor about good old Bone Daddy using a Sword if the party it's stupidly small was true all along," Tsubaki replied, thinking that now she owed Bors an apology. "And Drakey over here made sure to bring it back, completely intact," she started to pat his head, as if petting a little pup. However, her glare turned into a cold and deadly one for a moment. "Wish I could say the same about my most recent blade that I forged for you."
To Drake's credit, only a drop of sweat ran down under his scarf as he stared blankly ahead.
"Interesting." Hephaestus narrowed her eye. "Mind if I get some of the ingots you make out of it, I feel like putting my arms and tools to use."
Tsubaki returned her glare. Seeing as the only reason that her Goddess was asking was because the initial agreement was that all of Drake's gatherings belonged to Tsubaki by default unless she decided to share them.
"We will see… probably, maybe, perhaps." The edge of her lips morphed into a sly smirk. "I am sure we can reach a mutual agreement." Hephaestus couldn't help but force a smile of her own as a response.
"But that will be left for later," she patted both of Drake's shoulders from behind his chair before she started to walk out of the room. "I am gonna go and boast about how I have the biggest, thickest and-"
"Tsubaki." Not only Hephaestus, but also Drake gave her a warning glare.
"You guys are no fun." She threw them a fake scowl before exiting the room, making both Goddess and Demi-Spirit sigh in exasperation.
"… I don't have to tell you her current cheery attitude is half forced, right?" The Goddess asked as she sat back in her chair.
"I know. I already have a plan for that." Her eye sparked at his answer.
"Like unlocking her Aura?"
He shook his head. "Still too risky." Her shoulders fell. "You will have to wait and see… also, I may need you to lend me one of your forges later."
That got her interested again, but the look on his face quickly made her come to the decision of not pushing further into the subject, but still decided to take the chance to return to another subject now that Tsubaki was gone.
"Say…" she served herself another glass. "You said that despite your anger, you gave me the idea that you didn't want to embark on another quest for revenge… However, I have to ask. Would you be willing to fight against him to defend Orario if his intentions bring any harm to it?"
"Fuck no." He answered instantly, giving her a lazy look before his gaze turned serious before she could complain. "That would entail fighting for other deities. Therefore, I would only do it for Tsubaki if it isn't for my own desires."
"I suppose that is better than nothing ." She chuckled, already expecting that kind of answer. What she did not expect was what followed after. "I would even do it for you, in fact.."
Her jaw slightly opened, her eye widened, and she could even feel her cheeks heating up.
"As the individual that also helped me settle here… although, I'd do it reluctantly."
Her face of surprise dropped instantly; a soft smile took over instead as she was not expecting that. It was still a nice gesture though, helping her because he felt like it was the right thing and not because she was a Goddess.
'Honest to the core.' She thought before starting to ponder about everything she had learned. There were many more things that needed some answers. For example: Why did Ratatosk and Adam arrive one and half year earlier? Or what had they been doing during that whole time?
"By the way," she looked at the Magic Knife in her hand. "How did he manage to take all of your things out of the shadows? I take it the Centurion of Darkness had a hand on it."
He nodded. "Most likely. However, my authority over the Darkness is bigger than his, so he no longer has access to the shadows unless I allow him to." He stood up from his chair and approached the table, his hand extended.
The Goddess in return pouted as she kept the knife close to her chest.
"I am sure you have more of these."
He sighed. "I only managed to recover three so far." The blonde made a gesture of 'give it back' with his hand, the Goddess reluctantly returning the knife with his initials to him.
"Thanks. Also," he took the small glass of alcohol off the table and gulped it down it in a heartbeat.
"Hey!"
He ignored her shouts, putting the glass on the table before taking the bottle with him. "It's too early for this," he dropped the bottle on his shadow, storing it in an instant. "And I think I have enough respect for you to do something about it."
The former Noble started to walk out of the room, ignoring the scowl the Goddess was giving him behind his back. Hephaestus sighed in defeat and gave a soft smile at his retreating form.
"Please, try to stay out of trouble." She thought out loud remembering his most recent encounter with Loki Familia. Thankfully, things didn't escalate like last time, and there was still nothing that could trace his relationship to Tsubaki and herself.
There was also the matter of Freya, but she had been quiet for some time now. The chances of her actually leaving him alone were nonexistent. However, it was never bad to be on your guard with her.
"Yeah, yeah." He replied as he exited the room.
'Hope I can get at least a few days of rest.'
How fucking wrong he was.
Present time
The woman had been charmed.
It was pretty obvious by whom, seeing he himself saw a big group of people being charmed by her about a week ago. It carried the same essence in every sense of the word.
The purple haired woman had pretty much dazed out of it a little after entering the Hostess. She had been confused for a moment, and almost panicked the moment she had seen the blonde, remembering pretty well what he had done to her God.
However, what surprised her and some of the members of the staff, especially Anya, were his first words towards her.
"Would you like to take a seat?" The seriousness in his tone had made her freeze. Her first instinct had been to run away knowing they weren't on any sorts of amiable terms. But just when she was about to, her legs failed her, as did almost all of her body.
"You haven't eaten anything in days."
His statement made her eyes widen, not understanding his words one bit. Because she clearly remembered eating something-
'…!'
Her mind went blank.
When was the last time she had eaten? There were several gaps in her mind regarding what she had remembered next. She had been so focused on pondering about it that she didn't notice some of the waitresses had helped accommodate her at a table.
It hadn't been until Drake himself had served her a very generous breakfast that she was taken out of her thoughts.
"This… this is a lot of food. And I don't have any mo-"
"It's on me." He stated, his gaze and tone as serious as before. "This will also make up for the last couple of days you didn't eat."
She reluctantly agreed, all while ignoring the stare he was giving her.
'Sophia Flores.' He read the name above her head. His mind summarizing all he could gather about her in the few minutes his eyes focused on her.
Freya's charm had been on her for at least four days; starving her and increasing all her feelings of Despair in the process.
However, even if the charm was gone now, all of her emotions regarding her traumas were still there. Although they were not as intense as before.
He could see her body's condition under her layers of clothes thanks to Jude's experience in the medical fields, and Zelos's knowledge regarding the female body.
There were some bruises on her body hidden under her clothes, she also had difficulty walking by what he saw when she entered the pub; he also noticed that some of her limbs had been dislocated more than once. And lastly, her lack of trust according to the Darkness… all signs of rape and abuse.
His first and last conversation with her Deity, Aeshma, came to mind. His whole mannerism and the way he had addressed the blonde seemed like the Deity considered him stock. And there was also the whole intent of his Familia members to recruit him.
The conclusion was simple. Aeshma was forcibly breeding not just her, but probably who knew how many more, if not all members of his Familia.
'But I suppose every single one of you had figured that out already, didn't you?' he asked his brothers, silence was the only confirmation he needed.
"Thank you." His analysis stopped, the plate in front of her had been completely emptied. "It was delicious."
'It had been a long time since I ate something like this… or something remotely close to this amount.'
His eyes narrowed, as the silhouette of her shadow appeared next to the owner. Shadows were mirrors of a person's soul; they showed and transmitted the person's true feelings and thoughts. It was through them that Drake could see words pooping above people describing them or their thoughts and even if they were lying or not.
But there were times when the emotion was so intense that he could hear them clearly without him actually doing anything, even if their host denied or refused to say what they really felt.
Her shadow right now just expressed her joy of eating so much, but her host opted to stay quiet out of fear; indicating Aeshma most likely had her fast in order to maintain her figure, as if she was actual stock.
"I am gonna ask you something." her eyes grew alarmed, still feeling intimidated by his glare. "You only have to listen, that's all."
She reluctantly nodded after a moment.
"What does Aeshma make you do?"
Her jaw dropped, a small tremble through all of her body could be easily noticed.
'He forces me, and some others to breed with each other. A few of us against our will… others not so much.'
"I see. And all of this started when?"
Sophia's eyes widened slightly, seeing as nothing really had come out of her mouth yet he still continued with his questions.
'About two years ago, give or take. He came to me pretty much after I arrived in Orario. Saying I had 'great potential'… You can already figure out what said talent was related to.' Her shadow snorted. 'He wished to breed the perfect Warrior, the perfect Adventurer.'
His eyes narrowed. "Has he succeeded?"
She started to hyperventilate a little. She didn't know why or how, but Sophia knew he was getting all the answers to the questions he was asking.
'I don-'
"You're not being nice!" he fought the urge to growl at the sound of Syr's voice. The waitress stood next to the table throwing a pout at him. "You are making her uncomforta-" her words died down as her hand moved to playfully tap his shoulder, but a black spark of electricity appeared before she could touch him.
To her credit, she didn't jump back. But she had the urge to do so the moment her eyes met his. His Dragon-like eyes had never looked at her so coldly before, it was as if he was actually going to kill her with only her gaze.
"Does it look like I am playing to you? Or that I am enjoying this at all? " he asked in a low tone, not really caring about her reaction at the moment.
Translation: 'Fuck off''
"Now, now," Lunor walked to them, Ryuu close behind. "This is what you get when you don't know how to read the mood." They gently turned the gray haired waitress around and walked away with her, but not before the Elf gave him a glare.
But unlike those times, it lacked the usual judgy look she gave him for doing something she didn't like; for example, antagonizing Syr.
'As I was saying.' Sophia's shadow got his attention. 'Some of the other girls in the Familia have given birth.' Her shadow embraced itself, as did her host at the same time. 'Me included.'
"I take it you don't know what happens to them?"
Both shadow and host shook their heads, making him sigh.
"One last thing." He took a deep breath before he continued. "Start considering what you are going to do after tomorrow." The blonde could hear the screams of his brothers in his mind, especially Zelos, trying to stop him from what he was about to do.
Sophia looked at him confused, but he could feel her shadow narrowing her eyes at him. 'What exactly does that mean?' it started to raise its voice. 'I don't want to go back there! And even if I didn't, it would be just a matter of time before someone from Aeshma Familia catches me. Not to mention I won't be able to support my family if I leave. There's nothing I can-'
Her words were cut short as Drake made a motion with his hand. Its eyes widened as a black, smoke-like energy started to pour out of her and into Drake, and by the looks of it, only the shadow could see it. Sophia and her shadow could feel not only as her body started to feel better, but also how her mind became clearer.
"Put some thought to my question, Sophia." He stated, before suddenly standing up and walking to the back of the pub, leaving a rather calm and collected Sophia a little more than confused.
Through all of his life.
He had experienced all kinds of despair in the past.
From personal experiences like losing a loved one or being tortured. Or someone else's thanks to his domain over the Darkness and Despair.
It always left him feeling dull at the beginning, seeing as his own experience somehow worked as a sort of mattress to soften the impact.
But it was the first time he had tasted the despair of a victim of sexual abuse. So it was only natural for him to be on his knees in the staff's bathroom emptying his stomach inside a toilet.
It was simply and utterly disgusting.
He could feel Sofia's sense of helplessness as his body relieved her experience. The feeling of being forced into something she didn't want to, ripping apart her sense of liberty and innocence towards the world, the feeling of having someone strangle you in plain act , the feeling of being discarded after the person was done and left her, thrown away as if she was used goods.
Of course, he would have the urge to empty his stomach. But that was just the tip of the iceberg, because nothing beat the sense of emptiness after her newborn child was taken away from her; not even allowed to carry him after giving birth.
"This is so fucking bullshit." He thought out loud before more came out of his mouth.
'You tell me. Never seen you like this due to not being able to normally get drunk.' Zelos stated in his mind as he continued with his cleaning process. 'In our defense, we tried to warn you.'
He narrowed his eyes. 'Like how you told me about her situation the first time we met her with Aeshma?'
'You didn't ask.' They all stated, making his eyes twitch seeing as it was the excuse he used the most. Especially with his last stunt of dying by becoming the world tree.
'No, no, no. I call bullshit. I refuse to believe every single one of you kept quiet because of a grudge. So, you all better come up with a better fucking excuse.'
He was about to pressure for more, but the sudden urge coming up his throat stopped him.
'This isn't over.' He thought in exhaustion before lowering his head, not noticing the knock at the door.
"What exactly happened?" Lunor asked as they saw the purple haired girl exiting the pub in a way better state than when she first arrived. Drake, on the other hand, looked as if he had gone through the worst experience of his life in just a couple of minutes.
"There wasn't any kind of Magic being used, at least not from her part." Ryuu stated with crossed arms, her ears twitching at the distinguished sound of someone throwing up in the bathroom. "So, whatever it is that happened, it was all him." Chloe came close by with a wet towel and a glass filled with water .
"Are we really gonna go in just like that nya~?" the former assassin asked, Lunor taking the wet towel off her hand.
"It's not like he's naked." Lunor snorted, not one of them noticing the local Elf had frozen for a second, a subtle blush hidden under her stoic façade.
"Mama did ask for someone to check up on him." Syr stated. "Does this really need all five of us?" she asked in honest curiosity, to which Anya just shrugged as she walked to the bathroom.
"It's a slow day anyway nya~." She knocked the door, more groaning sounds were heard before Lunor decided to take the initiative to open the door and step in.
The staff bathroom consisted of a few less cubicles than the public one. However, the lack of them were replaced by an equal number of showers for the female staff.
Lunor walked to the cubicles the groaning came for. There he was, on one knee and his head close to the toilet. Had it been any other occasion, she would throw a drunk joke at him; but she didn't have it in her to do it since it looked like it was something serious.
Ryuu noticed Lunor's face of momentarily concern at the thought of giving a step forward to stare at the state he was in. Her eyes narrowed in concern as her hand went for his shoulder without thinking. However, the blonde beat her to it by raising his finger while looking over his shoulder at her as if she was an enemy, indicating not to touch him.
The Elf's eyes widened, feeling as if she had been rejected for a second time seeing it looked like he was disgusted by her. However, his eyes seemed to calm down, as if he just recognized who was about to touch him.
"Sorry." He muttered softly, making the Elf wonder what exactly had happened to him.
"You ok in there?" Lunor asked, going over the fact that the usually reserved Elf was about to willingly touch someone that wasn't Syr.
"… No. Not really." Drake replied, as not only Lunor but also the rest of the troublesome waitresses plus Syr stepped in.
"No shit. Here." Lunor handed him a wet towel.
"Also, here nya~." While Chloe handed him a mouthwash. "Your breath stinks, nya~."
He looked himself in the mirror, ignoring the rest of the comments of the waitresses to notice his skin was paler, and there were bags under his eyes. It would pass, but his anger only increased as he stared at himself in the mirror; because that's what Sophia Flores went through on a daily basis.
"I don't know what the hell all that was about," Lunor started as the blonde cleaned his mouth with mouthwash. "But what exactly are you gonna do with the girl's… circumstances?" Lunor chose his words carefully, in a clear intent of being subtle. But it still earned a confused look from him that could be translated as 'how did you know?'
"I used to be a bounty hunter for Orario's low world, remember? You tend to learn a few things there."
Chloe nodded, a somber look in her eyes. "That includes knowing when a person is abused." She stated without her usual cat like tick, her assassin experience talking for her.
"Astrea Familia used to deal with these kinds of cases back in the day." Ryuu stated. "It wasn't something that happened often, but it wasn't unusual either."
They all stared at Anya, waiting for her answer. She rubbed the back of her head in an uncharacteristic manner. "Not an expert about that kind of abuse nya~. But my time in Freya Familia has made me recognize when someone's been forced to do something."
Syr's eye twitched while Drake proceeded to spit the mouthwash into the washbasin and then clean his face with the wet towel.
"I honestly had no idea she was a victim of sexual abuse." His eyes narrowed, the towel was still on the lower half of his face as he read the words that popped up above Syr's head.
True/False
"Syr," his voice carried an edge that made every single one of the waitresses in the bathroom feel a chill run down their back. "I am in no mood for your abnormal bipolar bullshit." The four female Adventurers were confused by his statement, although Ryuu could connect it with their conversation in Rivira regarding Syr. "So, you either shut up or walk out of my sight."
Her smile twitched as she ran her finger through her lips as if she were closing them.
"Also," Lunor got his attention, trying to put the conversation back into topic. "What the hell did you do? That girl walked in the pub looking paler than a Spartoi, and left as if she had spent a full day at the spa. While you ended up looking-" she gestured to all of him. "Like complete shit."
He rolled his eyes. "Forget about it."
"That's fine by me." Ryuu stated, knowing full well this must be some kind of skill; therefore private. However, there was something she could not let go. "But what exactly is it you are going to do?"
He narrowed his eyes. "What makes you think I am gonna do anything?"
They all stared blankly at him.
"Because you have that face that says, 'I am about to do something stupid' nya~." Chloe replied. "Also, that wasn't a no, Mr. Honesty nya~"
"No." that pretty much shut them up. "That would entail I am about to do something way over my head." He tossed the towel and started to walk out, ignoring the looks he was receiving.
"What about Freya nya~?" he stopped mid step before looking at Anya. "I would recognize her charm anywhere nya~"
That made everyone's eyes widen, with the exception of Drake.
"It looks like you already knew that." Ryuu said. "And yet you didn't seem worried at all."
He shrugged. "Because my priority at the moment isn't dealing with a bitch hiding in a high tower drinking wine while laughing like 'fufufu~', as if all that was happening was part of her master plan."
"You really have a death wish, nya~." Chloe stated, pretty much describing the sensation of dread as if Freya herself was in the room with them.
"No, no, no. I can confirm she does that nya~." Anya replied with crossed arms without a hint of hesitation, not noticing that Syr was twitching at the moment.
"Drake." The blonde sighed tiredly before he turned around to stare at the Elf. "Astrea Familia may be no more. But there's no way this can be overlooked so easily, and knowing you, you won't either." Ryuu recalled their previous conversation with him about Justice, knowing full well that there was no real way to punish Aeshma without evidence. That only left the option of taking things into their own hands.
"Are you really willing to go for another genocide?" he asked in a rather blunt yet tired way. And yet, it still managed to freeze the Elf in place for a moment.
"… Yes." It took her a moment to answer, but there wasn't any hesitation in her voice.
"No." They all replied monotonously, making her flinch a little.
"I think I speak for everyone here, when I say no one wants to deal with your sequels after dirtying your hands again." Everyone minus the Elf nodded solemnly.
"Anyway," Drake took a deep breath before he continued going his way. "I am gonna tell Mia I am taking the day off. Also, I will be at Tsubaki's until tomorrow, so none of you need to babysit me." He raised his hand to pat Anya out of habit, but flinched when he was just about to do so; that simple act made the waitresses stare in confusion before he finally exited the bathroom. "… My bad."
All of them stared at the now closed door, not being able to explain what just happened.
"Ok, now that doesn't make any fucking sense." Lunor stated as Chloe comforted a now depressed Anya. "He always pats her, always!"
"We weren't able to confirm if what got him like this was a skill or not, nor if what he did was willing." Syr got their attention. "You have been with him outside of the Hostess, has he done anything that would indicate this kind of behavior?"
Lunor shook her head. "I have never even seen him fight."
"I have seen him shoot fireballs out of a blade, but nothing that could be related to this nya~". Chloe said, with Anya shaking her head at the question.
"Nothing comes to mind, either." The Elf replied. "I have seen what he's capable of." She recalled the aftermath of the Udaeus fight. "His body carries many scars, proof of his experience in battle and yet he still maintains a strong mentality like he usually does." She sighed, her gaze on the door Drake just walked out, not noticing all of the girls were blinking as he latest words were analyzed carefully.
"Please notify Mama I am also taking the day off; someone needs to keep an eye on him." She started to walk away, only to be stopped as someone pretty much slammed their hand on her shoulder.
"!?" The eyes of the Elf couldn't help but widen as she turned around to see Syr, gripping her shoulder and giving her a look that could only be described as a stare of disgust and revulsion, like how one would look at a walking pile of excrement on two legs.
But it was not just her best friend, as the other three gave her the same look.
"Ryuu…" the Elf couldn't help but swallow at the visage of Syr giving her the scariest 'kind' of smile she had ever seen. "You just spoke of his body as if you had seen it. And when I mean 'seen it', I mean actually seen it." Syr replied, putting a little more strength in her voice as she said the last part.
"You know," Lunor started. "This explains why you have been avoiding him like a blushing virgin… " Ryuu's eye twitched at the comment. "And here I thought you had accidently touched him or something and you ended up liking it…" Lunor's glare morphed into one of surprise as Ryu's face turned red. "Holy shit… that also happened, didn't it?"
The Elf couldn't help but look away as she muttered something.
"What was that, Ryuu?" Syr's previous expression remained, as did her ominous tone of voice.
"I said he let me go." Ryuu recalled how he had held her from falling into the thirty-eighth floor only to then drop her down himself. There was a good reason for it, but it still didn't change the fact it happened.
"The Elf got rejected nya~." Chloe, and subsequently everyone minus Syr started to crack up at their friend's failure.
"It's ok Ryuu…" Syr comforted her best friend, her ominous aura gone already. "I am pretty sure he didn't know the meaning behind the action."
The Elf managed to smile softly, followed by a small nod as her friend's face got closer. "However, I do have to ask,"
'Please Astrea, No.' the Elf's instincts screamed at her to get out of there, as if she already knew what was coming.
"Did you like what you saw?"
And she was right.
The worst part of it all, was the fact that Syr's innocent tone didn't help her as she recalled every bit of his body coming out of the lake on Rivira. Her face started to become redder by the second as the memory kept playing over and over again in her mind, until she finally fell back on the floor, her eyes wide opened.
"She even passed out with a blush nya~" Anya stated, her head shaking with a shrug. "What a perverted Elf."
No one had anything to disagree with her.