Tales Of Fate: F

by Drake D Zero

A path fulfilled, a goal achieved. His story was to end at that point, there was no denying that. His memories vouched for his claim. And yet..."Where the hell am I?" - Story is M-rated and OC-centric, with some elements of AU to it, as well.

28. Chapter 27

AN: If I cared to put titles to my chapters, this one would be named 'The Nightmare of Twilling Manor', shame there's no Psycho Killer though.

Chapter 27

FLASHBACK

Earlier that day

"We may have a problem," Hephaestus stated, making Drake take a deep breath before exhaling.

"… What else is new?" he asked in a neutral tone; she didn't know why, but there was something odd about him. He didn't seem exhausted, but his eyes did seem a little tired. There was also a certain air about him, a familiar one for some reason, almost as if-

"Why the cloaks, anyway?" he asked, making her train of thought stop for a moment, shaking her head as if wanting to deny her previous belief.

"In case the bitch on the high tower/Freya is looking," Both Tsubaki and Hephaestus said at the same time before the Goddess gave a scolding look to her Child.

"Hey, what she doesn't know doesn't hurt us, right?" she raised her hand at Drake for a high-five, who simply stared at her; annoyance clear in his eyes. "… oh come on, are you actually angry about that?" yup, something did happen which made the blonde annoyed at Tsubaki; and not the usual annoyed, this one was a little more serious. "… dude, this hand is gonna be left hanging until you complete the high-five."

His eyes narrowed. "Keep waiting then, bitch," Hephaestus almost cringed before he looked at her. "You don't have to worry about the whore in the high tower, I would feel her gaze on me if she was actually looking. So, what's going on?"

Hephaestus sighed, explaining her meeting with Loki, and making him pinch the bridge between his eyes as her explanation came to an end.

"Both of you should have told me there was another Centurion situation in the Dungeon," Tsubaki didn't say anything, mainly because she had been so focused on her forging to give an update about that after Drake had told Tsubaki about it a week ago.

And Drake… Drake wanted to let things cool down a little after their last meeting.

"Oh Goddess, if you are worried about that, wait until we tell you about the Wind one," Tsubaki snorted, making Hephaestus turn at her slowly with a twitching eye.

"… What was that about a Wind one?" she asked with a shaky voice and smile; it was official now, she needed a drink.

"Women," he snapped his fingers, closing his eyes in exasperation to get their attention. "focus."

She stared at him, returning to the main topic. "You have to go and help them."

Drake raised an eyebrow. "I was going to do that anyway, but you seem rather agitated about it, what's up?"

"It's their party composition," she explained. "The Sword Princess is going, and I recall what you said about Centurions playing with the emotions and minds of those with weak minds when they try to take over or have already taken over."

Drake snorted, making her scowl for a moment, to which he raised his hands as a gesture to calm her down. "I am not laughing because I don't think I find your worries laughable; I am laughing because the situation is way worse with that lineup."

She raised an eyebrow as he started to count with his fingers.

"First there's that fucking airhead who has a beef with me for some weird ass reason. I didn't stare at her long enough to study her shadow, but I can tell with a simple glare there's something wrong with her."

Tsubaki snorted. "I used to think of her as no better than a sword seeing as how obsessed she was with strength, to the point it was only a matter of time before she broke; both emotionally and physically." She voiced. "Also, could you please high-five me already? My arm is getting tired."

Hephaestus nodded as Drake ignored his friend. "And I recall her killing Evilus members without any hesitation as if they were Monsters. Don't get me wrong, they were a menace… but the way she disposed of them, and how she acted afterward just seemed… wrong."

"Too bad I don't care an inch of what goes on in her mind," both Goddess and Blacksmith sweat dropped at his brutal honesty. "Moving on, the Sororicide sisters," both raised an eyebrow at his words, thinking about who exactly would fit their criteria; it wasn't until they remembered the lineup of the current expedition team from Loki Familia that they realized whom he was talking about.

"… fucking Kali," Hephaestus commented, realizing both Tiona and Tione were from Telskyura, the land of the Amazon; where the Goddess Kali had 'enforced' the whole thing about killing your own kin to grow stronger.

"Kali?" Drake asked, with a hint of similarity in his tone that the Goddess recognized as familiarity.

"Heard of her?" She asked, seeing as Drake's knowledge of Gods was limited only to those that were situated in Orario, and those who used to be part of the Dungeon City..

"No. It's just I used to know a Kali,"

Zelos snorted in his soul. 'Right, Kali Belladonna, everyone's to go Milf' Sadly, he was right, as there were some mutters of agreement among the Guardians, Drake included.

"Then there's the Elves' royal stuck-up princess."

They looked confused at him. "Nine Hells?" They then looked at each other.

"Are you sure about that?" Tsubaki asked. "Because as much as I agree with the stuck-up part, Riveria isn't weak of mind nor does she have any sort of trauma or fear the Centurion can take advantage of… also, dude, please, my arm."

He snorted as he ignored her again. "Believe me, she does." He dropped his hand. "I am just thankful Loga isn't going, otherwise it would be like adding fuel to a fucking fire." He stared at Hephaestus, "Thanks for the heads up, I will head down to the Great Fall right away," he looked at Tsubaki, narrowing his eyes at her pleasing face; her arm was trembling as she tried her best to keep it up.

But in the end, he high-fived out of spite. "I am gonna drop at your place for the night," Hephaestus raised an eyebrow, not seeing the reason as to why he would do that.

"What about the Hostess?" Tsubaki asked, moving her shoulder to get rid of the soreness, just realizing the blonde was scowling at her; she knew it was related to the thing with Rose.

"Zelos speaks a lot of shit about how he defines and understands women. But if there's something I will never argue against him, is that they all know when someone's had-"

"I get it," Tsubaki stated, interrupting him in a calm manner; but in reality, she was panicking, remembering that the other person in their little meeting; the one other person besides that Elf that had… 'something' for the blonde. "Say no more, I will have Ranko and the rest prepare an extra futon."

"Because I don't want to deal with the gossip of the whole staff; so I am going to wait for the glow to die down and the coast to clear… what?" he asked, noticing the blacksmith had suddenly stood frozen with a neutral face. "… what did you do?"

She didn't reply.

Instead, she recalled the moment at the Hostess before her Goddess arrived, Ryuu Lyon had finally figured out what was happening to Rose Fannett, and the role Drake was playing to help her. But the Elf wasn't the problem, it was the waitress that told her what was happening who worried her.

"… You might want to start living at my place if you want to avoid the walk of shame…"

"… How?" he asked, already figuring out that everyone in the Hostess knew somehow.

"In a nutshell; Syr Flova knows."

Drake lost all hope at that moment, seeing as the person with the biggest mouth in the Hostess would surely tell everyone; in a very indirect and 'innocent' way, obviously.

"…Fucking Syr," he rubbed the side of his head before he stared in her direction for a second, only to then turn around and walk away. "I will cross that bridge when the time comes, good luck," Tsubaki raised an eyebrow, ready to ask him why he say that. Only to stop the moment she felt her Goddess putting a LOT of pressure on her shoulder.

"Tsubaki," yup, for a minute she had forgotten about her Goddess. "You are gonna tell me about the Wind Centurion," she felt a tighter grip on her shoulder. By this point, Tsubaki didn't need to look back to know Hephaestus had either a serious, yet murderous look towards her. "And you are gonna tell me what exactly happened yesterday, and what exactly your role in IT was."

Hephaestus managed to connect all of the dots, finally concluding that the difference she noticed from Drake early was the 'glow'. And she didn't like one bit the fact that Tsubaki had a hand in that.

"Oh brother," Tsubaki moaned, knowing full well this was karma for the incident with Ryuu in the Hostess. "And fuck you, Syr."

---

"You are a dick," Tsubaki said, watching the ceiling of her room before looking to the side at the open futon of the room as she recalled the look Hephaestus gave her when she found out she set Drake up to 'help' Rose out; she looked at her child as if she was walking trash. "You know that, right?"

"I have one, yes," he replied uncaringly, keeping his eyes closed as he tried to sleep.

"… I get it if you are angry about the whole Hostess thing." Drake groaned. "Hey, you are the one that said you could go a full month without eating or sleeping,"

"If I was focused and didn't think about it," he sighed. "Now I am in a Futon after eating dinner for three people,"

"My food stock is nearly empty thanks to you,"

"I will buy groceries tomorrow." Tsubaki snorted at his comment.

"Thanks, dear," he groaned. "Speaking seriously though… you seemed stressed," he opened his eyes, staring at the same ceiling as her. "I know it's not from dealing with something you consider stupid shit like Freya, Loki, Soma, or Aeshma-"

"Or your commission requests," she snorted before taking a moment to ponder.

"… I didn't notice it right away… but you have been stressed ever since you found out about Ratatosk and Adam being here."

"And pray tell, what makes you believe that?"

She turned her head at him again. "Because you are the one that was always thinking about what's important, even if it is was until I saw you yesterday in the Dungeon after being there a full week that I remembered you could be obsessive with the task at hand. And I doubt your brothers wouldn't have let you do that if they had some control over how they manifest in the physical plane"

'We tried,' they replied.

She looked back at the ceiling. "So… when I saw Rose I thought about killing two stones with a single stone; She metaphorically 'gets some help, and you got some stress relief."

There was a single humming coming from the blonde, opting to sigh in defeat before revealing what he had tried to avoid mentioning. "… I am afraid only one of us got the one end of that deal."

Tsubaki blinked. and blinked, and so she did for a full minute before she sat on her bed, looking at him, revealing her loose hair and even looser yukata. "…Rose Fannett was a bad laid."

Drake mentally groaned, as did many of the brothers while Zelos laughed.

"That fucking redhead said the same thing," Drake thought out loud, making Tsubaki remember something else the moment he referenced Zelos.

"Wait, did they-"

"They didn't watch," he turned his head as he replied, shutting her up. "Nor did I tell them."

"Then ho-"

"Apparently I have a sex-log… don't ask."

"…" Tsubaki just stared as he averted his eyes for obvious reasons, only to call out the name of the only Guardian she knew besides Drake. "Hey, Guy? Mind giving me a copy of it? Thanks in advance."

His eye twitched as he scowled. "Don't you dare," he thought out loud, clearly telling this to Guy as the Sixth Guardian was clearly gonna do that.

"… Was it your Aura?" Tsubaki asked, pondering out loud as placed her chin over her hand to punt a thinking pose. "It's the only thing I can think of seeing how even Adventurers of Level Three and above have problems with stimulation due to how high their Status is."

"…" he sighed in defeat. "Apparently I developed a second layer of dragon-like skin under my normal one-"

"Making it almost impossible for you to feel anything, got it…" she said, staying in the same pose for a moment before her eyes glinted for a second; as if an epiphany had just reached her mind. However, she didn't say anything, and instead simply laid back on her futon before digging herself into her covers. "Good night, Drake."

The blonde just stared at her with a raised eyebrow, seeing as she suddenly decided to drop the subject; somehow giving him an ominous feeling for the things to come in his future. But alas, at least he was thankful he wouldn't have to speak his dragon-like demeanor during sex.

UNGA BUNGA

He pushed the thought about, closing his eyes as he finally tried to sleep… "Origin, damn it," only to realize he couldn't.

"Can't sleep?" she snorted with her eyes closed.

"Don't you fucking start with me," he said, also with his eyes closed.

"Wanna talk about anything that isn't your sex life until we fall asleep?" she asked humorously, making him chuckle in return.

"Can we actually?" His voice had incredulity and sarcasm.

"Sure… what are you going to do about my Goddess and that Elf?"

His eyes twitched. "Fucking really, Baki!?"

"Hey, Sex and Love aren't the same thing, get your facts together, bitch."

"Oh, tell that to that silver-haired whore on the top of Babel."

Both snorted.

"… Seriously though; what are you going to do about it? Ryuu is one thing, but my Goddess is a completely different matter to me."

He sighed. "I know… and I am pretty sure you realize I have no experience, nor am I really looking into getting any sort of relationship?"

"Yup," she did. "But you are gonna have to put a foot forward into making that clear to both of them… even though I know it's gonna end up in tears and depression for both of them… but better than having them going on around without giving them a clear answer."

'Basically every Harem anime ever,' Guy mentally commented.

'So based,' Zelos commented.

"I know… I already had a similar conversation with my brothers about this; I still can't understand to this point what part of me made them fall in love with me of all people… it makes me believe there's actually something wrong with them seeing I am an overall asshole," Tsubaki laughed softly as he continued.

"I get Hephaestus to some level; I called her beautiful and gave her two of-a-kind outworldly hammers… so I only have to blame myself for that one… but Ryuu thought… I can't figure out what is making her attracted to me," he said, still with his closed eyes while Tsubaki opened her eye to stare at the ceiling with a bland face, recalling her whole conversation with the Elf yesterday. "Was it her seeing me naked? Because that is the only thing I can think of that could have triggered the initial flag." She listened, opting to stare and stare at the ceiling while her expression became even more monotonous; she didn't have it in her to sell out the Elf, especially since her reasoning was so fucking childish; if not downright stupid.

"… But I know I am gonna have to burn those fucking bridges eventually," he sighed, managing to get a little sleepy as he yawned. "… Wait… I know how you figured out Hephaestus, but I am sure I never mentioned Ryuu besides Lunor ratting her up about the whole seeing me naked incident," he recalled the event, seeing as Tsubaki spit his food on him when Lunor sold the Elf out.

"What do you think happened with the Centurion of Ice?" she asked suddenly, changing the subject as she closed her eyes; hoping Drake wouldn't notice this since he was feeling tired, and that was indeed the case.

"… No idea," he muttered. "We weren't there when the fight stopped, and there's only so much I can take into account from those clowns. For all I know, the Centurion might have managed to move to another Floor somehow and then entered a state of deep sleep to hide its overall presence," he yawned again. "But honestly, better that than Loki Familia getting their hands on it, the domino effect that could cause is only detrimental to them in the long run."

"Would it really be that bad?" she asked, just as he turned around and fixed his pillow's position.

"The worst 'Bad' you can think of," one final yawn. "But we did warn them; even if the overall context was missing. Hopefully, if they do manage to take it, they will notice something weird going on and make the connection that it is the Centurion and bring it to me… hopefully."

And so, Drake Aurion fell asleep, making Tsubaki sigh in relief as she opted to do the same; hoping Loki Familia didn't take the damn thing while at the same time wishing someone like Riveria will be able to notice and make the right choice when shit hits the fan.

Spoiler alert; she didn't.

---

Once upon a time, a Princess was born.

'…what?' a certain High Elf thought realizing her eyes were closed, but still heard a grandiose, yet loud and powerful voice speaking awfully close to her.

She tried to open her eyes, but for some odd reason, she couldn't.

"It's a girl, Your Highness!" someone whose voice she didn't recognize said, but she did recognize the next one as her eyes opened slowly, making her vision blurry.

"I see," if her eyes could open any wider, they would have; because she never expected to hear her father's voice. Her confirmation came as her vision finally saw the vivid image of her ever-scowling father; Larfal Ljos Alf. "Her name will be Riveria, Riveria Ljos Alf; The greatest Elf Queen of all times."

'… This has to be a nightmare.'

And so, from birth, heavy expectations were put on poor Riveria.

The Elf's vision suddenly changed, various times as a matter of time; going through the years as she recalled her life, at least the boring parts.

General knowledge lessons, magic lessons, archery lessons, etiquette lessons… you got the idea.

Riveria would describe her life as royal as it could be; but seeing it now as an adult, she could feel it was pretty dull, something she wouldn't realize until years later. However, she noticed something as she continued living through her young self's eyes.

'… I should have met Aina around this time,' she thought, recalling the clear image of one Aina Tulle, who had yet to appear in this nightmare. But her focus soon changed until she reached her twentieth birthday. 'oh, this day,' she thought dully, standing elegantly in the throne room, staring at her father sitting on the throne.

And as was to be expected, she would be put into a position in which a lot of responsibilities would be placed on her shoulders

"My Daughter," Larfal started, his emotionless face being far more distant than the one she remembered. "You are now of age; which means it's time you start seeing how the glorious kingdom is ruled; from now on, it will be as if you were my own shadow until the day you take your rightful place on this throne in my place."

'And so I did as told, for a lot of years,' she thought, thinking the lifespan of an Elf is a cruel thing if one was forced to do something so monotonous for all those years. 'At least it won't be long before I leave…' her thought lingered, seeing as time passed, and passed, until the promised time didn't pass.

Around this time in her age, Riveria was supposed to leave with Aina to explore the world and become an Adventurer, but that never happened here.

She fulfilled her duties as was expected, to perfection.

She scowled, noting the mocking tone in the voice.

The time had finally come,

Riveria heard, only to widen her eyes as she saw how it looked like she was in the throne room, sitting on the chair that her father should be sitting in, '… No.'

"All hail Queen Riveria Ljos Alf," Riveria mentally shook her head as she saw everyone in the throne room having an emotionless self, just like hers, kneeling in her direction while she just stared. "May her reign be long and great!"

She had become Queen.

Attending her duties as it was to be expected.

Managing the kingdom.

Things seemed to speed up, seeing quick changes in her vision as she listened to the needs of her people, attended councils, and checked each of the developments of the kingdom… no longer able to have any free time for herself; studying Magic, speaking with Aina, or any other of her few hobbies she used to do to escape the chains that entangled her so-called life.

Securing the future of her kingdom.

Her eyes mentally widened, instantly understanding the meaning of those words as she suddenly stood on one side of an altar. She could see the elegant and refined lobby, clearly with no expenses being too much for the occasion at hand. And yet, Riveria couldn't help but mentally pale as she saw the other side of the altar. It was a well-looking High Elf that somehow reminded her of Hedin; which was the only positive thing about all of this, seeing how she didn't feel any kind of connection to the man in front of her. But she supposed it was only natural to have a wedding to form a strong relationship for the kingdom's sake.

But as Riveria the Adventurer, this annoyed her greatly. But it also terrified her, and even more so when the scene changed once more to her suddenly looking down, holding an infant baby Elf with her features in her arms. Suddenly, every joke Loki and the rest of the Familia made about her calling her mama or any remark about having an heir terrified her now. Because just like her so-called husband, she couldn't feel anything towards the young creature in her arms.

"Allow us, Lady Riveria," one of the servants in the room took the baby for her, and it was only to be expected, she couldn't move or say anything. If that child's early years and future would be like hers, she knew tutors, servants and other members that served the royal family would be in charge of the education, making it so she wouldn't witness any of the child's growth over the years.

And then, her life as Queen just continued…

'… please stop,' Riveria begged after a while. Because things just entered a very monotonous phase, repeating the same routine over, and over, and over again; going through the years as it seemed like the throne room and every other place in the palace turned darker with every single passing day.

She tried to move her own body again, trying to find a way to escape this nightmare. She felt restrained, not only in not having any control of her body but being forced to do what was expected of her.

'I don't want this!' she shouted, managing to twitch her fingers a little, giving her a sense of hope as she struggled and struggled until she was finally able to finally stand up from the throne, only for her eyes to widen as she looked at the throne room; completely empty, and almost devoid of any light… with the exception of the bright exit at the end of the hall.

She didn't waste time, walking through the empty room with her objective clear in mind. However, it would not be so easy.

A Queen must be rigid.

Her steps grew hesitant for a moment at the sound of the voice, but she forced herself to continue.

Always ready to see to the needs of her people.

She speeded up, feeling a sense of dread coming from behind her; and she was right.

Ready to tend to their every need, even if that means sacrificing her own freedom.

Her eyes widened as she felt chains wrapping around her hands, legs, and neck.

A Queen has no right to have petty distractions.

He tried to fight back, but even with her Level Six Status… 'No… this body never received a Falna,' Riveria's eyes widened, realizing once more that this version of her never left the kingdom; which meant meeting Loki and Finn and joining Loki Familia, receiving her blessing, partially freeing herself from her royal status and obligation if only for a while… a free Riveria… unlike this one, that never happened.

Always so perfect,

She shouted and struggled, seeing as the chains pulled her back with more force before forcing her to sit back on the throne. 'No, this can't end like this!' But it did, as she felt losing control of her body once more; feeling as her own facial expression returned to her royal one, while her neck and limbs were chained to the throne, as well.

Always so stoic,

'No!' her shouts remained unheard of as she noticed the door at the end of the room started closing, making her experience true despair once more. 'Nooooooo!'

Like all good Queens.

The door closed, leaving her alone in the darkness, chained to the throne room; bound to her destiny as a Queen until the end of her life without a chance to escape it… Until the end of her long, long Elf life…

Too weak to change her fate.

---

Riveria Ljos Alf snapped her eyes open, sitting on her bed with a jumpstart while panting before looking around.

She was in her room inside the Twilling Manor, not back at the palace. She sighed in relief, running her arm through her forehead to wipe off her sweat.

"…" she pondered for a moment, thinking the nightmare she just had felt way too real as she touched her neck; she still felt as if she had almost been strangled by them.

She leaned back on her bed, taking a deep breath before closing her eyes to try to sleep… she couldn't.

---

"You look like shit," Riveria internally growled as she sat around a table in the dining hall. She usually wouldn't even do gestures like that, not even in her mind; but this was a difficult situation for her. "I am not in the mood for banter, Dwarf. So please, be quiet."

"… Huh," he sat beside her, Riveria not looking at him as she had her forehead resting on her palm while her elbow was placed on the table; to anyone who didn't know her, it would look as if she was going through a hangover. "What do you know… it is one of those times we agree on something."

Riveria noticed it, the same tone of tiredness as hers. She lifted her head, widening her eyes to see the usual cheerful… loud Dwarf with a tired expression on his face; bags under his eyes, and extra wrinkles that made him seem older… just like her.

'You look like shit, he says' she snorted, seeing they were in the same boat. "Bad night?" she asked, noticing the Dwarf was drinking a cup of black coffee; he never drank coffee.

"Bloody nightmares," he replied before taking a sip, groaning at the taste, but still gulping it down.

"Huh… me too," they sat in silence, not paying attention to anything in particular as many fellow Adventurers of their Familia ate and spoke with one another. "Your nightmare, what was it about?"

Gareth growled a little. "Don't wanna talk about it," the side of her mouth moved upward.

"Oh, and here I thought we were past caring for embarrassing things,"

"Says the Elf that's almost a century old," he didn't need to look her way to see her smirk twitching. "Also, it's not embarrassing… I just don't want to recall it…"

"Neither do I want to recall mine…" there was another moment of silence between the two… right before they each shared their nightmares.

---

There was once a Dwarf; young and energetic.

'… Say what now?' Gareth asked, seeing a younger version of himself just standing there in front of him. He tried to move, but when he did, he realized he had no body at all. '… again, what?'

He was dutiful in his task, going day after day into the mine; just like everyone around him.

'… I forgot how repetitive this was,' he commented, seeing as his younger self worked in the mines every day, went to a bar, got drunk, woke up with a hangover, and then repeated the whole ordeal… but there was something odd about this. '… Why am I just working at the mines?'

And he continued like that for the rest of his life

His younger version started to become older every day in the mine, using his pickaxe over, over, and over again, until the version of himself he saw looked even older than the current him.

'This isn't how it went, you pompous bastard!' Gareth shouted, recalling his meeting with Loki, Finn, and Riveria before his recruitment to the Loki Familia, but his voice went to deaf ears as the narrator continued.

He lived a simple life; free of any excitement or adventure. Like any other normal person.

'Wait!' he shouted to his older self, seeing as he went deeper into the mine; away from the entrance; the chance to get out of the mine. 'Turn around you fool!' but he didn't listen.

If only he hadn't been so weak.

---

"Mine was worst/ Mine was worst," they glared at each other after finishing retelling their respective nightmare.

"Yours was short and simple," Riveria stated. "I had to live every single day without being able to do anything for years! Only to then be chained to my own throne."

"Oh, cry me a river, Elf! You didn't have to see how you grew old and decrepit, unlike me!"

Their arguing continued; it was usual for those two, but never this loud.

"Excuse me," someone voiced, making both of the Executives snap their heads to the side to see a black-haired cat girl wearing a black and white outfit approaching them.

"Morning, lass", Gareth greeted Anakitty Autumn, who looked almost as bad as all of them. "Rough morning?"

"More like a bad night," she sighed. "Wasn't able to sleep much last night," she looked at the dining hall. "And it seems we are not the only ones…" the Executives looked at the many tables; the dining hall was usually full of arguing, barking, laughs, and so on, with a great number of Adventurers of their Familia composing this daily event… but now, not only were there few people in the hall, but it also seemed as all of them were void of energy, with big bags visible under their eyes.

"Anyway," the cat person looked at them. "I was wondering if you could… how do I put it…" she started, only to fail as she tried to find the right words without sounding too rude towards her superiors; too bad Gareth seemed to know what she was thinking.

"You want us old timers to pipe down a bit," Gareth stated, making Anakitty flinch as one of Riveria's eye twitched. "Sure thing, lass… honestly, I don't have much energy myself, either." He sighed. "Do carry on."

"So sorry!" Anakitty rapidly bowed, not wanting to stay any second longer under Riveria's glare due to the mere reference of her age; even if she didn't say anything about it in the first place. "I guess all of us are just having a bad time."

Something snapped in the mind of the two executives at that moment; recalling the ignored warning they received in the Dungeon from the unknown blonde and his black-haired friend.

"… Anakitty," she flinched; the High Elf called her name just as she had started walking away.

"… Your nightmare, what was it about?" Gareth raised an eyebrow as the girl turned at them with a confused look on her face before she slowly started to frown.

"… The Dungeon," she voiced. It was normal for Adventurers to have nightmares of the Dungeon; saying some even developed a trauma to certain places in there was an understatement. "A big party in which I was a part of started to dive in, everything seemed to be fine until I noticed that one by one my fellow teammates started to disappear as we kept diving more and more… until only I was left, alone in the dark; unable to do anything at all."

"Sorry, lass. But I have to ask… your nightmare, was there an arrogant and pompous narrator telling you what was going on?"

Her eyes slightly widened as she nodded. "How-!" she shut her mouth as both suddenly stood up from their seats.

"Go and ask the rest if they had the same experience," Riveria commanded, leaving Anakitty dumbfounded as she nodded. "I am gonna get Loki, you check on Finn."

Gareth nodded as they had the same train of thought; Once Is Chance, Twice is Coincidence, and Third Time's A Pattern.

"We are under attack," Riveria stated, rushing out of the dining hall in search of her Goddess.

---

There was once a young Amazon that lived on a secluded island nation.

'… Not this shit again.' Tione Hyrute commented, seeing as she was having one of those dreams during her time in Telskyura; the Amazon nation… she couldn't help but snort at calling that place as such… it was more like a wild zoo in her mind.

Like many others, she was forced into their doctrine where only the strong live,

Tione flinched, seeing as she suddenly saw her younger self killing one of her own kin, a room sister with whom she shared the same room along with Tiona… She didn't even remember her name now after so many years.

And the weak serve as cattle for the strong.

Tione flinched at the voice, just noticing its presence as her younger self looked up at a part of the stadium that was used for their tradition of killing one another; looking with disdain at a red-haired masked child of a Goddess, Kali.

The young Amazon hated her Goddess more than anyone,

Tione bit her lower lip, as did her younger self while looking down at the ground after noticing the Goddess giving a maniacal grin.

But even so, she couldn't go against the Goddess' divine will, just like no one else could.

The scene suddenly changed, to her killing another sister, and then another, and another-

And another… and so it went on and on for years,

'… That isn't right,' she said, noticing her younger self became older as the fights in the coliseum continued, to the point her counterpart even looked as old as her current self. 'Tiona should have…Wait, where is Tiona?' she asked, realizing she had yet to see her sister in the dreams. By now, the nightmare would have been over, or Tiona would defy Kali's order and ask for their excommunication… but nothing.

Until she was finally one of the strongest Amazon in Telskyura.

Her eyes widened, seeing a now older self of her wearing a cloth which covered the lower part of her face; reminding her of Bache. Her older self looked back at Kali, long gone were the resentment held in her eyes; now showing only an emptiness so big that made Tione her realize this version of her had accepted the fate Kali had set for her and her sister.

Tione Hyrute stared at the mad grin her former Goddess gave her as she raised her thumb to the side; it was a verdict, life or death… and it was at that moment that she saw whom her older self was holding by the throat.

'… No… no, no, no,' her features were also older, but she would always recognize her sister. She tried to approach her other self, only to walk through her as Kali gave the thumbs down while the crowd's shouts became louder. 'STOP! STOP! DAMN!' she saw how her sister's face started to become blue as she struggled to get free of her older self's grip. 'PLEASE! I BEG YOU, ST-'

*CRACK*

'… ah,' Tione fell on her knees as did her sister's lifeless body; watching with teary eyes as the crowd cheered on. "aaaaah,"

And so, she went on through the years, unchanging.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH" Tione screamed in grief and rage at her sister's fallen body, all while the crowd's joy and the mocking voice continued.

If only she hadn't been too WEAK to change her own fate.

---

There was once a young Hero.

'Oh, neat.' Tiona exclaimed, figuring out it was only a dream despite how conscious she was being.

She watched as an armored hero of slim complexion walked through a straight path; with no multiple paths to choose from branching off until the Hero reached a village that was being attacked by Monsters.

Tiona saw as the Hero easily dealt with the monsters with ease, only to then raise his sword as a sign of victory as the crowd surrounded the Hero to idolize and admire him for his heroic act.

The Hero was praised by the people, thanking him for saving their lives.

The younger Amazon saw as the Hero was illuminated by a light, centering on him as if he was on a stage and he was the center of attention as praises continued. However, there was something Tiona noticed; a group of people that weren't cheering, but instead crying in the background as they held the dead body of a child; most likely their child or relative.

But not only that, there were many others mourning on the side for a dead relative or a loved one, or the state of their homes. She looked back at the Hero, waiting for them to come and try to comfort them, but that didn't happen.

The Hero moved on, continuing their Adventure. Leaving the people of the village to continue on with their lives.

Tiona frowned, seeing how the Hero was supposed to make the story and the people in it better, but this one seemed-

The Hero focused on his own Adventure, going at his own pace to follow the plot of the story. Always with an eye on the goal, and always arriving at the last moment for the sake of the story.

'… Huh,' Tiona exclaimed, seeing there wasn't technically any mistake in what the voice said, even though it could have been worded better.

She continued watching the Hero's journey; seeing how he arrived at a city or town, slayed the Monster, then to be praised while there was a mob in the background faced with only disgrace for the events that befell them. The worst part of it all being that with every place he saved, the mobs and the tragedies seemed to become bigger while the Hero just smiled as he advanced, even ignoring their current state as their armor and part of their lower face were stained with blood.

"This is wrong!" Tiona exclaimed, approaching the Hero. "You are supposed to save the day and give hope to the people, not being a praise-attention asshole! Don't you see all the people that you are leaving behind in a poor state!?"

The Hero stopped after Tiona stood in their way, just as the narrator continued.

Because this is reality.

Tiona's eyes widened, and the voice's statement was almost as if it was directly talking to her.

Arriving at the last minute to save the day means that people already suffered before the Hero's arrival. All so the Hero could make a fashionable late entrance.

The scene changes around her, showing Tiona once again scenes of those suffering because of the already stated fact.

Heroes have no care about the consequences of their actions, being hot-headed at that call of Adventure without any care for any collateral damage.

Another well-known scene was shown, the Hero fighting a big monster inside of a city, causing more destruction by trying to kill the monster than the destruction the beast itself created before the Hero's arrival.

And not focusing on background characters…

The suffering of those the Hero overlooked showed now, making her shake her head stubbornly.

Because only the goal is important to them, and looking back to ignore and refuse to never address their mistakes is something Hero stories always overlook in the end… as if running away from HER problems

Tiona's eyes widened as the Hero took out… her helmet, her smile never leaving the Hero's face as she saw herself being that Hero she had followed.

"… What?" Tiona asked before the Hero gave a side step to look over her shoulder while the Amazon looked past her, her eyes widened in horror as she saw the trail the Hero walked through was now filled with the bodies of dead Amazons that were oddly familiar to her.

Just like a certain little Amazon,

Tiona looked at the Hero wearing her face with terrified eyes as she saw the wanna-be Hero had a cheery smile on her face, one that she usually wore while reading Hero stories.

Who refused to face reality by finding an escape in a children's book, opting to ignore the bloody path she walked through.

It was at that moment she realized; the bodies belonged to the room sisters she had killed in the past; discarding their deaths for her own life as if they were nothing.

She might have made it so she and her dear older sister could escape their Goddess' divine will.

She shook her head, remembering every fight she went through. That time, she had a smile on her face due to her reading the story of the Argonaut… now, now she felt like throwing up as the voice continued to mock her.

But she never got it in her to face the reality of her actions, because she was too weak to do it.

---

"I take it all of you had nightmares, as well," Riveria voiced, sitting in the infirmary as she looked at Raul and the Amazon sisters, all of them sitting on their beds with faces that seemed like a part of them had just died.

"I dreamed of the dark days… about Noir and the others," Raul said, neither of the Amazon sisters ever knew the old Loki Familia members, but they must have been too important if all the Executives, even Loki, had a scowl on their faces. "And there was also that stupid voice, mocking me." He gripped his sheets in frustration.

"What about you two?" Gareth asked the Amazon sisters, not daring to look at their faces due to their past; limiting themselves only to nodding to indicate they also had several similar experiences.

"Don't worry," everyone looked toward Finn, who had a rather somber look on his face. He was currently sitting on a chair, with his elbows resting on his knees while his hands remained intertwined to hide his nose; giving him a rather imposing look that not even Tione would dare to interrupt him if she were in the mood to do so. "They are more than free to hide what bothers them."

He was speaking from experience of course; because even he went through a similar nightmare. By the time Gareth had reached the Pallum's quarters, he had a look on his face that might have killed someone, if looks alone were enough for that..

"Are you sure you didn't feel any kind of power coming from the cone-like object?" Finn asked, looking at Loki as she held the mentioned artifact.

"Nope, not a single thing. And I would say the reason I was not affected by this thing is because I am a Goddess" She replied with a rather serious expression before looking at them. "You say this might be causing your bad dreams seeing you were warned about it by those douches… but have you thought that maybe they might be doing this?"

"That crossed my mind," everyone focused on Riveria. "I may have not gotten seen or gotten a read of the other members of his group. However, I can at least say that he doesn't seem like the type of person who would waste their time on a bad-taste prank that Loki or Hermes would do; especially since he doesn't want to have anything to do with us for obvious reasons." She threw a look at Finn and then at the still-resting Ais.

Loki glared at her due to being called out. "Oi. Don't compare me to that over-glorified Fanboy." even if the royal Elf was right about this being something she would do to someone she didn't like, comparing her to Hermes really hurt.

"I agree with Riveria," Finn stated. "Especially since they believe we don't have this artifact." He looked at Loki. "He and his friend went through the trouble to go all the way to the Twenty-Seventh Floor to look for this, and then couldn't find it because they couldn't sense it, just like you. Supposing it is important, they wouldn't let us keep it if they knew we had it."

"… tch," had it been any other day, they would have sweat dropped at the Goddess' attitude. But this was not the day for that. "Let's wait one more day. If this happens again, I will personally go to the Hostess of Fertility to discuss this with him and get to the bottom of this."

"I will go with you," Riveria's eye twitched as everyone looked in the same direction to see Ais, well-rested, sitting on her bed with a scowl on her face; a scowl that quickly faded thanks to the aura of pure authority that Riveria was leaking.

"So you can go and try to kill him again?" Riveria asked, no, accused her.

"… they attacked me, as well," Ais replied, after thinking hard on what to say to get rid of Riveria's scolding-like anger.

"No, only one of them did while you tried to attack his friend…while he was distracted," Riveria sighed. "By all accounts, his friends' actions were in self-defense."

"…" Ais remained quiet, not being able to find a solid argument.

"I understand you have your issues regarding him," the Royal Elf replied, not wanting to hint at Ais' connection to the One-Eyed Black Dragon. "But you can't go on attacking someone based solely on a suspicion, alone. Especially when you throw the first punch; how do you think that would leave our Familia?"

"… so… I have to make him attack me first," silence took over for a moment before a short snort escaped Tiona's mouth.

"Hey, if that's all it takes to have a reason to attack those assholes, I am game." Tione added herself to the conversation, making the older Adventurers sigh; especially since Loki seemed to agree with that line of thinking.

"No one is going to blindly provoke anyone," Finn said with a sigh, ignoring Loki's growl. "As I said, I would go alone," he looked at Ais for a moment to make his point clear. "in the case this repeats itself." He stood up from his chair and started walking out of the room, soon followed by Loki. "I suggest you all take it easy today and get some rest."

Gareth snorted. "Easier said than done. I have to go see Tsubaki regarding my Ax." He sighed, recalling his actual weapon was now unusable; meaning, he needed a new one, and that cost Valis; lots of it.

"And it looks like Ais and I will have to go through some water training," Riveria said, making Ais pale as she started to sweat; this was clearly punishment for what she pulled into the Dungeon.

"We'll take it easy, then," Tione laid back on her bed. "I am just grateful Bete is still unconscious. Thank the gods for that, otherwise, I might as well just kill him myself if he started with his 'weakling' bullshit."

Nobody said anything but agreed regardless as everyone focused on their own things.

---

"I am sorry, Gareth-sama," Gareth received a bow from Tsubaki's head maid as he stood at the entrance. "But Tsubaki-sama is currently in her forge along with Hephaestus-sama."

The Dwarf snorted. "Guess they must be doing something good if the Goddess of the Forge is there as well," he instantly noticed a twitch in the eye of the ever-stoic maid. "Or maybe not." He sighed. "I am here because of this," he gestured at his frozen Ax; with pieces of it crumbling to the ground as they spoke. "I don't care if I have to wait… as a matter of fact I could even get some shut-eye while I wait."

"Rough night," she nodded, instructing him to follow her.

"Is it that obvious?" he snorted. "Yes… you could say that's the case," he walked through the Far East-style mansion, having a look at the backyard to see Tsubaki's forge in the distance, and… for some odd reason, the Level Six Adventurer felt a familiar chill run down his spine as he felt a cold air coming all the way from the forge.

"What did you say they were doing in the forge?" Gareth stopped, not being able to get off the feeling of being again on the Twenty-Seventh floor for some reason.

"I didn't," Ranko stopped, turning to the side to also stare at the forge. "One of Tsubaki-sama's friends obtained some rare items in the Dungeon. So she and Hephaestus-sama… experimenting with them… however…"

Gareth looked at the Head Maid, noticing her face twitching an awful lot. "However?"

Whatever reply was about to come out her mouth was interrupted by a sudden explosion of cold wind that came out of the Forge; destroying the door right before Tsubaki came out running out of there with her Goddess over her shoulders to escape… "Is that snow coming out of a forge?" he asked, just as Ranko whistled loud enough for the whole Mansion to hear. Soon after, all of the maids came out running with blankets and things to keep someone as warm as possible. "I take it this is not the first time this happens,"

"Third time today." she said before walking to the backyard, leaving Gareth dumb-founded.

"But it's just noon!" His surprise went to deaf ears when he saw Tsubaki and Hephaestus bickering at each other while they rubbed their own shoulders; they were trembling due to the cold.

"I told you not to smash the Crystal!" the Goddess scolded her Child, as she was suddenly covered by half a dozen blankets.

"Says the deity that did it the previous time!"

"That's why I told you not to do it!"

Ranko approached them, clearing her throat to interrupt them. They looked at her, gesturing at the mansion to then see Gareth with a tired expression.

"So much for getting some rest away from home."

---

"So, problems in the Forge?" Gareth asked with a snort, seeing as he, Tsubaki, and her Goddess were sitting around a kotatsu; with both of the Hephaestus Familia members sitting opposite of the other r; it almost looked to him as if they were throwing daggers at each other with their eyes.

"Tsubaki here is being rather stubborn in how to approach the new materials we recently acquired," the Goddess stated, having several blankets covering her while she held a cup of hot coffee with both hands.

"I wouldn't be stubborn if the person on the other side of the kotatsu had anything useful to add. But she's as lost as I am, so I decided to improvise."

"By doing something I already did and proved disastrous?" Gareth mentally laughed, easily detecting the tone of sass coming out of the Goddess. "I am begging to remember why people call you unhinged."

The Adventurer from Loki Familia took a sip of green tea, enjoying this more than he should. He would usually see something similar from Loki and Riveria, the latter always winning the argument, but it was still hilarious.

Drake had warned Tsubaki not to manipulate the Ice Dust Crystals he obtained from The Great Fall, due to her not knowing how to handle the material. He said they would find a way to work around it, seeing as they once again lacked the right tools to manipulate it.

However, when she had told Hephaestus about it, the Goddess wanted to see the Crystals and the rest of the drop items Drake acquired. After that, one thing led to another, to the point they tried to understand and manipulate the crystals on their own; the results were, of course, a disaster.

"… we should have waited for him to return," Tsubaki said, looking away knowing her Goddess was giving her a judgmental look.

"Oh, you don't say." Hephaestus sighed, calming down as she slightly trembled before looking at Gareth. "Sorry, you had to witness that Gareth, although I am sure you see this daily with Loki as your Goddess."

"You would be right about that, Goddess." He snorted before looking at Tsubaki, who raised an eyebrow knowing this was not a social visit. "Can you repair that?" both looked behind him to see an Ax that was barely holding itself-

*CRACK*

Scratch that, it had been barely holding itself.

"… why do you ask questions whose answers are as clear as day?" Gareth sighed at Tsubaki's sarcasm.

"Because I know the bill for a new one won't be cheap," Tsubaki sighed, feeling a little bad for the old man seeing how tired he was. Sadly, that didn't pay the bills.

"Be right back," The Blacksmith stated, standing up and leaving the room.

"If I may ask," Hephaestus's eye never left the Ax. "Is this related to that unauthorized expedition to the Great Fall?"

Gareth chuckled. "I have no idea what you are talking about, and yes." He replied, seeing no point in lying because, one; she was a Goddess, and two; she already knew about the event. "But I am afraid that's as much as I can tell you." Loki had made it clear that what happened on the Great Fall, stayed between Loki Familia only."

"Fair enough… but if I may say something Gareth, you look awful," Hephaestus said casually, making Gareth sigh as he was about to say something, only to stop as Tsubaki placed something on the table.

"Pay when you can," she stated, walking to her side before taking a seat while Gareth examined the Black Ax with golden ornaments. "My best normal job up to date."

"Really?" Hephaestus sarcastically asked, seeing as Tsubaki couldn't be subtler with her words. However, she had to admit, this was her best work using the normal method of forging before she learned about Drake's Runes and weapons with Aura.

"Talk about record-time," Gareth joked as he held the weapon.

"You wish, I had that thing ready a little after your latest visit," Tsubaki shrugged. "I needed to test a new metal, and you gave me a reason to forge something." The metal in question was the one she got from Udaeus Black Sword; courtesy of Drake. "The only thing lacking to it is the Durandal attribute… unless you want to make it more expen-"

"Pass," Gareth almost barked, but still laughed. "I swear, lass… you have made my day."

"…!" Tsubaki felt her Goddess kicking her under the table, subtly giving her a sign about Gareth. "Now that you mention it… why do you look so down? Usually, you are the image of Dwaren energy… but today you seem like you were acting your age." Gareth's eye twitched before he sighed.

"Just a bad night, lass… and as selfish as it will sound; at least I am not the only one." Gareth chuckled, not noticing right away how tense the two Blacksmiths had become. "Is there anything wrong?" he asked, noticing Hephaestus shaking her head slightly while using her hand to cover her face.

"It's nothing, just remembering how stubborn some people are," she adjusted her composure before smiling at the Dwarf. "Tsubaki, why don't you let Gareth use one of your spare rooms? I am sure a change of environment will serve him well."

The Dwarf was taken aback by the proposition, but even more due to Tsubaki simply nodding in acceptance. "I couldn't possibly-"

"I insist," the Goddess continued. "An Adventurer shouldn't go on their business in such a state; you will meet your end in the Dungeon way sooner than later if you go on in that state."

He couldn't argue against that. "I will be in your care, then." He respectfully said, giving a solemn bow to Tsubaki while the Blacksmiths stared at each other with concern in their faces.

---

"Fucking Loki." The Goddess of the Forge said as she looked at Tsubaki's stash, she really needed a drink just about now.

"I seem to realize you are starting to create a habit out of this," Tsubaki said off handily before handing her Goddess a bottle of sake and a few glasses.

"Whose fault do you think that is?" Hephaestus asked blandly as both thought about a certain blonde they knew. "They have the Centurion." Hephaestus easily concluded as she walked to sit around a table accompanied by Tsubaki.

"Yup. And I don't need your Goddess lying detection app to know that comment about everyone else in his Familia being in the same state."

"I would have expected that damn High Elf at the very least to consider this and give up the damn thing."

Hephaestus snorted as she served herself. "You clearly don't know how stubborn Loki is," she took a shot and said something after groaning due to the taste. "Also, what the hell are apps?"

Tsubaki simply shrugged. "Don't know. Drake just makes that kind of comment whenever the subject of how Gods can detect lies is brought on." She took a shot herself. "So, my guess is you insisted Gareth stay over so he could sleep peacefully, only to return the next day to the Twilight Manor to see everyone still has nightmares."

Hephaestus sighed. "That is only assuming they don't know the Centurion is the one causing them. If they already know and decide not to give in the damn thing… that's out of my hands." She took another shot. "Worst case scenario will be Drake having to retrieve it himself… might as well put him up to date with this… what?" Hephaestus noticed Tsubaki wincing at the mention of Drake.

"That's gonna be difficult… he should be heading into the Dungeon to search for the Centurion again," Tsubaki explained.

"… There's something else that you aren't telling me. Because you could simply go to the Great Fall yourself and tell him."

Tsubaki frowned. "He had been worried about the current situation; The Centurion of Ice… and what happened two weeks ago with the gust of wind that assaulted the city."

Hephaestus scowled, remembering the whole city had suffered from it; only to then find out it was because an unknown party had attained and controlled the Centurion of Wind around the Seventieth Floor…

"… don't tell me," Hephaestus' eye widened in worry, realizing Drake's other self-imposed mission.

"Yup… he's going all the way down to the Seventieth Floor in an attempt to investigate what happened there…" She took a shot, not liking the next part. "And probably confronting Adam about what was going on… the chances of a damn fight are imminent…" she gritted her teeth. "So much for trying to live a new life."

Hephaestus didn't say anything, figuring out that Tsubaki knew more about the story behind Drake and Adam than her… she couldn't deny she was feeling jealous again of her own Child. But It wasn't the time for that.

There was also the fact that Drake was going down to a level in the Dungeon that not even Zeus Familia had explored. But both of them knew what Drake was capable of, so they were more worried about how his actions would affect the Dungeon, and by extension Orario as a whole.

"In the end," Hephaestus served herself and Tsubaki a shot before taking it. "All we can do is wait and hope."

"Yup… hope Loki doesn't manage to make things worse somehow." Tsubaki exclaimed, letting the silence take over for a second before both groaned; knowing things just wouldn't go their way.

---

There was once a Pallum, fed up with his own Race due to how passive they were, due to the abuse they suffered and accepted.

Finn Deinme sighed and looked at the scene in front of him with dead eyes. "Here we go again," he said, seeing it was the same dream as the previous night. "At least I know what to expect."

He was a young boy; smarter, faster, and sharper than the rest, even those older than him.

He didn't feel any attachment to his own blood, going as far as saying he resented them and his own Race for not standing up for themselves.

But that changed one fateful day.

Finn re-lived the memory as the village he was born in was suddenly attacked by Monsters. Ending the life of his parents, who died in a final attempt to protect him.

This act of sacrifice filled the young Pallum with courage. Filling him with the desire to make the Pallum race great again!

The scene changed back to Finn walking on a straight path, now along with Loki; both beaming a confident smile as Riveria and Gareth suddenly tagged along with them.

He had a vision.

Becoming the symbol of HOPE for his race; an inspiration to them all to make them thrive on their own.

But he didn't just inspire his race, but many others as well.

Finn's lips slightly twitched upward for a moment, seeing as little by little he was followed by members that today compose the Loki Familia... but that joy didn't last long; knowing what came next.

But the path wasn't an easy one.

Obstacles started to appear on their paths, in the shape of Monsters and former enemies.

The BRAVE Pallum commanded his forces, leading them to victory to continue on their path.

Finn frowned, knowing the voice would overlook the fallen in the fights that he led. But he didn't, as he focused a little more on all comrades before focusing on his counterpart in the dream. He flinched the first time when he reached this part of the nightmare yesterday, the dark age of Orario; seeing most of the Familia losing their lives in that final battle in which the post of the commander was put on his shoulder, leading many Adventurers, not just from his Familia, to their deaths.

And even the noblest of Heroes is faced with hard choices.

The Nightmare of the twenty-seventh floor; in which he didn't warn the Adventurers in the Dungeon about Evilus' trap and instead used the chance to assault their bases. Of course, many Adventurers died due to his decision, but he lived on.

In the end, he and his own strived on.

This was where the Nightmare ended, with the voice mocking him about so many years and still achieving nothing regarding his dream, calling him weak for using too many people, and a faker with a false smile… but something wasn't right, and it was very apparent the moment the everything around changed to a shade of dark red.

'Ominous much?' he snorted, narrowing his eyes to see his counterpart was gone. He looked around, almost falling in the process. He groaned, only for his eyes to widen as he looked down to see a dead body that he recognized. "Raul!?"

The Level Four Adventurer laid on his back, with his bloody and wounded body and lifeless eyes before he noticed another body next to him, and another, and another, and another… it was a path of bodies; all of the people he had commanded or was currently leading, some weren't even part of his Familia.

But in the end; he hadn't achieved anything up until this day.

Leaving a mountain of corpses that belonged to those he commanded or believed in him behind his back.

The voice wasn't exaggerated, as there was a literal mountain of corpses full of people he knew; Riveria, Gareth, Ais, and even Loki were in there, with his counterpart standing on the top of them all; looking at him with the same fake smile he gave everyone.

But he didn't care for that, continuing on his mission to become a symbol of HOPE, a Hero for his race, a fake, a hypocrite, and someone who would only add more to the mountain to try and grasp for a dream he will never achieve.

Finn clenched his fist and bit his lower lips in frustration, knowing there was nothing to do in the nightmare.

If only he wasn't so weak by accepting he would never achieve anything.

---

"… your nightmare got worse, didn't it?" Finn asked. He was currently resting his elbows on his desk while his hands remained intertwined to hide his nose; long gone were any traces of animosity.

"My own NOT REAL child ran away from his duties; mocking me for being tied to my throne -Both literally and metaphorically- before he went to live his own life," Riveria said with a similar expression as Finn. "I am never having children."

"That would mean you would be the Queen for life," Riveria mentally face palmed, seeing her Goddess was right about that fact. "A long, long, loooooong Elf life." To her credit, Loki was more sarcastic than enthusiastic about it.

"The twins?" Finn asked, successfully killing the mood in the room.

"Locked in their room; I can't tell whatever one or both of them were crying… fucking Kali," she said, knowing whatever nightmare they were going through involved that Goddess somehow.

"And the rest seemed to experience the same thing," Riveria sighed. "The only exception seems to be Ais for some reason; as she didn't experience any nightmare the first and second time."

"Probably related to her heritage," Finn sighed. "And then, there's also Bete; who is still unconscious." He frowned, not knowing whether to be thankful or not about that. Their Werewolf had been like that since his altercation with the blonde's blind friend. They thought he would also suffer from nightmares, but he seemed to be relatively at peace as he remained unconscious.

"Speaking of missing people," Loki said, looking around Finn's office. "Aren't we missing one of our usual suspects?"

Riveria huffed. "Knowing him, he's on his back after drinking so much before falling asle-"

"Morning!" Gareth Landrock barged into the office, making Riveria almost bite her tongue. "… what?" he asked, seeing as they were looking at him confused by how refreshed he looked.

"You… You didn't have any nightmares?" Finn asked incredulously, making Gareth's eyes widen.

"… I had completely forgotten about that," everyone deadpanned at the Dwarf, as he explained he hadn't spent the night at the Twilight Manor. "In the end, I slept better than I ever had in years. Goddess Hephaestus might have been right about the change of environment."

"Huh? What did Phae-Phae say about this place?"

"That you were rather toxic."

Loki's smile widened into a mad grin. "Oh really!? I am gonna give my favorite eyepatch a piece of my mind the next time I see her."

"Let's focus," Finn stated. "At least we can confirm that whatever is happening, it's only affecting the Twilling Manor."

"Or more specifically, the area the artifact we found seems to be affecting." Riveria said, making Loki's eye twitch.

"Now wait a minute! How do we know blondie isn't just casting a spell around the area and Gareth just happened to be out of the spell's range?!"

Sadly, the jokester of a Goddess had a fair point.

"I suppose there's nothing we can do about this," Finn stood up and went for his spear; hopefully he wouldn't be needing it. "I am gonna go and talk to him about this as we discussed yesterday; alone." He directed his glare at Loki, who ended up gritting her teeth.

'Thank Gods Ais wasn't in this meeting.' Finn thought before looking at Gareth and Riveria. "Give the order to everyone to find a place to rest for the day away from here, and a place to spend the night; they will be taking turns to guard the Twilling Manor." Everyone nodded, agreeing in taking advantage of their newfound discovery to rest away from the nightmares.

---

"So, he isn't here?" Finn Deinme asked, making Mia Grande sigh behind the counter.

"For the second time Braver, no." she replied, not having any problem in figuring out whom he was looking for as he came asking for 'the only guy working in a place full of women,' she recalled, refusing to give his name due to Drake's request.

"And may I know where he might be at the moment?" Finn insisted, trying his best to maintain his smile. "I just wanted to have a talk about him regarding something my Familia came across two days ago."

She snorted. "And here I thought you came to apologize for the time you met."

His smile widened. "I think he made it pretty clear he didn't want an apology," Finn pointed out, remembering something else. "And if anything, I should be the one asking for an apology for all the commotion his red-haired friend made a while back."

Mia raised an eyebrow, only to start cracking a minute later as she realized what he was referring to; the whole incident Zelos created about him being a pedophile. "… I don't see how that's my problem," she said with a final laugh before cleaning a tear from her eyes. "As for him. He went back to the Dungeon yesterday. Hopefully, he's not gonna take a full week off work this time."

Finn narrowed his eyes, waiting for Mia to continue. "He returned just yesterday for a while before he headed right back at it straight away."

"Did he tell you why he was Dungeon diving?" Mia just gave Finn the same glare as him, not answering his inquiry. "Mia. It's important, all I can say is that Loki Familia is going through something… challenging right now, and he's involved. I just want to have a word with him regarding that, honest." To his credit, he dropped the smile to give an honest answer, making her sigh.

"He said he needed to make sure of something, and hoped no one would come across it," his eyes widened.

'He is still looking for the artifact; he really doesn't know we have it!' Finn thought, realizing all of Loki's suppositions were thrown out of the window. 'We either need to get rid of it, or seal its effects somehow.'

"Orario to Braver," Mia snapped her fingers at him, stopping his train of thought before looking at her.

"Did he say exactly where in the Dungeon was he heading?" he asked, ignoring the confusing look she gave him after getting out of his trance.

"Not really," she looked at her staff. "And I am sure none of the girls know, either."

Finn sighed, thanking the Dwarf before turning around to leave.

"Oh, is that all? Good." Mia suddenly stated. "Because I don't want you near here when the Captain of the Soma Familia arrives."

He raised an eyebrow.

The Braver knew Soma Familia had undergone many changes in the last two weeks. The whole thing with Bete being unconscious started because Loki decided to be herself by barging into their property and demanding Soma when it was no longer being produced.

But he didn't know who the new Captain was.

"Oh, Lili is coming!" Syr Flova suddenly said, appearing a little distance away next from Braver all of the sudden.

"… Lili?" he asked, having a familiar feeling of dread all of the sudden.

"Oh, you don't remember her?" she tilted her head innocently. "She's the young Pallum you were so interested in a few weeks ago?"

His eyes widened as the memory of that time flashed through his eyes. When he came back, he could hear the murmurs of the patrons; among them, some called him cradle robber while some called him disgusting.

"… Have a nice day, Mia." He put on his smile, opting to just walk out of the place, and ignore the patrons.

"Oh, you should take a break Mister Braver; you don't look so good." He ignored Syr's statement, vanishing out of her sight after exiting the Hostess. "… What?" she asked after turning around, seeing Mia sighing before shaking her head at her antics.

---

Loki sighed, placing the damn artifact on a night table as she sat on a chair in front of an occupied bed. "Many of the Familia members are gone; those who stayed are occupied at the moment… which means I have time to spend with ya, Bete!"

The unconscious Werewolf remained unmoving. He currently wore a cast around his broken jaw, courtesy of the blind Werewolf that kicked him nearly a week ago.

"What's that Bete!? You are more than happy to spend time with me!?" she waved her hand embarrassingly. "Oh, you! Tell you what?" She took out a marker. "Why don't you let me draw on your face? It will be fun!"

The unconscious Bete said nothing.

"I knew you would agree! You da best!" She proceeded to paint his face, not noticing the artifact started to glow ever so slightly.

---

flashback

There was once a Young Werewolf.

A young Bete Loga ran through a forest with many of his clansmen; hunting for today's prey.

He was taught by his elders that this was a world where the strong eat the weak.

"Don't push yourself, you fool," Bete exclaimed to his childhood friend, Renee; whose weak body slowed her down. "Hop up," he said, making the petite girl get on his back to carry her the rest of the way.

But even so, his heart remained in the right place.

He lived a simple life.

Along his parents, sister, and all his clansmen.

He thought that all he needed was to be strong to protect the person he cared about the most.

But he got a wake-up call on his twelfth Birthday.

A Twelve-year-old Bete managed to get out of the rubble, only for his eyes to reflect the despair of seeing his own village destroyed. But above all else, his family; dead and mutilated.

"…Dad?"

Only the upper half of his father remained; nothing but damaged organs to show on the part below.

"Mom?"

The whole frontal part of her body was gone, showing only a horrendous visage of what was once his mother.

"Luna!?"

Only a dismembered arm remained of his sweet sister.

"… Renee!"

He managed to find his dear friend.

At first sight, she looked fine; only slightly remaining under some debris… but he soon realized how wrong he was.

The young Werewolf howled in despair; his voice going to deaf ears as the night continued.

He came to a realization after that night.

"My father was weak, that's why he was torn to pieces."

"My mother was weak, that's why she was cut in half."

"My sister was weak, that's why she was crushed."

"We were all weak… I was weak. That's why everything was taken from me."

He finally understood what his father's words about the strong and the weak really meant.

The Werewolf left his destroyed village; seeing no point in staying in rebuilding his clan if they were just going to die again.

He wanted strength, so he went to the center of the world where the Dungeon was.

He marked his face with a fang-like tattoo; with the intention of hiding his scar. But he knew those were just fake fangs… he wanted real ones.

He found a God; a serious God, willing to give him a Falna and let him be part of his Familia.

Maybe it was the fact that many of its members were Animal People, but he found a certain comfort with them.

"Bete!" Selenia, the Captainof the Vidar Familia at the time, shouted at the newly joined Bete. "You just got back from the Dungeon and you are already picking fights!" the young Bete flinched, as did the other members of their Familia who were involved. "Especially with that arm; you may be hiding it, but the wound on your left arm is so grave it needs immediate treatment."

She was a kind girl.

She looked out for others and was not afraid to use force to make others see reason.

Without him knowing, she became one of the pillars in his life at that time.

The Werewolf grew strong, not just as an Adventurer but as a person.

Many trusted his judgment and abilities, to the point he was appointed as the Captain of his Familia.

Life was overall good for him.

Bete grinned, laying back on a sofa as he saw his Familia partying. But his grin soon died down as the noises of his Familia died down for him. He now knew he was strong enough, but it was time to prove it… and finally get those fangs.

He never forgot the Monster that killed his family and clan.

And it was time to finally settle that score that had been on hold until now.

But someone tried to stop him.

"Am I not enough?" Selenia exclaimed, placing her hands over his shoulders to bring them close; her face was almost pleasing as she voiced her request. "Just leave what you have lost in the distant past and stay with me and everyone…"

He didn't hesitate in softly pushing the girl away, making her cry with a sad smile on her face as she prayed for his return.

He was a man on a mission; killing the Monsters that marked his life and avenging his clan… and he succeeded.

Bete howled again into the sky; many feelings invaded his mind after defeating his nemesis. Joy, anger, sadness, emptiness… he had become strong enough to not let anything be taken away from him.

Or so he thought; however his decision of choosing his revenge over his Familia would have ramifications.

It was a rainy night when he returned to Orario, and all that awaited him were fewer members of the Vidar Familia sitting defeated near the entrance of the Dungeon…

… with the body of his beloved resting peacefully on the cold, wet ground… lifeless.

"Bete… I am sorry," his God had suddenly said under the cold rain, making the Werewolf grab the collar of the God's attire in frustration.

His anger was understandable.

But he wasn't angry at his God for his beloved. He was angry because his words would mean the acceptance of the sacrifices made by the weak.

So, being powerless to do anything, all he could do was howl into the rainy night.

In the end, Bete Loga accepted his own weakness; not wanting to see people… weaklings, having a senseless death that would amount to nothing in the future.

And even now, despite being a First Class Adventurer, he was still too weak to do anything about it.

That had been his first nightmare… and all the real Bete Loga could do was watch in acceptance of his past; not being able to escape his own weakness.

---

The rest of his nightmares were different. Showing how reckless he was after the Vidar Familia left the city and he parted ways with them.

How he picked a fight in the city and how he carelessly went on his Dungeon diving… all until his meeting with Loki Familia… the strong people he had been looking for.

One would think that being beaten to a pulp by a First Class Adventurer would serve to humble him. But no, it only served to strengthen his belief in the strong; especially seeing how Loki Familia operated.

They all knew their strengths and weaknesses; accepting only those that were willing to get stronger… but even so, he got reminded that no one was perfect, as he now stared at something he thought impossible.

'Not again…'

Everything can happen in the Dungeon.

Bete gritted his teeth as he saw all of the members of Loki Familia laying on the ground in the Dungeon; remembering the state of his clan after being decimated by that Monster, as many members were torn apart, missing body parts and limbs scattered around… but more importantly, all of them remained lifeless on the floor.

The ever resilient High Elf, the sturdy Dwarf, the Pallum that inspired many, the young female warrior he admired above all of them… dead.

In the end, mortals, even the strong, meet their demise one way or another.

Bete gritted his teeth in denial.

This wasn't like the previous nightmare, in which he accepted his faults and the misery that befell him. To him, this was just a stupid dream that showed him something that would never happen.

And so, Bete Loga remained alone once more.

"Why don't you come out and say that to my face you piece of shit!?" Bete shouted, but all he heard was an ominous chuckle as the voice continued.

And he could not escape from his past,

A roar was suddenly heard in the distance, making Bete freeze in place as he looked at the shapeless Monster that killed his Familia. And although he couldn't make up its shape, he would remember that monstrous roar anywhere.

He gritted his teeth, finally seeing the formless Monster taking the shape of the one that started everything for him.

In more forms than one.

Bete Loga roared, charging at the Monster and killing it after a long fight… but once again, he felt empty, seeing that in the end-

In the end, he realized that everyone was as weak as him.

"… No. I refuse to accept this."

---

The nightmares repeated one after another.

Every time Bete tried to get everyone to coordinate against the Monster, they always died.

A giant rock fell on Riveria while casting a spell.

Gareth lost his footing while trying to overpower the Monster's attack.

Finn missed a shot of his lance while airborne, making him easy prey to its claws.

Ais's [Tempest] couldn't pierce through the Monster's skin, and worst of all, her sword remained stuck, leaving her open for an attack from the back.

And that was one of the many scenarios that occurred in his nightmares, forcing him to fight the Monster on his own, time after time.

And always hearing the same taunting words at the end.

In the end, he realized that everyone was as weak as him.

And after some time, he didn't care anymore; opting to charge alone against the Monster, not caring for Finn's or anyone else orders to the point they didn't even appear in the dream anymore… he was all alone… and yet he didn't care, coming to realize he didn't need them.

He wasn't the weak one, he never was; as even the voice didn't appear again, probing his strength despite the situation as he kept going and going, to the point the dream didn't feel like a nightmare anymore.

Bete didn't question it, and just kept going cycle after cycle, not noticing as his body was starting to become enveloped in an icy-blue light… until even the Monster didn't appear again.

He panted, waiting for the next cycle to begin, just noticing he was no longer in the Dungeon, but instead he was in a dark room; where nothing could be seen in the distance. However, he could hear something, someone, coming at him as footsteps became more noticeable.

"…You." He growled, recognizing the blonde that had humiliated him at the Hostess.

He charged, with the full intention of killing him. But he never got to do that, as the blonde made a motion with his hand, making a blade of darkness appear from the ground to pierce his heart, 'killing' Bete in that instant.

"Bastard!" he went on in the next cycle, paying attention to the motion of the blonde's hand to avoid the blade. Bete extended his fist, with the clear intent of piercing the blonde's heart, only for him to catch it before his whole body was enveloped in green electricity, killing him again.

And so he went on and on again… and yet, Bete's rage never backed down… if anything… it only made it go higher and higher as the light around him intensified.

"I don't care how many times it takes! I. WILL. KILL. YOU!"

---

"… Uh." Loki snapped, waking up in a very uncomfortable position on the chair she had previously been sitting on. "Damn it… falling asleep like this without being drunk sucks," she rubbed her sore neck, groaning as she recalled why she was sober. "Fucking Soma for not making Soma… fucking blind guy for knocking out Bete… damn you Bete for… " she blinked, staring at the bed that was supposed to be Bete's… now completely empty.

"Huh, he finally woke up…neat…" she said, noticing that the cast that had been placed on his jaw was on his bed… frozen. "What the-!" she went to touch it, only for it to turn into minuscule particles of ice the moment she made contact with it.

Her eyes widened, noticing how she could see her own breath while her whole body trembled. She was cold, stupidly so. "The hell is going on!?" she shouted, standing up from her chair to get out of the room, stopping the moment she noticed there were frozen footsteps on the floor; starting on the side of the bed where Bete used to be, and heading towards the exit of the room.

Her eyes widened, remembering that the whole thing with the artifact and what happened on the Twenty-Seventh Floor was related to the Monsters possessing ice attributes. "… shit." She muttered, noticing that the artifact was no longer at the night table… and she didn't need Finn or Riveria to tell her for Loki to know who had taken it… what she didn't know was where was Bete heading with it… her eyes widened in horror as she recalled whom Bete had beef with. But more importantly, where that person could be.

"Fuck!" she shouted, running out of the room to try to find Finn and the others, hoping it wasn't too late.

---

"It is a pleasure doing business with you, God Soma… huh," Mia said, becoming self-conscient of whom he said those words to while she shook his hand. "Never expected I would say that to you of all people… no offense."

"None taken… still getting used to this myself," Soma said, as Mia noticed his back was straight while his usual black trendy hair was in a ponytail; his bangs still fell over his face, though.

"The new appearance? Or the new socializing thing?"

"… Yes." She laughed. Letting go of his hand as they saw several boxes of what Soma called 'Root Beer' being carried by the waitresses to the back, where Lili was counting and making sure not a single box was missing. "By the way, where is he?"

She sighed, knowing full well whom Soma was talking about. "In the Dungeon; and that's all the relevant thing I can say regarding this." He nodded, detecting no lie in her words before his body started to tremble.

"Hmm… seems rather cold of the sudden," Soma stated, taking notice he could now see his own cold breath, as did Mia. As a matter of fact, every person in the Hostess felt cold all of the sudden.

"And it isn't wintering yet," she commented, thinking this was ominous seeing how she, as a Level Six should not feel this cold so easily. "Something is not right."

"Ah, Vanagard?" a patron suddenly said, making Mia sigh in annoyance knowing this day would come.

"Don't waste your time… brat?" her words died down, noticing the icy blue-like energy surrounding his body while his eyes held the same color; and she was sure that wasn't the usual color of his eyes.

"Where. Is. He?" he asked between growls while exuding a lot of energy in his voice.

"… Not here," Mia scowled, her instincts as an Adventurer kicking in at that moment when he approached her. "And that's as much as you are gonna get from-!" her words died down, or rather, they were frozen; seeing as Bete Loga was now suddenly grabbing her by the throat and freezing it with his mare touch. She didn't even register at what moment exactly he had gotten a hold of her; a blink of an eye was all it took for her to be in this situation.

"… Weak." That was all he said before kicking Mia with a spartan kick, making her fly through the walls of the Hostess until she landed in the backyard; with a great part of her body partially frozen.

He walked through the broken establishment, following Mia's path until he reached the backyard; meeting some waitresses that seemed tense and taking fighting positions while others seemed frightened at his presence.

"Where. Is. He?"

---

Drake Aurion sighed, retrieving his blade from a Fomoire's neck before looking up with his glowing eyes, going through Floor after Floor with his vision; forcing it until he reached the surface after his instincts made him feel a chill run down his back.

His eyes twitched, seeing an ominous and familiar icy blue signature on the surface.

'Anyone wanna bet if the clowns fucked up?' Yuri sarcastically asked in his mind, he could tell he had a scowl on his face as Drake could make out the symbol of the Jester above the Aura's signature.

"Fools bet"/'Fools bet' they all replied.

It looked like their search had come to a stop after finding his target.

And truth be told, nothing pissed off him more than wasting his time on a fools' errand seeing the Centurion had been in possession of Loki Familia the entire time…

"At least I have someone to take it out on."

---

AN: Mission Failed. This chapter was meant to be posted on the 31st of December; I finished a day before, but beta reading it before that was just impossible.

Anyway, here's an omake, or rather a scene of the chapter that I didn't where to put in the chapter because it was meant to be mainly a Loki Familia chapter after Drake's last appearance.

Omake (Canon): When Drake returned the next morning to the Hostess

Drake Aurion took a deep break, and then heavily sighed as he stood in front of the entrance of the Hostess.

'We knew this was coming. Better to face this now than never.' Flynn said, showing his blonde brother some support as he gave a step forward.

'Let's just get this over with,' Zelos said. 'The worst thing they can do to you is to apply the walk of shame on you…' he replied, just as Drake stepped in; stopping as he noticed every single waitress staring at him for a moment before each took out a handbell, ready to wave at him. 'Holy shit! They are actually gonna do it!'

He would lie if he said he didn't see this coming. It was officially two days since his incident with Rose; something which all the damn Hostess knew about thanks to Syr, who in turn most likely knew due to Tsubaki's big mouth. And of course, as he would expect from an establishment such as this, this kind of behavior was expected.

"Before any of you wave those bells," he said, raising both of his index fingers as a sigh to stop. "I want you all to carefully consider this," he narrowed his eyes. "If you do as much as making those sounds, I am gonna make sure to call you out the next time ANY of you decide to take someone you fancy to your room at the day's end."

Something the Former Noble noticed was how often one of the waitresses would flirt with an Adventurer and keep them in the pub long enough to take them to their room if they so wanted to. He even recalled some tales about it from Dirk, the Dwarf that helped raise most of the brothers, on how during his time that kind of thing in pubs was normal.

"And I promise you, nay! Swear! That I am gonna make all of your horniness begone before you can reach the end of those stairs by how much kink-shaming I am gonna drop on you."

That seemed to do the work… at least for most of them.

*DONG* "Shame" *DONG* "Shame" *DONG* "Shame" *DONG* "Shame"

He sighed, also kind of expecting this from the usual suspects; Lunor, Chloe, Anya, Syr… and Ryuu… whose current expression kind of reminded him of the days they didn't get along at all.

"From you two I get it," he pointed between Lunor and Chloe. "You don't take anyone to your room because you are Level Four."

Lunor twitched, "Good, it seems I don't have to explain how it's hard to get any stimuli when your partner is not at a high enough Level," she snorted. "Something I can guess also happened to you." She replied, assuming he was a High-Level Adventurer. as well.

"Let me make something clear," he pointed at Syr, startling her. "I don't know what she might have told you-"

"Why do you assume I would do something so shameless?" Syr shed a crocodile tear, making everyone look at her with a blank stare; the staff because it had been indeed her who spread the rumor, and Drake because he had already been familiarized with her bullshit.

"But I was helping her go through her heat period," he pointed at all the cat people in the room. "Something I am sure many of you are familiar with, you perverted cats."

They all looked away, a blush evident on their faces.

"… I still see no denial to my previous statement," Lunor's lips curled up. "… want a hand with that?"

"Lunor!" Syr exclaimed with a blush, while Ryuu just stared at the former bounty hunter as if she was walking trash.

"Hey, I am just saying; everyone has their needs, I am just offering a helping hand as he did with Rose Fannett."

"Don't you fucking compare what I did with your horniness, you bitch." Her smirk never left her face. "Besides, let me remind you," he pointed at Mia, who was sipping a cup of coffee completely entertained by this event. "I cannot under any circumstances do anything of that sort to any of you."

"Hmm… pretty sure we could find a loophole."

Drake just sighed, opting to pass on to the next waitress, Chloe Rollo. "You are for the same reason as Lunor… but then, there's also the fact of your… preferences."

The former assassin narrowed her eyes before waving her hand at a certain height. "If only you were this short nya~"

Everyone groaned.

'Should we tell her about one of the benefits of Origin's blessing?' Zelos commented, making Drake and Lloyd groan.

'She must never know.' Both replied as he looked at Anya, who was smiling at him.

"… do you even know why all of this is happening?"

"…" she rubbed the side of her head. "Not really nya~ Syr just said it was a group activity."

He sighed, not needing to look at the mentioned waitress as she whistled innocently. "… I worry about your innocence too much sometimes…" something came to his mind before looking at Mia. "… How does Anya deal with her cycle? I am sure Chloe just goes to the red-light district to find the first child-like Pallums she sees-"

"Hey nya~" she exclaimed, but still not denying his accusation.

"But how does Anya deal with it?"

Mia sighed. "You can thank Freya for that one. She comes in around that time to charm her into remaining in a calm state without any memory of the whole thing."

"… huh," Drake looked surprised by the statement. "Who would have thought that bitch was actually good for something?" he replied, noticing how Anya seemed confused by what was being talked about, while Syr's smile kept twitching for some reason.

"Next… you," he looked at Syr. "I don't need to ask around to know you pulled this little number."

"It is just a small tradition here in the Hostess whenever someone does something they shouldn't." she cutely replied.

False/False

"That is bullshit and we all know it." He replied. "I get it, you are the only person here that isn't able to share a bed with someone for being picky."

She blushed furiously, making her a mess of a woman by how she spoke. "I am-! I am just waiting for the right person!"

Everyone rolled their eyes. "Characters from a romance novel are not real, Syr."

"Hmph!" she pouted, making Drake sigh as he looked at the last usual suspect.

"Ryuu…" he called her name; recalling this was technically the first time they met since the night in the Soma Familia house. He internally cringed, having dark memories of that night resurface once more.

'Calling her your favorite Elf was a little too much,' Lloyd commented, followed by hums from the others.

'You think!?'

There was also another problem… he didn't know what she and Tsubaki talked about; the blacksmith clearly felt uncomfortable… and humorous when he asked about it.

"… did she tell you?" the Elf suddenly asked with a low, deathly tone. The question made him want to question whether the Elf was or was not able to read minds now because he was just thinking about it as well. Also, he couldn't help but notice the tension between the usual suspects as if they were waiting for something.

'… right, women.' He mentally sighed, realizing that they probably talked about whatever the issue with Ryuu and Tsubaki was.

"No…" he replied, deciding to go straight to the point. "But for some reason, Tsubaki looked like she felt sorry and wanted to laugh out loud at the same time for some reason."

Ryuu Lyon's cold gaze didn't break… but she couldn't hide the massive blush invading her face before storming toward the kitchen.

"Ryuu, it's not that bad!" soon followed by Syr trying to calm down her friend. "At least he's still in the dark about it!"

"…" Drake just shrugged, opting to apply Dwarven Bow 108, "Let sleeping dogs lie."

"Wise decision," Mia said before she started clapping her hands. "Ok, ladies! The show is over! Get back to work!" she then pointed at Drake. "And you… you look like shit."

He didn't reply as he sat in front of the counter before slamming his face on it.

"And they say sex is a stress relief." she snorted.

"Please, I already have enough of my brothers and Tsubaki getting on that topic." He looked at her. "The last thing I need is everyone else talking about it, as well."

"Hey, I am just saying I get it." she crossed her arms before rubbing her chin; going down memory lane. "I remember not getting to feel anything after reaching a High Level. Although I remember that one guy from Zeus Familia who-"

Drake just groaned, knowing full well that Dwarfs loved to go down memory lane with their stories.

'I knew I should have headed to the Dungeon right away.' He thought, trying his best not to pay attention to Mia's tale of debauchery.