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.

38. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

A few minutes ago

Back when Drake Aurion was seventeen, he had been forced by Lloyd's father -his legal Guardian at the time- to attend Beacon Academy.

One of the four Huntsmen Academy in Remnant at the time.

Suffice it to say, he didn't like the idea one bit.

One reason for his dislike was that he would have to share a room with three other people due to how the team of four system was implemented. Obviously, for someone as antisocial as him that was like forcing an introvert in a locked room with three extrovert hyenas.

Thankfully, since he was admitted late and all the teams were accounted for, he didn't need a team… until Zelos came into play to keep an eye on him.

He hadn't seen his best friend since Lloyd's 'Funeral', in an attempt to ghost everyone while he focused on his revenge. A part of him was happy to reconnect with his friend… but deep down… deep down he knew a bigger headache was coming.

Zelos Wilder was a womanizer, and he proved it by bringing a girl to their dorm every other day. Sure, he was not a former scumbag, but back then he was the biggest manwhore in existence. Drake, being a good friend and having no patience to be near his friend while in the middle of the act, decided to sleep outside their dorm for those nights.

'At least he kept his business to his side of the dorm.'

Why was this so relevant now?

Because through the years, Drake has learned to tolerate every single bullshit, not just Zelos, but every single bullshit one of his brothers have done…

But this… this was just a new level of annoying.

"Come on! I am just asking you to let me go to Rita." Zelos pleaded, wearing a bartender uniform similar to the one Drake was currently wearing while both served the tables.

After a long day, the blonde had kept his word about taking a shift in the Hostess… only to be instantly annoyed by the redhead.

"Nope." The blonde replied, completely mechanical as they walked to the counter to take more plates.

Drake knew this would happen the moment Rita… an AI of Rita, appeared.

The woman Zelos swore and dedicated the rest of his life to… Simp much?

"It is not like you need me here, bud!"

"Don't fucking call me that. Also, no."

The issue wasn't that Drake needed Zelos besides him.

It was the fact that meant his shadow would also go away, making him lose his access to the Darkness… There was also the fact that since Zelos was using his shadow to have a physical body, it meant the redhead could do anything he wanted with it while in control… and with his girlfriend in play… it was obvious what the blonde was fearing.

'Fun fact,' Guy started his mind. 'Rita doesn't have a physical body… so there really isn't anything he can actually do to her.'

Yuri snorted. 'Have we already forgotten the simulation room can give her one?' he scowled. "The next time we go there it will be fully white if we let him go."

Everyone but Zelos groaned.

'No. fuck that. We all are taking turns using Drake's shadow. No fucking way in hell I am using it after Zelos decided to go full ape with it.'

Even Yuri had to agree with Luke's words; seeing as they rarely saw each other eye to eye.

'You are all jealous my girlfriend is here while yours isn't!' Zelos argued back, continuing to serve the tables as he held that conversation.

'Besides, does Rita even want to see you?' Lloyd thought a little. 'I mean… I seem to recall she still called you scumbag during that time .'

Zelos shrugged it off. 'She's just in her Tsun phase; give me some time alone with her and the whole database will be filled with me. Also, yes, that was an innuendo.'

Everyone groaned.

"So, back to that favor-"

"No." Drake didn't even let him finish that time, making some of the patrons laugh, and others feel bad for the redhead.

"Hay man. Just let the guy go meet his girl."

"Yeah! What are you? His owner or something?"

"More like blondie is just jealous his friend can actually get some."

There were multiple laughs, even the rest of the staff seemed to find it hilarious. Zelos on the other hand threw a silent prayer seeing Drake's lips twitch.

"Mord, buddy." Drake calmly patted the Adventurer's shoulder as he placed a bottle of Soma beer on his table. "I find it hilarious that you are talking about my lack of sex considering you haven't got any in over a year."

The Adventurer froze, his laugh dying down as soon after everyone around them cracked.

"How the fuck do you even know that!?"

"I have a good pair of fucking eyes," said eyes glowed behind his shaders. "As a matter of fact!" he looked around. "I can tell everyone here is either maidenless or hasn't been dicked down at all!" The sudden silence in the room was enough to prove his words were having an effect. But just to put the final nail in the coffin-

"And I do mean everyone here." He looked to the counter, looking at all the waitresses in turn; having spent most of the shift seeing the little number Zelos had been pulling for the last hours. "Now stop slacking off and get your asses back to work."

Lunor snorted, completely unaffected. "Hey, you two were doing such a pretty good job despite bickering like a couple."

"Poor thing, single and delusional; thinking everyone but her is in a relationship, so sad." Zelos sobbed next to Drake.

"A shame indeed. If only she were more like her Goddess-"

"Oh, definitely! I mean, have you seen her!"

"Ok, I get it!" Lunor shouted, her eye twitching as she headed to work Drake and Zelos high-fived before looking at the waitresses finally doing their job.

"In their defense," they looked at Mia. "You two were doing a fantastic job." She crossed her arms, her eyebrow twitched; completely overlooking Drake's previous comment about everyone in the room being sexless.

"Mama. Look at the bright side," Zelos eyed a certain Elf. "At least you aren't a shameless virgin."

Ryuu Lion almost tripped for a moment.

"Ok, that's enough." Mia clapped her hands. "Get back to work."

Drake simply sighed, hoping Zelos would forget about his request.

"So, about Rita."

Seems that wasn't the case.

"No." Drake replied calmly as he turned around, making Zelos sigh.

"… You have left me no choice." Zelos' usual handsome face turned serious, making the whole mood in the pub feel heavy.

Were those two about to fight in the pub?

No.

Drake knew this, and he also knew that whatever was coming was way worse.

"If you don't let me go see Rita…" he approached his friend, glares clashing against one another. "I will be forced to act like that one conceited rich girl throwing a tantrum."

…

…

…

"Huh?" everyone around them exclaimed, not understanding one bit what was about.

"Don't you fucking dare," Drake replied back with a grave voice, a vein popping off on his forehead.

"Desperate times," Zelos took a deep breath; stretching his arms and legs. "Desperate measures."

The tension grew; many patrons just stared with their mouths full as if they had been frozen in time… until Zelos dashed forward… and kneeled in front of Drake.

"Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please!"

Drake let out an exasperated breath, turning around to focus on his work. Only to be stopped for a moment as he felt Zelos clinging to his leg; still pleading for his request.

"Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please!"

And so it went on.

The laughs returned thanks to the whole act.

Everyone thought it was also kind of pathetic… but this was normal for Zelos; the guy had no problems with tarnishing his image. If anything, he was starting to gather some pity in his favor. It reached a point Drake could hear murmurs against him regarding being a bad friend… too bad Drake didn't care about his image either.

Also, if he were a bad friend; he would have knocked out Zelos a long time ago.

"Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please!"

No matter how annoying any of his brothers were, he would never harm them with direct intention…

"Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please!"

But even so… even Drake had a limit.

"Mia! The man of your dream has returned!"

No, scratch that; his limit had been reached already.

But he honestly refused to harm Zelos.

"Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please!"

Drake really did… and yet his fist was already prepared.

"Oh! Is this a new face?" someone tapped his shoulder.

He turned around, seeing a man… a God in front of him. Besides that, and the fact that the God in front of him was wearing a hat, the only thing Drake focused on was his face… his smile… his weasel-like smile. No… not just that… it was something about his face that reminded him of Zelos a little… it was so fucking punchable.

"Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please!"

"OH! FUCK OFF ALREADY!"

---

If there was something that Mia Grande got out of her time with Freya in her Captain days, it was knowing when her bitch of a Goddess was about to do something that could be considered drastic, stupid, confusing… or all of the above.

But there were even worse times when her line of thought reached the border of the insane… and bloody. The enmity between Freya and Ishtar was something everyone in Orario was aware of, but no one was really aware of how bloody each other's move could get.

Once upon a time, there was an Adventurer Freya fathomed; nothing new there. Ishtar got word of it… and then did the deed herself with the Adventurer. In return, rumors that the head of Ishtar's Captain was found next to her on her bed by the time she woke up the next morning began to circulate.

Here's the thing… it wasn't a rumor.

Mia still recalled how he had dragged the man to Freya's chambers as she heard a personal orchestra she had reserved for the time; the orchestra didn't dare to flinch as they continued doing their job while witnessing what Freya was doing.

The Adventurer begged for his life, but his screams only made the chorus sound better in her ears. And just as the orchestra was reaching the highest note, her Goddess had given her the signal to decapitate the Adventurer; Allen had taken care later of sneaking in to deliver the package.

For Mia, that hadn't been the first time something like that happened… and every damn time… there was a damn orchestra to make the moment feel biblical… it was almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy that something bad was going to happen whenever she heard an orchestra. Suffice it to say, Mia started to hate classical music.

Why was this so important… because right now there was an orchestra inside of her fucking head playing, reaching the highest point as she saw in slow motion how her only male employee was about to punch the most scumbag God in the whole mortal realm.

Did Hermes deserve what was coming to him?

Most likely… probably… definitely.

But none of that mattered when it was one of her workers, in her pub no less, doing the deed.

Worse of all, even if she could see everything in slow motion, her body could not move fast enough to stop what was about to happen.

Her eyes darted around to see who could be close by and stop this.

Anya; about to drop another set of plates.

Chloe; just turning around to see what was going on… while also dropping some plates.

Lunor; seeing what was happening, but not being able to do anything, too busy being flabbergasted at the act.

Ryu; actually rushing to stop Drake… but was ten times slower than the punch.

Andromeda; the closest to her God… and still just reacting as her eyes widening without time to think or act.

Syr… feigning surprise as she used her hands to cover her mouth… her eyes brightening by the moment.

'Damn you.' Mia cursed in defeat, continuing to search for the answer as the music in her head went on; reaching the highest note.

… Zelos Wilder… the person that was the most likely culprit for triggering Drake, and the one that could seemingly move at the same speed as Drake seeing he was now standing a little to the left; clapping his hands and smiling like a small child performing a circus act… until he noticed her.

Hope!

"Stop him." Mia said, silently. Only for Zelos to shrug at her as if he hadn't understood. 'Fucking redheads.' She thought in reflex, imitating something Drake would do.

And so, the chorus reached the highest point… just as Drake's punch slowly made contact with Hermes' face… which Mia watched, in excruciating detail thanks to her enhanced senses.

Being able to see this in slow motion was the most excruciating thing she has had to deal with in years… but even so… she had to admit it was a little hilarious how all of this came to be… and how she was witnessing it.

"OH! FUCK OFF ALREADY!"

Not that she would ever admit it.

---

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Mia glared, not only at Drake who stood unflinching… but also at Zelos as both took an almost military stance in front of her.

"Mia…" Drake stated with a serious expression before pointing at Hermes, groaning in pain as Ryuu used her magic to heal him. "The individual in question has a very punchable face."

"I am aware!" she shouted, not having a single problem in agreeing with him in front of the God in question. "I can't help but internally groan every time I see that deadbeat face!"

"Mia, dear… your words hurt more than that punch… wait, no; this is still worse." The God groaned as Asfi sighed. She should be angry, she was… partially. But there was no point in saying or doing anything against her God's aggressor when the whole thing was an… accident of sorts. Besides, her God could take a punch… she knew that better than anyone.

"But that still doesn't mean you have to react with aggression in my Pub!"

Zelos moved his head closer to Drake's. "Why does it feel that this is more about the 'where' of the issue and not the 'why'?"

A single glare was enough to silence Zelos; pretty much pinning most of the fault on him.

"What are you going to do about this?" her glare focused on Drake.

"I shall repair the hole on the wall-"

"And?" she interrupted him with a forced smile.

"Pay for the missing hours of work, as well."

The punch had been strong enough to cause a small shockwave… pretty much pushing away all of the food in the dining hall which the Adventurers ordered… forcing them to give all of the patrons at the moment a free meal… and forcing them to close early. "I will clean up this mess, as well."

"Does that mean we can stop with the cleaning?" Lunor asked tiredly, seeing as the staff was indeed cleaning the mess he had made.

"No," The Dwarf replied in a heartbeat, seeing as no one was able to stop the blonde, then they should share some of the fault… not that they could have, anyway.

"And finally…" her eyes narrowed, knowing full well this was probably the hardest… more like an impossible thing she would ask of him. "Apologize to him."

Zelos winced, feeling that even the rest of his brothers were reacting the same way. The redhead eyed his best friend carefully… slight and slight twitch hiding behind his green shadders.

Technically speaking… Mia was right about this. If someone fucks up, the least they could do is apologize. But when it comes to Drake and the Divine… the Dwarf was asking too much.

Maybe to Hephaestus, Soma, or some of the Spirits back in Remnant… but not in this case.

"Mia…" Drake said slowly, keeping the calm in his voice. "Do you remember that Jacuzzi you mentioned some time ago?"

*CRACK*

The heads of the staff present snapped at him; pretty sure someone cracked their neck in the process.

As for Mia, her jaw dropped. The blonde preferred to pay for a commodity like that than apologize to Hermes… she was honestly surprised…and tempted; her silence spoke volumes for her.

"I know my God might not be the most decent Deity in existence", Hermes groaned at Asfi's words. "But even he deserves an apology when he has been wronged."

"I heard the establishment next door was thinking of selling," Zelos commented nonchalantly as if the whole thing they were discussing was a thing of the past. "Remember that pool idea we mentioned?" he asked Drake.

No, he did not remember because it never happened. But Drake could see what Zelos was doing as they felt the glares of the whole staff on them.

"Asfi, Hermes should really learn not to sneak on people; this kind of situation can be avoided easily if someone just doesn't go on looking for trouble," Mia stated in the most passive voice of her life.

Andromeda's eyes widened at the audacity of what she was hearing as Drake gave Zelos a low-five behind their backs.

'Now we are gonna need to build a Jacuzzi and a pool.' Luke's comment made Yuri snort.

'We!? Bitch you know I will be doing most of the job.'

The curse of being the fastest.

"Asfi! Dear!" Hermes suddenly appeared between the two, calmly placing his hands on their shoulders. "I am fine, no one died and everything was solved… so why don't we let bygones be bygones?"

"You call that fine?" Asfi couldn't help but ask out loud, seeing her God's bloody nose, mouth… and purple face.

At that moment, Mia's years of Adventurer kicked in… recalling that even if Hermes was responsible for what had happened… he had approached Drake in the first place.

'Freya fucking damn it,' she concluded, realizing the blonde menace he called her employee had gotten the attention of the third shadiest Deity in Orario.

'Freya, Loki, and now Hermes… brat really went for three out of three.' Mia sighed, walking to the side, not wanting to be involved with what was happening, ready to step in only if Hermes started to get pushy… or if Drake tried to go for another punch.

"Now that we are all acquaintances." Truth to her fears, the God of Mischief focused on Drake; the Dwarf could see the blonde's fingers twitch out of instinct. She could already tell her latter premonition would come to pass.

"Say, friend!" Hermes shortened the distance between the two. "That was an amazing punch! What is an Adventurer like you doing working as a bartender in a pub?"

"I am sorry, but I don't swing that way," Drake stated blandly, feeling the smell of blood coming off the God's mouth seeing the Deity didn't have any respect for personal space.

"Neither do I!" The bastard's eyes brightened as he said that. "Why don't we talk?" he tipped his hat, hiding his eyes as he smiled. "It is the least you could do."

"Now wait a minute there, Mister!" Zelos suddenly stepped in, with a tone in his voice. "What are you doing getting close to my boyfriend?" it wasn't only the tone, there was a certain mannerism with how he pointed at Hermes to step away.

"Boy- But he just said-"

Hermes tried to make sense of the situation, especially since he sensed no lies from either of them.

"Zelos…" Drake sighed as he rested his face on his hand. "We play the sassy gay boyfriend when a gold digger tries to be insistent; not when a man is being a nuisance."

The redhead act broke in an instant. "Oh… you are right…" he looked around. "Anyone but Syr wants to play the role of the sassy girlfriend?"

Syr Flova pouted and groaned, while many others raised their hands… Ryuu Lion trying her best not to stand out too much.

Hermes laughed, finding their little number funny. "I have no problem if your friend joins us in our talk," he focused on Zelos. "He also looks like quite the character."

Both stared at the God for a moment before Zelos looked at Drake. "Do I really look that much of a piece of shit when I try to get someone?" his best friend was having sort of an epiphany at the moment.

"No… at least you have the decency to be subtle about it. This guy only has his face to make up for everything else."

Both Zelos and Hermes took offense to that… for different reasons.

"Bitch, please! I am ten times more handsome than this bastard."/"I will have you know I am quite the gentleman."

Zelos snorted before eyeing him. "My ratio of conquest was three a week before getting into a serious relationship. You, on the other hand, haven't gotten laid in the past five months."

Hermes smirked. "For your information, I had the company and warmth of a fair lady on my bed just…" his smirk disappeared slowly. "Huh… it has been five months."

The waitresses clapped in a mix of amazement and disgust; Mia included.

"Ultimate scumbag, indeed," Lunor said between claps.

"That is indeed a rather fearful power you possess my fellow-" his words stopped, feeling a familiar and heavy pressure on his shoulder. "Asfi?"

His tone sounded fearful, looking over his shoulder to meet his captain's usual glare. "Lord Hermes, I recall the whole Familia working through those days while you mysteriously seemed to go into 'talks' with other Gods. Anything you might want to share of those 'meetings'?"

They saw the God trying not to fall on his knees as she exerted more pressure on his shoulder.

"Asfi, dear. Please be a little gentler."

Drake and Zelos just stared for a moment, the latter being conscious of what he was seeing. "Why does this feel so familiar?"

The blonde didn't say anything, staring blankly as the image in front of him was replaced by one of Zelos and Rita in the early days of being official. "I wonder why, indeed." He looked at Mia. "Surprised to see an Adventurer treating their Deity like that."

"Because this is the kind of God that would get their Familia in trouble… " The Dwarf walked closer to him with a mutter. "Asfi is one of the few that keep their Gods in line."

The blonde snorted, recalling none of the other Deities had that sort of relation with their Captains. For example, Hephaestus and Tsubaki… you could tell who the actual parent in the relationship was.

However, his mind soon changed his opinion of Asfi as he saw the word Jealous above her head. 'Ah… she just has shitty taste in men.' Everyone in his mind snorted while Drake kept seeing what other words kept popping off above her.

He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, seeing the word GUILTY in bold letters and all caps.

'Guilty?... Guilty of what?' the Former Noble wondered; having a similar feeling at the moment. His mind drifted apart as he recalled his meeting with Rose a few hours ago. "Fuck my life."

Mia raised an eyebrow, hearing his whisper before looking at him. He took off his shader; pinching the bridge between his eyes with closed eyes. "You ok? First time I have seen you so stressed."

"It's just been a long day… " First Rita, then Ratatosk talking with Hephaestus, and then the whole thing with Rose; he wanted to just end the damn day already.

"Yeah, sure," Zelos rolled his eyes. "Pretty sure Rose is still willing to listen if-"

"Bite off," Drake glared, his eyes almost glowing; the message was clear, he didn't want to talk about it.

Mia narrowed her eyes, recalling hearing some rumors about Rose earlier in the day… and then about Royman a little while ago before Hermes arrived. Knowing Drake, he most likely had a hand in one of those events… probably related to whatever letter he received earlier in the day. The blonde had bolted in an instant along with that redhead; Adam, if she recalled correctly.

She wanted to ask but opted not to do it at the moment seeing he wasn't in the mood. So she would just-

"Lord Hermes!"

Everyone snapped in their direction. None of them looked at what had happened, but it looked like the God had… walked back before falling over to the other side of a table. Neither Drake, Zelos, or Mia could tell. But for the rest, that was exactly what had happened.

The God had become pale the moment he focused on Drake for a moment before walking backward as if he had seen a ghost. "Lord Hermes?"

He ignored his Captain, cleaning himself while keeping his head down; his hat covering his eyes.

"I am sorry for all of the commotion I may have caused, Mia. Let's call it even and pretend as if nothing has happened." The God replied in a very low and almost trembling voice… as if he was afraid of something. "Have a good night."

The walk walked out at an almost rushed pace, soon followed by Asfi before bowing in apology for her God's behavior; worry noticeable on her face.

…

…

…

"Ok, what the fuck just happened?" Zelos asked, honestly confused at what just transpired.

"… I am as lost as you, to be honest," Mia sighed, looking at the door with crossed arms before continuing. "So, about those promises."

Drake sighed, seeing he now had to reap what he sowed… never noticing the gray-haired waitress, looking at the entrance of the Hostess after Hermes' sudden exit with an unreadable expression.

---

"What the actual fuck?" Drake Aurion asked, standing outside of the Hephaestus Familia HQ while seeing a massive line that ended up going around the next street; all of them holding a wrapped weapon in their hands… or something among those line.

The last time he had seen something like this was when Tsubaki was showing off the Udaeus Sword drop. But he gave Hephaestus enough credit to know the meaning of subtlety, unlike her Captain.

He walked in, ignoring the stares he was getting; as if he was skipping in the line.

The more he walked into the house, guided by the Goddess' maids, the more he noticed something was wrong seeing how nervous some of the Adventurers ahead of the line were. His curiosity was finally piqued when he saw a group of Hephaestus Blacksmiths coming out of her office… crying.

"… What the actual fuck?" Drake muttered, seeing the next group walking into her office; one of them made a prayer before walking in.

"Rubio."

His train of thought stopped, his eyes narrowing at the sound of a familiar voice. "Pequeño Bastardo."

He looked at a slight tan-skinned child, no older than fifteen… Leo Valdez.

The Hephaestus Familia Adventurer had used Spanish through his years in the Familia to insult and mock his fellow Familia members without their knowledge.

"Que mierda haces aqui?" The Young Adventurer inquires about the reason for the blonde being there; his glare evening with Drake's.

"Checking on your Goddess." His reply gathered their attention. "So, the fuck is this? Surprise Forge Project?" he asked with low sarcasm. However, their glares were all the confirmation he needed. "Oh, it's actually that."

"She suddenly issued an order yesterday afternoon; forge and present something to me by today." The young Blacksmith sat, looking tiredly at the floor as Drake noticed the eyebags under their eyes.

"You have been a Blacksmith for ten years! And this is the best you can come up with?!"

Everyone winced as they heard their Goddess' criticism; some even started to cry as if they would soon follow, as well.

Drake sighed, pinching the bridge between his eyes before pointing back with his thumb. "Ok, Children. You all may go now; your not mother and I will have a talk."

Everyone looked confused at him.

Some recognized him from his first day in Orario when he and Tsubaki fought against the Goliath, others as the one that got the Udaeus to drop back when Tsubaki was exhibiting it. But even so, their confusion was understandable.

"You talk as if you had something to do with her current mood."

His eyes darted to the side, seeing a red-haired Adventurer. The same guy Tsubaki had been feeling a tiny bit jealous of not too long ago; Welf Crozzo.

The Former Noble honestly didn't know how to answer the accusation. Yesterday, Hephaestus had apparently spoken with none other than Ratatosk in the pub while Drake was dealing with the issue in the ship.

From what Mia had said, they talked and laughed the whole time… as if!

Ratatosk was a Great Spirit, he knew how to manipulate his surroundings without being detected with only a little Divinity.

What did they talk about? He could only imagine.

Ratatosk had all of Drake's knowledge regarding Mortal psychology. And he knew for a fact the Deities in this World were incredibly flawed and not as God-like as they wanted to admit it, mentally speaking. The blonde knew Ratatosk could use this to mess with them… with her.

'So much for signing an agreement,' Drake should have considered being stricter with the terms they signed.

"All I know is she spoke with someone undesirable… and that," he pointed at her office; her voice raising as she reprimanded the poor bastards inside. "- is the result of it… honestly, I am surprised she's venting like this and not drinking."

Welf scowled. "Hephaestus isn't a drinker." The redhead was clearly offended on behalf of his Goddess. A sentiment his fellow Familia members didn't share seeing they were snorting.

"Right, Crozzo. And magic swords don't break."

"Everyone has bad days, man; even Gods."

Welf didn't say anything, taking a deep breath as he was used to his Familia thinking the exact contrary of what he did.

"Next!" Hephaestus' shout was heard as the door of her office opened, revealing a group of Blacksmiths that looked like they had just gone through their Thirteenth reason why.

"Ok, people; chop chop." Drake clapped tiredly as he walked to her office, making everyone shrug reluctantly after a moment; all but one.

"Wait, we are seriously gonna let him just-" Welf's words were interrupted as Leo started to drag him out; clearly showing the boy was a higher level than him.

"Are you really gonna go against the guy that got the Udaeus drop item? Eres idiota?" Leo then looked at Drake. "Don't think I haven't forgotten about you selling me out last time, Perro."

The blonde simply flipped him off before entering Hephaestus' office.

Drake internally frowned, seeing the Goddess looking down on her table; a visible eyebag under her single eye. Not only that, but her body language screamed stress and fatigue; she clearly hadn't slept anything the previous night.

"I am waiting."

He sighed, pushing aside he was talking with a Goddess to the farthest reaches of his mind.

"I kind of expected you to drink your whole alcohol collection; at the very least that would have been funny." Her body tensed, lowering her head closer to the table; as if she wanted to disappear out of existence.

"Yeah, no. You are not a damn introvert so raise your head for crying out loud." He walked closer, going around the table to get a better look at her, but she gently slapped his hand away the moment he went for her face.

"What are you doing here?" She stood up, not glazing her gaze at him as she tried to stay away; something he noticed instantly.

Even if he could not read Gods with the Darkness, he didn't need it to know the state of a person.

He was honestly surprised.

At first, he thought perhaps Ratatosk had said something to make the Goddess fear him. But there was no fear in her voice, although she still sounded nervous. The lack of eye contact usually indicates shame or embarrassment; her rubbing the back of her neck uncomfortably checked that box, as well.

But that begged the question; embarrassment of what?

"When you described him to us when we first met," She started, trying to find her words; already figuring out why the blonde was here. "… I thought you were exaggerating a little seeing you were the victim of his machinations… I was wrong."

Hephaestus knew a lot of 'Evil' Gods.

Some were simple, enjoying a good bloodbath or misery running in front of their eyes… the ones that only wanted to see the World burn. But according to Drake, The Great Spirit had only wanted to wipe humanity for the sake of the planet back in Remnant… and even if that was a step back compared to others… in her mind, Ratatosk had managed to surpass them all with a single interaction.

He slightly sat on the side of the table, looking at her reaction. "Ironic enough, whatever it is you are feeling isn't related to me somehow. So whatever you two talked about was more related to you than me."

Her supposition was answered back with a slight glare. "Don't psychoanalyze me."

"Then fucking tell me what you two talked about; I am not a fucking psychic, for fucks sake."

She looked away again for some reason, taking a deep breath as she answered back. "We did talk about you," she omitted the part of the book. "But from there…"

The Former Noble narrowed his eyes, slightly gritting his teeth at the events that transpired in the Hostess while he was away. As expected, Ratatosk had questioned Hephaestus, noticed what bothered her, proved her fears, and continued on that… the result?

'Piece of shit gave a Goddess an existential crisis.'

There was a lot of irony in that single line.

And to be honest, had it been any other Deity… he would have found this a little funny.

The myth of the man and the cave. The story is about a man living his whole life in a cave, until he decided to leave. The moment the man finally saw the sky and the sun for the first time, a million questions invaded his mind; all centered around wondering how he… and everything around him existed; even asking himself if any of this, him included, was real.

It was a simple tale that served to explain why philosophers ask themselves about the very existence every living being goes through… it also inspired a certain Sci-fi movie, but that is besides the point.

In the current era in Remnant, such things were still being asked. And through some reasoning and time, some things have been able to be explained through science… some others through certain Divine variables as of recent events in Remnant.

But what about the people that first asked these questions… all of them piling up one after another to the point they would scratch their heads in frustration and eventually… Despair.

That was what Hephaestus was going through.

It would also explain the little fear in her eye, but he felt he was just seeing the tip of the iceberg.

"Ever since then, I haven't been able to stop wondering why I do what I do; Why do I even exist? Why am I a Goddess of the Forge?..." she frustratingly grabbed her eyepatch; the trembling in her eyes intensifying. "How did I get these burns?"

Now, Drake would fully say he didn't like what was in front of him. He could not use the Darkness on Deities to see what they were going through, but he knew all the signs that indicated someone was about to hit rock bottom.

"So, I take it all of these examinations with the members of your Familia was just a sort of distraction?"

She simply nodded.

The Goddess of the Forge had always enjoyed seeing weapons and analyzing them… especially if they were from her own Familia. But now, no such joy invaded her; her more recent thoughts taking a first line in her ever-present line of thinking.

"… I…" she tried to speak. "I just… I just can't…" Hephaestus really tried to form a single sentence, but even now that seemed impossible. It was like a headache that wasn't there, a phantom-like pain eating on her very being… to the point she just wanted to-

"Breath."

She felt something on her back, warm; softly soothing her back, over and over again.

This was all Drake could do, as he heated his usual cold body while softly brushing the Goddess' back with his hand. He could not absorb her Despair as he did with Rose or many others due to his Divine status. The Goddess was on the verge of experiencing a panic attack, something that was clearly foreign to her.

"Little by little, lift your head with steady breaths. Acknowledge your surroundings and focus only on my voice alone… nothing else matters."

This wasn't his first time doing this.

Hell, even Drake himself had suffered from such things in the past; the lack of breathing, the subsequent tunnel vision… until it felt like you were surrounded by darkness.

He continued this way for a while, going as far as humming a rather familiar tune for her to help her relax. "… are you ok?"

The Goddess nodded slightly, still not feeling in the best of her moods… but also not on the verge of breaking down. "… That was a nice song." But even so, she didn't dare to look at him.

"One of the only positive things I learned from my mother," he pretty much thought out loud. "Having to pull every little relaxing stunt seeing hugs is out of the list due to your preferences."

"… huh?" now she looked at him, confused… only to recall a little exchange they had when he forged the Hammers and Chisel with his blood.

' I am not the kind of woman that runs into a man's embrace.'

They did have a little moment with such extent after she said that… but the simple fact that he was bringing that up… meant that he was fucking with her.

"Why are you like this?"

"Because we can't always have nice things," Drake replied, in such a proud tone that made her eye twitch… but in the end, she just sighed; figuring this was just a distraction.

"… Divine beings should not be this… way, you know."

He didn't need to ask what way she meant; like a mortal.

Hephaestus, and probably any other Deity here would feel happy, sad, hold a grudge… all of them fleeting feelings. Yes, those are things Mortals also go by, but how did that differ from Deities? Given their long lives and such, such experiences were something usual that they were able to detach from those moments with ease.

Like losing one of their Adventures. From Tsubaki's explanation, it was something that every Deity would eventually go through. Sure, they would be sad or even resentful depending on the circumstances… but they would eventually move from it because Death was such a Mortal thing.

And now, similar Mortal thoughts invaded her.

"I look at you now… and I can't help but feel a little jealous of you," He raised an eyebrow, looking at her in confusion as she sighed before opening her drawer, taking out a rather familiar book for the blonde. "You went through so much, and held on for too long… and you still managed to beat the big bad in the end."

His eyes narrowed on her; a visible anger easily noticeable in his eyes.

"Disappointed?" her voice asked in an amusing tone that would be fitting of someone like Freya; yes, she was that disgusted with herself at the moment.

"About the book? A little bit. But it is those words that came out of his mouth that got under my nerves… it reminds me of something Origin stated once." A little confusion invaded her, not expecting to hear the name of who Drake had described as the King of Spirits. "I am not the dense character of some Fantasy Story, nor am I something someone can read for their amusement."

He walked around the table, grabbing the book before staring at it with an empty gaze.

As much as she hated to do it, she recalled her talk with Ratatosk again. The Great Spirit stated that despite defying Ratatosk's Divine will… Drake agreed with the fact he shouldn't have been born. His contemplating silence and the fact he wasn't destroying the book were all the proof she needed.

"Are you ok?" her question came unconsciously, making him sigh as he placed the book down.

"Will be… say, wasn't there anything better to read in your whole library rather than a poorly written drama?"

Using humor again as a deflection; the Goddess wasn't gonna enable that now given she knew she messed up.

"My own life could also be considered a comedy; you could even get a laugh out of it." And yet she answered in a similar fashion. But her statement was clear, if his life had been read like a literal open book, the least she could do was something similar.

"Pass," he deadpanned. "If I wanted to see a woman being cheated on and any of her misadventures, I would either check on one of Zelos' previous flings or watch a cheap romantic comedy."

The Goddess could feel his words piercing through her. Any other day, she would be pissed; but given the circumstances, she would let it slide this time.

"Enough about me," he snapped his fingers. "Come on, chop-chop." He moved to her, telling her to stand up. "You are still a fucking mess; I can tell by your eyebag you didn't sleep at all yesterday. So, you are on forced nap time, effective immediately."

Now… now she was pissed.

"It isn't even the middle of the day- ah!" he didn't leave room for argument, taking her over his shoulder before heading out of her office.

"And yet you are gonna laze off today." He stepped out of her office, instantly meeting her Familia guards. "You Goddess is under a lot of emotional stress and is in need of a nap. Mind indicating where her quarters are?"

Maybe it was the fact that their Goddess was acting weird, or maybe it was the fact that his bland glare seemed to be the most threatening thing in existence, but they simply pointed the right way before he thanked them.

"I have responsibilities, Drake! I just can't take a day off!"

"Every person has the right to take at least twenty days of vacation a year; you are taking one now."

"I don't have a boss! I am my own boss!"

"We get it, you are a strong, independent woman. Honestly, that makes it better, you don't have to deal with HR."

"The fuck is HR!?" she tried to get off his shoulder. But it was futile, even if she wasn't so tired. "Is this the kind of thing your brothers joke about!? I bet they are laughing right now."

Her struggles stopped at that moment, freezing in place as she finally recalled his brother watched everything Drake was doing… which includes the last few minutes in her office. "… I want to fucking die."

"Don't worry about them, they are not here." He replied, almost as if he had read her mind. "Look at my feet; my shadow isn't there."

Indeed, it is as he said… which meant his brother wasn't present at the moment.

"I tasked one of them with fixing a hole in the Hostess. And seeing they are taking their sweet time, I can already tell who was chosen for the task."

---

"I really have to learn how to keep my fucking mouth shut." Luke Fon Fabre thought out loud as he hammered a nail on a wooden wall; he wasn't even half-way done with the repairs.

"Hurry up, Luke. You are letting all the AC air go to waste."

"Yes, Luke nya~"

"It is getting hot in here nya~"

"You know, I am pretty sure Yuri or Drake would have been done by now."

He hissed back at the staff of the Hostess like a vicious cat. "If you want this fixed then you are more than free to do it yourselves!"

"Pass/ Pass nya~/ Pass nya~"

His head slumped down, groaning.

"I can already see why Drake says you are the loud one; barely any work has been done." Ryuu Lion commented. And just to add more insult to injury.

"I really feel sorry for whoever has to put up with you; complaining about handy work is so unmanly." Said Syr, shaking her head in disappointment.

Luke breathed in, and out. Sure, he wasn't one for the labor world, his field of expertise was with words… something that was clearly needed for this situation.

"Syr, you haven't been with a single man in your entire virgin ass life, how the fuck do you even know what a man is like?"

The patrons in the pub winced at the waitress, looking as she gave a step back at the sudden counterattack.

"And Ryuu, you just standing there and not doing shit is why none of us bet on you on being the one who would end up with Drake."

"Of course you guys made bets like that…" Lunor commented, looking over at the Elf to see she had frozen in place. "Damn, that really was a low blow, huh?"

"Enough!" With a simple word, Mia Grande's command was followed to the letter, even if some had to drag Ryuu back to the kitchen. "You clearly aren't one for this kind of job, why did you of all your brothers ended up here?"

Luke sighed again. "Because I commented on this being easy."

Mia snorted. "And yet every time the Hostess has had needs of repairs, it is either Drake or Yuri who does them." She already knew where this was going. "Talk about Karma."

"Indeed." With that, she left, leaving Luke alone to do his job… or so he thought.

'Revealing the secret about the bets, not cool man.' Zelos commented, shaking his head in disapproval.

'In my defense, it is not like any of us voted for Ryuu… right? I know for a fact I didn't.'

'The votes remain secret, and they will remain secret until Drake finally ends up with someone.' Guy commented, putting an order in his place being the older. 'I didn't vote for her, though.'

'Who cares? Stop wasting time and continue working, bitch. That wall isn't gonna fix itself.' Yuri's comment made it clear he was holding a grudge for his previous comment… and he could do nothing more but suck it up.

---

"What did you do?" Hephaestus commented, having been placed on her bed; Drake even dared to cover her under the bed's sheets.

"Why do you assume I was responsible for the hole?" he asked, faking offense as he sat on a chair next to her bed.

"Because better to doubt a troublemaker from the start."

"That's profiling." He deadpanned.

"And that wasn't a no, either." She answered in the same manner, doubling down on her glare before he decided to give in.

"A God sneaked on me yesterday and I punched him by mistaking him with Zelos."

Hephaestus groaned, completely ignoring the reason why he wanted to punch his best friend in the first place.

"Until now, somehow you have managed to not earn the eyes of other Gods on you, but your luck isn't going to last, Drake." She sighed on her bed, starting to feel tired. "Who was it? I at least need to know who you assaulted in case I need to be wary."

"Some scumbag named Hermes." He had been rubbing his eyes as he answered, but he could feel the change in the room the moment that name was uttered; his suspicions were confirmed as he saw Hephaestus' eye widening… with a neutral expression on her face.

"At least that explains why you mistook him for Zelos."

"That's what I said." His reply only earned him a glare, it was clear to him now; that she knew this Hermes personally.

"Stay away from him, Drake." Her voice was stern, more than he had ever heard her speak. "He may not be as transparent as Aeshma. But he can be as vicious as Freya and as wicked as Loki."

He scowled for a moment, recalling the event in which the God escaped the pub for some weird reason… the blonde couldn't come to any clear conclusion regarding that. "I will be careful."

She sighed, taking his words into account as she closed her eye… not being able to sleep due to the thoughts invading her again; something Drake noticed before extending his arms towards her, wrapping her hand in his under the sheets. "I am not leaving until you fall asleep." She tightened her grip, feeling his warmth as he started to hum that song again.

All of her worries seemed to fade, along with her consciousness.

---

"How did all of you let this happen?" Welf Crozzo commented, being forced on the ground as Leo Valdez sat on the redhead's back. "Who knows what he could be doing to our Goddess in there!?"

"Si. Who knows what the Rubio could be doing to Lady Hephaestus?" Leo snorted, recalling how the mysterious blonde carried their Goddess like a sack of potatoes to her chambers. "Maybe they are doing el delicioso."

Welf groaned. "I don't even know what that means! Also, weren't you ordered only to speak in Koine!?"

"He means Sex, Crozzo. I don't even know a dictionary to know that one." An older Hephaestus Familia member scowled at Leo. "And you, stop railing him out."

The younger blacksmith just shrugged his shoulders before looking at the doors of the main entrance of the HQ. In truth, many wanted to know what was going on… but what could they do? The blonde had become a sort of well-known mystery inside of the Familia; having helped fight an abnormal Goliath, and supposedly beating Udaeus alone… yeah, no, fuck that.

Although, Tsubaki also vouched for him; that was enough for many of them to just wait and hope everything was ok with their Goddess…

'Except for the guy with Goddess issues.' Leo thought, eyeing Welf as he continued restraining him.

His train of thought suddenly stopped as they saw the door of the entrance opening; revealing Drake, carrying a huge suitcase.

They stared, and he stared back with a blank expression before sighing. "Rejoice, children! For I am not your father."

Translation: No, I didn't fuck your Goddess.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief.

"She's tired, and stressed. She expected that checking on your work would put her in a better mood; that clearly wasn't the case." He swore he still heard some Backsmith crying in the distance. "Just give her time and comprehension, make her feel at peace."

"For fucks sake; she's our Goddess, not our mother." Leo commented, to which some Adventurers agreed.

"And until the fucking Deities decide to stop calling you their Children, you will be treated as children. Then by extension, they are your parents." He said in a very 'matter of fact' tone… although his annoyance was clear.

With that, he left; ignoring their calls for more details.

But he didn't have time for that… there was something else invading his thoughts… and it wasn't exactly Ratatosk; at least not at the moment.

Back in Remnant, leaving the Great Spirit aside, when one died the planet made it necessary so there was always a Spirit of their respective element. In a sense, they were reborn anew; that of course meant their memories were reset by default… to make things even worse for his current worries… some spirits inherited wounds from the attack that killed them.

Such was the case for Volt, the spirit of Lighting. He had received a wound on the throat in one of his former incarnations… forcing all of those that followed after to be mute, as well.

Why was this important right now?

'I really fucking hate my mind sometimes.'

Because once Hephaestus mentioned the day she gained consciousness at all, it was the same day she noticed the burns on her face… this led him to his current hypothesis… The Goddess Hephaestus had already been killed at least once while in Tenkai… resulting in her scarred face; something her current iteration inherited.

There was just one problem with that hypothesis… Even if she had been killed and had no memories of her previous iteration, then at least one Deity up there could feel her in how she got those wounds… but apparently no one did.

And even if he criticized Deities for a lot of shit, he really doubted every single one of them was that petty to hide that truth from her… which brought him to his second hypothesis… the most bizarre one.

Most of the Deities, if not all of them, had died before at the same time and got reborn as their previous iteration… with no memories of their previous 'lives', that is.

He pushed the thought to the back of his head, not wanting to reveal this to Hephaestus due to her current state… nor ever to be honest; finding you had been killed and then reborn could be too much for her. And if her current struggles were anything to go by… then maybe he should never reveal these facts.

"Tsubaki sure as hell doesn't have to deal with this shit."

---

Tsubaki Collbrande was happy... something any other person in her position would most likely deny with all their heart.

She didn't even know how much time had passed after Drake and the rest left, leaving her alone with Rita in the arduous task of teaching the Blacksmith about Dust.

However, for her to learn how to run, she needed to learn how to walk first… or in that case… learn about Physics.

Now, any normal person nowadays would say 'Fuck Physics!' and Rita Mordio was hoping this was the case for Tsubaki so she would just drop this out of boredom… sadly… that wasn't the fucking case.

"Ok, I think that covers thermodynamics," Tsubaki exclaimed happily after placing a tablet down, a massive eye bag was noticed under her single one as she looked at a hologram of Rita. "I think sound was the next subject, right?"

Rita didn't bother to hide her groan, something Tsubaki rejoiced knowing the AI wanted her to give up.

"Why can't I ever meet normal people? " Rita thought out loud before sighing in defeat.

"Pretty sure normal people would instantly stay away from your attitude." Tsubaki snorted.

"That would be the damn point of it," Rita eyed the Adventurer for a moment. Annoyance aside, she was honestly surprised by how much knowledge Tsubaki had been able to understand for a civilization that was based on something akin to the medieval ages… with a mix of D&D elements.

'They don't even have calculators, for fucks sake.'

But leaving that aside, the only reason she was even putting up with this was because Drake had asked to teach her everything about Dust. However, she never expected Tsubaki to desire to learn so diligently.

To make the matter even funnier, she was so adamant about not wanting to teach her, that she made a partition of herself just to indirectly avoid the subject… said partition was the one who was now complaining.

'I am even a bitch to myself, nothing new there I suppose.'

By this point, Rita just opted to go on with the task at hand, even if she didn't agree with the reason as to why she wanted such knowledge.

Weapons…

Sure, a little of her easy-going attitude reminded her a little too Lloyd and his passion for forging.

But that was about it.

Lloyd Aurion learned that without noticing, he knew how to create something that could easily destroy a planet… or worse. Technically speaking, at the time of her creation, Jude's were the last set of weapons he had forged for someone.

This woman, on the other hand… She looked too trigger-happy for that level of self-control… if any. The fact that Drake had taught her the same knowledge he and Lloyd had just made her a ticking time bomb… what? That a mad scientist like Rita had no grounds to talk against weapons of mass destruction?

'The most destructive thing I built was a damn fifty-meter area wiping blast that would delete matter in an instant; it is not that bad!' she thought to herself, not realizing the hypocrisy in her reasoning.

However, she was also feeling a little jealous. The Drake of that time didn't know the Arte of Rune-Smithing as Lloyd did, but the older Aurion refused to teach her due to an oath of secrecy… something Drake did not apparently.

"Maybe I can ask Drake later to teach me, as well," she mused with crossed arms, finally noticing a hand moving through her holographic body. "Rude."

"Am I?" Tsubaki snorted as her hand kept moving left and right. "You are the one that had been ignoring me for the last five minutes… besides…" she continued doing so. "This is kind of neat."

Rita ran her hand through her face in exasperation. "Ok, no! Break time!"

Tsubaki dared to pout. "Eeeeeh…"

"Don't act cute with me!" Rita's eye twitched. "You have been awake for three damn days. I don't care how much you are used to staying awake while forging, the brain actually does need to rest to learn properly."

"Oh, don't worry about that, I got that covered," her thumb pointed to the side, seeing a mountain of empty cans of Monster on the floor; she had honestly forgotten about those.

"Those kidney stones are gonna be legendary." The AI replied automatically before turning to her seriously. "No means no. Go on and get at least one hour of sleep."

She started walking out of the room they were using to study, The Cat Faunus could hear how Tsubaki's steps started to become sloppy. Once her focus was taken, it was only natural all the adrenalin in her body would fade.

Sadly, that also meant that she could not ask her regarding the situation of this World, or Drake. Yes, they managed to talk a little and catch up; completely denying any fact about her and Zelos being a thing at the end of their 'Journey'. But still… It wasn't enough.

Drake Aurion… living in a World where Gods ruled over… it was the beginning of a very bad joke… a very bad and bloody joke. At the time of her creation, Drake was still coming to terms with the fact he was Divine; if anything, it only served to justify his hate for himself.

But now… it wasn't as if he was at peace with himself… she can't even say he had fully accepted it seeing as he still could say he was human without suffering the effects of his mother's little jinx on him due to lying… a lie so profound even he believed it was truth, denying his Divinity.

A memory of what laid under his armband came to mind… truly, the path Drake, she, and the rest walked through was not an easy one… and some ended up paying for the mistakes of others. Luke's death was among them. And then there were those who sacrificed their own lives to achieve something… Yuri fell on that one… and Drake… dying twice didn't hold a candle to the meaning behind the marks on his right forearm.

'Origin's trial…' Rita didn't curse, sigh, or react at the event in question. Even if the current her hadn't been there, she had concluded what had come to pass, and who ended up paying the price for the actions of another. 'Fucking-'

"Ouch."

Her train of thought stopped, making her turn around to see a closed door that opened soon after to reveal Tsubaki rubbing her face; The Adventurer was so sleepy the thought of walking through doors came to mind. "The advantages of not having a physical body."

Tsubaki simply flipped her off before walking past her… or through her to be more exact.

Rita stared at her… the person that Drake seemed to put his whole trust in… and the most likely reason he hadn't gone to take one of Yuri's bloody walks in the middle of the night with the Deities of this plane of existence… or something along those lines. The details of their meeting also eluded her, but any of the others could easily fill her in later.

She just hoped it wasn't anything stupid like him being in love… right?

'Naaah, The guy was voted most likely to die alone for fucks sake… ' the Faunus made a silent prayer of apology.

"Aaaaaah"

She looked to the side, seeing Tsubaki pretty much letting herself fall on her back on her bed. "… Why the fuck is everything in this fucking ship so much better than anything I know; even this military bed is comfier than my own."

Rita just continued analyzing her, thinking of the lengths Drake had gone for this person alone… even asked her to help.

She sighed in defeat; opting to go against her better judgment and trust in Drake's opinion of Tsubaki… so if the bitch ended up creating something deathly or something bad happened, it was on him.

"Hey, Cyclops."

Tsubaki's eye snapped, forcing a smile as a vein popped. "Ok, that was fucking uncalled for." She hated her nickname after finding the meaning of it.

"Humor me in my boredom, what exactly are you planning to forge with this new knowledge?"

Tsubaki lifted her head for a moment, surprised Rita was showing interest in her work… or in her at all. She wasn't an idiot, she knew the AI was putting an effort because of Drake's request and tolerating her; The Blacksmith still took the chance to learn, though.

"Well…"

An exploding sword with short and ranged capabilities, with levels of explosion; basic.

A Thunder Hammer. Her first attempt failed because she built it without a damn core; even so, basic.

This one she already knew; an Aura Bracelet. This one deserved a compliment. Seeing as all of the people of this World relied on a Deity's blessing to fight. Suffice it to say, it was completely different from the ones the Spirits back home gave. Power-wise, this World didn't give much initially… but the potential in them was there… in the long run. So, a bracelet that could call for a certain amount of sealed Aura was great, especially since it had a potential effect on the Adventurer's stats.

'This World really fucking runs on a D&D setting!'

Moving on!

Aura Gauntlets with a pre-load Arte, [Beast]. Another clever idea. Something that many Huntsmen and Huntresses would pay to have seeing the Normal Aura Users could not perform Artes. Sadly, no one thought about weaponizing Artes… although the only ones who could do it were Lloyd and his Forge Master… and neither had an interest in that. In conclusion, ten points for Collbrande.

A pair of daggers that would paralyze the target's nervous system if they manage to land a cut to the victim; clearly for an assassin… basic.

This one was interesting… a spear with a switch. Once triggered, it enhances the speed of the spell over time while being covered in a sort of lightning aura; anything the user touches would be as if the target had been hit a spark of lightning. Interesting idea, but if the user couldn't keep up with their speed… that would be a problem.

"As for what I have planned… been thinking on a spear that can ignore any sort of defense, a magic rod that can turn into a sword made of magic, a bow that can shoot energy arrows instead of physical ones," and so she went on.

Rita sighed, making Tsubaki twitch; recalling her previous conversation with Drake calling her a-

"Basic Bitch."

"And there it is!" she softly slammed her hand on the bed, still staring at the white ceiling. "That is the reason why I wanted to learn more about Dust; learning to create something more that goes beyond the elements… and now that you were giving me Psychics lessons… an idea came to me… kind of the reason as to why I was excited to learn about sound."

Rita Mordio came to realize something as this conversation went on.

"I am listening."

Even if she said everything she got was through hard work alone; no gift or skill that would help her skills, no bloodline ability to boast about… unlike her. Rita's semblance, Formula Eyes; is the ability to understand everything that her eyes land on. Be it spells, Dust… everything, as long as it wasn't of Divine origin… her Semblance was what marked her beginning as a scientist and inventor.

But her passion was there, even if she had the way to do things… something that Tsubaki had, along with something else. Despite saying she didn't have anything but hard work, that was a lie… because she had enough imagination to make up for it… and now that she had the right tools and knowledge; those would become a reality.

"Once upon a time, during the Dark Age of Orario, there was this bad bitch called the Silence."

And that made Tsubaki as dangerous as her.

---

Bete Loga inhaled, and exhaled; keeping a pace as he felt the power known as Aura running through his body.

'Control your emotions, and keep a steady flow.'

The memories had continued coming to him from time to time. This time, it seemed as if the owner of the memory kept his eyes closed through the whole thing seeing as only a voice was heard.

But even so, the usual angry Werewolf couldn't help but listen intensively. He couldn't help but feel that the owner of the voice not just commanded but deserved respect.

'Muscle by Muscle, skin, limbs; let it all flow through your body so it can get used to it.'

Bete could feel it.

This was almost as bad as an intensive workout, feeling every bit of his own body being pushed in a way he never expected.

'Your body will grow and remember from this, making it so you can strengthen it without using too much Aura in the heat of battle.'

Indeed, if this was the kind of training Aurion and the others went through it would explain how they were so strong… but even so… Bete was having a problem… his fatal flaw.

'Remember, Aura is powered by emotion. If you can't keep it under control, it will be released in a burst of energy.'

Said flaw was him always being angry.

"I fucking know that already!"

---

"Time." Tiona muttered, seeing from afar as a sudden burst of cold wind erupted out of Bete; followed by ice pillars that surged around him. "Thirteen minutes… that's a new record."

The younger Amazon sighed, sitting on the floor and resting against a wall as she saw Bete curse his heart out; releasing more of that cold Aura as he did.

"You would think giving a power fueled by emotion to the guy with anger issues would be volatile… and you would be right."

"Quite." Riveria Ljos Alf commented, keeping an eye on the Werewolf in hopes he could learn something useful all of them could use.

If her suppositions were correct, the power of Aura was not something exclusive. It was, after all, a manifestation of the soul; something every living being had. So there had to be a way, a ritual of sorts to do so.

No, she wasn't guessing, she was sure of it. Not only Drake: his brother, and now even Bete had Aura. That individual known as Adam had it. The same could be said about that cloaked Pallum known as Lett; giving him enough power to go toe to toe against someone like Ryuu Lion.

Sadly, the amount of information from Bete was lacking… and questionable. He had managed to recall some kingdoms Drake and his brothers may hail from; Vale, Atlas, Vacuo, Mistral, Terca Lumines… none of those Kingdoms existed as far as anyone knew. Also, the fact that he had stated they had killed a fully released Deity… impossible… just impossible.

To make things worse, they couldn't get any information from his Falna. Loki had a deep scowl on her face the moment she came out of her quarters with his Status update. His stats had surely gone up a bit due to the experience he went through. And it seemed as if he had earned two new skills… but that was all they could tell; the whole part was filled in a foreign language that not even Loki seemed to understand. By reasoning, she knew one of the Skills was his new acquired Aura, and the other one was that Ice-like power that he had seemed to gain; both were connected.

"And there he goes again."

Tiona got her attention, seeing Bete sitting cross-legged on the ground once more.

The High-Elf stared, but not at Bete… but at the Amazon; a very unusual expression on her face. No, it had been like that ever since all of them had what Loki had dubbed 'Nightmare Episode'. Some had managed to move on and recover, others… not so much. Tiona being one of them; being born in Telskyura, Riveria could already guess what kind of nightmare she had… she and her sister.

Tione had been better in recovering her usual self. Sadly, that was also tied to Finn's mood.

The Pallum had hardly left his office since that day, seeing as one of their biggest assets had their Falna sealed, and Loki issued an order of no longer going against Drake. Suffice it to say, Finn took that badly. The reason he locked himself in his office was only because he wasn't in the mood to show his usual smile to the Familia. If someone were to see him now, they would think he was a completely different person.

It was not only because of what Loki said. What Drake had said to him in the Dungeon also affected him. Calling him out for his reasons, criticizing him, mocking him… going as far as calling on his true name. Was Drake right in everything he said? She couldn't say… rather, she didn't care; everyone had their own goals and means. It is not that she followed Finn's path. Rather, it was just that his dreams just happened to go in a similar direction to her.

But now that someone rubbed the truth in his face, Finn was now trying his best to think about how to keep the Familia from falling apart, keeping his image intact… and even if he didn't admit it, thinking about how to one-up Drake Aurion and his Familia despite being told not to.

Sadly, that was only one-third of their current problem.

Loki had changed… for the best or for the worse… she couldn't say.

On one hand, she no longer tries to sexually assault every female member of the Familia… but this was due to how serious she had become since her talk with Lloyd Aurion in The Hostess of Fertility. Like Finn, she tried to save face from time to time in front of the others, but it was for naught when no one who wasn't an Executive was around.

Her Goddess wouldn't say anything, but she knew Lloyd's threat… his words had triggered something in her. The bags under her eyes indicated she was having problems sleeping. The alcohol was still an issue, but now she looked more like a depressing drunk looking into the distance… as if trying to remember something.

There had been a hidden meaning in Lloyd's words… something sinister to her Goddess seeing she was the only one that reacted in such a way.

"Speaking of attempts, I'm pretty sure this is her fifth."

Riveria sighed, looking to the side of the garden to spot the third problem her Familia had.

"She's using her bed sheets this time."

"So it seems." They watched as Ais Wallenstein opened the window of her room; throwing a rope made out of her bed sheets before using it to climb down.

"At least she's getting creative with her escape plans… even though she isn't aware we are looking."

Riveria simply sighed, resting her face on her palm.

Ais seemed to be going through a serious case of rebellious phase. Going as far as destroying the Forge of one Tsubaki Collbrande while demanding a new sword.

Tsubaki was a Level five, so it was only natural she could stop her; especially if Ais was distracted according to what Gareth had said. Such behavior had earned her Falna being sealed… but as many could see that seemed only to be an obstacle for her to surpass.

"Even if she managed to escape the Twilight Manor, what exactly does she expect to accomplish with no Falna and no Familia backup?" Riveria thought out loud.

"I mean, no offense, but Ais has never been one to think things through."

Tiona's words held no ill intent. But even so, her words felt like a pierce to her very being seeing she was the one responsible for raising the girl. Such a statement also reminded her she had been reprimanded by Lloyd about her education.

Riveria would never admit it out right in that moment… but now, seeing her behavior, she could say he had been right; she… all of them had been enabling her through the years… and using her for the Familia convenience, like they did during Orario's Dark Age.

Sadly, she didn't know how to fix such behavior, especially seeing that Ais refused to listen to them. Not that she knew what to do to fix Ais, anyway. Lloyd mentioned something called a psychiatrist, a profession she was unfamiliar with.

In the end, Riveria felt useless regarding the situation. Not being able to make the Familia advance, not being able to figure out how to surpass their current obstacle, helping her Goddess or even Ais. She was truly stagnated.

"She ran out of rope." Once again, Tiona brought her back to reality; seeing Ais hanging by the end of the rope… with a gap of five meters between her and the ground. Since she didn't have a Falna, that could be considered a huge fall.

"I think she's starting to cry, her hands are also trembling."

Riveria sighed in defeat, going in Ais' direction before she fell. But besides that little help, Riveria didn't really know what else to do.

---

Jude Lowell walked through the Soma Familia home.

Some days have already passed since they had returned from the ship.

"Morning, Doctor!"

He waved in the direction he heard the greeting, doing it several times as he headed for the Captain's office.

The past few days had been spent in relative peace.

Besides the usual shenanigans in The Hostess, Drake hasn't got to deal with -as all of them agreed on calling it- someone else's bullshit. Some questions did arise regarding his last meeting with Hephaestus, but he kept it to himself.

Some of them did bother with the details, but the blonde played the uncaring act and locked the memory away. Something had happened, important enough to lock it. Zelos and some others thought perhaps there had been some unwanted development on Drake's part seeing he kept triggering flags, but it was only Lloyd who remained silent… giving them enough signs for them to figure something else happened.

Out of respect, they discarded the subject completely.

Now here he was, checking on his 'student', along with their little side project.

"Careful!" he stopped, hearing a couple of people losing their balance at a sudden burst of wind. "Seriously, when will these gusts stop!? I almost went flying off the last time."

He scowled under his bandages before he continued on his way. 'Ratatosk and Adam are really taking their fucking time.'

'Credit due where it is due; whoever has the Centurion of Wind is really quirky if they have managed to avoid them for so long.'

Flynn let out a small hum at Guy's comment. 'That is all the more reason to be on guard,' he sighed. 'I know we agreed not to get involved with any Centurion that was the Light one, but I am starting to get worried with these bursts of wind.'

Nothing more was said, but everyone present agreed on the sentiment.

"Lili, I am coming in," Jude said, knocking on the door before entering.

"… huh"/'huh' him and his brother thought, seeing Lili on a mattress; doing push-ups in deep concentration.

'She has earphones on. She's not gonna listen to you.' Yuri confirmed for him, making Jude move his head to the side to address the one other person in the room, God Soma.

"She has been using that device you gave her to disconnect from her surroundings; says it helps in her concentration… even though I find that questionable seeing how loud those things are."

And with good reason, seeing as Jude could now hear 'Through the fire flames' at max volume.

'At least she has a good taste.'

'And a deaf set of ears at this rate.' Jude berates his brother, entering Doctor mode before literally standing in front of Lily; the girl noticing his footwear immediately.

"Doctor Jude!" she stood up immediately, taking off his earphones before properly addressing him. "I was just warming up for our lesson."

He smiled, moving his mouth to speak… but not a single word was heard to Lili.

"… ah?" Jude raised an eyebrow, showing confusion as his mouth kept moving; nothing to be heard once more. "God Soma? Can you hear him?"

Soma stared at the whole scene for a moment, his usual stoic expression served to hide his realization of what Jude was doing. So, he simply nodded and moved his mouth without really saying anything.

Lilicura Arde paled, noticing something was wrong with her.

"Has Lili gone deaf!?"

---

"Lili didn't find that funny! She honestly was scared!" The Pallum shouted, taking a sip of her tea. "Lili didn't think Doctor Jude would be so evil as to pull a stunt such as that."

"Someone once said that people don't really learn their lesson until they have experienced the consequences," he took the cup of tea handed to him by Soma before taking a sip. "We gave you a Scroll so you could contact us and help you in your duty as a Captain. And although listening to music for training is a good stimulant, abusing it to such volume could be detrimental. Please, be more responsible around it."

The seriousness in his tone was all Lili needed to take his words to heart; nodding in acceptance.

"Good." He smiled. "With that out of the way, let's start with the first order of business then."

Lili nodded as she returned the smile.

"As Doctor Jude may have already noticed; Soma Familia has managed to establish connections with the lower areas of Orario."

He was aware.

Finding the little thief that had set up Rose was only thanks to the connections established with said people.

"Thanks to the sales of beer the Familia has made, we were able to buy some properties as well." Soma apported to the information as well. "We even proceeded with buying houses in said areas and using them as community houses; this has also helped with the recruitment of many other Familia members to cover said areas."

Establishing a full network.

That was the idea Jude and the others came up with.

Yeah, they wanted Drake to keep a low profile and a quiet life. But that didn't mean he or they should be unprepared in case connections were needed; something all of them had back home due to their Noble status.

Of course, they first had to teach certain Familia members how to gather information. This is where Zelos made his expertise of being from Atlas known. Teaching them how to talk, listen, behave, and identify potential investments and contacts.

With this, little by little they formed a network from the lowest of the lowest, making it so no other Familias would notice them until it was too late. Of course, that last part was more for Drake, as the others decided to play Monopoly with the city.

"Thank you for your efforts, both of you." Jude gave a slight bow, making Lily almost spill her tea as she shook her hands in the air.

"No, no, no. It was thanks to Doctor Jude and the others and your investment in Soma Familia! If anything, it is us that should be bowing our heads."

"Please don't." they proceeded to do it anyway.

After a little while, they finally touched on the topic Lili was expecting the most; her training.

He had not only made a training and food regimen for her to follow, but also given her a digital book in her Scroll to learn about the human body in order to know what parts are vulnerable and how to exploit them at a medical level. Of course, he had also given CQC lessons and moves she had to practice… but today… it was gonna be hell for her.

"A practical lesson?" Lili asked, confused. "what does that entail exactly?"

"You will learn something through combat today; facing against someone else." He looked at the door for a moment. "I can already hear his steps close by."

"Lili is ready, whoever it is she has to face-" the knob on the door was twisted before someone started to open the door. "-Lili is confident she will put a good-" The door opened to reveal none other than Drake Aurion. "-fight."

She froze in place, not even blinking as she already concluded who she will be facing…

'Lili is gonna fucking die.' Her mind concluded.

Drake, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow as he approached Jude; sipping his tea in peace. "Did I arrive at a bad time?"

"Oh no, quite the contrary."

---

The day of the Goddess of the Forge moved with ease; a quill imprinting on paper followed her every command.

She definitely felt better now compared to a few days ago. The intrusive thoughts still came to her from time to time, but she had managed to not dwell too much on them. However, she had unknowingly found a silly solution to her problems, although someone like Freya would call it romantic.

Drake could not be with her twenty-four/seven, seeing as she initially was only able to calm down because of him. But remembering that little moment with him helped… to the point she unknowingly started to hum that same tune he did for her. It was refreshing for a moment, a little escape from reality if only for a few minutes.

And with that out of the way… she was now into the hole called her usual daily life, meaning; work, Familia management, paperwork, Status updates, more paperwork! And so on…

Her Children had been understanding with her thanks to something Drake told them… although some were anything but subtle in bombarding her with questions and needs.

'Looking at you, Welf' She thought with a sigh, not being in the mood for any sort of drama… and yet, she could not stop thinking about her latest interaction with the blonde.

'Seriously, this wouldn't be an issue if he were an asshole one hundred percent of the time!'

The tip of her quill broke, making her just stare with a bland expression as her train of thought continued its way.

'Is he dense? There's no way he doesn't know how a woman's heart works.'

Tsubaki did say his love experience was none if not negative due to external experience.

'I can't imagine having a best friend like Zelos.'

No, worse, you dated someone as bad.

'Now those are depressing memories. But seriously, I am too old to be acting like a teen with a crush.'

A very deadly crush.

'No kidding…' she groaned. 'I hate to admit it, but maybe people like Freya are right about the whole falling for the bad boy thing.'

Bitch, we both know that is not the reason you have your silly crush.

'… He called me beautiful; to my face.'

And gave you a Super Hammer.

'and gave me a super hammer…' she groaned, opening the cabinet on her desk to bring out a half-drink bottle and a glass shot. 'Seriously, I wish I were more like Tsubaki… that bitch is so unfazed to love and that sort of thing that I am jealous of her!'

Ha! You know very well that's a lie; she's just in a mess of a boat as you are… speaking of which; where is that bitch anyway?

'…' Hephaestus blinked as she held the bottle… yes; where was Tsubaki?

Drake had stated she was going into a boot camp.

'Whatever the hell that is.'

She had also been covering her Captain's work due to that; mounting more paperwork on her desk.

The Blacksmith sighed as she started to serve herself; enjoying the fact that at least she was at pea-

"Hephaestus!" the door was suddenly slammed open. "Your daughter has returned! I bring forth the destruction of… why is your table such a mess?"

Hephaestus just stared at her with a twitching smile; having lost the balance of her bottle the moment Tsubaki barged into the room like that, knocking down all the paperwork and spilling her drink in the process.

---

"If I had the strength to strangle the life out of you, I would do it." Hephaestus stated in exasperation as they entered into her personal quarters.

"I already said I would help you out with the piled-up work; so please tone down the Karen to a one."

"Tsubaki." She turned around, looking at her Child. "You are in worse condition than me." Her visible eye had bags under her bags, not to mention she looked a little pale as well. "You should be sleeping for fucks sake."

"Goddess, either I help you or I sleep. I can't do both at the same time." Tsubaki said in such an understanding tone that it made the Goddess feel like a child; the fact her Adventurer placed a hand on her shoulder as if she was a senile old woman didn't make it any better.

"Get in the fucking bed." Hephaestus pretty much gritted her teeth as Tsubaki just walked past her; stripping off all clothes from the waist up while her Goddess looked for a needle.

"So… how have you been?" Hephaestus instantly noticed the change of tone in her voice; a hint of worry in her voice… and given recent events-

"You spoke with Drake, didn't you?" her question remained unanswered for a moment as she kept searching.

"Catch." Tsubaki's voice made her turn around to barely catch the device called Scroll. "Use your finger to scroll down to 'Conversation'."

Her eyes narrowed at the device, having seen Drake use it a few times and Tsubaki mentioned it as well. She looked at the screen, seeing what it seemed was a conversation with the blonde; the most recent one being started about an hour ago.

Tsubaki: Hey hey hey! Guess who's finally returning to the surface?

Drakey: "Let me guess… a Cyclops."

Tsubaki: "… Do you wanna fucking die?"

Tsubaki: "Wait, no, don't answer that; I already know the answer to that one."

Drakey: "How was the learning experience?"

Tsubaki: "I now know how to blow up a fucking city; sure that beats burning an Elf forest."

Hephaestus fought the urge to face-palm herself, seeing as Tsubaki really wanted to flip it off to Welf's bloodline somehow.

Drakey: "Neat!"

'Don't fucking enable her!' The Goddess thought with a twitching eye.

Tsubaki: "What about you? Anything interesting happened while I was gone?"

Drakey: "I punched another God in the face."

Tsubaki: "Neat!"

"One thing is him enabling you!" she snapped at the Adventurer lying on her bed. "But why are you congratulating him for punching a Deity?!"

Tsubaki shrugged. "Seeing as nothing seems to be burning and there is no gossip on the street other than something about Royman, I don't see why I need to worry." Tsubaki let the words flow… only to recall the Royman rumors; the whole event sounded sketchy enough for Drake to have a hand in it.

"You don't think…" Hephaestus seemed to catch on that as well.

"Bah, I will ask him or Rose for the details later."

The Goddess shook her head as she continued reading.

Drakey: "… Actually, there's something else. It's about Hephaestus."

Tsubaki: "… I am waiting."

Drakey: "Ratatosk pulled a surprise 'fuck you' visit at the Hostess; Hephaestus happened to be there."

Tsubaki: "I am gonna take it she's fine seeing I still have my Falna."

Drakey: "Aye. But her talk with him left her with… issues. I already did the best I could about her not having any Despair issues. But there's only so much I can do since I can't absorb it off her."

Tsubaki: "Thanks. I will. I just hope that she hasn't drank the storage."

Rita: "When Drake said Deities here were flawed, I didn't think pathetic went along with that one."

Tsubaki: "The shit!? Wasn't this supposed to be a private conversation?"

Drakey: "-_-. All habits die hard, huh, Rita? You couldn't spend a whole fucking week without hacking a private conversation."

Rita: "You know it. Thought I would be able to get something from the conversation from all the Scroll in Adam's group. But they are either conversations about novels, soap operas, or food; what a fucking waste of my time."

Tsubaki: "You are telling me she tends to pull this kind of shit!? What happened to privacy!?"

Rita: "Wut that? "

Tsubaki: "-_-"

Rita: "Quit wasting your time and go check on your menopause Goddess, ttyl."

Said Goddess gripped the device with a twitching eye. "Who the fuck is Rita?"

"Oh, yeah. Zelos' 'not' girlfriend, Drake's old friend; cool bitch with an attitude." Tsubaki said tiredly as her face remained planted on her Goddess' bed.

"Old friend… as in from Remnant?" her question went through the thought that somehow someone from Remnant had crossed here again.

"Ah… I know what you are thinking… no, it is not like that. And she isn't exactly real, either."

Hephaestus blinked blandly a few times before releasing an outburst. "That doesn't make any sense!"

Tsubaki snorted. "And I am not even starting with the tip of the iceberg."

The Deity ran her hand through her face from the bottom up; pretty much inhaling in exasperation before finally finding that needle and a piece of blank paper. "Let's just get this over with."

"Finally." The Captain groaned, feeling her Goddess' weight as she straddled the Mortal.

"Yeah, yeah." Hephaestus pinched the tip of her finger, letting a drop of her ichor fall on Tsubaki's back; her Status open to Update, its brightness seemed to be more intense than usual, but the Goddess paid it no mind.

She placed her hands on Tsubaki's back, preparing to finally update her Falna after a long time… her eye widened as flashes of the events Tsubaki went through played before her.

A giant murderous ship, the existence of sentient Monsters, Drake… a fake Drake nearly killing Tsubaki, her killing it in return, the amount of knowledge and practice she went through with who it seemed was Rita… Yes, she was used to seeing months' worth of flashes since one of her Adventurer's last updates. But for some reason, this seemed to be too much.

Finally, her eye dilated as she saw the number changing. She snapped, quickly placing the paper in the status before printing its contents, then finally jumping off her child.

"Tsubaki…" she looked at the piece of paper. "… What have you done?"

[Tsubaki Collbrande]

LV 5*

STR C→ S 669 → 999

VIT C→ S 750 → 999

DEX B→ S 720 → 999

AGI C→ S 608 → 999

MAG I 0

Skills

Aegis of Steel

Precision Strike

Dragon Slayer +

ል፱ዪል ልጋልየፕልፕጎዐክ?

ነልርዪቹጋ ዪ፱ክቹ ጮልነፕቹዪሃ

ልዪፕቹነ ኡክዐሠረጋፏቹ - ቹዪዪዐዪ

ነርጎቹክርቹ'ነ የጎዐክቹቹዪ

ል፱ዪጎር ዪቹነጎነፕቹክርቹ

Development Ability

[E]→[C]| Blacksmith*

[H]→[G] | Chain Attack

[E] | Hunter

[H]→[G] | Abnormal Resistance

All of her stats had been maxed up; that was probably a given seeing she killed a nearly impossible opponent. Even if it wasn't a clean fight, it was so difficult that she filled the whole Excelia for her current Level.

But that was the least of her worries.

For one, Dragon Slayer now had a plus next to its name… something never seen until now, but still understandable seeing that… Replica also had Dragon blood in it.

She had also gained several skills… all of which seemed to be written in a language not even she, a Goddess, could read.

The redhead looked up, noticing the source of all upcoming headaches had fallen asleep. It was only natural, seeing as she barely slept while studying under Rita…

She would let it slide, but when her Captain woke up… they would have to address the upcoming issues her Level Up would cause.

---

A few days later

Drake's mind was currently in automatic mode; moving his body without a single thought in mind.

When Zelos had used the excuse of the pool to cover Drake's own fuck up, the blonde had subconsciously thought it would just be another minor annoyance to take care of.

Buying the establishment next door hadn't been the issue.

The fact that he and his brothers had to do the handy work to build the damn pool wasn't one either…

"Is it just me, or does it look like he's slowing down on his job?"

"Sure looks like it."

His eye twitched, exiting Auto-mode as he looked over his shoulder to see Syr and Ryuu respectively; along with some of the waitress staff of the Hostess.

"I am sorry, are you ladies enjoying the view?" the monotone voice was noticeable, but they didn't care one bit.

"Oh, absolutely," Lunor answered, taking a bite of a bag of popcorn as they stared at him. "Are you sure you don't want to take some off? You look rather suffocated." The rest of the staff, sans Ryuu and Anya nodded dumbly.

He was currently wearing a black long-sleeved shirt that tightly embraced the upper part of his body, giving all the onlookers a very defined view of his muscles.

"You don't hear me saying that whenever you lot are sweating your asses off."

"Nor will you, thanks to the AC." Lunor replied in a rather satisfied way.

"Long live the cool air device." The rest of the staff chanted harmonically, making Drake sigh in annoyance at himself for bringing such commodities to them.

'I am not introducing them to soup operas; it would be the end of the pub if I did.'

"Let him be, Lunor," Syr stated, looking to the side with a rather unsettling smile. "Besides, there's someone more eye-catching not too far away."

"Origin fucking damn it," he thought out loud, looking to the big hole on the establishment to see Guy; completely shirtless, conveniently dumping a bottle of cold water on himself while shaking his head.

Drake didn't need to read the waitresses' minds to know they were watching the whole thing in slow motion, with a rather questionable soundtrack in their minds.

"Thirsty bitches, all of you." He thought out loud, gripping his shovel before continuing with his job.

"Yeah, yeah; we suck and you are great, we get it, now shush," Lunor commented in a sort of trance, only to be brought back to reality as she noticed someone had forcibly taken the bag of popcorn off her hand. "Hey!... oh, hey Mama."

All of the waitresses took a step back, being brought back to reality. "I had been wondering what the hell was going on when all of a sudden most of you said you needed to go to the bathroom," she snorted, looking at Drake and then at Guy. "By the look of it, you might actually need to if you are going to take care of all that thirst."

Most of the waitresses groaned.

"I don't get it, nya~"

All but Anya at least.

"Hey, brats, how's that coming along?" her vision was directed at the two blondes.

"Right on schedule," Guy commented, walking next to Drake while whipping some sweat with a towel. "It should take us a few more days before everything is in working order."

Mia narrowed her eyes. "Everything?"

Drake sighed, shaking his head in disapproval before answering. "Yes, Mia, that includes the jacuzzi."

She smiled victoriously.

"However, we would also like to take some time to explain everything to the person who will be in charge of the maintenance."

Guy's words silenced the whole area, leaving room for a collective "huh?" in the air.

"Wait, so you guys are not gonna clean or that sort of stuff nya~?"

The oldest Guardian flinched, feeling the annoyance radiating off Drake.

"Let's just make one thing clear," he stabbed the shovel on the ground. "You lot are being given not just a fucking privilege, but also a responsibility; so at the very least one of you should look after this." His eyes focused on a certain waitress.

"… why are you looking at me?" Lunor asked, feeling a certain dread crawling up her back.

"… I see where you are going with this." She looked alarmed at Mia's words. "Lunor, you are in charge of the pool."

The waitress paled, letting the little bit of food that remained in her mouth fall to the ground. "huh… why!?"

"Simple enough; I wouldn't trust this to people that can't even go a single day without breaking a plate," some winced. "And I know that cat people tend to avoid water."

"That's discrimination, nya~!" Chloe shouted in defense of her kin, but she was promptly ignored. "We can be tolerant when we want to, nya~!"

"Is that why either Mia or I have to lock you in the bath so you lot can take a damn shower?" Drake asked with a slight scowl.

"You might as well just get locked in with them and force them to take a bath."

The waitresses looked at Guy blushing, and considering the idea, but Drake knew the context for his brother's idea. "Only because you give baths to your girlfriend every single day doesn't mean that applies to every cat person."

The oldest raised an eyebrow. "It doesn't?"

Every cat girl looked at the exchange with twitching eyes. "Lucky bitch." Chloe whispered, losing her cat-like tick in the process.

"Anyway, as for those who are left," he focused on Syr. "That one hasn't done a single bit of hard work in her life."

Syr looked offended by that. "That's not true! I have-"

"Bullseye on that one."

"Mama!" Syr looked at the betrayal performed by Mia, her jaw dropping in disbelief at how easy that was.

"What about Ryuu, though? Is that related to that whole thing about Elves being lewd according to your people?"

The Elf in question remained stoic at the memory of such humiliation; her blush betrayed though.

"No…" Guy started. "You just never leave an Elf in charge of anything… like… never-"

"Ever." Drake continued.

"Forever." both concluded.

"Now you are just being ridiculous." The Elf in question raised her voice. "We are more diligent than anyone; I am the first to wake up after you, Drake. And I am also the last one to go to bed to make sure everything is locked." She crossed her arms. "How am I irresponsible, then?"

"Give it time, you will fuck up sometime in the future, mark my words." Drake said in a matter of fact tone before Guy dealt with the counterargument.

"But while that happens, let's present some known examples," The oldest cleared his throat. "Once upon a time, there were two High Elves; each the leader of their respective kingdoms."

Mia narrowed her eyes, finding the story awfully familiar for some reason… it wasn't until she noticed Syr sweating that she recalled the origin of such a tale.

"Neither liked their roles… so they guided their kingdom to war so all of their people got killed; the end."

Drake gestured to his brother. "See… you can't count on Elves."

Everyone looked at Ryuu… giving a backstep from her in an instant. "… You really are going to doom me for the mistakes of two others?" Yeah, she knew who the blondes were talking about; both were executives in Freya Familia after all, and it was no secret to some who was the one responsible for such an event… although many others didn't.

"Now, now, Ryuu… don't be like that," Syr calmly placed her palm on her friend's shoulder. "Let's just leave Lunor to take care of this; it might be an enlightening experience for her."

The Former Demi Ymir just stared, clearly seeing a case of covering something up with misdirection taking place.

"But that is the thing, I don't want the damn job!" Lunor pretty much shouted, making Mia sigh as she did something no one ever expected out of her.

"I will give you a raise and one extra free day a week."

Everyone, even the brothers, couldn't but stare as if Mia had grown a second head… yes, she really wanted that jacuzzi.

"Well… I mean… if you put it like that…" Lunor said nonchalantly, trying her best not to look happy; something that wasn't shared with her workmates.

"Mama!"

"That's not fair!"

Mia sighed. "Enough!" she pointed at the pub. "Now get back to work; the day is already starting to pick up so move it."

There were a lot of collective groans, except for one happy Lunor.

"Finally… peace and silence, my oldest friend," Drake thought out loud as he and Guy resumed their work. "Thanks for helping me out by the way. I was gonna do this on my own seeing it was my fuck up, after all."

"Don't mention it, you know all…" Guy stood quiet seeing Drake giving him a knowing look. "Most of us would have helped you regardless… however…"

The younger blonde raised an eyebrow at the tension given by Guy.

"I just needed some me time, man!" he groaned, making Drake almost lose his balance.

Seeing the current development, it was easy to figure out what was going on. "Zelos?"

"He's been more insufferable with each passing day!" The usually chill Guy threw the shovel on the ground in frustration. "Do you remember the critically acclaimed 'Peaches By Jack Black'?"

Drake deadpanned. "Fucking Bowser repeating Peach's name over and over again can't be called a song."

"Well, too fucking bad. Because that fucking redhead made his remix with Rita's name instead."

'Rita~ Rita~ Rita~ Rita~ Rita~ Rita~ Rita~'

Drake groaned, hearing a five-second version of said monstrosity in his head.

"I may embody Sacrifice, but does that entail sacrificing my own sanity?"

Drake rolled his eyes, now he was getting dramatic; the last time this happened was when Guy was still afraid of women; it happened at least once a week. "Ok, what do you want me to do? Give the fucking redhead a pass to use my Shadow to try and find a way to fuck Rita?"

The oldest's head snapped at Drake's reaction. "She doesn't have a physical body, there's no way-"

"Guy," Drake interrupted him; placing his hand on the oldest's shoulder. "We are talking about the asshole who marinated the girl of his dreams for nine fucking years; I don't know how, but if he believes there's a way to fuck a fucking AI… he will find it."

Both blondes stared at each other; one in defiance, and one in defeat.

'That was the most inspirational speech I have heard in my whole life, bud.'

Drake and Guy scowled at the sound of a familiar voice in his mind before shouting. "Fuck off, Z!"

"I swear, you better tone that simping shit down or I will-" Guy froze mid-sentence, making Drake raise an eyebrow as he flashed black for a moment, replacing Guy for another one of his brothers.

"Jude? What's-" it was then he felt it, a little spike of Divinity forming in the sky; the very reason that forced Jude to appear.

Drake looked up, noticing a formation of clouds shadowing the whole city, moving circularly.

But for Jude, what he was able to see was a flow of Aura coming from the Dungeon, manipulating the weather; concentrating into a single point to concentrate all of the wind into a fast rotation… a tornado was forming.

"Jude," Drake started, only to notice a faint green Aura surrounding the Blind Wolf.

"Already on it." He raised his hand, making a motion with it to disrupt the Divine Aura coming off the Dungeon, but not forcibly enough to be noticed by other Gods.

After a while, the skies were cleared… but even so, he couldn't help but scowl as they remembered the issue with the Centurion of Wind -the catalyst of this whole situation- still on the loose in the Dungeon.

It had already been like this since the first wind assault on the city a few months ago; strong currents of wind suddenly hit the city, causing some small damage to some establishments and locals… but now… things were escalating in a rather disastrous way.

Why weren't Drake or the others doing anything? Because it was Ratatosk's and Adam's responsibility, that's why.

Although, that didn't stop the Guardians from doing the one thing a third party does when another one fucks up; criticize them.

"What the fuck are those pieces of shit doing? It had been months since someone or something took over the Centurion, and they still haven't done shit."

Jude simply continued staring at nothingness in the sky. "If this continues, we may actually need to step up and lend a hand," he groaned; everyone gave a collective groan at the thought of giving Ratatosk a hand.

"Might as well…" Drake looked to the entrance to the building, narrowing his eyes at the person hiding at the other side of the entrance. "So, are you gonna wait for us to stop talking shit about you? Or are you gonna show yourself and explain this fuck up?"

There was a sharp sigh coming from outside the establishment. Adam Taurus moved to the side, revealing himself with a tired expression hiding behind his shadders. "… We need your help."

---

Mia felt it… hell, she was pretty sure all of the Adventurers in the city felt it.

Something had happened outside.

There had been a spike of Divinity forming… and just as it appeared, it disappeared.

She looked around, noticing everyone who had a Falna were looking around in confusion, asking if a Deity had broken the Arcanum Taboo.

The Dwarf looked at Syr, who was already staring at her with a sharp expression before shaking her head; she didn't know anything… and that was worrying.

"I will be right back," Mia stated, walking outside before looking up… nothing but clear skies… and calm winds; contrary to what it had been lately.

"The situation had gotten… a little out of control." Her ears twitched, looking to the establishment next door to see Drake, Adam, and the good Doctor Jude. She narrowed her eyes, not only because Adam was here again; someone who apparently had some bad blood in the past with Drake and his group… but also because Guy was nowhere to be seen.

Mia wasn't an idiot. The excuse Drake had given her and the rest as to why there could only be one of his brothers present at the time was too vague… but as long as they didn't affect her work, she didn't care.

"No shit," Drake replied sharply. "Tell me something, have one and a half years made you careless, or are you perhaps taking one of your Ex's books to heart on how to be so fucking useless?"

The Dwarf actually winced seeing the blonde being so visibly irritated; he hadn't even been that bad during his first days around.

"Ok, now you are going overboard," Adam said, showing offense by the comment.

"Is it?" Jude interrupted, in a rather serious voice. "It has already been a month, Adam."

Ok, if the usual well-mannered Doctor was this annoyed then it was a serious issue.

"We have managed to track the responsible in the Dungeon… but I am afraid every time we have been about to confront them… they just disappear into thin air," both Guardians scowled at him. "I am not making a fucking pun; I was able to see them turning into literal air before vanishing."

Mia could see the concern in their expression; as if they knew the true scale of what was going on.

She pondered… recalling the incident with Loga… the rumors about what was going on in the Water City in the Dungeon… and now the weird occurrence with the wind.

"I don't want to know the details," that got their attention, acknowledging her presence. "Brat, you know I will always try to stay out of whatever bullshit is going on with you or anyone… but I do need to know… should I be worried?"

They looked at each other before Drake gave a tired nod and then looked at her.

"Does the pub have insurance against tornados?"

Her eye twitched, not as much as the meaning behind the words she just heard, but at how in perfect sync all three of them had replied.

"… Take your time," Mia sighed before returning back to the Hostess; giving them the bad news. "Girls! Drake is gonna take a few days off."

The groans of the staff could be heard throughout the whole street.

"I am consenting to them a little too much," Drake muttered before taking out his scroll. "I am gonna call Tsubaki and tell her what's going on," he looked at Adam. "I am also going to contact Rita and see if we can come up with some counter measurements in case something happens on the surface."

Adam nodded in agreement to his plan, just as the blonde stepped to the side to do as he said.

"If what you said is true," Jude got Adam's attention. "Then the individual who attained the Centurion of Wind has already synced a great measure with it… far more than the Centurion of Ice did with Bete Loga."

The Bull Faunus nodded with a scowl, making Jude sigh before retreating into Drake's soul. "Not a single time of peace."

---

"… Damn it nya~" Chloe muttered as she went down the stairs the following day. There was no breakfast ready, and Ryuu and a few others were just starting cleaning the first floor.

Translation: Drake wasn't around.

"You should get used to not depending on him too much," the Elf replied, walking past the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Only because you are fated to fuck up somehow shortly doesn't mean others are fated for the same nya~" Chloe's words were like an arrow to the Elf's pride; there was yet another thing she was looking down upon thanks to Drake. It really felt like her old days in Astrea Familia, in the worst way possible.

"Is Mama ok nya~?" Chloe asked, noticing Mia behind the counter with a stern expression.

The Elf had heard some voices late at night, some of them being Drake's and Mia's all the way to her room thanks to her Elf ears. But she couldn't make up what they were discussing… and now, it was like she was waiting for something to happen.

---

The day went on like normal.

One table serves one minute, a new patron enters the pub another, and of course, it wouldn't be a normal day in the Hostess if it wasn't because of someone dropping a plate.

And yet, the feeling of uneasiness still invaded Mia… something the worse possible individual easily noticed.

"You seem stressed."

The Dwarf narrowed her eyes, looking to the side to notice Syr; 'cleaning' an empty glass.

"It is weird to see you in such a way, Mama." Her fake smile reflected an actual hint of wariness. "Should I be worried as well?"

There was a silent exchange between the two… a thousand unsaid words were exchanged without anyone knowing; but no real meaning was conveyed.

"Hopefully, it is nothing."

Mia's reply made her stop 'cleaning'. "I see… in Drake we trust it is… but I am still curious… what exactly did you and him speak about yesterday night?"

Mia groaned, knowing Ryuu must have heard them yesterday, most likely. "I am gonna ask the brat if there's anything about Elves not keeping to themselves from where he is from."

"I am pretty sure those would be exaggerations." Syr smiled in her friend's defense… still waiting for Mia to say something.

"… If something happens today… or in the next few days; do not leave the Hostess." Mia said with a serious expression, making Syr acknowledge the former Captain.

"Mia. You are gonna have to be more… specific…" Her smile was completely wiped off her face as she looked around; showing an expression that was not normal for the pure waitress in Hostess of Fertility… but it was usual for her Goddess. "Mia… I don't think that whatever it is you are wary of will happen in a few days."

The Dwarf raised an eyebrow, noticing that some of the waitresses and patrons seemed to be in disarray… all of those that seemed to have an animal trait.

Her eye widened, she wasn't oblivious to this… it was the usual animal behavior shown when a natural disaster was about to happen… and then she felt it, the same small amount of Divinity she sensed yesterday… no, this time it was far more intense than before.

*THUD*

She looked to the side, seeing all of the windows in the establishment were being hit…

*THUD*

By a very strong wind.

*CRACK*

They broke, making some of the waitresses shout in shock as the sudden gust intensified.

"Everyone get down under the tables!" Ryuu's shout went to deaf ears; everyone was too scared to be rational about what was happening.

"What the hell is going on!?" Lunor managed to shout after trying to keep some of the staff close to her.

"It's a tornado!"

Everyone looked at Mia in complete disbelief.

"What!?"

"You heard me the first time you fucking brat! Just stay where you are!" Mia didn't really have to look outside to know better… Ryuu Lion was a different story, dashing to the door to see what exactly was going on.

"Gods damn it, you stupid Elf!"

Ryuu ignored the comment, regretting not listening to it as she opened the door.

No, it wasn't a tornado… at least not yet.

The blue light sky was completely covered by dark clouds, circling around the very top of Babel… while various pieces of structures flew around forming the very thing Mia had mentioned earlier.

"!" her eyes widened, noticing the strong currents of wind were starting to lift her up.

"The next time I say stay!" she was suddenly forced down on the ground thanks to Mia grabbing the back of her collar while the Dwarf took a hold of the door. "You stay!"

"Noted!" she really didn't have any room to argue. "But what are we supposed to do!?"

"Wait!"

Ryuu was currently only being held on the ground by Mia. But even so, she could not help but look back at her incredulously. "Wait for what exactly!?"

The Hostess was suddenly surrounded by a bright light. No, that wasn't right, it was more accurate to say that the ground around the Hostess burned with some sort of runes she was not familiar with. Its brightness increased so much that it forced the Elf to close her eyes.

The next thing she knew was being put on the ground by Mia, blinking perplexed as she looked around… no strong winds, no cloudy skies, and no tornado forming in the middle of the city.

"… What just happened?" Ryuu asked, falling on her knees before looking at Mia; the Dwarf simply sighed in relief before entering back the pub.

"Ok ladies, you know the drill; start cleaning this mess."

The Elf just stared back, still trying to understand what was happening… along with everyone else… except for one Mia Grande. She looked back at the runes she had seen around the pub, noticing the burning marks on the floor fading with nothing with a slight breeze.

No, seriously.

What the fuck just happened?

---

"So… we really aren't going to address the elephant in the room?"

"Nope." Mia answered to Lunor's inquiry. "If you have any questions, wait until Drake returns." She massaged her temples.

The Adventurers between the staff just sighed.

The whole city had been affected just like the last time the sudden gust of wind struck. But now, every Deity and Familia were on high alert…and the fact that Drake might have been involved somehow made things more complicated.

The former Adventurer sighed, thinking that the worst had come to pass… now she just needed the brat to return and say everything was ok.

"Mia!"

Too bad things weren't as simple as she wanted.

"Syr?" Ryuu asked, seeing her friend rushing out to the owner of the pub; concern plastered on her face, something Mia noticed.

Syr didn't say anything, panting as she handed Mia a piece of paper. The concern of everyone in the pub increased the moment she gripped the paper, scowling at its contents.

"Is this some sort of fucking joke?"

---

"Lord Soma." Lili muttered in concern, seeing the contents of the paper.

The information network they had managed to establish came through soon after the event of Orario's latest irregularity.

However, no one expected to see such information reaching their gates.

Not even the God Soma knew what to think; his stoic eyes looked down on the piece of paper with nothing but fury in them.

---

Tsubaki gritted her teeth, trying her best not to tear apart the paper being held in her hand.

Her Goddess sat behind her table; her elbows resting on it while her hands remained intertwined covering the lower part of her face. Soon, both Blacksmiths stared at the other person standing on the other side of the table and finally spoke.

"That was issued soon after that wind nearly wiped Orario." Rose Fannett stated with a stern expression.

Hephaestus closed her eye; thinking that the worst possible scenario had finally come to pass.

She looked down, seeing a copy of the paper; the vivid image of someone that resembled Drake Aurion plastered on it, with a description accusing him of the most recent attempt to destroy Orario.

"What the fuck is going on?" Tsubaki couldn't help but ask, seeing the quiet life she and others had set for Drake had crumbled in an instant.

---

Omake: The 'Tales of Lust' Situation

Tsubaki Collbrande stared… and stared… and stared so much that she had completely forgotten how to blink with her single eye.

She, her Goddess, and Drake were still looking over all the things that Adam had returned to him; which were Drake's in the first place.

And although there had been a lot of interesting things among his stuff… this one got her curiosity; for all the wrong reasons.

"Goddess…" Tsubaki whispered, seeing her Goddess checking a bunch of broken weapons with intrigue, making Tsubaki sigh as she discreetly approached her.

"… Why are you smiling like that?" Hephaestus asked with concern before Tsubaki showed her what she had found; a book.

'Tales of Lust, By Zelos R. Wilder' her eye narrowed a little.

If Tsubaki's description of the redhead was anything to go by, he was possibly as bad as Aphrodite; that was saying something.

Her Ex had the hobby of being a writer… the thought of it made her snort seeing how a few words from characters that had no development suddenly jumping onto sex could not be called literature. She even had the audacity of publishing such stories under an anonymous name; The Goddess of Love threw a tantrum seeing nobody thought she had talent as a writer.

"Why are we whispering?" Hephaestus asked, seeing Tsubaki getting closer to her with the open book.

"Because I don't want Drake to know I found this; look."

Her eye widened… seeing there were notes on each page; her surprise only increased as she noticed there was a particular one at the beginning of each chapter.

'This one is basically Luke…'

"He based each scene off his brothers," Tsubaki concluded.

'Definitely worse than Aphrodite' The Goddess sighed. "I am gonna continue with what I was doing."

She started to walk away, not seeing any reason to read erotic novels at the moment. "Oh look, Drake's chapter."

Never in her life had the Goddess done a one-eighty turn so swiftly.

'Chapter 8: Sour Coffee' she read, raising an eyebrow. "I don't get it," she replied, noticing a note that indicated this was his chapter.

"Apparently, Drake had only slept with one person before his first death; some girl Coco Adel, a fashionista with a mini-gun and a taste for coffee."

Hephaestus looked at her Child with confusion, opening her mouth to speak. But Tsubaki beat her to it. "Apparently, she was spying on him on behalf of someone else; so you can already guess this is gonna be a rage sex thing… also, no; I don't know what a mini-gun is."

The Goddess stared, only to shrug before focusing on the pages of the book.

Their respective eye moved from left to right; absorbing the content in detail. After a while, their speed increased, just as their faces got closer as they got heated.

"Too much!" Hephaestus pushed the book away; snapping Tsubaki off the trance before closing the book.

"Is that position even possible!?" Tsubaki basically snapped, panting at the contents of the chapter.

"It is." The redhead replied without thinking; realizing her mistake soon after as she rested her face on the palm of her hand.

"How-" Tsubaki asked in honest curiosity.

"You do remember who I dated, right?" She replied with a heavy sigh.

"That still doesn't explain how it is possible. Also, were you on the receiving end?"

"Tsubaki!" She shouted back at her child, sighing one last time. "Zelos clearly exaggerated the scene. Not even Drake would be that much of an animal."

"I am afraid that is exactly how it happened."

They both froze, turning to the side to see a very pissed Drake; glaring daggers at the book Tsubaki was holding.

"You told Zelos in detail how your first time went?" Tsubaki stated, earning an imaginary thumbs up from Hephaestus for derailing the situation.

"Never in my fucking life." He stated with disgust, closing his eyes and crossing his eyes before sighing. "… Do you remember Jude's semblance?"

"Link?" Tsubaki asked, puzzled, recalling the details of the ability; to connect minds on a sort of spiritual level, sharing thoughts at a conscious and subconscious level to the point they can even share memories…

"Ah… Ohhh!" she shouted, realizing where this was going.

According to Drake, Zelos had decided to write an erotic novel as part of his bucket list before the final fight with Ratatosk. The redhead had written eight hundred pages in the span of three days and then published it.

Surprise, surprise, it was a best-seller; yes, people really were that horny.

After the fact, he gave each of his brothers a copy; he even went as far as giving Jude a braille version. Of course, none of them wanted to read it… but they felt they had to read all the effort he had put into it… they regretted it instantly.

"So… each one of you felt some scenes seemed too familiar to all of you?" Tsubaki asked, to which he just nodded.

"And then you all created a book club to talk about it?"

"I wouldn't call it that, but for the sake of the argument, yes." He replied to the Goddess' question. "When we concluded which parts were taken out of our respective memories and then showed it to him… his reaction was not the best."

To this day, he still recalls the first and last day Zelos showed any shame. Make no mistake, he may be a scumbag, but he still has the integrity to not reveal the secrets of his brothers; including their intimate ones.

"We spent a full fucking day tracking every single copy just to fucking burn them."

Of course, they also had to pay for said copies.

"So… all of these weird titles are referencing to one of your brothers?" Tsubaki asked, going through the glossary to see the chapter titles along with Hephaestus. "Secret Businesses under the table?"

'If you all would excuse me… I am going to the border of this soulscape to sulk in shame.'

Drake couldn't help but wince as he heard Flynn's step disappearing into the distance.

"Fifty shades of burning silver?"

'I am going with you, seeing as I can't set myself on fire to wipe this embarrassment.' And so went Guy as well after Hephaestus's question.

"Doctor, My Doctor." Tsubaki snorted. "I don't need to ask whose chapter this is, obviously."

All Drake could hear was Jude slamming his face with a table over and over again.

"A Siren's Song… that one doesn't sound so bad."

'How long do you think it will take her to figure out the song in question are moans?' Luke asked with a groan.

"Ah, wait, I get it," Hephaestus said with a hint of disgust in her eye.

'Fuck my life!'

"Under the Moonlight… I don't need to read it to know the deed was done in an open space."

'… Why the fuck did you keep the book?' Yuri asked with an edge in his voice that was reserved for deadly occasions; this was one of them.

"… Huh… There's nothing about Lloyd here… how come?"

"Because he was still just starting his first relationship at the time."

'Thank Origin, Velvet is a conservative woman.' Lloyd sighed, dodging a bullet and saving himself from shame.

"That's why he's the good brother," Tsubaki's comment made Drake twitch.

"Ok, that's enough," he snapped his fingers, making a chain of Darkness emerge from the shadows before taking the book off her hands and into his.

"Hey!"

"Now focus on what you were doing before; otherwise, I will just store everything away from the shadows; away from your eyes to see."

Tsubaki pouted, walking away in a fit.

"So…" he looked at Hephaestus, making her feel embarrassed after reading that. "About that position with your Ex, were you the dominant one or not?"

Her embarrassment turned into fury, along her face turned red as she walked away. "You are unbelievable!"

Drake just stared, making sure both Blacksmiths were focused on something else before looking at the book.

'You could burn it, you know?' Zelos commented, seeing this was something he knew he fucked up in the past.

But Drake could not do it, seeing as this was the gift the real Zelos had given him; one thing to remember him for.

---

AN: At the very least, this didn't take 3 fucking months to update, So hurrah for me I guess.

Beta-reader: Not for me you POS, it is the last time I believe you when you say it might be a short chapter.

Anyway, finally…. The calm before the storm. Let's be fair, that little bubble of peace Drake had going for him was meant to be broken eventually; things will only get worse for all parties involved, I can promise you that much.

Now, onto the chapter note:

-Mia's little monologue regarding Freya Familia: I just imagined Freya pulling something like that. If you have read the latest volumes, then you know she's capable of worse things; I just went the literal bloody route with it.

-Hephaestus: Pretty much humanizing her at this point, making her question more things like a normal human would. Also, making connections to the overall rabbit hole of plot twist in this story.

Tsubaki: You are free to argue and complain about her stats being maxed, I am mentally prepared for it. But she beat what was supposed to be an impossible opponent, even if she 'cheated' her way through that victory; I won't even bother drawing parallels with a certain white-haired rabbit that got the exp boost. Ranting aside, all that otherworldly forging has also helped in that department.

As for her Falna, it is the same as Lili's, a foreign 'Skill' that she acquired, but it is impossible to translate. However, I am not gonna let things go easy for her just because she got rewarded, the reason as to why might be cliche to some, but it is the best I can think of at the moment other than avoiding the public eye or the Guild.

Ryuu: … there's something I want to rant about since the last chapter, but I forgot to do it.

Beta-reader: Dumbass -_-

But after some thinking, I think I am not gonna do it until a few Chapters ahead given her role in it.

Now, as mentioned before this is one of two big events in this Volume; I still don't know how many chapters this will take because I am not exaggerating when I say this will be a mess. Hopefully, it will only last 7 chapters at best.

Beta-reader: With your word count, I can see that happening… omfg the word count…

I have to write it as well, so we are both suffering here you bitch… and speaking of which. Thanks to some comments; both on and off record, I can see some are wondering what about the romance aspect of the story seeing all there has been is teasing and flags, that will finally be addressed at the end of this volume.

Beta-reader: We both know that is a lie, ya little hoe -_-

AN2: As I am seeing the corrections done by BR-

Beta-reader: you are fucking welcome by the way.

I realized I had yet to make Tsubaki's Stat sheet. And in case you haven't noticed, not a single time has a stat sheet been shown in this fic… what a fucking pain; and not because of us having to come up with names for the new Skills.

But because Tsubaki is a tertiary character. Omori has never done a stat sheet for her… so we had to come up with her original stats, skills, and abilities before Drake arrived.

Leaving that aside, it has never been seen in canon that Skill has gained a '+', so I am taking liberties here.

Also, for her Development Abilities, I am aware those are hard to Rank Up. But she has been forging otherworldly weapons for three months, so she deserved something. The others are attributed to the same principle.

Thank God I am not gonna do this again for a while-

Beta-reader: remember she's gonna Level Up.

… I hate you.

Beta-reader: The feeling is mutual, bro! (you readers might think this is a joke, but I actually hate this mofo so f-ing much…)