"Faster. Faster!"

The raven haired woman urged the blue haired woman who carried her, as they soared through the midnight sky together. Below them, laid out in its glorious majesty, was the vast urban jungle that was the labyrinthine city of Orario.

Down on the streets, Hestia could just about make out the city's residents, who had all just spilled out into the alleyways and roads, which were lit out from the roaring fire that burnt in the hearth of each home.

Just as Freya had performed the incredible feat of bewitching the entire city, Hestia had gone and performed her own miracle. The ritual had left her both equal parts exalted, exhilarated and exhausted. However currently it was the exhilaration that was pushing through her exhaustion. For she and Asfi were on a collision course with the highly walled mansion that sat in the city's fifth district.

As they flew over the towering walls, an explosion sounded in the garden, followed by a dizzying array of multicoloured sparks and flashes. Hestia silently thanked the stars shining above for whoever was causing such a commotion in the grounds below, allowing for her and Asfi to fly over unnoticed. She squinted, but couldn't make out who the insurgent was.

"Brace yourself!" Asfi screamed, and they flew headfirst into the windows at the top of the tallest tower. The glass shattered everywhere in a haze of glittering shards. Hestia and Asfi rolled in a messy tumble to the floor.

It took a moment for Hestia to collect herself, as she tried to reorient her body. The room righted itself, and she stood up slowly. It was dark, and the only light was the silvery glow of the moonlight dappling through the window. As Hestia's eyes adjusted to the dimness, she felt her heart sigh in relief.

There in front of her was her beloved Bell, his beautiful snow white hair glowing softly in the moonlight.

"Bell!"

Hestia went to grab Bell's hand and was shocked to find it slick. She held it up, squinting in the visible light, and to her horror she realised it was covered in blood. In Bell's other hand was her knife she had painstakingly and lovingly worked on for him; and she could see that blood was still dripping fresh on the edge of the blade.

She looked up into his rubellite eyes and was shocked to see nothing but icy cold contempt.

"Bell?" She asked more softly. However he did not respond.

"Bell come here."

Another feminine voice called out from the darkness behind. Bell pulled his hand out of hers and stepped backwards towards the woman.

No.

In that moment, Hestia felt her heart crack in two. She could only watch as Freya emerged from out of the shadows towards him, smiling sweetly at her and Asfi.

"Bell no!"

As she made to move forward to grab his hand, he instinctively moved forward to protect Freya, holding his obsidian knife out in front. Just as she had seen him do hundreds of times before when he was against a mighty foe. Just as he was doing now. Against herself.

"Bell…"

This time, her voice choked out his name, the tears welling up in her eyes. Bell said nothing and Hestia could do nothing but watch as Freya wrapped herself around him from behind, slipping one hand around his blood soaked blade and another to caress his hair.

"My my, what do we have here?"

"Bell…" Hestia called out his name one more time, her voice barely audible.

"My sweet Hestia, why have you broken into my mansion? You do know it's awfully rude to infringe upon another goddess' sanctuary."

"We're here to reclaim a member of her familia!" This time Asfi walked forward in an all too casual fashion, angling herself between Hestia and Bell. Although she carried no visible weapon, she took up a defensive posture.

"I see no member of her familia here, only two intruders intent on bringing harm to my home."

"You know that is not true, you've tricked the populace into thinking Bell is yours," Asfi retorted, "You're nothing but a thief and a liar."

Freya smiled dangerously, bringing the hand that was caressing Bell's hair down to the side of his face, whilst bringing the other blood soaked one back up to his hair. Streaks of red stained in his pure white hair.

"You do know you are very bold to make those accusations to my face, in my own home of all places," she smirked as she stoked the tip of Bell's ear, "I could have you executed on the spot."

She then looked directly at Hestia. "You know Hestia, I do not wish to do so. After all you are so dear to me, and I'd hate to send another goddess back to the heavens so soon."

Although she was still grinning, the smile did not reach up to her gleaming eyes; which carried nothing but murderous contempt. She then lightly nipped at Bell's ear. Hestia could do nothing but watch on in horror, her body unable to move. Bell was her first child, the leader and heart of her familia. She loved him dearly and seeing Freya hold him so possessively made something shatter so deeply inside of her. Asfi seemed to sense this and edged closer to her.

"Why have you done this to Bell?" Asfi demanded. During the whole exchange, Bell had not moved. He had held his knife out in front of them, ready to spring if provoked. His eyes showed none of his usual warmth. He was staring at them with cold calculation, a predator sizing up his prey. Freya only had to say the word and he would pounce. Hestia stood still, frozen to the spot. Unable to speak, her mouth glued shut, her limbs taunt in place.

All of a sudden another explosion sounded from the garden, the tremors shaking the foundations of the mansion. Bell finally looked away, glancing briefly at the window.

Asfi took the distraction and scooped up the catatonic goddess in her arms before jumping out of the window.

/

As Asfi soared overhead, she could see that a massive hole had been blown in the side of the towering marble walls. She squinted and saw an all too familiar green haired elf. Ryuu.

Asfi had thought she had been lost to the throngs of Freya's manipulation. Her heart sighed in relief at the sight of her missing comrade. However even though Ryuu had managed to create an exit, she was still surrounded by Freya's familia.

Dropping lower, Asfi shook one of her sleeves and out tumbled a few small smoke bombs she had stashed away. The result was instantaneous. Explosive plumes of grey smoke permeated around the group. Asfi saw them all look at her, and she began to soar upwards again to avoid being hit by their attacks. As she glided over the wall, she saw Ryuu nimbly climb upon the nearest rooftop, before dropping down into a random dimly lit alley. Asfi looked around, but thankfully for whatever reason, the Freya Familia had let them escape.

This unnerved Asfi, as she knew they could've very easily followed them if they had tried. However her thoughts turned quickly to the catatonic goddess in her arms and the reunion of her lost friend.

"Ryuu," she hissed as she landed next to her.

"By the gods Asfi," Ryuu growled, "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

However there was no malice behind her words, only a tired solace. Asfi gently laid the goddess against the wall before pulling Ryuu into a hug. Ryuu blinked back a few tears, before folding and giving into the embrace.

"It is so good to see you Asfi."

"You as well my friend." They stood for a few moments in that embrace. Neither of them speaking.

Instead they simply savored each other's warmth and feel. By nature, neither of the women usually showed much physical affection towards other people, especially in public. However they found they were more akin to each other than they realised; both outcasts from their respective societies, both were self reliant and worked outside of the usual system norms, and they were both skilled high level adventurers. After being on the run for several months, and then being separated so suddenly, they had developed a kinship towards each other.

"Are you hurt?" They finally broke apart from their hug. Asfi looked at her companion more closely and saw that she was a lot thinner than she usually was. Dark bruises and red welts decorated her wrists and her hair hung limply around her shoulders. Not to mention the despondent look that reflected back her eyes.

"Syr, I mean Freya, she kept me locked up in her basement."

"How cruel, why would she do that?"

"I'm not entirely sure, she didn't want to enthrall me. She said if she did so it would taint me. So instead she let me rot down there."

"Who are we to muse the inner workings of a goddess's mind."

"Indeed. If anything, it worked out in our favour that she decided to be benevolent towards me. Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to escape."

"How did you exactly escape?"

It was then that Ryuu gave her a long and strange look, unsure of what she was truly feeling.

"Well it was Horn who freed me."

"Horn?!"

"Yes it was that woman."

Asfi was perplexed. Horn was Freya's head chamberlain, her most trusted familia member. She was very rarely seen in public. It was a well known fact that Freya kept her on a tight leash. They were a little too close for it to be a purely professional relationship.

"That is… surprising. She would be the last person who would go against Freya's wishes."

"Indeed. I could not tell you what spurred her on to do so. Her only request was that I make as much chaos as possible on my way out."

"How curious." Asfi couldn't fathom why Horn would make such a request of Ryuu. That she would figure out later. For now she was grateful that she had given Ryuu her freedom back.

"Anyhow, we should leave this alley. It's not safe for any of us to be here."

"Agreed." With that, she picked up the silent goddess and leapt into the sky once more.

"He had been fully reprogrammed."

The mood was solemn back at the Hermes estate. Asfi had called a meeting with their familia, with Hestia and Lyuu in attendance with them. Hestia had barely said two words since they had arrived. Asfi had seen that Hermes had wanted to crack a joke at Hestia's expense when they walked through the door, but Asfi had just glared daggers at him to make him back down.

She also wasn't sure to what extent Hestia's ceremony had broken Freya's charm on Orario, but she was grateful that their familia seemed to be back to their usual selves.

"That is concerning," Falgar, the familia's vice captain, concurred. Asfi had filled in the gaps of what had happened over the past few months to her familia. Ryuu had occasionally supplemented additional information, but had mostly stayed quiet whilst Asfi had recounted their harrowing tale.

As Asfi was about to explain what had happened that evening, there was a knock at the door. The group bristled at the sound, still on edge. Aisha stood up. "I'll get it."

Asfi could see her familia instinctively touch their weapons that were hidden away within their clothing. However they needn't have worried, as a familiar red headed man walked into the room.

"Hestia!" He instantly ran over to his goddess, giving her a once over, before tenderly pulling her into a hug. Seeing one of her children, Hestia finally broke out of her stupor and began to weep again.

"Oh Welf."

Asfi could only watch as the goddess cried his name over and over again. Welf patiently held her in his arms and rubbed her back in a slow, soft, soothing motion. Asfi felt a slight twinge of jealousy at the scene. Although she was fiercely devoted to her own god and familia, they never openly displayed affection for one another, instead opting to keep a more professional relationship with each other. This worked well for their group, as they operated as a neutral information gathering network. But occasionally Asfi yearned to be more intimate with her familia.

After a while, Hestia pulled back and wiped her eyes, some of the colour returning back to her cheeks. She then looked around the room, finally taking in herself, Ryuu and the rest of the group. As Asfi herself quickly glanced around, she made eye contact with Hermes, who looked… uncomfortable at the scene. His usual smirkish and flamboyant persona was gone, instead replaced with a hard and serious demure.

"So… what is going on?" Welf asked, as he crossed his arms.

"Before we tell you, pray tell us the state of your familia." Asfi demanded. Although she had sent word to the Hestia estate that they were currently looking after the goddess, they had not explained why. After all, they too had been under Freya's charm. Asfi had seen how much it had broken Hestia's heart that they did not remember their beloved captain. Asfi could not imagine how Hestia had endured lying to her beloved children every day for the past 2 months. Asfi needed to know now though whether Hestia's hard work had been enough to break their enthralment. She needed to know if they could be trusted.

"Well we were congregated in the living room, going over details for our trip into the dungeon tomorrow when all of a sudden there was a bright light emanating from our fireplace. We were all gripped by an unusual headache, but once the sensation was gone, we remembered. We remembered everything!"

There was a haunted look in his eyes. His tone became anguished.

"We didn't know what to do, how could we forget Bell. Bell of all people!"

"It's not your fault," Ryuu piped up quietly, "Freya really did a number on the population. Only me and Asfi were saved due to Hermes' quick thinking in getting us out of the city in time."

Welf did a double as he saw Ryuu's condition.

"Ryuu," he murmured softly, "she really did a number on you too…"

She turned away from Welf's gaze, her hands pulling down on the hems of her sleeves.

"I escaped. That's all that matters."

Asfi sensing Ryuu's discomfort, quickly interjected, "So I take it everyone in your familia remembers?"

Welf nodded gravely, "How could we not? Everyone is so distressed by the situation. Especially when we couldn't find Hestia either."

He had held Hestia's hands in his own, and gave them a reassuring squeeze.

"I'm grateful you sent word. I came as soon as I could. I left Lille in charge back home. I'm just glad that Hestia is safe."

Hestia nodded, the tears in her eyes beginning to well up again.

"Thank you Welf, thank you for coming for me."

He gingerly gave her a smile and another squeeze of her hands, before turning to address Asfi.

"So tell me, what has happened?"

/

Welf could not believe his ears as Asfi quickly recounted the last two months to him. She then went over Hermes' plan, which they had slowly and painstakingly carried out in secret. He had been shocked that Hestia had done it all of her own, without the help of them or any other deities. She had been truly incredible for performing such a feat.

However his heart ached for her, their beloved goddess to be the only sole person in Orario who knew what had happened on that fateful day at the goddess festival. Having to carry the burden alone, not being able to rely on her own familia. He felt shame at being unable to help.

"So what happens now?" Welf asked.

"We do what my familia does best," Hermes replied, "We gather information. Hestia and Asfi worked hard to perform the ceremony, but since most of Hestia's divinity is still sealed away, it was a lot weaker than it should have been. We need to know who we can trust. So for now, we stay in the shadows. We will find out who our allies are."

The group nodded at his words.

"Freya is smart and incredibly dangerous. Even I make a habit of trying not to cross her path. Since she knows that Hestia, Asfi and Ryuu aren't under her enchantment, they are the most likely to be targeted. Most likely mine and all of your familia will be under scrutiny too. She knows what Hestia performed and so she'll be on high alert. So we stay quiet, hidden in the shadows. Give time for the dust to settle. And then we'll mount our counterattack."

Welf felt a chill go down his spine. A counterattack against the Freya Familia. A counterattack against Bell.

Bell was like a younger brother to him. There was a bond between them like no other. Their relationship had started as a simple blacksmith and client, but over time has developed into something far deeper. Bell had seen Welf for Welf, not his Crozzo heritage that everyone else associated him with. They laughed, they bantered and they bickered together. Welf had never been close to his family, being the estranged sole heir to the Crozzo estate. But when Bell had come into his life, it felt like they had known each other their entire lives. Bell's easy going nature had cracked Welf's obsidian shell he had erected around himself. And in turn, Welf had provided a much needed moral support to Bell, often giving him much needed advice when he found himself in certain predicaments. So it pained him to hear Hermes put it so bluntly. However…

"We'll do whatever it takes to bring our Bell home." He responded decisively.

Hermes grinned.

"Well let's begin our planning then!"

She could not believe it.

That Bell had accepted her love.

At long last.

She gazed through the broken window, where Hestia and that girl had taken off, surveying over Orario that lay nestled underneath her estate. Her eyes drifted over to the Daedalus Street neighbourhood district, to the park where she had had her heartfelt desire rejected by Bell.

She remembered standing there after he had left, the sky weeping as she stood still, unable to process what had happened. Her Bell; after months of getting to know him, making him lunches everyday, seeing him grow into a renown adventurer, only made her love for him grow deeper. His radiance had dazzled her. The colour of his soul gleaned like no other.

She had grieved his rejection. The world had seemed to lament with her, the heavens opening up as if they too shared her sorrow. She should have hated Bell after what he did to her. After all, no sane mortal would dare to reject a goddess's love. But that just made her hunger for him more insatiable. She would have him no matter the cost.

How all that had changed in such a short period of time.

As she stared over the glittering city beneath her tower, she felt Bell slip his hand into hers, their fingers intertwining. Not only did she have the city in the palm of her hands, but she had the object of her desire that she had craved most ravenously.

All mine, she thought to herself selfishly. All mine.

It had been a challenge to break Bell. His special ability Liaris Freese had made sure of that. Although its main effect had been fast growth, which was the reason that he had managed to reach Level 4 in such a short span of time, it had an unintended side effect of making Bell immune to charms. Which unfortunately was Freya's speciality. However what many adventurers and even most of the gods didn't know, was that a skill could be warped under the right conditions. And Freya knew exactly how to manipulate those.

After all, this was not the first time she had done it. For Bell, he had been in love with another woman. The Sword Princess. As long as he remained in love with her, the skill would stay in effect.

So she had enthralled the city.

Used the city's residents to gaslight Bell into thinking that he had always been in her familia.

Had laughed in glee when his own familia had rejected him the first moment they met after they had been charmed.

Made her familia beat him into a senseless submission to the point of near death every day for weeks on end.

Offered herself as his only source of comfort every night, soothing his aching wounds and confused heart.

And the cherry on top?

Was watching him go to his Sword Princess that very morning, only for her to be completely oblivious to his very existence. The moment where she had utterly rejected him, completely broke her Bell. And that was when Liaris Freese had warped, allowing her to finally get her claws into him and claim him all for her own.

It had been a gamble. She had so desperately wanted to keep him locked away in Folkvagr. But he had also needed that extra push right at the end.

And it couldn't have come at a more opportune moment.

In her desperation to enthrall Bell, that blasted pipsqueak of a god Hestia had somehow managed to break part of her charm on the city. And when Bell had stormed into her chambers, his obsidian knife dripping with blood, Hestia had broken in and interrupted them.

Freya had never been afraid of anything in her long lived life before. She had been at the top of the deity pecking order, never needing to worry or care about what happened to her. But in that moment Hestia had broken in, Freya had been afraid all of her work had been for naught in converting Bell.

But her gamble had paid off. Her beautiful Bell had turned his knife on his own measly goddess. Freya had been filled with a delightful ecstasy at the scene. She had never felt such overpowering glee before. It was a foreign but addictive feeling. She relished in it.

She held up Bell's hand to her face, his fingers still damp with blood. Horn's blood to be precise. She was not sure what had transpired, her once faithful attendant's condition unknown, but she did not care.

Delicately she licked the blood. Bell's knife clattered to the floor and his ruby eyes met her own silver ones. There was nothing but devotion and longing there, a mirror to her own desires.

Hestia had made her getaway thanks to Hermes' blasted dog, but that didn't put a dampener on her mood.

For tonight she had only eyes for her beloved Bell.

She would deal with Hestia's damage in the morning.