Ah…Finally done with Cypher Extra, the first chapter in Hakuno's journey. It was fun to write and ending with a vague cliffhanger, but I felt satisfied with what I wrote for it so far. Can't wait to write its sequel, the CCC story next year.

I found this sickly-sweet fanfic called [Is It Wrong to Not Want to Meet My Soulmate? By Suahtloh]. For a shipping fic, it was a delight! And I love that version of Freya. She's the best wingwoman when she ships Bell and Ais! Give it a shot!

So, with that out of the way, let's go on to Lunar Witch!

Morning rose and stats updates began. Most of the Familia had gotten boosts to their stats while Bell, just freshly leveled up had acquired a skill.

Heroic Desire: Argonaut.

Bell was first excited for it until he realized what he had read on his paper. Slowly, rigidly, he turned to look at the rest of his Familia. His own wish was now carved onto his back while his ears burned red. Primo was giggling, Hestia gave him a warm peppy smile, but he was certain she was laughing on the inside. Haruhime was innocently impressed by the name. But Hakuno and Ais…

Ais nodded her head in approval and a small smile filled with warmth, which brought both joy and confusion for him and then there was Hakuno…

The Holy Witch was in deep thought if she was resting her chin to her fist, noticing Bell looking at her, she voiced her thoughts on the recently acquired skill. "It's nothing to be ashamed of Bell. There are worse names out there that are even more embarrassing than childhood dreams." She reassured him.

That only made Bell wonder what could be more embarrassing than the name of his skill as Hakuno examined her own sheet and blinked.

"…Avalon le Fae?" she asked.

Now Bell understood instantly why his Goddess asked if he knew of that name. It was to describe a Fairy of Paradise, the royalty amongst fairies like how Riveria is royalty amongst elves. And Hakuno has it as a skill. Ais seemed to stare intently as Hakuno now, as if she knew something about the Familia captain that no one else was privy to.

"From what the skill describes, it protects you from influences and blesses life around them. You're like a good luck charm for the ordinary people Hakuno. In fact, you've been like that since we've come to Orario, so it be best describing you as a fairy of goodness!" Hestia explained while Hakuno blinked at the details Mother described it. She'd best not think too much about it. The Dungeon has become a serious issue that needs to be dealt with pronto.

She looked at Haruhime and Primo and raised a brow. "How much have you've improved in combat training while I was away?" she asked. Primo was energetic and gave a fist pump, showing she's ready to do this while Haruhime was looking a bit sheepish. There's her answer for that. She needed to utilize some of the Moon Cell's resources for the upcoming battle in a week's time. The time when the Guild will call in various Familia to help deal with the uprising monster swarms in the restructured Dungeon. She will not let anyone in this family die, not if she still breathes.

As Hakuno and Bell take it up to train Haruhime and Primo in self-defense in the case of their nature as a Support Sorceress and Mage respectively, Ais headed towards the Three Hammers smithy. After the duel with Hakuno a while back, her sword Desperate had been melted and twisted in a way it couldn't be used as a sword. Goibniu was rather livid despite his old appearance, and it wasn't at Ais, rather the sword itself. The smith god knew Ais takes care of the weapon's maintenance seriously. But when Hakuno's unusual sword melted one of his best blades like it was a butter stick, his pride as a smith was reignited with a passion that startled both his Familia and Ais.

Loki had paid for the repairs (or rather replacing the actual blade) of Desperate as Ais was in thought of what she should do. Welf had dedicated himself into forging swords for her to use and she had been practicing on not breaking them. Even when they do break, the young man just laughs and tries again, each time the swords he forges lasting a little longer than the previous times. She had a barrel filled with the handles and hilts of the swords she's broken already as she pondered why normal blades do not work for her.

Primo, being the ever-innocent child had pointed out that obvious problem with a question. "Why do you swing a sword like a club?" she had asked. It had given Ais some time to think as she realized she was simply using brute force with the swords she's used to the point her Strength stats from every level she had were taking a toll on the metal of the swords she uses. Since Desperate was made from Orichalcum, a practically indestructible metal, she can use her attacks without restraint and without breaking it.

Now while Desperate was a great sword to use, being a first-class weapon. Ais realized she needed something better than that. Because even she knew that Desperate cannot handle the full power of her magic like it did in the past during the battle against Evilus years ago. Hakuno, being a Witch and knowing strange things that involves magic and has some connections with people in Orario could be the key to finding what she's looking for in the future battles ahead.

Especially if she were to ever face the One-Eyed Black Dragon.

/Smith's Tempered Resolve/

The sounds of molten hot metal being hammered into a new shape did comfort Welf in the forge. Ever since he saw Bell's blades shatter from the battle against the Enhanced Minotaur, his very core was shaken. Those were his weapons he forged, and they broke like those damn magic swords he despised. He can't even level up and could only provide weak blades that fall apart like papier-mâché against a superior foe. He needed to consult with his goddess about this dilemma he was experiencing. Only then will Welf begin finding clues to what he's lacking as a blacksmith.

He appreciates the ideas the Captain of the Hestia Familia had given him, also for not prying into his Crozzo family line when Lili was going to expose it. She's an odd girl that one, for he can't recall a mage using polearms and katanas as main weapons instead of staffs.

Then there was Bell, a rookie for everything in terms of experience and the one who loved his armor Pyonkichi. Of course, Hakuno had no filter when she flat-out told him that he had horrible naming senses while Bell looked away, trying not to voice his own opinion when it came to names. But she was one to talk! Who name's their spear Merlin-Killer?!

She said it's reserved for someone she wants dead, and suddenly Welf decided to let it go, because that was the goal of that weapon she named and will not dig any further into it. His blood boiled on its own as he gritted his teeth. The Crozzo Blood was reacting to his thoughts again and a sense of vertigo overwhelmed him. He placed the piece he was working on away carefully and stumbled to another room and collapsed. Feeling his mind drift into a memory that was not his.

What he saw was a memory of the Crozzo Ancestor.

"What do you have in mind when you forge a sword?" the friend to his ancestor asked.

"What do you mean?" the Ancestor questioned

"I'm no expert, but even I can tell how exquisite the weapon you're carrying is." The friend gestured to the unseen weapon. "You're a man capable of producing something special, so I'm curious what you have in mind as you work steel into art." He explained as the Crozzo Ancestor cupped his own chin in thought.

"Well…I picture the weapon being held in the hands of its wielder." The Crozzo Ancestor began.

"The weapon being held by its wielder?" the friend asked in confusion.

"Yeah. I think about the situation the weapon will be used in, and whether or not it'd serve its wielder before shattering." The man replied as he remembered what he had learned as a smith. "No matter how hard we twist the truth, weapons are deadly tools that hurt and kill. But even then, I'd like for them to have a meaningful tale behind them." He explained while looking skyward.

"Even if the blade its bloodstained, if it could save one life…" he paused before snorting and smiling. "I'd keep forging until one day my thoughts and ideals would reach someplace and someone no matter the distance. That's probably what makes my weapons and magic swords meaningful." The smile on the man's face was reflected in Welf's own face. But Welf's smile had the innocence of a child in them compared to that worn out one his ancestor had.

That was what he felt when Hakuno and Bell bought his first ever sold weapons and kept them. His own feelings and ideals of what a weapon should be had been there for them whenever they braced the Dungeon.

With that, the hammer rang with a mighty blow against molten steel. The soul within was relit with an inherited memory within the blood, and glowing circuits appeared on Welf's body as he took a hammer and swung down with renewed resolve.

/Supporter's Strength/

"Drink. If you can overcome it, I'll listen to your request." Soma told his child, Lili as he presented his latest drink to her. She mentally prepared herself as she drank it. Her mind was swallowed in rapture, a pleasure that swept her off her feet as she slumped to her knees.

The god looked away without a care, already knowing that─

"Soma-sama…please…" a small voice called out, startling the god. He turned, seeing Lili staggering to her feet, her eyes were begging for him. "Please let me…go with them…" she cried out as Soma's eyes widened in realization and shock. This girl he had taken in after her parents died had overcome the strength of his Soma wine by willpower-no, a love of others she genuinely cared for.

He slowly walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder gently and spoke softly to her. "My child…if that is what you want. Then I will grant it." He agreed. The inner strength of one child had changed everything this god had known about people, and a great change was happening in the future for the Soma Familia thanks to Lili's courage.

With that, Soma began preparing to speak with Hestia.

/Rose Petals and Gold/

The two stood before the Moon Cell, irritation in both pairs of eyes as the one in gold armor spoke. "Tell me Moon Cell. Where did you send my Master to?" he demanded.

"What do you mean your Master? She's my Maestro, my Praetor, my beloved spouse!" the woman in red demanded as the golden king snorted.

"Please mongrel, as if you ever got the chance to marry her first." He retorted as the blonde stomped her foot and snapped at him.

"That's because her mother set her up and you went with it for fun! And she proposed to me. Not you!" the Servant retorted as the other Servant laughed.

"Oh? While you enjoyed the thoughts of being married like a maiden, I found her worthy as a treasure that I sacrificed ninety percent of my own treasury for her sake and to help finish this charade of a war. I have seen her bloom as a wildflower in the desert and going far to unlock my full power. If there were no other worthy of title of queen instead of wife, then none shall!" the king shouted.

"Why do you call her queen when she's just your wife in name only?!" Saber demanded as the King of Heroes Gilgamesh snorted.

"Don't call her a wife. That's insulting to the very value she is as a treasure, my contractor, and my only Master. Having her be called queen consort is far more fitting than a mere wife."

Thus, another squabble between to egotistical blondes that Hakuno had to deal with.

[Confirming situation.]

The two Servants stopped arguing and looked at the Moon Cell that spoke to them.

[Sovereign involved in world ending crisis.]

[Probability of survival is currently 23%. Will slowly be reduced with each month]

[Solution: Sending victor's Servants to boost rate of survival]

The two noticed their bodies were glowing and a small tug pulling them elsewhere. They were being sent to wherever Hakuno had been sent and to prevent her upcoming death. Saber was excited in the thoughts of seeing her Praetor once again while Gilgamesh wondered what joys the girl was enjoying now as they were sent after their wayward Master and Sovereign of the Moon Cell.