Change of Fates (rewrite)

by Ventanus

The rewrite of my Change of Fates story, since there are many things I d like to change or wished I wrote differently. Bell will have three partners here. (third one cant be taken in the pull-down menu, so I take Lefiya since she is very important even when not Bell s lover here) Rating MA again.

9. Hringhorni

Author´s Note: The start of the chapter happens a few days before Haruhime had her birthday at the end of the last chapter. I...forgot to include that part, but it must happen now.

The next chapters will contain some spoilers from SO 19 and a tiny bit of Vol 20. Not about the story, but world-building, like how the Education District is built and so on.

Thor: I thank you for your kind words, it means a lot to hear this.

Samurai-D: There will be three scenes in that story for that. Each happens differently and with a slightly different meaning. Where the situation and emotions are even more important than what exactly will happen between Bell and his beloved.

No2229: Yes, I got the inspiration from there. But it doesn´t have a deeper meaning, just something for Hogni to say that sounds cool (but is cringe)

OFARiolu: Bell x Haruhime, Ardee, Tiona. Lefiya x Filvis and (secret so far). Since I´m not very subtle about it Bete x Ais and Lena (I will show what connects them and how it comes to be. Chloe x Allen (pretty obvious I know, Ryu and Hogni (will get built up over the story). Tione x (secret), Lily x (secret), Lyra x (secret) (not each other) All other ships are a secret so far since it would spoil the story.

Guest: No, Leon didn´t ask Alfia for Snu Snu on the boat, it will get hinted at first (even in this chap) why they dislike him and later explained in a reveal towards Bell.

Erebus: Thank you as always for the long Review. A few ideas that you have will happen, but I won´t say which ones. For Ryu and Hogni I have planned a lot to let them progress and how one of them may change the other a bit.

About other people than Bell and his familia, sometimes it will look like the Loki fam has a separate plotline, but everything will get connected (not as late as the original series).

I plan to show more of the relationships and behavior of familia members with each other, like Tione warming up to her familia and so on.

But yes, Bell will awaken a bit more of Alfia´s motherly side, maybe towards Lefiya? Who knows. Maybe Zard will be a bit caring about Lefiya? Or...*gasp*...will it be Zeus?! (kidding)

Riftpowers: About the different plots, I have to write down a lot of notes, so that I don´t mix up the different stories I write. So that for example Bell suddenly has skills or abilities he gets later, because he already has them for example in BloJ!

I have to say writing little moments between various characters is great fun, just to let them interact with each other, and give light to some other characters than Bell. There are a lot of plotlines after all.

I will just say as much, Haruhime has a long way to go and her first time meeting Bell will be different from the original.

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Haruhime´s tail twitched softly as she heard a gentle knock from the door, stopping the hand with the brush.

"Yes?"

Her door got opened to the side, the place was built in a far-eastern style after all. It was no surprise that an Amazon came inside, just which Amazon it was.

"Ms. Samira?"

"Haruhime, Lady Ishtar wants to see you."

"Oh?"

"It´s about the last Expedition."

"Oh..."

"Can you go there by yourself?"

"Yes, of course."

Samira waved over her shoulder while she left the room. In the past, Samira had strongly disliked Haruhime, maybe even hated her. Thought she would look down on people like Samira, but just like it happened with Aisha and Lena, the emotionally wounded girl had a side on her that made others softer.

And after what happened during the expedition, it was not only Samira who thought differently about Haruhime.

Haruhime carefully cleaned her brush and made sure that no drop of ink got on the white sheet of paper. It had become one of her hobbies, that gave her mind a bit of peace, a technique called Shodo. Just like she practiced the art of using her bow, different from when she fought in the dungeon, called Kyudo. She had started by drawing simple symbols, but now she used smaller pieces of paper, creating what the Far East called a talisman. To bring herself and her friends, especially her two "sisters" luck. Haruhime strongly believed in the effect, at least it wouldn´t hurt to have them. Aisha always bound one with a string to the pommel of her Podao Zaga, Lena did the same with her Scimitar.

After everything was cleaned, the pot with the ink properly closed and the paper put away, Haruhime got up to her feet.

As usual, she wore a red kimono, the color was important to her, as it meant to ward off evil spirits. Ever since "that day" and "the other day", Haruhime was obsessed with purity and cleansing. She knew that she would never be pure again, but what happened got carved deep into her.

Haruhime took her Haori from the rack, it was black with red leaves on it, the exact opposite color of her kimono. Then she took her special paper umbrella, it wouldn´t rain, and the weather was clear and nice, but Haruhime liked the umbrella, a gift from Lena. At this hour there shouldn´t be any customers in the District, yet Haruhime would take her umbrella with her, she used it most of the time to keep it open and ward her eyes from any man possible even when she followed a special path, that no customers would ever be allowed to set their feet upon. This path was meant for the girls of the District who were afraid of men, like Haruhime. When she first heard about it from Aisha, Haruhime was surprised that Ishtar made something like that.

It looked like her goddess was way more thoughtful and considerate than she thought.

She told the woman in charge of the "inn" that she would go out to see their goddess, but declined when she got asked if she needed company. They had a few "Inn"s in the District, but only female customers were allowed there. To drink, have a good time, chat with the girls, or in surprisingly many cases, for more amorous activities. Haruhime had been surprised by how many women preferred women over men, but Aisha told her it was because it was Orario. Someone like Haruhime was referred to as a "Girl" in the District, they were often accompanied by the more considerate women since they knew how afraid they were of men.

Just like the other "Girls", Haruhime wore a special flower on her chest, it was a rule of the District that it was strictly forbidden to touch anyone with such a flower. There were different flowers for different meanings, some only forbid men from touching the Girl, but all forbid men from getting close to them. Those who broke the rules found themself beaten up in a side alley. Haruhime could go out of the district and into the city whenever she wanted, but she didn´t dare to leave it. Afraid, since there were so many men in the city. And the few that worked in the District avoided the "Girls", so they wouldn´t get scared.

Haruhime looked up to the sky while she walked, it was pretty quiet around noon since most people who worked here would sleep at this hour. Those who were awake made sure to remain as quiet as possible...since sleeping amazons who got woken up against their will were often a bit...displeased.

Her tail moved slightly around, it felt always nice to have it in the sun. Haruhime didn´t get nervous when she came close to Belit Babili, Ishtar sometimes called her to talk.

Or for a special favor that only Haruhime could provide...including Ishtar´s hands fluffing her tail or gently stroking her ears. The goddess said it gave her a rarely-known delight since Haruhime´s tail was just that fluffy and nice to touch.

Haruhime walked through the main gate and towards the tower in the middle. Two smaller towers were to the left and right of the main tower. Watched from the top of the tower, the whole Pleasure Quarter looked basically like Orario on a smaller scale. An Orario inside Orario, as some called it. And for some people, in some ways, the most important of all Districts. Haruhime had been disgusted with this place, was it to a certain degree, but she was also protected here. And Aisha explained to her just how many adventurers had their lives saved because of this district. Many adventurers faced dire situations and fates in the dungeon, only the embrace of women who worked here helped many to go on or prevented them from going insane.

And, Aisha had told her this more than once, more than a few women here fell in love with a customer, eventually leaving the District. Lena herself knew two who left, got married and had children now. Both of her "sisters" never stopped to cheer Haruhime up and make her hopes for the future.

But these women weren´t afraid of men in general...

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Since Ishtar awaited Haruhime, she made sure that no men were on the floor, which was very nice of her. Ishtar´s door was slightly opened, and a few amazons went in and out of the room, since even at this hour, the goddess was busy running the District.

Haruhime knocked softly, waiting for a reply, which followed shortly.

As she went inside, Haruhime saw her goddess sitting on a very comfortable couch, but she was surprised when she saw two other gods sitting on the couch opposite Ishtar. Haruhime knew both of them, one was a goddess...the other a male god. The goddess came from time to time, not to visit the District, but Ishtar herself.

"My goddess." Haruhime bowed slightly. "Lady Ereshkigal."

Then she smiled slightly at the god, he was the only male who didn´t invoke any form of fear in her, he was unique. "Lord Ganesha, it´s nice to meet you again."

"Gnihi! I, Ganesha! Greet you, young Haruhime! You´re as pretty as ever!"

"Ganesha, no flirting with my child."

"I would never do that! But she is a sight to behold!"

"Of course she is, Haruhime is my cute, little fox."

While Ganesha surely was a man among men with his buffed figure, even revealing a large part of his upper body due to his clothes, Haruhime just saw him differently. Ishtar had laughed until she cried when Haruhime had tried to describe that she wasn´t afraid of this massive man, because..because...she couldn´t even name it.

Only a few gods referred to each other as family, but Ereshkigal was one of the few cases that Haruhime knew, she was Ishtar´s sister.

And she was what the other gods called a "Cinnamon role" or a "Cutie Pie". This goddess only had one single follower, which was also her husband. She lived as one of two familias at the enormous graveyard of Orario, together with the much larger Anubis familia. Unlike Ishtar, Ereshkigal wore a lot of clothes, a large, black dress of a style that a certain "Witch" with ash-colored hair would like very much.

The blonde goddess smiled. "Nice to meet you. So, Ishtar, I´m going then, my husband is waiting for me."

"Until next time."

Ganesha got up from the couch too. "I will be going then, Ishtar. I will talk to the guild about your plan, I doubt it will be a problem."

"You have my thanks, Ganesha, otherwise it would cause more trouble than being worth it."

Haruhime waited until the two gods left and closed the door before she went closer to Ishtar´s couch. She had even managed to smile at both when they passed her, Ishtar secretly thanked the heavens for Ganesha´s nature.

"You can sit down if you want, my little fox."

"Unh."

Haruhime sat down in a chaste manner.

"So, I guess Samira told you already, it´s about the last Expedition."

"Yes."

"Then, care to explain to me what happened there?"

"I´m sorry, my goddess. I have no words...I...don´t know it."

As always, Ishtar got a report of the results from the expedition. Her familia went down to the 27th floor to claim the Amphisbaena. They got quite lucky on their way down and encountered no less than two irregular monsters on their way down.

An Orc King

And an Orthrus

The Orc King had appeared on the 12th floor but had wandered down to the 13th. It was accompanied by a large number of Orcs and Imps. The amazons had rushed forward to slay the monsters and claim the irregular. It would be worth a lot of Excelia and surely drop something nice. As usual, since monsters on this floor weren´t a real threat to them, not even an irregular, they followed the Amazonian rule.

The first to come gets it.

Which meant, the one who dealt the killing blow would get all that dropped. But an Orc King was pretty cunning for such a dumb monster, it had called for reinforcements from the 12th floor. Haruhime was in the middle of the party, protected by Lena and others in the rear guard. But the new Orcs came rushing like an avalanche and pounced the amazons out of the way, to reach the irregular. Samira, as a middle-level two, got almost trampled, she was the closest to Haruhime.

When something had happened.

No one had an explanation for it, three Orcs were about to club Samira and trample over her and Haruhime.

Then...

Everything turned red.

No one saw how or what happened. But the Orcs got torn to shreds, not only hacked or sliced but shredded apart. Haruhime had slumped to the ground with a loud groan, as she felt a large part of her mind getting drained.

The situation got under control again immediately, but for everyone, it was clear, that Haruhime had done something and saved Samira this way. And herself.

At least from getting hurt, but she had no explanation.

"You have no idea what happened to these filthy Orcs?"

"No, I´m sorry."

"Samira said she saw something like an invisible shade moving through the air as if the wind itself was moving."

"I can´t do anything with wind, and I didn´t have time to use the magic item."

To make sure that Haruhime remained safe, and help in a dire situation, she got a small fan, which was a magic item. Not a very strong one, if she would wave the fan, it would create a blast of wind, just enough to throw monsters off balance.

"Hm, that is strange. Let me see your back."

"As you wish.."

Haruhime just let her kimono slip down far enough so that Ishtar could take a look at her status. The amazons would just shrug their shoulders and take the clothes off from their upper bodies, but the fox was different.

"Hm, your status grew quite a bit, but I don´t see anything different. Your magic stat grew the most again, did you use your magic often?"

"I did."

After things had happened to Haruhime and she became obsessed with purity and cleansing, it had shown in her status, with skill, and when she finally got her magic.

It was a fire enchantment and attack magic in one.

Taiyō no honō

She could summon the flames of the sun.

When Haruhime called for her magic, small orbs of fire would appear around her, as well as a second tail growing from her back, made of yellow fire. So far only two orbs would appear. She could infuse one into her bow, enchanting her arrows with fire this way, and give another weapon that enchantment too. Or give both away, or use the command word to shoot such a fire orb at a monster.

The second tail remained for two minutes, which was the time her buff remained. In nine out of ten cases, Lena would get one of the fire enchantments for her sword. They had tried it with Aisha´s Podao Zaga too, but the enormous sword was lit up in flames completely, which was pretty bright and gave Aisha problems to properly see. And the larger the weapon was, the faster would the buff run out, since a larger surface got covered.

When Ishtar had read what the spell did for Haruhime, she had also mentioned that a cleansing aspect was written into it. To burn impurities out of her target. So far there wasn´t a time to test it, except during the last Expedition.

When the Orhtros appeared.

It was a rare kind of irregular, basically a Hellhound with two heads, and bigger than a normal one. One of the heads could normally breathe fire, the other had exhaled poisonous mist.

The situation when it got born from a wall was really strange. A large number of hellhounds had swarmed the raiding party as if trying to keep them in one place. Strangely, no Hellhound dared to get close to Haruhime, they had growled at her, whimpered, and backed away, not one had dared to attack her.

Just like the Imps further up.

Ishtar guessed it was part of Haruhime´s skill, she basically radiated purity. Not like an untouched virgin would do...which she wasn´t anymore...but more like the exact opposite of impurity. Like a unicorn would be.

It wasn´t a gentle purity, it was sharp, burning hot, unforgiving. Getting close to Haruhime made Imps and Hellhounds feel pain and made them scared. It made the Orcs mad, since in ancient times, these monsters were the hunters of anything pure. They also felt pain, fear, and discomfort, but they wanted to devour purity and trample it.

But when the wall had cracked and the Orthros appeared, it was already mad with rage. It felt even more pain than the other monsters from Haruhime´s purity aura, had opened its maw and breathed poisonous mist at her.

Maybe it had sensed in a way what her burning tail meant, but as long as the buff on herself or someone else remained, they got a high resistance to fire, stronger than salamander wool would be. There was also the fact that Haruhime wore a robe of salamander wool during the Expedition, and had another one made of Undine cloth in her backpack, just like many of the amazons had.

Ishtar´s familia was very rich, so she wouldn´t tolerate losses in the dungeon.

Lena had reacted without thinking, tackling Haruhime out of the way and getting hit with the full blast of the poison.

The Orhtros couldn´t even close its maw, before Samira and the very fast Aisha...Aisha was always fast when her two "little sisters" were in danger, charged in and each chopped one of the heads off.

Lena had rolled on the ground and screamed from immense pain as the poison entered her body. Haruhime had rushed to her to help, but as her burning tail touched Lena´s skin, the yellow fire washed all over Lena, a stinking mist rose from her body as Haruhime´s magic mercilessly burned away the poison and any impurity from Lena´s body.

Curses and Poison.

These were the impurities that Haruhime could burn away. It hurt pretty much, and resolved in most of Lena´s clothes getting burned to ash, but when the...now naked...amazon sat up, she was fine. Even amazed, the pain had only lasted for seconds, but now she felt very good and energetic.

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"The monsters got scared of you, some became enraged...and then what happened with the Orcs...neither your magic nor your skill can have anything to do with the shredded Orcs."

"I don´t know what to say, my goddess."

Haruhime immediately dressed herself once Ishtar told her it was finished. Now the goddess was in thoughts, gently fluffing Haruhime´s tail, it helped her think.

Ishtar wasn´t as cold as Haruhime thought in the past. She cared about her District and her followers, and that´s why she made the rule with the "Girls". And something on Haruhime, maybe it was her nature or part of her skill, let Ishtar feel sorry for her cute, little fox.

In her presence, even the wildest amazon...except for "The Toad", calmed down a lot. Haruhime had something on her that made others want to protect her. No one was able to be mad with her for a long time, not that she ever did anything that let others become mad at her.

But some amazons of Ishtar´s familia were jealous, that it seemed like Haruhime got some special treatment. Yet, when they spent time with her..they couldn´t be mad with her for long. Samira was the best example.

"You said when the Orcs got shredded you felt your mind getting drained?"

"I did."

Haruhime didn´t mind when Ishtar fluffed her tail, the goddess was gentle. And quite caring when it came to her little fox. Haruhime had no idea just how much she started to change her goddess and the familia. That a goddess...that THIS goddess could feel so sorry for a "failed prostitute". And Haruhime had no idea, that what had happened to her, what changed in her due to that, would change her goddess even more...and the fate that awaited her on the surface, moving her further and further away from the dream to overthrow Freya.

Not that there was a way anyway for Ishtar to compete with Freya´s brutal fanatics.

"Hm, there isn´t a passive effect written in your Falna..."

What Ishtar didn´t tell Haruhime, there was a strange, dark spot in Haruhime´s blessing. Ishtar´s symbol looked the same as always, except that the necklace of the symbol, hanging around the figure that represented Ishtar, wasn´t glowing white with dark spots in it to show gems...the necklace was completely black.

No other follower of Ishtar had a blessing symbol that looked different in any way, only Haruhime did. What confused Ishtar, no other god she had asked ever had a blessing on a follower who looked different than the others.

Strange.

"I will ask the others to keep an eye on you in the dungeon, just in case."

"Thank you, my goddess."

"Also, if you continue to give your best during the Expeditions, I do not doubt that you will be able to reach level two before you turn sixteen."

"Oh, it is growing that much?"

"It´s quite normal for a level one, that has the chance to get a lot of Excelia during Expeditions."

To help the lower members level up faster, Amazons would use a pretty cruel tactic. Beat a monster to a near-death status, then pin it down and let the lower member kill it, this way they would get all the Excelia. Due to this, Haruhime was able to get the Excelia from killing monsters down to the 17th floor. It was a bit disgusting and made her sick in the beginning, but she wanted to become stronger. For herself, and to protect those dear to her.

But mostly...

So that no man would ever touch her again against her will...

"Hm, I guess we won´t see anymore today."

Ishtar let go of the tail but still looked at Haruhime.

"Say, Haruhime, you know that our Far-Eastern weeks will soon start, right?"

"I do."

"I would like to give some customers a show of traditional far-eastern things."

"O-Oh..." The tail trembled.

"No men, don´t worry. Only women will be directly present. And I just wanted to ask you about things like dancing. Lena said something about a tree dance?"

"I guess she means the Sakura dance."

"And you can that?"

"Not perfectly..."

"Still, would you perform some of these things for curious customers?"

As long as it were women, Haruhime didn´t have much of a problem. And even when Ishtar asked her in a soft voice, Haruhime thought she had to do it. To pay her goddess and familia back for all that she got here. And maybe...maybe it would be a bit of fun.

"I will do it, I hope I won´t disappoint you."

"Sadly you´re the only far-eastern girl we have, but I heard our elf is pretty interested in that topic."

Haruhime had heard about the elf that was part of her familia. The only elf. She heard something that this elf had hit rock bottom and somehow ended up in the familia. Which was only half true, since the elf had a condition that all elves would be ashamed about.

She was a nymphomaniac.

This elf had an insanely high libido, hard to satisfy, it was one of the reasons why she was part of the familia. Aside from that, since Haruhime had never personally met her so far, she had heard that this elf was a sweetheart, and was very unlike other elves. Didn´t have a problem with other races, and took care of others.

And according to the rumors, this elf chose her customers. Many men dreamed about bedding an elf, but to become her customer was very expensive, and she always chose herself who she would keep company.

This wasn´t anything Haruhime ever could, would, or wanted to do in her life. Yet, when Haruhime would get to know this elf, she would learn something important, just as she would with many other women of her familia. No matter if it was the middle-aged pallum, the adult tiger woman, or others. Aside from their job, they were just normal people, with normal problems. Haruhime would learn about many fates that some women in her familia had, and just how much Ishtar had done in many ways for these women. It would help her get along better with them, she wasn´t the only one with a dire fate after all.

Slowly...Haruhime would start to find friends among the women of her familia. In some cases maybe not friends, but the older women of her familia cared a lot for the younger ones. Especially since Haruhime was a "Girl".

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While the afternoon went over into the evening, and Ishtar discussed what Haruhime would do during the show, so that she wouldn´t push her too far...for many amazons in her familia, it was really weird how soft Ishtar became in some ways.

All because of her fox.

In another part of Orario, a few people got ready to move out into the night.

"Ryu, I trust you to keep an eye on Filvis, be a good big sister, yes?"

"Of course, Lady Astrea, nothing will happen to her."

They had to talk a bit louder since loud banging noises came from two of the rooms. Neze trained again with her special kicking bag, just like Iska did in her room. It was a special item that required a drop item from the dungeon to make.

Black Slime´s skin.

Black Slimes were pretty rare, and almost immune to physical attacks, which made it extremely hard to kill them. But they were also almost harmless, mostly minding their business and crouching around. Most adventurers got injuries from attacking them...or even breaking their weapons.

But due to that, Iska got her first punching...or kicking bag that could withstand her attacks, and Neze wanted one too. Tione sat on the floor in Iska´s room, watching her in awe, how fierce she went at the bag, and how little it seemed to move. Normally Tiona would be at Tione´s side, but she sat in the garden with Ardee, chatting happily about their favorite book, these two easily became good friends, even more so after Ardee read the book for Tiona through the door, to distract her from being sick.

Yet, Filvis´ problem was more Neze, since Iska kept her door closed. Neze didn´t. The werewolf wore a very short top, which clung to her chest, as well as very short pants. The short outfit, the loud banging noises, Neze´s grunts, aches, and moans...for the shy elf it had somehow a lewd feeling. Then again, as an elf, just like Ryu, Filvis saw many things as lewd.

She could never wear such an outfit or fight like that. Neze even raised her leg very high to kick! A woman shouldn´t do that in Filvis´ opinion! The young elf had her problems getting used to being part of a familia, especially getting used to being around non-elves. It was a nice and yet sometimes uncomfortable feeling. On the one hand, no one minded her black hair even one bit...on the other hand, when it was hot...some of the others, especially Kaguya, walked around in very revealing clothes!

Filvis had almost fainted when she saw Kaguya one day just wearing panties! In front of the other familia members! And they didn´t seem to mind, saying it was Kaguya after all!

"Mmh..." Filvis looked partly happy and partly unhappy.

Ryu was the person she had the most and easiest contact with in the familia. She was the one who trained with Filvis since it was hard for her to get used to other people. But the black-haired elf was slowly getting there. After all, no one in the familia got bothered with her hair color. Quite the opposite in some cases, Kaguya and Tione often bragged that their black hair looked more silky and beautiful than Filvis´, which upset the elf quite a bit.

Kaguya just had a hand when it came to handling upright elves, in her ways.

Ryu made sure that her short swords were secured at her hip. These were a gift to her birthday from Kaguya, which had surprised many, and made Ryu flustered. Kaguya had stated that Ryu needed another weapon, just in case her "ridiculous long and shiny sword" wasn´t fitting for a situation.

It showed Ryu once again how much her familia cared about her, even her rival...especially her rival.

Filvis used a short sword on her own, and together with a rod, she trained to become something like a magic swordswoman. And she looked up to Ryu quite a lot, Astrea sometimes thought that Ryu might become Filvis´ "big sister" in more than just familia terms, not that it was a bad thing. Since both elves shared a room, to make it easier for Filvis to fit into the familia, Kaguya had made a nasty joke that maybe instead of becoming "sisters", like it was normal for the familia members, they would become something else.

Ryu had just rolled her eyes and didn´t react further to Kaguya´s smirk, she saw no need to point out that she wasn´t into women.

On this night, Ryu and Filvis wouldn´t only patrol the city, but spy on a few illegal activities.

"By chance" and not because it had anything to do with the blonde, blue-eyed elf...absolutely not!...would the goddess Freya also send one of her high-executives to do some secret work during this night. Having him watch over Ryu and Filvis from afar.

This one liked the night since it was mysterious and dark...and it prevented people he didn´t know from seeing him.

Hogni was still curious why he didn´t react repelled to Ryu coming close to him.

And as a Goddess of Love, Freya found great joy and fun, exploring where this might lead.

Over time, Filvis would grow even more attached to Ryu, as she would to her "little sister". Which only fired Lyra´s desire to get a little sister on her own! To her great luck, this would soon happen.

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"Woah...it looks even bigger from up close..."

Bell couldn´t stop gawking, when Zeus had asked him if he wanted to take a look at Hringhorni, of course, he was all in! This ship was more than just famous, for him it had a personal meaning.

Leon had awaited them at the shore with a boat, it wasn´t small, but not very big either. Out of knightly courtesy, Leon had offered Alfia his hand to help her inside, of course, she had declined.

"Don´t get ahead of yourself."

Leon just shook his head with a wry smile. Bell noticed that Alfia´s expression was different from Zard´s and Zeus´ when they looked at Leon.

If he had to give it a name, when Zard and Zeus looked at Leon, they looked somewhat angry, yet also...pleased? As if he had gotten their respect somehow...but something also repelled them.

The boat used a magic device to bring them quickly to Hringhorni, the word ship wasn´t fitting. It was more like a swimming town...or a small city. One part, in particular, drew in his eyes, it was blue, and gigantic, on both sides of the District.

"Are those...really...I mean..."

Leon smiled, as he looked at Zard and Alfia.

"The fins of the Leviathan, one of the strongest drop items in history, used to enhance the District."

This part was what let the District look a bit like a dragon, or maybe a swan.

Bell looked with sparkling eyes at Alfia. "Mom! That´s so cool! Now everyone can always see what you did!"

Zard snorted. "Hey, I was there too, you know?"

Alfia softly snorted too. "Yeah, but it was me who killed the beast, old man."

Bell looked at Leon now, his eyes gleaming. "What do these wings do?!"

"First, they scare off monsters, Hringhorni rarely gets attacked by monsters. Also, it protects the District when a storm hits, otherwise it might break apart."

"Woah...so Mom is in a way protecting all these people?"

Alfia shook her head. "I´m n-"

"So cool, Mom! You´re awesome!"

Leon was baffled when he saw Alfia´s lips twitching, curling up into a flustered smile, if she wanted to or not. The way Zard and Zeus grinned, it was easy to see that Bell was Alfia´s weak spot.

Then the young boy looked at Zard. "And you too, Uncle Zard!"

Leon raised an eyebrow. Uncle?

Zeus made a sad face. "And I?"

"You of course too, Grandpa!"

"Hehe!~~"

The boat moved further until they arrived at a place where they could go on board the gigantic ship. Bell dared to glance over the edge of the boat.

"Woah...it gets so dark down there...so deep...uugh..."

Alfia put an arm around Bell and pulled him back from the edge, into her embrace.

"It´s alright, Sweety, I´m here."

"Thanks, Mom..."

It was Bell´s first experience with something so wide, deep and vast. Alfia looked at Leon while she hugged Bell, daring him to say even one word. But he wouldn´t, not about something like this.

Zard crossed his arms in front of his massive chest. "Sure looks different from the last time we got on board."

"It took a few years to build it up this far, and all thanks to Lord Baldr."

Zeus smirked. "Baldr, huh? No wonder Idun and some of the others came here."

"Lord Baldr is well-liked everywhere."

"Yeah, and he has a hand for women, no wonder you turned out like this."

"I have no idea what you mean, Lord Zeus. All I care about are my students."

Bell saw that a few young people awaited them at the spot where they could enter the District. Leon had explained that the students defended the ship, at least those who weren´t part of the field expeditions. And that they had apparently developed all kinds of magic items to help them guard the place. And since they knew it better than everyone else, it would be next to impossible to escape them and hide somewhere.

Leon looked at the students.

"These here are special guests, I already talked with Lord Baldr about it, they get special permission to enter the ship."

""""Understood, Professor Leon!""""

Bell couldn´t help but look curious at the students, all of them wore similar uniforms to Lefiya and the others. The students made room for Leon to come on board, but they backed away when Alfia made a step forward, while Zard held his hand out for her. The way they moved away from Leon was in respect, for Alfia...they felt uneasy.

Bell was surprised that once he was on board, there wasn´t any shaking, unlike in the smaller boat. Leon pointed at a structure in the distance.

"We have to walk to the main tower, Breidablik, this is where Lord Baldr waits for us."

Alfia raised an eyebrow. "So we have to go to him, even when you are asking us for a favor?

Leon smiled softly. "Lord Baldr is pretty busy. A few people left the District in Orario, so there are empty houses, new students, and other things to handle."

Bell looked curious. "You were in Orario?"

"Yes, we left a month ago. If we would sail without pause, it would just take two days, but we had field expeditions and other things to do. We will return to Orario in roughly four years."

"How long do you stay in Orario?"

"Up to over a year, Melen is the only port we can work on the maintenance for the hull. The Far East offered to also build such a port, but then the imperial court would have something to say in the matters of the district, and Lord Baldr didn´t want that. We stay on our own, and do the work we have to do."

"Were they mad?"

Leon shook his head. "The imperial court to a large part, yes, but Lady Amaterasu wasn´t, and she is the ruler."

"Of the whole Far East?!"

"Yes, she is the leading goddess. Just like Lord Zeus here led the Olympians."

Zeus snorted. "I´m still the boss, you know?"

"Oh? Lady Hera said something different?"

Zeus went pale. "You´ve seen Hera?! Is she on board?! Make way, I have to jump and swim away!"

"She isn´t on board, Lord Zeus, we just met her by chance. Anyway, back to the topic, young Bell. Lady Amaterasu supports the district, in return for a favor."

"A favor?"

"Yes, she is looking for someone, all over the world. Apparently, she sent agents to all parts of the world, even when some never returned... So she asked the District to look out for a certain person."

"A..criminal?"

Leon made a slightly sad face. "No...someone she is missing."

"Oh."

They continued their way, it would take a while to get to Breidablik. In theory, they could just jump directly over the walls, Alfia carrying Bell, Zard carrying Zeus, but that wasn´t something Leon would allow.

Zard looked at Leon´s hip. "That´s a pretty interesting sword you carry there, boy."

Alfia exhaled through her nose. "Indeed...it feels quite...familiar."

Bell noticed how both looked up to the titanic fins, that were left and right of the district.

"It is something that was forged in the district, nothing too special."

"Mhm..."

"Of course..."

Zeus grinned wide. "Interesting sword indeed...looks like Baldr is more cunning than I thought."

"We didn´t steal anything, Lord Zeus, were merely found something."

"Well, finders keepers, as they say."

Bell looked at Leon´s sword. "What are you talking about?"

Alfia gently patted Bell´s head. "Nothing important, Sweety."

While they walked, Leon explained more details about Hringhorni to Bell. Zeus didn´t need to be a genius...which he was in his humble opinion...to see what Leon did. He had mentioned that there were free slots for students on purpose.

I smell Baldr´s influence, and can´t wait to talk to him.

Leon moved his hand around while they walked. "Young Bell, Hringhorni is the largest ship in the world, if the term ship still does apply to it."

Zeus grinned. "Objection. That´s a swimming city. And I think Ama-chan would become mad if someone had a bigger ship than her."

Leon did well in hiding his surprised expression, as he heard how Zeus talked about Amaterasu.

"I guess you´re right, Lord Zeus."

"The humble me is always right." He laughed.

Leon continued. "The hull is built in three discs, the original design was just the lowest disc, you surely know the original purpose, Bell?"

"It was built as a swimming fortress to fight the Leviathan, with the help of materials gathered by the familia."

Leon raised an eyebrow.

Zeus grinned. "Bell refers to our two familias just as "The familia"."

Leon looked more surprised as he understood the implications, and looked at Zard and Alfia.

Zard shook his head. "Again, not his dad."

Alfia´s eyes dared him to ask further...

"Your answer is correct, Bell, full points."

"Ehehe~~"

"Above the control layer, we built the life layer. Here are the houses, shops and everything that is necessary for living. We have a large park at the end of the layer, and smaller ones everywhere, as well as trees."

"Why are these necessary on a ship?"

"So the people can feel grounded. Sometimes the district remains on open water for a while, it could depress students and teachers alike if they couldn´t touch the grass, sit down next to a tree, and such."

"Do you also have fields, for growing vegetables?"

"Only very small ones, and only run by a few restaurants, where they grow special vegetables. Everything else we get from trading. Feeding about four thousand people...there wouldn´t be enough room for fields on the ship."

"Four thousand?!"

"That´s the rough number of people living here."

"Wow..."

Leon pointed at the wall that they were walking along. "As you can see, we are more than twenty meters above the water level here, yet this wall towers over us. Each of the three layers is more than twenty meters tall. The tip of Breidablik is about one hundred and twenty meters above the water."

"Wow..."

"Height isn´t the only thing going for Hgringhorni, the control layer has a diameter of over seven hundred meters."

"Hm..."

"Bell?"

"Seven hundred meters...that doesn´t sound like much space for four thousand people."

"You have to count the height of each disc. The residental area still has a diameter of six hundred meters, the disc of the control layer goes fifty meters into each direction of it, the only exception is the tip, which is over a hundred meters longer."

Bell´s eyes widened. "That was...where you stood, Mom?"

"Where we all fought, yes."

"And I can see that place? Please, let me see that place! I want to see where the familia fought!"

Leon nodded. "That is part of the deal, of course, Lord Baldr will give you permission to see it."

Their path continued, and eventually, they arrived at the entrance to the life layer. It looked like they could take a shorter way, but Leon gave them a tour of the district, the three adults of the family saw how much it fascinated and interested Bell.

"As you can see, Bell, the life layer is parted in several layers itself, so it can easily fit many people."

"Wow, the streets are so clean, I thought a city would be more...well dirty?"

"The students keep the layer clean, they live here, if they would let garbage lay around, they would get punished...and they had to live in the dirt. Everyone keeps their homes clean after all."

"Understandable, what are these shops here?"

"They are run by students, who are part of the crafting classes, this way they get more experience, take part in the rankings, and especially learn how to deal with customers. Even when most of the students behave too well to give them lots of experience."

"Only most?"

Leon showed a mischievous smile. "Sometimes we order some students to be a bit mean and cause some small trouble, not too much of course, it helps the students who run the shops to be on edge."

"How do you handle the money here? I guess students who run a shop are able to earn money, but what about others?"

"We have our own currency here. If students enter from the outside, they have to exchange their Vals, but we only allow a certain degree. Otherwise, someone with a lot of money could cause trouble in our currency system. Those who don´t run shops can earn money by going up in academic ranks, show good results in field expeditions and other things."

Every student they came across greeted Leon and looked curious at the others. Especially at Zeus, each and every person seemed to notice what he was.

And then...Bell met the first goddess of his life.

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"Everyone, have an Aoharu day!"

"You too, Lady Idun!"

"Thank you for the lecture, Lady Idun!"

"Lady Idun, you´re the best!"

"Now, all together!"

""""Aoharuuuuu!~~~""""

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Bell noticed how Zeus started to grin, while Alfia made a face because of the loud noise. Followed by a few students, the goddess appeared.

She had long, wavy hair, a dark, short dress, that covered only one-third of her thighs, but long stockings, so only a small part of her thighs was bare.

This moment...this glimpse...changed Bell´s life forever.

Zeus saw in his reaction, that Bell understood at thirteen years of age, the magic of Zettai Ryouiki.

I´m so proud of you, my boy!

The shirt that the goddess wore under her dress had long sleeves and white gloves. If she didn´t walk so fast, letting her skirt float up sometimes, she would show almost no skin at all. She was just too beautiful! Stunningly beautiful! With her long, blonde hair, and bright, happy nature.

She was the first, beautiful adult woman that Bell saw in his life...Alfia didn´t count, since she was his Mom.

"Ah, young Leon!~~~ I wish you an Aoharu day!"

"Good day, Lady Idun."

The young-looking goddess looked curious at the four visitors.

"Zeus?! What brings you here?"

"Hey, Idun. Just visiting the school at Baldr´s request. Won´t be too long, don´t worry."

"Heeeh. I wonder what Baldr has planned, but I guess my students are safer then if you won´t stay long.~~~"

"Hey, I´ve changed, you know?"

"Is that so?"

Idun´s attention wandered to Alfia and Zard.

"Oh, one of your followers."

"You see that so easily?"

"I mean, looks a lot like you when you were younger, Zeus."

Bell wasn´t sure if that made Zard happy or not. It was easy to see how displeased Alfia was with that cheerful, loud goddess. Until...

"Oho! And who is that charming, young Lady here? Ah, I can feel the aura of youth around you! So refreshing!"

With just a few words, Idun had managed to get on Alfia´s good side. As a goddess who ruled over the concept of youth, and enjoying said youth, Idun maybe somehow felt Alfia´s nature.

Since Alfia didn´t answer, Idun´s eyes wandered to Bell.

"Oh!~~ What a nice, young man. Do you bring a new student, Leon?"

"He´s just a visitor so far."

"Hehe~~ So you say there is a chance? Hey, hey, young man, do you want to become a student here?"

"Eh? M-Me?"

"Mhm, do you like learning?"

"I do like to learn new things."

Idun´s smile widened as she heard his answer. "One hundred points."

"Huh?"

The goddess winked, something about that let Bell blush, and then she went away.

"Have an Aoharu daaaaaay!~~~"

Since the goddess had a quick, energetic step, her skirt waved up dangerously high. In a natural reflex, Alfia stepped in the way before Bell was able to catch a glimpse of something inappropriate.

"She´s way too carefree."

Zeus chuckled. "That´s her nature, Alfia."

"Hmpf."

Leon invited them with a gesture of his hand to continue the way.

"Since classes are currently going on for those that aren´t out in the field, I sadly can´t show you much about the academic layer. But I know about one classroom that should be empty."

While they followed Leon, Bell saw a shade moving at the side, a double shade...turning into three people at the end.

"Stop right there."

The three people froze on the spot.

Leon turned to them. "Rapi, Nina, Lapi...mind to explain why you aren´t in class?"

Bell saw that it were three students. One of them was an elf...or maybe half-elf, since her ears weren´t as pointy. But the other two were hume bunnies, he didn´t need to know them to see that they were twins. Both had brown hair, their eyes were hard to see behind their bangs.

The girl clutched two books in front of her. "Professor Leon, I´m so sorry! It was my fault! I was too eager to learn and show Rapi and Lapi something, that I forgot the time and we only realized it was time for class when the bell rang."

Zeus mumbled in a low voice. "She´s speaking the truth."

"I know, but thank you, Lord Zeus. Nina, it is good that you´re so eager to learn, but don´t lose yourself in it. Rapi, Lapi, you two have eyes too, keep them on the clock next time."

"""Yes, Professor!"""

"You three will still help your teacher to clean up the classroom, report to me in the afternoon, and work on an apology essay."

"""Understood."""

"Now off to class with you all."

The three students bowed down and ran off, it looked like the two hume bunny boys could´ve gone ahead, but they reduced their speed to that of the half-elf.

Bell saw how they glanced curiously at him but then sped up to get to their class.

"Does it happen often that students are late for class?"

"Only in the beginning, when they aren´t used to the school, but that changes quickly. Since only those are able to become students, who are eager to learn. Nina is just a bit too eager with the sheer amount she wants to learn. And Rapi and Lapi are always around her, she helped them when they joined the school."

Zeus grinned. "I guess Idun would say "Ah, that´s youth for you.", am I wrong?"

"Probably not, Lord Zeus."

Bell looked at Leon while they continued their way. "Will they get punished?"

"Only lightly, they are very good students."

After walking for ten minutes more, Bell was quite surprised at how long it took in that layer, it somehow felt bigger than it should be, they arrived at one of the schoolhouses. Just like all the other buildings, it was made of white stone with a blue roof, and everything inside was perfectly clean.

Leon raised his index finger in front of his lips to tell them to be absolutely quiet. They followed him to a door, which he gently pushed open. Bell had expected a room, but not this.

It was a wide, open space, a bit like a theater he saw in one of his books. Farther in the room were long, mahogany desks, set to stand in a semicircle, gathered around the podium and blackboard. The rows of seats were arranged in ascending circles, letting the podium look like the bottom of a bowl. There were easily enough seats for a hundred students.

"This is a typical classroom that we have. It also gets used in different ways, like for the theater classes, when they have a play or practice."

"Are all classrooms like this?"

"Many of them, others have other shapes, depending on the classes that take place. We also have more open spaces, for combat training and tournaments."

"Tournaments?"

"The combat classes have ranking tournaments, it's divided by levels since it wouldn´t make sense to level a level three student fight against a level one or two."

"Some students are level three?!"

"Yes, we have some very talented students here." Leon smiled proudly.

"Wow...they managed to get this strong...how did they level up? Grandpa told me that someone needs to do a worthy deed. A deed worthy to get acknowledged by the gods."

"That can be more than just defeating a strong monster. One student for example managed to get his great deed by holding out ten whole minutes in a fierce fight against a level three student, who didn´t hold back at all."

"Ten minutes?"

Zard put his hand on Bell´s head. "Doesn´t sound like much, but a difference of two levels is pretty much. And there are some levels that have a bigger difference between each other than others. One to two for example is greater than two to three. Or four to five."

Zeus grinned. "Or six to seven is greater than five to six."

Leon smirked in an unusual way as if he normally wouldn´t smirk like that. "Yeah...or when someone of a much lower level gets chased by someone of level seven...on a daily base."

Zard shrugged his shoulders. "Didn´t kill you, boy."

Alfia nodded. "He´s right, only made you all stronger."

Bell looked curious. "What are you talking about?"

Leon smiled in his usual way. "That´s not important right now, and it isn´t for me to tell you this story."

"Hm..alright."

"So, now let us go. Lord Baldr awaits us."

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Bell was at a loss for words when they entered the office. Baldr truly had a goddess-like-beauty, despite being a male god. His hair was full blonde and his skin white, he was slender, looking so different from the men that Bell was used to. Sure, Leon wasn´t as buffed and rough as Zard and Zeus, but even the other men in the village looked somehow harder than Baldr did, he had a delicate beauty to him.

Yet he was over a head taller than Bell, wore a long, sacred vestment, which left his right shoulder and arm free. On his head sat a crown...it looked like some kind of plant that Bell didn´t know.

"Ah, Leon, you brought our guests."

The god had an aura of calm nature, even Alfia looked calm and relaxed. It might also be because she held Bell´s right hand. Zeus found more than just funny, Alfia looked very much like a concerned mother, who brought her son to school.

Baldr moved his hand and gestured to a row of comfortable chairs in front of his massive desk.

"Please have a seat, my dear guests, and be welcome at Hringhorni."

Zeus sat down in the "middle", Bell on his right, Alfia on Bell´s right, and Zard on Zeus´ left. The chairs of Zard and Zeus looked too small for their massive figures, Leon just stood next to Baldr´s desk.

"Zeus, it has been a long time."

"Sure has been, Baldr. How´s it going."

"I would say pretty well, our students are eager to learn, and they are safe...more than a few thanks to you."

Baldr slightly bowed his head towards Alfia. "You have my thanks again, Silence. I can´t thank you enough for protecting our precious students. The other gods agree on that, and...words already go around in the school."

She sighed. "Is that why the students we saw before the class started were looking at me?"

"Probably, Idun was a bit too eager and chatty."

"Tsk."

Baldr´s eyes wandered to Zard. "And I thank you, Gluttony, for taking part in the mock battle with Leon, it will surely be educational for the students."

"As long as Bell gets the reward."

"Oh, he will. Be very welcome here, young Bell."

"Thank you, Lord Baldr."

"How does Hringhorni look to you?"

"It is amazing, really fascinating. Somehow it feels even bigger and wider once you´re on board than it looks from the outside. And even from the outside, it is just...just something else."

"Truly, Hringhorni is unique, you are aware of the origin?"

"I am, I can´t wait to see the dragon´s...or swan´s head."

"Oh, so you know what the bow is called?"

"Grandpa told me about it, it´s where Uncle Zard and Mo-...where the familia fought."

Baldr looked surprised at Alfia, now that he heard how Bell stopped his sentence, it got pretty obvious that they were related.

"I didn´t know you had a child, no wonder you fought so hard back then."

"I do absolutely everything for Bell´s sake, everything."

Baldr nodded slowly, her determination was obvious.

"Then, even when you do the show for Bell´s sake and that he gets the reward, I thank you."

Alfia exhaled again through her nose. "It might also help him in the future when the students here get stronger too."

"So you´re hitting two flies with one stone?"

"Obviously."

Zeus crossed his arms in front of his chest. "When do you intend to start?"

"I already informed the teachers, currently they are gathering the field expedition squads and explaining the situation about an extra lesson, that is mandatory. But it will take until lunch break is over."

"So we have enough time to show Bell the bow?"

Baldr smiled. "By all means. This is also where I would like you to use your magic, Alfia. We will turn Hringhorni to the open sea."

Alfia raised an eyebrow. "I doubt it would be a good idea to let all students and teachers stand on the long bow, even if there is a railing there."

Baldr nodded slowly. "I agree with that, so I would like to ask you alone to stand at the tip. Facing your true strength from up close might be too much for many students. We want to show them the pinnacle of magical strength, and not scare them for life or let all of them faint."

Bell looked with big eyes up to Alfia. "Are you that strong, Mom?"

Her lips curled into a slight smile. "Not as strong as in my prime, but when you´re close to me, I will be strong enough."

She turned her eye to Baldr again. "You are aware that if I aim my magic at the sea, that it can cause a Tsunami?"

"I am, I saw what you did to the Leviathan. We will move Hringhorni so that the waves will crash against the reinforced hull, protecting the town at the shore like this."

Zard looked from Baldr to Leon, and back again. "And afterward you want the mock battle to take place?"

"Yes, the students won´t be able to focus on any lectures after that magic, I´m sure of it. So I want to show them something exciting."

Bell´s eyes sparkled. "I can´t wait to see you going all out, Uncle Zard!"

"Hah, then I won´t disappoint you."

When Zard´s eyes wandered to Leon again, his expression became grim.

"Show me that strength of you, boy. Show me how strong you became, hold nothing back. And...show me that "his" sacrifice wasn´t for nothing, that it made a difference."

"I swear this to you, Gluttony...no...Zard. I always trained to sharpen my skills and didn´t miss a single day, always honoring "his" sacrifice. As much as I despised you all in the past, what you´ve done changed my view of you."

Bell still didn´t know what exactly they were talking about, he guessed that maybe someone from the familia saved Leon in the past.

Baldr slightly clapped his hands. "But now, as long as the streets are empty and the students busy, go and take a look."

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Bell got more and more excited, the closer they came to the long bow, which made the Education District look a bit like a gigantic compass.

Only Zeus shared his excitement, Alfia and Zard seemed to be a bit lost in memories.

"You stood here when you fought the Leviathan?"

"Not only here, Sweety. We used the whole first layer, it was the only layer back then. But in the end, we had to stand here."

Zard sighed. "I will never forget this day, nor the insane bravery of Poseidon familia."

Bell looked up at them while they walked. "What did they do?"

"They jumped into the water, using harpoons, attacking the Leviathan underwater."

"They dared to jump into the water, with such a monster in it?!"

"More than one of them perished, but what they did was a big help in the fight, since it distracted the Leviathan from us and the fortress. Without them...who knows what would´ve been."

"Still...that was so brave."

Zeus gently patted Bell´s head. "Poseidon had not promised to help us because Hera and I asked him. He did that because the wide ocean is the territory of his familia. And the Leviathan was the greatest threat to them. Unlike Njordr in Melen, they aren´t out there to fish, they hunt monsters of the sea. It is thanks to them, that the situation in the sea isn´t worse."

"Wow...Grandpa, I have a question."

"Go ahead."

"You said monsters outside of the dungeon are weaker than those inside it."

"Correct."

"Then why are those in the ocean such a big problem?"

"It mostly comes down to size, and the ocean itself. There are much more adventurers on land than in the ocean. Take Zard for example, there isn´t one monster on land that wouldn´t perish fast when he came close. But throw him inside the water and even weaker monsters could easily escape him since he isn´t adapted to fight in the water. Every single member of Poseidon´s familia has developed skills and development abilities necessary to fight in the water. Most of them can stay underwater for more than half an hour, and they can swim very fast and agile, which makes them the perfect monster hunters of the ocean, you could say it became their natural battlefield. But let them fight on land or the dungeon...and it´s something different. Just like Thor´s familia wanders through the lands, especially in the north, hunting large monsters to keep the lands safe."

Leon nodded. "Lord Thor often helps with our work in the north."

Bell looked up. "What is in the north."

Before Leon answered, Zeus, Alfia, and Zard shook their heads.

"Please, ask your family, they will tell you when the time is right."

"Hm...alright. Grandpa?"

"Yes?"

"Is it true that Lord Thor has a hammer that returns to his hand when he throws it?"

"Hah, yes it is. He had one in heaven, Mjölnir. Of course that wouldn´t work down here, but he had one forged for himself, wearing a bracelet that is a magic item, this bracelet pulls the hammer back to him."

"Wouldn´t it be better if an adventurer of his familia would use it?"

"No. It is more than a weapon, it is Thor´s symbol. Also, he releases just tiny amounts of Arcana when he throws it, similar to when I read stories for you. It doesn´t do much, but sometimes it scares monsters a bit or raises the morale of his followers."

"Hm..still..."

Zard grinned. "I remember when Simon offended Lord Thor, by claiming you´re the true thunder god, Old man."

"Yeah...Simon didn´t wake up for two days after that."

"Who is Simon?"

"He was a medium leveled member of the familia, only upper level five."

"And Lord Thor knocked him out?!"

"With a throw of his hammer, yes."

"A level five?!"

"Well the hammer did its part, but even I could easily spank a level four."

"Wow..."

"Gods of War could even take on several level four at the same time."

"Oh wow..."

"What? Did you think we gods are weak?"

"No, but just not that strong."

Zard grinned. "Yet the old man never beat me in arm wrestling."

"Hey, you´re level seven, boy. And even Maxim had trouble with you."

"Yeah...sadly we can never wrestle again."

Bell smiled. "Then I will become strong, Uncle Zard! So that I can wrestle arms with you!"

"Ahaha! Then do your best, Bell. I´m sure you will get there."

Eventually, they arrived at the tip of the bow, Leon waited a few meters away.

The tip was wider formed, a bit like an arrowhead, so they had more than enough room to stand. Alfia´s hair moved in the wind coming from the open sea, she walked with closed eyes, until she stopped at a certain point, slowly waving her hand to Bell.

"Come here, Bell."

Zard moved to a different spot, while Zeus waited a bit behind, close to Leon.

"Aren´t you going to them, Lord Zeus?"

"No, that´s something for the kids, they need this as much as Bell does."

There wasn´t the typical movement of a ship out in the sea, due to the floating devices and Hringhorni´s enormous size, the sea moved beneath them, but they remained in place.

Alfia took a deep breath. "I stood here."

Zard looked out at the ocean. "And I here, Maxim was there."

"The Empress here."

Both pointed at various places and told Bell the names of the familia members. Leon, next to Zeus, saw again what they explained. He returned in his memories to that day, when they fought the swimming apocalypse.

He was different back then, much different. He had hated both familias, oh how much had he hated them. Despised them...had hoped many of them would perish out of despise, then stealing the kill and due to that the Excelia for the Leviathan, so he could laugh in their faces.

Until...he saw them fight.

Saw what kind of magic Alfia unleashed, while the others protected her. What the Empress had done with a simple wave of her sword, summoning countless magical swords, looking like shards in the sky, before throwing them at the Leviathan. What Maxim and Zard had done...

The two familias had been true monsters, and now the last two..or maybe now three...of them stood here again.

After explaining to Bell where everyone stood, they fell silent. Then...Zard started to talk...started to tell Bell what he wanted to know.

Due to his strong imagination, Bell could see it in front of his inner eyes. He had read the story about the fight so often, but now that he was here...was here where they stood, where his familia...his family! fought...it felt much different.

Waves rolled beneath them towards the shore, he heard the noises of the waves. And Alfia´s silent voice, as she spoke in a low voice the lines of her grand magic, not chanting the spell. She spoke while Zard told Bell about the fight...

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BADUMM!

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BADUMM!

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His hair slowly rose, stood on edge, Leon heard a crackling noise, small lightning bolts crackled around Bell´s fists. Zeus saw it too, but he couldn´t react.

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BADUMM!

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It felt like Bell´s heart tried to jump out of his chest.

More lightning crackled along his fists, he bared his teeth...his eyes shone actinic blue. Alfia continued her spoken chant, repeating it like in a trance. Zard had the same expression in his eyes, recalling the story of that day.

Bell´s breath went faster, deeper, it sounded like he growled. Through his shirt, Leon saw something glowing...his blessing.

"Lord Zeus, what is happening here?"

But the old god just looked at Bell, Leon saw tears running down Zeus´ cheeks, as he slowly called out every single one of his followers, especially those who perished against the Leviathan.

Small lightning shot from Bell´s hands and to the sea, illuminating the water...letting it glow there, while his back shone brighter.

Then...

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GONG!

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The sound of the greatest of all bells, like coming from a heavenly tower, rang out.

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GONG!

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White light gathered around Bell´s hands, there was a chirping sound, accompanied by the crackling of more lightning.

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GONG!

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The glowing part of the sea bubbled up, Leon was at a loss for words as something rose out of the water. It looked like a spectral version of the Leviathan´s head, just much smaller than the original one. A cold feeling clasped Leon´s heart, he saw everything that happened back then again, how they stood there, how Alfia chanted her magic, even when she only spoke the lines right now. Hearing the names of all those fallen heroes who gave their lives.

Not tyrants. Not conquerer.

Like Leon called them in the past.

Heroes.

Every single one of them.

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GONG!

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Tears streamed down Bell´s cheeks too, his lower lip quivered, as if he wanted to scream at any second now. The spectral Leviathan opened its maw wide, and no sound came out, as it exploded into light and lightning, shooting towards Bell...but not only him. A part of the magic smashed below them into the bow, right below them, not doing any damage, but connecting Bell to that place.

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GONG!

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The last gong was by far the loudest, the light and lightning slowly faded from Bell´s hands as he got aware of his surroundings again. The line of lightning that connected him to the point below the bow got...pulled back.

Leon heard something cracking, then the lightning got sucked into Bell´s hand...pulling something with it.

Alfia snapped out of her trance, as she saw an object flying towards Bell, her hand shot forward and she caught it, while Zard´s massive body appeared right behind Bell, grabbing the object at the same moment. Both had moved to protect Bell, but Zeus alone knew that Zard had also moved to protect Alfia with the same eagerness that he would protect Bell.

And only Zeus knew after the last status update, about Zard´s passive skill.

"Silent Guardian"

As long as Zard was close to Alfia, a part of the burden of the Miasma inside his body got lifted, so that he could protect her better. Another way to see it would be that he was stronger when he was close to Alfia.

Both looked at the object that they had caught, it was long enough that their hands only touched slightly, roughly thirty centimeters long, maybe a few centimeters longer.

Leon had seen such an object before, once.

"No way...it was...stuck down there?"

Bell calmed down again and looked at the object.

"What...is this?"

Alfia opened her eyes, looking as surprised as Zard.

"That is..."

"A fang..."

"A fang?"

"Yes...from the Leviathan..."

"What?! How?!"

"It tried to chomp down on the bow here...to chomp down on your Mom, Bell."

"That´s when your uncle sliced its nose, protecting me."

"The fang must´ve stuck there."

Leon shook his head. "How...how didn´t they see it in Melen at least during maintenance?"

Zeus slowly walked forward, until he stood close to his children. "May I see?"

Even Alfia didn´t complain, they handed Zeus the fang.

"A worthy trophy. Zard? Alfia?"

Both simply nodded with a glance to Bell.

Zeus grinned wide. "Bell, the familia´s rule applies to you as well."

"Huh?"

"Finder´s keeper´s, that fang is yours now. No complains here, Leon?"

Leon shook his head, smiling slightly. "No. Hah, what a sight, never thought it would be like that."

Zeus handed Bell the fang, who looked at it with wide eyes. "That´s my grandson after all. Bell, I want to update your status before the show starts, I felt something changing in you."

"Alright...Grandpa..."

Bell´s eyes were glued to the fang.

"Hehe, a nice gift from your Mom for you, if she didn´t stand here, this fang wouldn´t get stuck here in the past. Alfia, did you have this planned?"

"Obviously not, but I´m pleased that it happened. Bell?"

"Mom?"

"Shall I watch over the fang until it can come to use for you?"

"Yes, please!"

He smiled.

Leon coughed slightly. "Here at Hringhorni, we have master smiths who could forge something out of this, if we had a few more materials. Maybe something worthy of...a rising, young hero?"

Bell looked at Leon with wide eyes. The three adults understood Leon´s intentions more and more...it looked like at the end of the day...or their stay here...Bell had to make a choice.

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After they returned from the bow, Alfia kept holding the Leviathan´s fang, Leon went to talk with other teachers, to organize the gathering of the students. Zeus let Bell sit down on a bench, taking off his shirt, to update his status.

His eyes were still glued to the Leviathan´s fang, while Zeus worked.

"Oh boy..."

"Grandpa?"

Zard and Alfia looked alarmed at the god.

"Bell...you really like the familia, hm?"

"What do you mean, of course I do."

"Then, take a look..."

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Bell Cranel

Belongs to: Zeus Familia

Level: 1

Strength: F 399 - E 483

Endurance: E 420 - E 470

Dexterity: F 301 - E 402

Agility: F 380 - D 507

Magic: I 1 - G 239

Luck: I

Abnormal Resistance: H

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Magic:

Thunderbolt

Heroicae Fabulae

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Skills:

Blood of Zeus

Argonaut

Ship of Heroes

Herculean Tasks

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Thunderbolt: Swiftstrike Magic. Focussed and Split version.

Chant focussed: Thunderbolt!

Chant split: Argo Verion!

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Heroicae Fabulae: Summoning magic: Calls upon fables and legends as long as the user has enough knowledge. Active and passive form.

Chant: Once upon a time...

Available Summons: Trials of Heracles. New summons: Avatar of Hera familia (unlocked), Avatar of Zeus familia (locked)

Trials of Heracles: (Passive)

Nemean Lion (Strength)

Lernaean Hydra (All status)

Ceryneian Hind (Agility)

Erymanthian Boar (Strength/Endurance)

Augean stables (no passive)

Stymphalian birds (no passive)

Cretan Bull (Endurance)

Mares of Diomedes (Agility/Dexterity)

Hippolyta (Dexterity)

Geryon´s cattle (No passive)

Golden apples of Hesperides (healing over time)

Cerberus (Magic)

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Blood of Zeus:

Desire to become a hero acknowledged. Granting the ability to grow beyond oneself and one's limitations. Excelia gain increased when getting close to normal limitation, depending on a persistent desire to become a hero.

Argonaut:

Charging skill. Condition to use *********.

Ship of Heroes:

Ruler of the ship of Heroes, the "Captain". Unlocks all abilities for crew members, increased Excelia gain and status for each crew member in forty-meter range of Captain. Grants crew members increased status for half the amount of fulfilled "Herculean tasks". Allows crew members to call upon a fitting trial of Heracles when close to Captain.

Herculean Tasks:

When Herculean task fulfilled, grants 50 points status increase. Tasks fulfilled: 0

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Bell was at a loss for words, when he read about his changed magic, his vision got dark for a moment. He hadn´t tried his second magic so far, but he had seen this happening before. A wheel appeared in his mind, with an arrow in the middle. The wheel was divided into twelve parts, each showing a symbol, which stood for one of the twelve trials of Heracles.

But now something changed. Above the wheel appeared another symbol, it looked like the head of a certain aquatic monster, who once ruled over the seas. But one of the eyes was green, the other was blue.

Below the wheel appeared another symbol, but it was dark and he couldn´t make out what it showed.

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"Grandpa...I..."

Alfia flinched when Zeus exploded into loud laughter.

"AHAHAHAHAHAH! You truly are my grandson and one of us! Zard, Alfia! Look at this!"

Bell turned the sheet so they could see it too, both were at a loss for words, then Zard joined Zeus in his loud laughter.

"Hah! Bell! You´re truly one of us! Man, this would´ve made Maxim jealous!"

With a wide, genuine grin, Zard ruffled Bell´s hair.

A tear ran down Alfia´s eyes when she saw Bell´s updated status, and if she wanted to or not, her lips curled up into a grin. Not a smile...she grinned.

Zeus patted Bell´s shoulder. "Hah! Just look how happy your Mom is! Your chant changed because you love and admire her so much! Did all this really just happen because we came here? Does this place mean so much to you?"

"Of course it does, Grandpa!"

Alfia had no words, she just kissed Bell´s cheek one time.

"Grandpa, what is this about Argonaut´s condition?"

"I sadly can´t read it, it doesn´t show. You have to try it on your own."

"Hm. And what do I have to do for Herculean tasks?"

"I don´t know either."

Zard looked at the sheet. "I would guess a great deed, not something that the gods would acknowledge for a level-up, but still something worthy."

Both men chuckled when they saw Bell grinning as much as Alfia did. Alfia on the other hand couldn´t stop herself from grinning, even when she pinched her cheeks.

"Heh, now you two can stand side-by-side and chant together. Man, Alfia, your influence on Bell is something else."

"B-Be quiet, old man, don´t ruin this moment for me."

"Would never dare to do that."

Zeus winked. "Bell, this old man here acknowledges your genuine desire to become a hero. You have it in you, I feel it. But you still have much to learn."

Bell looked at the titanic school when Zeus said the word "learn".

Zard looked over his shoulder. "The boy is coming back, I sense many more coming."

Alfia finally got her face under control again, but she still kissed Bell´s cheek again and hugged him.

She hugged him for two reasons. First, she was proud of him and her love was overflowing. Second...she needed to charge her energy up for her magic, and it was no joke that Bell´s presence was good for her.

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"I don´t get why we had to come back, if there was an important lesson, why didn´t they do it before we went on the Expedition?"

Natalinoe looked up at the frowning Luke. "Maybe it was done on purpose? So that we get a bit disturbed in our focus for the Expedition? Like some unexpected event?"

"Hmpf, maybe."

Alisa frowned. "You´re as impatient as ever, Luke."

"What´s so wrong with that, huh?!"

"The teachers said to strife forward, but be cautious."

Lefiya looked a bit excited. "I heard some rumors and mumbles."

"About what?"

"That we´re all heading to the bow, not just our class. All students."

"For what?"

"According to some mumbles, of people who heard something from other people, of students overhearing what teachers talked about...what Professor Leon said..."

"Lefiya...please get to the point."

"I´m sorry...it looks like the family who rescued us is also at the bow, that we´re gathering there for an important lesson."

"And do you think it has something to do with them?"

"I mean...Lord Zeus is among them."

"Yeah...the Zeus familia..."

All students had heard the stories about the three great quests, what Zeus and Hera familia had done...and what they couldn´t finish. As well as a strict warning from Leon, to take this all as the warning it was. That going for some challenges leads to a point of no return.

May lead to a grave.

Lefiya looked around, a few teachers organized the students, she noticed a pattern.

"They´re sending the upper-level students to the front."

"But why?" Alisa cocked her head.

A voice behind them answered kindly.

"Because what is about to happen isn´t something you here should face close up."

"Professor Leon?!"

Leon nodded at them. "Stay here, don´t get closer. Natalinoe, Lefiya, keep your distance at all costs."

"What will happen?"

"Something that can be dangerous for those sensitive to magic."

"Oh? Is it...truly about them?"

Leon chuckled slightly. "You students really have good ears for the things you aren´t supposed to know."

Lefiya got red and looked down to her feet. "I´m sorry..."

"It´s alright, I will announce it now anyway."

Leon went past them and raised a magic item to his lips, a special tool that would transfer his voice to other magic items so that everyone could hear him.

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"Everyone, thank you for coming, please pay attention."

Leon waited for everyone to become quiet, which happened pretty fast for such a large crowd.

"The special lesson will begin now, you will be shown magic. But magic unlike anything you have ever seen before. It will be a very powerful magic spell, with a strong force behind it. We want to show you what true strong magic power can look like. And...give you a sense of controlled fear, so that you won´t freeze up in a dangerous situation later, always remember this moment."

Leon lowered his voice.

"Please begin."

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There was only the sound of waves at first, then...

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Clack...Clack...Clack...Clack...Clack..Clack.

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The sound of a woman walking in high-heeled shoes echoed surprisingly far, maybe because everyone was so quiet. She appeared between the first rows of students from the side, everyone made room for her. From her place in the back, Lefiya saw who it was.

"That is her."

Alisa looked at Lefiya, she couldn´t see due to a taller student in front of her. "Her?"

"The one who saved us! What was her name...Ms. Cranel?"

"Oh? Is sh-Lefiya?!"

Alisa stopped her question as she saw Lefiya´s reaction. The elf got pale, trembled and made half a step back, as did Natalinoe, the small girl shivered so strongly that she looked for shelter close to Luke.

"Awawawawa..."

Lefiya´s lips trembled. "Such...power."

It may have been better if the lesson had been made before they had visited the tip of the bow.

But right now...due to Bell´s change, the change in his chant...Alfia´s heart was overflowing with love for him.

Alfia was way too excited!

It had started with a single word.

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"Ataraxia..."

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At first she had appeared from the side where they had waited, walking towards the "arrow". Some students looked surprised and got out of the way, feeling a strong magic power from her. But when Alfia spoke the command word and turned Silentium Eden off...

While she walked, time became slow like honey. In one moment she was "just" a walking woman, in the next, it was like an enormous aura of sheer pressure exploded out of her. Just turning off her magic, which acted like a shield against magic, but at the same time suppressed her own magic...her noises, unleashing the raw feeling of her presence, let many students close by stumble...and those were all level two, one of them even level three.

The aura waved stronger as the magic turned off completely, her hair and dress waved in the wind and her power. For some students, it looked almost as if lightning was crackling around her.

Then...the power exploded out of her. Alfia didn´t only turn off Silentium Eden so that the level of magic power that was normal for her could be felt. She pushed out more and raised her magic power since she was about to cast a spell.

THAT spell.

Her strongest, the most deadly.

The shockwave of her rising magic power was enough to let some break into their knees, pushing waves away from the ship. Alfia didn´t care...she didn´t even notice.

She spoke so softly that the wind carried her words away.

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"Blessing of the root of evil, curse of birth."

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With each step, she moved further away from the students. Yet the distance did nothing to let them feel at ease since her power was still rising.

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"My original sin that devoured half of my body. Not hard. There is no purification."

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Alfia´s magic power shot up intro astronomical heights, even if the students hadn´t been here, they would´ve felt that all over Hringhorni.

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"There is no salvation. The resonance of this heavenly sound is my sin."

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Alfia walked with closed eyes, for a moment it looked like snow was falling from above...then as if the air around her got darker. She raised her right hand, a spark of light appeared a few meters to the right, a whirl of sparks, fragments of lights in all possible colors whirled around it and got sucked into the bright center, letting the orb grow.

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"The trumpet of gods, the lyre of spirits. Melody of light, the seal of the sin."

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More and more fragments of light got sucked into the growing orbs, it whirled around itself and grew bigger than Alfia´s whole body. So much light gathered there, that the flash of it blinded the students for a moment with golden light. With a strange non-sound, imploded the orb for a second, before shooting up into the sky above Alfia, forming a giant bell.

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"Loved by the miniature garden, my destiny is shattered. I hate you."

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The bell looked like it was made from starlight, glowing not only white but faintly in all kinds of colors. It was absolutely beautiful...and awoke primordial fear in the students, because of the sheer power gathering there. Alfia didn´t hold back at all, she went all out.

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"The compensation is here. Destroy everything with proof of my sin."

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The bell started to move back and forth, started to ring, without a sound. At least...it should´ve been without a sound.

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GONG! GONG! GONG!

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The sound didn´t come from that bell, but the Bell standing on the right side, his fists glowing white again as he looked up at the bell above Alfia.

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GONG! GONG! GONG!

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The noise from him came in the perfect rhythm of the moving bell in the sky.

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"Cry, holy bell tower."

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Alfia´s magic power arrived at its absolute peak, her eyes flashed, the bell in the sky froze. It was a gathering of so much magical power, that for the students it felt like the whole world froze for a moment. The bell stopped moving, frozen in its movement. Alfia raised her right hand forward in a chop, the bell shattered, exploded. Got shredded into countless fragments of starlight. She raised her hand in a demanding gesture.

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"Genos Angelus!"

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For the first and only time, she raised her voice a bit. Even Leon was shaken to the core by the sheer power that Alfia unleashed. She moved her hand down and commanded the shards of starlight. Like a meteor shower, they shot down from the sky, shining in bright white, each shard surrounded by all colors of the rainbow. Alfia aimed them as far away from the ship as possible, into the ocean. The fragments hammered down into the water, evaporating it where they hit, then they smashed into each other.

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The ocean exploded.

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Like the impact of a meteor or the explosion of the mother of all bombs, exploded the ocean upwards. The shockwave of air was strong enough to shake Hringhorni...followed very soon by an enormous wave...a Tsunami. A clacking sound came from below as a few of the devices that allowed Hringhorni to float turned to the water, increasing their magic power to the maximum. The students screamed out as the tsunami hit the magical defense of the ship, smashing into it and getting broken. Thankfully, it was mostly water...only a few unlucky water monsters got caught and smashed to a fine paste at the shield of the floating devices.

Many students screamed in fear and cowered down, Alfia just stood there and let the spray mist come at her, smashing it out of the way with a short chant of her favorite attack magic. That casual spell was strong enough to smash even Leon through several walls...or Zard.

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The students of the District experienced first-hand what it meant to face the absolute pinnacle of magical power. Most of them feared what they saw.

But a single elf thought completely different about it.

Lefiya was amazed, even as her body shivered from the impact. Even as her knees trembled, she was amazed. This was magic, in its purest form, absolute power.

The power to protect those dear to her.

Being that strong meant she wouldn´t lose anyone dear again. A wish ignited a spark inside Lefiya, she wanted to know more about this woman, much more.

And about the white-haired boy.

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Author`s Note2: Just saying, just because Ishtar starts to treat Haruhime differently now, doesn´t mean that the girl doesn´t suffer and has problems. Problems that she will need help with, from her two sisters...and someone else later. Who might that one be? Does he have white hair? Maybe.