Familia Myth: Journey to Hero Chapter 39 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Familia Myth: Journey to Hero! The time has come! The War Game is nigh! Hestia Familia vs Apollo Familia! It’s time for a castle siege! Can the smaller Hestia Familia defeat the much larger Apollo Familia? All of the training will be put to the test! Everyone is stronger now though; Bell especially eclipses the strength that he had at this point in Canon!

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 39 – War Game: Castle Siege

Hestia smiled at her newly expanded Familia. With Welf and Mikoto having converted and all of the training, it was time for one last Status Update before they all headed out to the Shreme Old Castle Ruins. “Let’s start with Lili and Mikoto.” She smiled at the girls while Bell and Welf stepped out of the room to give them privacy.

“You can go first, Mikoto.” Lili smiled at the swordswoman, wanting to ensure that Mikoto felt welcome in the Hestia Familia.

Mikoto accepted the offer with a smile. “Thank you, Lili-dono.” She sat with her back facing Hestia and let her lilac yukata slip from her shoulders. Undoing her sarashi wraps that covered her breasts, Mikoto’s bare back was shown to Hestia.

“Let’s see…” Hestia lightly pricked her index finger with a needle and let a single drop of her blood touch Mikoto’s back. The blue-white light appeared while Mikoto’s Falna emerged from her skin. Hestia watched the last of Mikoto’s earned Excelia before moving it over into the Basic Abilities, letting the Falna grow stronger. “You’ve grown a lot in the short time that you’ve been with us, Mikoto.” She placed a blank paper onto Mikoto’s back and copied the update with a twirl of her fingertip.

“The training was difficult, but I gave my all to it for the sake of our Familia.” Mikoto said with a small smile on her lips. It was so easy to think of Hestia Familia like that when they’d welcomed her so warmly. She accepted the new update and looked at the paper to see her growth while Hestia locked up her Falna once more.

-Status-

Mikoto Yamato

Level 2

Strength – H 165 > H 187

Defense – H 163 > H 185

Dexterity – G 205 > G 228

Agility – H 184 > G 206

Magic – I 58 > I 80

-Magic-

Futsunomitama

Gravity Magic – Incantation: ‘I respectfully speak to you, my War God that can break through anything, lead me from the precious heaven. Give my petty body divine power of your grand body. Rescue them light of purification, sword of crushing evil. Sweep sword of suppression, sacred sword of conquest. It arrives here now by my order. Descend from heaven, rule the earth - shinbu tousei.’

(Heavy gravity magic that crushes a given area.)

-Skills-

Yatanokurogarasu – Enemy search within effect range, also reveals hidden enemies. Effect is exclusive for monsters and only works on monsters that the user has encountered before. Active Trigger.

Yatanoshirogarasu – Familia member search within effect range. Only works on those in the same Familia. Active Trigger.

-Developmental Ability-

Abnormal Resistance – I

-Status-

Mikoto was pleased by her growth. In the short time since she’d joined Hestia Familia (just a few days ago, in fact) the training they’d all done with Ryu, Tiona, Tione, and Ais had pushed her beyond her limits over and over again, resulting in growth that she hadn’t expected to see for a few more weeks, if not a month, of dungeon crawling.

“Thank you, Lady Hestia.” Mikoto said as she moved to the side and began to put her sarashi wraps back over her breasts.

“You’re welcome, Mikoto.” Hestia grinned before looking at Lili. “You’re turn, Lili.”

Lili sat before Hestia, taking off her shirt without a care. “Lili hopes that she’s improved a bit more.” The idea that they’d come up with would work better the stronger that Lili was.

Hestia let a drop of her blood touch Lili’s back, bringing her Falna out in the familiar blue-white glow. Lili’s Excelia was very similar to Mikoto’s given that the two had done similar training. Hestia moved the newly acquired Excelia over and watched as Lili’s Falna grew stronger. “There’s nothing to be disappointed about with your growth, Lili.” She assured her lover while copying the update onto a blank paper and handing it to Lili.

-Status-

Liliruca Arde

Level 2

Strength – H 170 > H 191

Defense – H 165 > H 186

Dexterity – G 204 > G 227

Agility – H 198 > G 220

Magic – G 200 > G 223

-Magic-

Cinder Ella

Transformation Magic – Incantation: ‘Your wound is mine. My wound is mine. Echoing message of midnight.’

(Enables the user to transform into anything around their own size.)

-Skills-

Artel Assist – When the user is carrying a certain amount of weight, this skill will help compensate in abilities. The amount compensated depends on the weight.

Harvester – When breaking down monsters the user is more likely to acquire a Drop Item and higher quality ones too. Also enables the harvesting of other monster parts for material.

Merídio Range – User’s attacks with projectiles increase in both power and accuracy. The increase is proportional to how many of their Familia are with them.

-Developmental Ability-

Abnormal Resistance – I

-Status-

“See? Nothing to be disappointed about.” Hestia hugged Lili from behind after locking up her Falna.

“Lili is glad.” Lili leaned back into Hestia’s hug with a smile.

A short time later, Lili and Mikoto left the room as Welf and Bell came in.

Hestia patted the seat in front of her while giving Welf a smile. “Come on, Welf. Let’s make sure that you’re as strong as you can be before the War Game.”

“Yes, Goddess.” Weld nodded as she shrugged off his black yukata top and then pulled off his undershirt. He sat before Hestia and soon felt the drop of blood touch his back.

Hestia saw everything that Welf had done that added up to any of his Basic Abilities in the time that he’d been making their ‘insurance’ for the War Game. She moved the gathered Excelia into the Falna and watched the applicable numbers rise. “Even working in your smithy has helped a bit.” Hestia copied the status over to a piece of paper and then handed it to Welf. “Thank you for doing this for us.” She smiled as Welf took the Status Update from her.

“Don’t mention it, Lady Hestia.” Welf smiled back at his new Patron Deity over his shoulder. He looked over his new Status while Hestia locked up his Falna.

-Status-

Welf Crozzo

Level 2

Strength – H 184 > H 190

Defense – H 172 > H 178

Dexterity – H 177 > H 182

Agility – H 148

Magic – H 101

-Magic-

Will o’ Wisp

Anti-Magic Fire – Incantation: ‘Ignite, heretic spell.’

(Can cause an Ignis Fatuus to enemies if timed correctly.)

-Skills-

Crozzo Blood – The user can create Magic Swords. Can raise the power of Magic Swords during creation.

-Developmental Ability-

Blacksmith – I

-Status-

“Not too bad for almost four straight days of working.” Welf was glad to see this much growth after having to skip the last few days of training.

After getting his shirt and yukata back on, Welf moved aside and let Bell take his seat.

“Ready Bell?” Hestia asked as Bell took off his black shirt.

“Ready, Hestia.” Bell confirmed with a smiled and a quick nod.

Hestia placed her blood on Bell’s back and the blue-white glow appeared as his Falna became visible. As she watched the final day of Bell’s training through his Excelia, Hestia couldn’t be prouder of Bell’s dedication to their Familia and everything that he put into keeping his promise to her.

“I love you so much, Bell.” Hestia whispered to Bell as she moved his Excelia over and watched his Falna grow even further.

Bell smiled at Hestia’s words. “Love you too, Hestia.”

With a warm smile on her face, Hestia handed Bell his new Status update.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 2

Strength – SSS 1,635 > SSS 1,673

Defense – SSS 1,540 > SSS 1,581

Dexterity – SSS 1,707 > SSS 1,745

Agility – SSS 1,758 > SSS 1,790

Magic – SSS 1,729 > SSS 1,766

-Magic-

Firebolt

Vesta Enhance

Enchant Magic – Incantation: ‘Rise’

(Increases all Basic Abilities for five minutes. Then can’t be cast for five minutes after the increase wears off. Effect rises based on the Magic Stat.)

Thunderbolt

-Skills-

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Dual Wield – Significantly increases Strength and Dexterity when wielding a weapon in each hand.

Argonaut – Executes automatically after charging from active actions.

Heroic Will – Raises Stats when the user refuses to give up in the face of adversity. Those with lower Stats see the user as near unassailable.

Dragon Slayer – Heavily increases all abilities when fighting Reptilian Monsters, massively increases all abilities when fighting Dragon Type Monsters, potentially making the user stronger than their actual Level when fighting them. Passive.

-Developmental Abilities-

Luck – I

Hunter – I

-Status-

“It slowed down a bit over the last day or two…but this should be enough to defeat him.” Bell said as he imagined Hyakinthos in his mind’s eye.

Hestia hugged Bell close, pouring all of her love and care for him into her embrace. “It’ll be enough, Bell. I know you won’t lose.”

Bell returned the hug, just holding Hestia close and giving her all of the comfort and reassurance that he could.

Welf smiled at their closeness as he quietly excused himself from the room.

-Next Morning-

The barely dawn light of day left most of Orario still dark. The Hestia Familia (aside from Lili and their single outside helper) were loaded up into a horse-drawn wagon, about to set off for the War Game.

“We’ll be back soon, Hestia.” Bell promised his Goddess lover with a soft smile.

Hestia nodded to him with her blue eyes full of confidence in her Familia. “I know you will, Bell. I’ll be waiting for your triumphant return.”

The wagon started moving at a flick of the reins from the coachman. Bell waved goodbye to Hestia until the wagon was out of sight of his Goddess.

-Shreme Old Castle Ruins-

A hundred Adventurers, the entirety of Apollo Familia’s fighting force, were walking through the raised gate of the castle. They were bringing in plenty of supplies with them as well; water, food, spare weapons and armor, extra arrows for their archers, all in preparation for the incoming siege.

In the tallest tower of the castle, Hyakinthos looked down at the courtyard from the window. Seeing all of the members of his Familia and all of their supplies and preparations, he couldn’t fathom how the tiny Hestia Familia thought that they could win.

“So we just sit here in the castle and wait for the enemy?” Hyakinthos drawled as he continued to watch the preparations. “What a boring game.”

On the battlements overlooking the courtyard, Daphne and Cassandra watched the ongoing preparations for the War Game.

“The castle is going fall.” Cassandra said with a worried sigh.

“Cassandra.” Daphne looked over at her friend. “Another dream? Are you telling me that we’ll lose?” Cassandra gave a single nod, a resigned expression on her face. “If our commander, Hyakinthos, survives three days, we win. If we take down the enemy commander, we win.” She gave Cassandra a small smile. “With rules like that, how can we lose?”

Cassandra turned to look at Daphne, her eyes practically begging. “Please believe me, Daphne…”

Daphne sighed softly before turning back to continue her duties. Seeing that the last of their Familia had entered the gates, Daphne gave the order. “That’s the last of everything. Close the gates!”

“No… If you let that inside…” Cassandra said, her hands clenched together in front of her with worry. She knew what her dream had told her. But it never made complete sense until things started happening.

As the gate lowered, a voice called out loudly.

“Hey, wait! Wait, I said!” Luan called out as he ran as fast as he could towards the closing gate. With a last burst of speed, the Prum managed to make it through the gate before it slammed down securely into the ground. “Hah…hah…hah…” Luan panted for breath, his hands on his knees. After a second to catch his breath, Luan stood upright again. “Why did you close the gate?! I almost got locked out!”

One of the Apollo Familia members looked at Luan with a smirk. “Oh, were you still out there, Luan? You’re so small I didn’t notice!”

“What?!” Luan snapped at the man for mentioning his height.

“Just start hauling.” A Cat Man said as he moved a bag of supplies from one of the carts. He ignored Luan’s annoyed scowl with the ease of experience.

A few moments later and Luan was pulling a large cart behind him, loaded up with various supplies. “Why am I the only one moving something this heavy?!”

“Shut up. No complaining.” A large man hauling two heavy sacks of preserved food over his shoulders said to Luan. “We have to get everything ready before the War Game starts.”

Cassandra let out a sigh, having seen the gate close in her dream, but not soon enough as the sun began to rise, bathing the plains in early morning light. “It’s over… The Trojan Horse has been brought inside.” She mumbled to herself, recalling the scene in her dream of the first light of day heralding the successful entry of the ‘Trojan Horse’.

-Late Morning ~ Orario-

“Good morning, everyone! At last, it’s the day of the War Game!” A man on a raised stage said through a microphone to amplify his voice. He had a tanned complexion, sandy brunette hair, wore goggles over his eyes, and had a simple outfit on with a beige cloth going over one shoulder to partially cover his chest and back, with orange pants and brown boots to complete his look. “I’m your MC, Ibri Achaa! My Title is ‘Fire Inferno Flame’! Glad to be here!” He waved to the gathering crowd. “Commentary will be provided by my Familia’s God, Lord Ganesha!” He motioned to Ganesha as the God stood proudly before the gathering masses. “Lord Ganesha, please say something to the crowd!”

“I am Ganesha!” Ganesha declared loudly with a wide smile, posing for all to see.

“And there you have it, folks!” Ibri said with a tiny hint of a sigh in his voice.

Across the way, at the Guild Building, Eina watched on with Misha at her side. The Half-Elf had her right hand lightly clenched into a half-fist, resting over her heart. Eina’s left hand was resting gently on her lower stomach as she waited for the start of the War Game.

-Babel Tower ~ Thirtieth Floor Meeting Room-

“Wow! Everybody is excited!” Loki commented as she looked down at all of the people gathering at the base of Babel Tower.

“War Games are practically an industry in Orario.” Hephaestus said as she came to stand beside Loki, looking at all the people gathering. “I’m sure the ‘children’ being used to create the spectacle hate it though.”

Loki gave the Goddess of the Forge a mischievous grin. “Well there’s an unspoken rule that we don’t talk about that, Phai-tan.”

A sudden increase in the noise made by the already present Deities in the room got the attention of both Goddesses. Apollo had just entered the large room, looking absolutely confident in his Familia’s victory.

“Well, there’s Apollo…making an entrance.” Loki snarked at the other Deity showing up ‘fashionably late’.

Apollo’s eyes scanned the room and all of the available seats until his eyes found the one he was looking for. With a smirk on his face he headed over to Hestia where she sat with Takemikazuchi and Micah. “Hestia…”

“Ugh.” Hestia rolled her eyes at her nephew.

“Have you said your goodbyes to Bell Cranel?” Apollo asked as he took a seat close by. “When I win this War Game and he becomes mine, I’m going to have you leave Orario…no, the Lower World.” He stated with a smug smile.

Hestia simply turned away from him with a ‘hmph’.

Hermes watched everything from near the center of the large room. After seeing that most of the Deities in Orario were here, the Messenger God looked at his pocket watch before nodding to himself. “Okay, let’s begin.” Turning and walking to the table in the center of the room, quickly getting the attention of all the other Deities, Hermes smiled as he looked up at the high ceiling and spread his arms wide. “Ouranos! Permission to use our power?” He requested with a snap of his fingers.

“Granted.” Ouranos’s voice came from seemingly everywhere all at once. A tiny fraction on the restriction of the various Deities’ Arcanum was lifted, just enough to use the most basic power all of the Deities shared: The Viewing Mirror.

In the center of the room a sphere of light formed before becoming a glowing ring that showed the Shreme Old Castle Ruins clearly to all onlookers. As a power of Arcanum, it went beyond mortal comprehension, allowing anyone to look into it and see clearly, no matter their angle from the ‘mirror’ nor how good their eyesight was. The Viewing Mirror could see anywhere in the world, no matter the distance, but most Deities only ever focused on things that entertained them, so it was often used for War Games to let everyone in Orario watch.

The fact that many of the city squares, bars and taverns, restaurants and cafés, and even the theatres in Orario had Viewing Mirrors appear within them also generated more revenue for the city. Travelers lucky enough to be in Orario during a War Game would happily pay to watch them through the Viewing Mirror of the Deities, it was a truly rare experience for anyone outside of Orario.

That wasn’t even counting all of the betting done on the outcome of a War Game.

-Hibachitei-

A Viewing Mirror appeared within the tavern, allowing everyone to see the Shreme Old Castle Ruins. The bar owner grinned as a round of drink orders game in along with the cheers of the customers. It cost a bit of money to make sure you got a Viewing Mirror in your establishment, but it practically guaranteed to double or even triple the money one would make by having it for a War Game.

“30,000 Valis on the Apollo Familia winning!”

“50,000 Valis for me!”

A heavy and muscular Chienthrope man taking the bets at one of the tables scoffed and shook his head once, his blonde hair moving a bit and his blonde dog ears flicking in annoyance. “You know how this works… You don’t get jack if you all bet on Apollo Familia!”

A heavy leather bag was set on the table to join the others already there. “100,000 Valis on the Hestia Familia.” Mord said with his buddies Guile and Scott behind him.

“You gone crazy, Mord?” One of the men asked with a laugh. “Sure you don’t wanna rethink that?”

“Hahaha! I don’t mind taking his money!” A Hume Bunny man laughed at the sucker’s bet that Mord and his pals had seemingly placed.

Mord turned away with a scoff. “You just wait.”

-Hostess of Fertility-

A betting pool had formed here as well. Mama Mia herself had put down 200,000 Valis on the Hestia Familia’s victory. Almost everyone in the pub had immediately bet on the Apollo Familia, hoping to score a cut of the cash.

Syr, Lunoire, Anya, and Chloe all looked at the Viewing Mirror that had formed on in the center of the Hostess. They’d have to keep working while the War Game was going on, of course, but no one’s eyes would stray too far from the mirror.

-Twilight Manor ~ Executive’s Meeting Room-

“Ais, it’s starting!” Tiona called out from the couch.

Ais, who’d been staring out the window towards Babel Tower, turned and made her way to the couch.

Loki made sure to use her minor freedom from the ‘No Arcanum’ rule to form Viewing Mirrors within her Familia’s home. There was one in the Meeting Room, one in the cafeteria, and one in the large communal living area as well. No way was she letting her ‘children’ miss out on this!

As Finn, Gareth, Riveria, Bete, Tione, Tiona, and Ais watched on, the War Game got its official start.

-Orario ~ Main Platform-

“The clock has just struck noon!” Ibri Achaa announced loudly. “Let the War Game begin!”

Another member of the Ganesha Familia struck a large gong with a thunderous bang.

-Shreme Old Castle Ruins-

With the War Game officially begun, the Apollo Familia members were in their assigned positions. Many of them chatted with each other, wondering when and how the Hestia Familia would make their move.

On top of the battlements, two archers had their bows in hand as they looked out over the flat and rocky ground that surrounded the old castle.

“Well, it’s begun. But we’ve got three whole days.” One of the archers said with a sigh.

“I doubt they’ll attack immediately. They’ll probably do some scouting today to try and figure out the weakest point of the castle.” The other man gave his prediction.

“Huh?” The first archer blinked as he saw someone in a brown cloak standing atop one of the rocky outcroppings a fair distance from the castle.

The figure seemingly fell from the top of the rocky spire and straight towards the ground. Mid-fall, the cloak was removed, floating away on the wind, as the person landed easily on the ground revealing themselves to be a blonde Elf woman with a green cloth mask covering the bottom of her face, a white shirt, green short shorts, thigh high brown boots. Around her hips a cloth was tied, holding a pair of short swords on her right side and a wooden sword on her left side.

But it was what she was holding in each hand that got the attention of everyone watching, simply because they could see the items clearly compared to the archers on the castle wall.

In the Elf woman’s right hand was a red and gold Magic Sword, and in her left hand was a purple and black Magic Sword.

“They’re here already?!” The first archer readied his bow.

“It’s just one! The fool!” The second archer nocked his arrow and drew back his bowstring.

Ryu swung the purple Magic sword in an upward slash. A powerful gale, like a solid wall of wind, crossed the distance almost instantly and slammed into the castle walls with a resounding boom. Under the cover of dust kicked up by the wind, Ryu nearly blurred across the ground as she rushed to close the distance.

-Orario-

“The attack started almost as soon as the bell rang!” Ibri cried out excitedly, his lively and energetic personality matching his Title.

-War Game-

Ryu was met with a heavy barrage of arrows as the remaining archers atop the wall fired their arrows all at once. A swing of the red and gold Magic Sword created a massive conflagration of intense flames that incinerated every single arrow and blasted the castle walls, cracking them at the impact point, while throwing the archers from the battlements and into the castle courtyard with burns and other injuries.

-Orario-

“Look at the power of those Magic Swords!” Ibri yelled into the mic.

Many people in the crowd were stunned at the power from a single swing of each sword. It was way more than what you’d normally see, even from a top-class Magic Sword from a Hephaestus Familia shop!

-Babel ~ Thirtieth Floor Meeting Room-

“I see. Not a bad strategy.” Apollo said with a hum, his chin resting on his palm as he watched. “But I have a hundred soldiers. And you only have five. Are two Magic Swords really enough to overcome that difference?”

Hestia said nothing, her blue eyes never once left the Viewing Mirror.

Hephaestus watched on, a tiny smile on her lips. “You really went all out for your friends, didn’t you?” She whispered under her breath.

-War Game-

BOOM

An explosion further damaged the walls of the castle. Flames spread across the stonework for a moment, scorching it black, before they went out. A fissure had been opened up within the wall, smoke clouding the air and obscuring the view of the Apollo Familia.

‘I never thought the day would come when I’d use Crozzo Magic Swords.’ Ryu thought to herself as she ran along the base of the wall, knowing that her next task was to draw out as many of the enemies as possible. She swung the red and gold Magic Sword again, a torrent of flames blasting apart the top of the castle wall, sending burning debris raining down inside the castle’s courtyard. “Now come out!”

Within the walls, the Apollo Familia were struggling to decide how to deal with the constant attacks that were tearing apart the walls of the castle.

“Damn it! What’s going on outside?!” Lissos demanded, the Elf man lamenting that the archers atop the walls had been taken out before they could report on how they were being attacked.

“Magic Swords! They’re using Magic Swords to attack us!” Luan yelled out as he rushed from inside the castle.

“What?!” Lissos had never seen Magic Sword capable of doing the damage that was being caused to the castle walls.

Luan nodded his hand rapidly. “Hyakinthos wants fifty people to go out there and take out the one using the Magic Swords!”

“Fifty?! That’s half our forces!” Lissos said with disbelief.

“Any less than that and we’ll just get blown away by those swords!” Luan countered the argument with plain logic. “It’s just one person! You go out there and finish them, then come right back!”

BOOM

Another powerful wall of wind smashed into the damaged walls, widening the crack further. Two or three people could now fit through the gap in the wall while standing shoulder to shoulder.

“Gah!” Luan clapped his hands over his ears. “G-Get going!” He pointed towards the damaged wall.

“Fine! Let’s move!” Lissos called out to all the members around the area. He led the large group through the damaged part of the wall to confront their assailant.

The instant the group got outside, Ryu appeared through the clouds of dust, swinging the red and gold Magic Sword.

ROOOAAARRR

The powerful flames roared as they engulfed the Apollo Familia fighters, taking out almost twenty of them instantly.

“Argh!”

“Hot!”

“Fucking hell!”

The cries of the burned and burning were loud as the flames died down.

The red and gold Magic Sword lost its colors, becoming a dull grey as it cracked and then shattered into fragments that fell to the ground. Ryu tossed the handle aside and took up the purple Magic Sword with both hands as the Apollo Familia members charged at her.

“Hup!” Ryu swung the Magic Sword, the incredible windstorm unleashed blasting back another twenty or so of the Apollo Familia members and putting them out of the fight.

The purple Magic Sword dulled, the last of its Magic used up, before it cracked and shattered as well.

“The Magic Swords broke!”

“Attack!”

The remaining ten Apollo Familia members roared out.

Lissos, however, could only stare in shock when he saw Ryu, easily able to notice one of his Elven Kin. “An Elf?” He’d gotten a look at those two Magic Swords before they’d broken. The styling may have been a bit different, but the power and the craftsmanship were the same as the tales he’d heard back in his home forest. He knew what kind of Magic Swords those were!

Ryu drew her wooden sword and held it at the ready while the Apollo Familia charged her.

None of them noticed as Mikoto slipped into the massive fissure in the castle wall and entered the castle courtyard. As she ran, Mikoto had one hand on her sword and was already chanting.

“I respectfully speak to you, my War God that can break through anything, lead me from the precious heaven.” Mikoto began to focus, using all of her skill with concurrent chanting to prepare her spell for the part of the plan.

“The enemy is inside!” Luan yelled out to the Apollo Familia members still within the castle walls. “They’re going straight for Hyakinthos!”

That got a large number of the Familia to move towards the intruder, knowing that if Hyakinthos was taken out (possibly by another powerful Magic Sword) then their Familia would automatically lose the War Game. Arrows were fired at Mikoto, but the swordswoman never lost her focus, even as she cut the arrows out of the air and weaved around the ones that she couldn’t deflect.

“Give my petty body divine power of your grand body.” Mikoto continued to chant as she ran, making sure that she gathered as many of the enemies around her as possible.

Outside the castle walls, Lissos confronted Ryu angrily. “You’re an Elf, and yet you’re using the accursed Crozzo Magic Swords that burned our people’s homelands to the ground?! You’re a disgrace!” He rushed Ryu with his sword.

Ryu deflected the first swing, backstepped out of range of the second, and thrust her wooden sword at Lissos’s face the instant she saw the opening. “I’m afraid I have more important concerns than our race’s hatred. If helping a friend is shameful,” She clashed with Lissos’s sword as he brought it up to block her thrust. The two Elves using the nimble and deft footwork they were known for to strike and clash at each other over and over again, before Ryu moved in a burst of speed beyond what Lissos could keep up with and cracked him across the back of the head with her wooden sword. “…then I’ll be as shameful as I need to be!”

Lissos cried out briefly in pain before he fell face first into the dirt. He was beaten and wouldn’t be getting up for a while.

Ryu looked at the remaining Apollo Familia members, seeing them looking at her warily.

“She’s…strong!”

“Don’t falter! We’ll get her now!”

They all charged Ryu simultaneously with a war cry.

Inside the castle walls, Mikoto ran up a stone staircase, keeping an eye on the number of Apollo Familia members gathering around her while finishing her chant. “Rescue them light of purification, sword of crushing evil. Sweep sword of suppression, sacred sword of conquest.”

A large Boaz man with shaggy brown hair slammed a large steel club onto the stone floor, shattering a few of the bricks as he blocked Mikoto’s path. “Hyah!” He swung his club in a powerful overhead strike, looking to crush the swordswoman.

But his strike hit only the floor as Mikoto leapt over it and landed on his shoulder for a brief moment.

“Huh?!” The Boaz man blinked at the move in shock.

Mikoto leapt off his shoulder and down to the ground level as all of the Apollo Familia pursuers charged at her in a large group. “It arrives here now by my order. Descend from heaven, rule the earth - shinbu tousei!”

In the air above the charging Apollo Familia members a Magic Circle of pink-purple light formed. From the light a massive sword blade made of magic energy fell towards the ground. The instant the tip of the blade touched the earth, a matching Magic Circle appeared and spread out beneath the Apollo Familia attackers’ feet.

“Futsunomitama!” Directly in front of Mikoto the gravity multiplied intensely, nearly slamming all of her attackers into the ground, pressing down on them so heavily that none of them could push themselves up from the dirt. “Just stay right here with me for a while.” Mikoto said as she focused to maintain her spell.

-Orario-

“Is that Gravity Magic?!” Ibri questioned loudly as everyone watched on. “All of the enemies that went after her are stuck to the ground!” As Mikoto stood still, it became apparent that she couldn’t move after casting her spell. “A move that pins the user in place? This early in the game? What do you think about that, Lord Ganesha?”

“I am Ganesha!” Ganesha cheered loudly.

“Please take this seriously, sir!” Ibri pleaded with his God.

-Babel Tower-

“Hang tough, Mikoto…” Takemikazuchi said quietly as he watched Mikoto hold down almost a third of the Apollo Familia singlehandedly. He’d made a Viewing Mirro in his home for his ‘children’ to watch as well, knowing that they’d want to see Mikoto doing her best for her new (temporary) Familia.

“Ooh! Také’s girl is pretty good!” One God laughed at seeing so many of Apollo’s ‘children’ stuck to the ground.

“Tsk!” Apollo scoffed at the remark, his eyes narrowed on the Viewing Mirror.

Hermes, one of the closest to the Viewing Mirror, hummed thoughtfully as he watched. “It’s too fast.”

Hephaestus, who was just close enough to hear her brother, looked at him curiously. “What are you talking about?”

“The way the Apollo Familia is moving.” Hermes said as he kept watching the War Game. “The way they countered the Magic Swords… The way they reacted to Little Mikoto’s sudden infiltration… It’s too fast.”

“Someone is telling them what to do before they can receive orders.” Hephaestus quickly figured out where Hermes was going with his thoughts.

Hermes had a tiny smirk on his lips. “In battle, information is a weapon. And the faster you get it, the more effective it is. However, if some of that information were akin to poison…well, it won’t be long before it spreads. Even one drop of poison can be lethal.”

-War Game-

Luan pulled the large lever at the main gate, making the mechanism that lifted the gate activate, allowing the two men standing on the other side entrance to the castle.

-Babel Tower-

“Luan! What’re you doing?!” Apollo had shot to his feet upon seeing his ‘child’ letting the enemy into the castle.

Hestia had a small grin form as she kept watching the War Game.

-War Game-

“Hey, nice work with the disguise.” Welf greeted the Prum with a grin.

Bell smiled at Luan. “Great work, Lili.”

“Go on.” ‘Luan’ said to the two with a smile. “I’ll go support Miss Mikoto.”

The three quickly split up, Bell and Welf heading into the castle proper while Lili rushed towards Mikoto’s location.

-Orario ~ Main Stage-

“BETRAYAL!!!” Ibri bellowed in astonishment. “One of the Apollo Familia is a traitor!”

Misha and Eina both looked shocked at the sudden turn of events in the War Game. But Eina thought she might know what was really going on; given how well she knew Lili.

-Babel Tower-

“Nnnrrrr!” Apollo was nearly grinding his teeth at what he’d just seen. “Damn it, Luan!”

Hestia’s grin got just a little bigger.

-Elsewhere-

“Mmph! Nnmm!” Luan struggled as he was tied up and gagged. He had a vague idea of why he’d been snatched, but he’d been dumped in this cramped storage room and he had no idea where he was!

It was too bad for him that the Blue Pharmacy was closed today and no one could hear his faint struggles in the back of the shop.

-War Game-

Bell and Welf ran through the corridors on the quickest route to the tallest tower. The map that had been pinned to the Hestia Familia’s door had proven invaluable for memorizing the layout of the old castle.

“Wait, what?!” Daphne exclaimed at the news that she was just now receiving. “Explain to me how the hell the enemy made it through the gate!”

“I-I’m sorry, ma’am, I don’t know!” The messenger that had run all the way to report shook his head.

Daphne took a deep breath. “Then we’ll cut them off here! They’re not getting beyond this walkway!” She declared and began issuing orders. “Mages, prepare your spells! Archers, to the front! Fire on my signal!”

This walkway was the only way to enter the tower where Hyakinthos was, they had to come through here.

“The enemy commander is at the top of the tower! Go, Bell!” Welf urged Bell to run right past the enemies trying to block their way.

“Right!” Bell rushed forward, putting his incredible Agility stat to use as he exited the corridor and was on the suspended walkway faster than the Apollo Familia had expected.

The brief delay caused by their surprise would be their downfall.

“Fire!” Daphne roared out.

The archer pulled back their bowstrings and took aim.

The Mages’ various staves glowed with magical power.

But since they were all focused on Bell, none of them saw Welf emerge from the corridor.

“Ignite, heretic spell! Will o’ Wisp!” Welf cast his spell, the transparent wave of Magic quickly rushing down the length of the walkway and wrapping around the Mages’ glowing staves.

“Wha?!” One of the Mages managed to get out as he felt his magic power become unstable.

BOOM

The blast as all of the prepared spells went into Ignis Fatuus was large, scattering the archers and taking out the gathered Mages. Bell rushed past them all and through the cloud of smoke before Daphne could recover her wits from the unexpected explosion.

“Damn it!” Daphne cursed.

Thunk

Daphne turned at the noise, seeing Welf with his greatsword out and the tip having cracked the brick of the walkway.

“Hold it right there.” Welf said the last of the still conscious archers falling to the ground from a kick to the head. “If you’re an Adventurer, let’s do things this way. Okay?” Welf smirked as he hefted his greatsword with one hand and then brought it to bear with both hands.

Daphne could only draw her own sword with a grimace.

-Twilight Manor-

“That was awesome!” Tiona cheered loudly. “Look at how fast Bell made it to the tower!”

Tione considered how the War Game had gone so far and had to ask a question. “If they had Magic Swords that powerful, couldn’t they have used them to charge the tower directly as a group?”

“The rabbit punk wants to finish this with his own strength.” Bete said, easily having figured out what Bell was up to. “He’s a man, that’s how we are.”

Ais continued to watch the mirror, barely even blinking. She knew that Bell could win…her heart beat strongly in her chest as it burned with that belief.

-War Game-

“What a pitiful performance!” Hyakinthos shouted at the last remaining members of the Apollo Familia gathered around him as a guard. “You’re all an embarrassment to Lord Apollo!” He’d been able to see from the window the systematic destruction of the wall and the infiltrator that had been chased around as well.

Cassandra knelt before Hyakinthos desperately. “Please… Listen to me, commander! You must flee this place at once!”

Hyakinthos stood up from the large throne-like chair in the room. “What? I’d hardly consider him a threat when he’s alone.”

“Please, I’m begging you!” Cassandra shot to her feet and took hold of Hyakinthos’s shoulders. “You have to get out of here!”

Hyakinthos glared and shoved Cassandra to the ground. “Shut your mouth!” He was angry enough as it was. Hearing Cassandra telling him to flee from a lone Level 2 Adventurer was only making him angrier. “The second he comes through those doors; I want all of you to blast him! But do not kill him! That pleasure belongs to me!”

-Mikoto-

“That’s it…” Mikoto said as her Mind was getting too low and she had to end her spell. The glowing Magic Circle that had been crushing the Apollo Familia members shattered, allowing them all to get up.

“The Magic is gone!”

“Hurry up and take her out!”

The large Boaz man from earlier had made his way around the castle and was charging at Mikoto for making a fool of him earlier.

Wsh

Wsh

A bolt to each leg sent him crashing to the ground and his large metal club went flying from his hands.

“I’ve got your back, Miss Mikoto!” Lili said as she rushed forward to get back-to-back with Mikoto.

“Thank you, Lili-dono!” Mikoto drew her katana and held it at the ready. “Come, if you wish to be defeated!” She goaded the twenty members of the Apollo Familia that had managed to get back up. The other ten were unconscious, not having been able to handle the crushing gravity for as long Mikoto had held it.

“Get them!” A battle cry was roared out as the twenty Apollo Familia members rushed the two women.

-Ryu-

“Hah!” The third to last member of the Apollo Famili group hit the ground unconscious. Ryu readied her wooden sword again and moved quickly, her Aero Mana Skill bolstering her attack the faster she moved, and took out the second to last one with a powerful swing to his gut that folded him over her sword.

“D-Damn it!” The last Apollo Familia member was shaking where he stood in fear and panic, having watched all of his comrades get beaten one after another.

-Welf-

“Hyah!” Welf swung his greatsword, knocking Daphne backwards as she tried to parry with her own sword. The sheer difference in weight made parrying difficult, but Welf’s speed and form were nothing to scoff at either.

Daphne grimaced as she went for a thrust with her sword, only for Welf to use the flat of his blade as a pseudo-shield and block it easily. “Shit!” She had to pull back as Welf took a powerful step forward for an impromptu ‘shield bash’.

-Bell-

At the bottom of the tallest tower, where it connected to the castle below, Bell stood with his black spear stabbed into the ground off to the side. ‘Thank you, everyone. Without all of you, I wouldn’t have been able to make it this far.’ Bell raised his right hand above him as lightning began to crackle and arc from it.

-Commander’s Room-

Cassandra collapsed to her knees at the edge of the room. “The lightning rises…”

“What?” Hyakinthos questioned, baffled by the said words.

-Bell-

“Thunderbolt!” Bell cast as he felt his Mind reserves plummet.

Lightning crackled from his hand, filling the air with the smell of ozone, before a massive bolt blasted straight upwards through the entire tower.

-Commander’s Room-

Sparks danced across the floor, shocking the Apollo Familia members in the room.

“What the hell?!” Hyakinthos yelled as the floor exploded upwards in a blinding flash of blue-white light. The crash of thunder so loud as to drown out the yells of his other Familia members.

-Babel Tower-

All of the Deities watched in surprise and entertainment as the tallest tower of the castle sparked with lightning and then the roof exploded upwards while the stone walls blasted outwards.

“Hah!” Hestia beamed at seeing the result of Bell’s spell.

“Gah!” Apollo recoiled back in shock and horror. A memory of angering his father back in Tenkai eons ago briefly flashed across his mind’s eye.

“WHHHOOOAAA!!!” The various gathered Deities cheered at the spectacle.

-Twilight Manor-

“HOLY SHIT!!!” Tione and Tiona shouted at the same time.

Riveria blinked at the force of Bell’s spell, not having seen him chant at all. That flew in the face of everything that was known about Magic.

“Woo~” Gareth whistled at the sight of the entire tower being destroyed all at once.

Finn watched on with calculating eyes. “This is Bell Cranel at Level 2, huh?” The younger Adventurer continued to surprise at every turn.

Ais’s golden eyes tried searching through the smoke and dust left behind by the tower’s destruction. She wanted to see Bell and know that he was okay.

-Orario ~ Main Stage-

“WHAT WAS THAT?!” Ibri yelled in shock at what everyone had just witnessed. “I’ve never seen a lightning spell like that one before!”

Eina’s eyes were wide as she saw the power that Bell’s third spell possessed. It was astounding and her heart was racing as she waited for the dust and smoke to clear.

-War Game-

Hyakinthos staggered back to his feet with a grimace. “This…this is impossible!” He saw nothing but rubble around him as clouds of dust filled the air.

Bell was using the cover of the dust to down a Mind Potion as his head was currently fuzzy from the use of Thunderbolt. Once his Mind was restored and his mental clarity was back, he pulled Kokutogenishiki from the floor and rushed through the dust and smoke.

“Huh?” Hyakinthos barely had time to react as Bell’s spear pierced through the nearest dust cloud aimed straight at him. “Damn you!” He pulled out his flamberge and knocked the thin blade of the spear aside with force.

Bell wasn’t deterred and swiped his spear back towards Hyakinthos, forcing the Captain of the Apollo Familia to block and backstep to get out of range. With the adversity of Hyakinthos’s attacks, Heroic Will activated and boosted his stats in response. The two clashed in a flurry of thrusts and swipes. Bell’s greater reach with his spear let him score multiple glancing blows through Hyakinthos’s guard, leaving bloody cuts on the man’s body.

With a spin of his spear, Bell knocked the red flamberge wide, opening up Hyakinthos’s guard. “Firebolt!” Bell cast his spell into his spear and the blade exploded into flames. Bell cut a burning slash across Hyakinthos’s chest, leaving a trail of fire behind.

“AAARRGGHH!!!” Hyakinthos cried out in pain as his flesh burnt. He made distance while looking at Bell wildly. “Impossible! Y-You’re too fast! You’re nothing like you were before! Who the hell are you?!” It simply didn’t make sense that Bell could improve this much in such a short amount of time.

Bell spun his flaming spear behind him, leaving a burning ring at his back like a massive halo. “I’m Bell Cranel, Captain of Hestia Familia.”

“My name is love, precious child of light. I offer my body to my sun.” Hyakinthos began chanting as he skipped backwards to make distance, moving around the rubble to try to keep obstacles between him and Bell. “My name is sin, jealously of wind. I call a gust of wind to my body. Released ring of fire – come wind of the west! Aro Zephyros!” A ring of wind, burning yellow hot, formed above Hyakinthos’s raised palm. With his eyes locked on Bell, he threw it forward with all his might.

Bell moved to the side, noticing the ring of burning wind sliced cleanly through solid stone as it split a large piece of rubble behind where he’d been. The fact that the spell hovered and then changed direction, shooting straight towards Bell’s back, made it obvious that the spell was less simple than it appeared.

“Is it following me?” Bell wondered as he dodged the spell a second time.

“Hah! You can’t escape!” Hyakinthos laughed, sure of his victory now that Bell was at the mercy of his spell.

Bell saw the spell coming back at him again and made a split second decision. “Firebolt!” He cast the spell into his spear again, the blade exploded into flames as he cocked back his arm and then threw his burning spear straight at the incoming spell.

Hyakinthos sneered as the cutting edge of his spell struck the burning tip of Bell’s spear. “That’s useless!” The spear was deflected, but in the time that it had stalled the Hyakinthos’s spell, Bell had been able to cast his other spell.

“Rise.” Bell felt the rush of his stats increasing from Vesta Enhance. He was off like a shot, blurring past the Aro Zephyros spell and straight at Hyakinthos.

“What!” Hyakinthos swung his flamberge to cut Bell down.

Ching

The Hestia knife broke the Sun’s Flamberge, the sword that Apollo had only ever allowed Hyakinthos to use. The majority of the wavy blade clattered to the rubble a distance away.

In a motion that was only a blur to Hyakinthos’s eyes, Bell brought Zan Kyojin across his torso in another slash, throwing blood through the air and splattering some of it all over the rubble at their feet.

Bell used the boost from his Dual Wield Skill to make three more rapid slashes with the Hestia Knife and Zan Kyojin across Hyakinthos’s body. One across each thigh to disable his legs, and one across his right forearm to disable his dominant hand.

Hyakinthos ground his teeth at the pain as his body was about to collapse, but his eyes widened in a nearly manic expression as he saw his spell heading for Bell’s back. “Rubele!”

The ring of wind was only a short distance from Bell’s back when it suddenly exploded into a massive fireball.

Bell was thrown forward from the unexpected blast, while Hyakinthos hit the ground and rolled.

“Nrgh…” Hyakinthos forced himself upright, his legs not able to support his full weight as he heavily leaned on part of the rubble, leaving a trail of blood behind on the stones. “I don’t care what Lord Apollo wants anymore!” He growled out as pulled his backup shortsword out of its sheath. “I’m going to kill you!” He threw himself at the stagger Bell, the blade of his shortsword aimed right for Bell’s throat. His eyes were wide and bloodshot as he put all of his focus on landing the lethal blow.

“A finishing blow is the closest thing to letting your guard down. And just when you’ve almost been beaten is when you truly have a chance.” Ais’s voice filled Bell’s head for a second.

Bell shot upwards as Hyakinthos closed in, using what Tiona had taught him of hand-to-hand, he pivoted to one side, out of the line of attack. His left hand grabbed onto Hyakinthos’s outstretched arm with a crushing grip. Bell cocked back his right fist and slammed the most powerful punch that he could into Hyakinthos’s jaw.

Crack

The sound of Hyakinthos’s jaw breaking was loud as Bell let go of his left arm in the same instant, sending the devastated Captain of the Apollo Familia smashing into the rubble beneath them in a small cloud of dust.

A small breeze blew through the area a moment later, the dust was swept away to reveal the broken form of Hyakinthos laid out and partially buried in the rubble. His jaw was broken, his face bruised and bloody, it would be days before he woke up again, even with healing.

Bell stood tall over Hyakinthos, looking ruffled and slightly burnt here and there from the battle, but his presence and power couldn’t be mistaken by any of the people watching the War Game. He wasn’t even bleeding from the battle. More than a few people knew they’d just witnessed the rise of a new legend within Orario.

-Orario ~ Main Stage-

“THE BATTLE IS OVER!!!” Ibri roared out in excitement, the crowd gathered around roaring right along with him. “In a siege battle that was supposed to take place over three days, the Hestia Familia defeats the Apollo Familia in less than an hour!”

Eina let out a relieved breath as she saw Bell standing tall and powerful through the Viewing Mirror. Her left hand that was still gently resting on her lower stomach slowly rubbed the special spot. ‘That’s your papa.’ Eina thought with a beautiful smile on her face.

-Twilight Manor-

“That’s my Argonaut!” Tiona cheered loudly as she shot up from the couch with both fists raised in the air.

“I knew you’d win, Bell!” Tione had a gorgeous smile on her face as she watched Bell’s victorious form through the Viewing Mirror.

Ais’s smiled warmly, her heart thundering in her chest. “Bell…congratulations.” She felt butterflies in her stomach and pride for her boyfriend’s victory. But the thing she felt the most was an overwhelming love for Bell.

Bete just turned and left the room without a word.

Finn looked at Riveria and Gareth for a moment, a silent conversation passing between them. It was easy to figure out that Bete was heading for the Dungeon after that display.

-Hibachitei-

“I think that’s mine!” Mord said with a triumphant smirk on his face. All around him the other bar patrons were crying out about the money they’d lost.

“Go! Take it and get out!” The blonde Chienthrope man shoved a pile of bags filled with Valis towards Mord.

Mord started picking them up with a laugh.

“You too!” The Chienthrope man shoved the remaining bags of Valis towards someone else. “Get out of my sight!” He put his head in his hands at losing so much money.

Naaza smiled at Mord and gave the rogue Adventurer a small wave as she collected her bags of Valis and headed for the door.

Mord shook his head once, the smirk still on his face. “Come on, boys! Tonight we’re ordering the top shelf booze!”

Guile took two of the heavy bags from Mord’s arms. “We can afford the best brothels too!” He had a wide smile on his face.

“What’re we waiting for?” Scott asked, taking a bag in each hand as well.

The three men were out of the bar and rushing to spend their winnings on luxuries they couldn’t normally afford.

“All thanks to Rabbit Foot!” Mord, Scott, and Guile cheered loudly as they practically ran down the street.

-Hostess of Fertility-

“Hahahaha!” Mama Mia laughed brightly. “Thanks for your cash, suckers!” She had made a killing on this bet!

All over the Hostess of Fertility, most of the patrons (except those that didn’t bet) were hanging their heads, crying about their lost money, or already drowning their loss in booze.

“Ryu’s and her boyfriend were amazing, nya!” Anya declared with a bright smile.

Syr had a smile on her face at the result of the War Game. “I’m glad, Hestia.”

-Babel Tower-

“N-No… No way…” Apollo was sweating bullets as the result of the War Game was shown to everyone.

“Apollo~” Hestia stood up from her seat, making her nephew flinch. “I’m sure that you’re ready for what comes next? You’ve already said your goodbyes?” Hestia’s eyes glinted as she looked at Apollo.

“W-Wait…” Apollo held up his hand, as if to ward Hestia off. “Let’s not be rash! I talked big, but it was in jest! Your child was just so cute that I couldn’t help myself! Please!”

“Shut your mouth!” Hestia kicked her foot upward and caught her flipflop out of the air, the next instant it was slapped across Apollo’s face, nearly sending him to the floor. “I seem to recall that you agreed to do whatever I asked if I won; isn’t that right, Apollo, dear?” She slapped her flipflop into her palm with a loud smack, making Apollo flinch as he held his previously hit cheek. “You will give up everything you own to me! Your Familia is disbanded! And you’re eternally banished, never to set foot in Orario again!”

“NOOOOOOO!!!” Apollo screamed as he collapsed to the floor.

All of the watching Deities would make sure that the terms of the War Game were carried out in full. There was no way for Apollo to renege on his deal.

“Hah!” Loki’s bark of laughter came from somewhere in the large room.

-Old Shreme Castle Ruins-

“I can hardly believe that we won.” Mikoto smiled as the Hestia Familia regrouped. There were already people passing out Potions to the Apollo Familia members, getting everyone back on their feet, slowly but surely.

“We had to get a little creative, but I think we should be proud.” Welf said with a grin.

“Yeah.” Bell agreed with a thankful smile. “Welf… Miss Mikoto… Ryu…” He looked at each of them in turn. “Thank you so much for your help.” He squeezed Lili into his side as he looked at her. “And thank you too, Lili. You really made this entire plan work.”

Lili beamed at Bell. “Lili was happy to do it, Bell.” She squeezed him a little more as she enjoyed their closeness.

“Let’s go home.” Bell smiled at everyone.

-End Chapter-

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

BOOM!!!

War Game is done and so is Apollo Familia! Kek!

Bell’s different growth and development over the course of this story has resulted in a MASSIVE boost to his strength and skill, which gave him a much easier time with the War Game!

Would this domination over a higher Level Adventurer count as a Grand Feat?

The Hestia Familia’s victory over the Apollo Familia in a 5 vs 100 match should firmly establish their strength within Orario. With Hestia’s Hearth District also still growing, giving her Familia more wealth, it’s safe to say the Goddess of the Hearth, Home, and Family is about to see her influence in Orario shoot up!

And speaking of family… Did Eina just confirm something for us all?!

Keep reading to find out!

Let me know what you thought!

Until next time, later!