Is It Wrong To Skitter In A Dungeon? Chapter 35: The Steps of Divinity (Patreon)

Chapter 35: The Steps of Divinity

“Well, congrats, Taylor, Bell! You’ve both gone and Leveled Up again,” Hestia informed the duo, a proud but exasperated look on her face.

She’d waited a couple days to update the Familia’s stats as they’d all been busy moving into their new house and taking stock of what they’d won from the Apollo Familia, but now that everything was more or less settled, the twin-tailed goddess had agreed to check on everyone’s Falna. That was why the entire Familia was waiting in a lounge inside the manor for Hestia to update their stats.

The results? Just as Taylor had expected, she and Bell had gone up a Level, becoming significantly stronger.

“Whoa!” he breathed out as he stared at his Stat Sheet. He wasn’t alone, as Taylor sat beside him on a brand-new couch looking over her own piece of paper.

Taylor Hebert “Weaver”

Level 2 - - > 3

POWER – SS 1166 - - > I 0

ENDURANCE – SS 1112 - - > I 0

DEXTERITY – SSS 1345 - - > I 0

AGILITY – SS 1053 - - > I 0

MAGIC – SSS 1777 - - > I 0

Skill –

Queen of Escalation: Grants dominion over all invertebrates. Gain Excelia through dominated beings. Immunity to foreign mental effects, charms, and illusions. Limit Breaker.

God Slayer: wHaT iS A gOd To A nOnBeLieVeR? Consume the Essence of a god and usurp their Arcanum. Surpass all mortal limits. Bestow Shards onto the worthy.

Kheiron Excelsior: Boost the rate of growth for all who fall under your aegis. The results of training show sooner. Impart knowledge easier.

Giantslayer: Boost damage done to and Excelia gained from targets larger than oneself.

Spell –

Geas Immulatio: By sacrificing a part of yourself, seal away the corresponding aspect of another being. Costs Mind to maintain.

Incantation: I love you. I hate you. I will kill for you. I will die for you. Let my madness bind the world. Curse of Sacrifice!

Iaetitia Icari: Blessed by the sky, the user may summon wings of magical wind to stay aloft and fly. Costs Mind to maintain.

Incantation: Fly, Joy of Icarus!

Developmental Ability

Hunter H

Abnormal Resistance (?)

Chain Attack (?)

Mage (?)

Martial Artist (?)

Mystery (?)

Tamer (?)

Weaver (?)

Her Mind stat had jumped up ridiculously high after shattering the fortress with her heavily altered spell, and her Power and Agility also got a boost thanks to single-handedly defeating Cassandra while Chris dueled Daphne. And Dexterity naturally rose high as coordinating her swarm wasn’t easy and required focus and finesse.

And once again, Taylor’s range had increased significantly. She could now observe every insect within approximately a mile’s radius of herself. And given that Orario was around thirty square miles in size, that was 1/30th of the city that was under her constant observation.

Perhaps the most fascinating addition though was the inclusion of a brand-new spell in her repertoire. Iaetitia Icari granted her the ability to form fake wings capable of letting her hover and fly through the air. It was incredible, and Taylor couldn’t help but think back on the time she had used the Tinkertech jump-pack and ridden around on Atlas.

‘I hadn’t realized how much I’d yearned for the freedom of the skies until I couldn’t fly anymore,’ Taylor thought to herself. She made a mental note to test out the spell as soon as she could, smiling excitedly.

As for her options regarding Developmental Abilities, there were two new ones: Martial Artist and Chain Attack. It was going to be a tough choice for her to make.

‘Mage would let me use magic better, which considering I have a new spell would be a good thing, but Mystery sounds useful as well. Being able to craft magical items like the helmet Lili has could be extremely valuable,’ Taylor thought to herself. ‘As for Weaver… I did some digging, and it’s a Crafting Ability, like Welf’s Blacksmith or Naaza’s Mixing, but suited for tailors and people who sew. A curious one, but not something I’m interested in.’

Perhaps Lucia, the Familia’s seamstress, would be interested in it when it was her turn to Level Up, but for now the previous two Development Abilities had her eye, as did Martial Artist and Chain Attack.

The former was a Combat Ability. Like Archer or Swordsman, which significantly boosted an adventurer’s ability to fight with a specific weapon, Martial Artist would increase Taylor’s knowledge of how to use her entire body in combat. Given how much she’d used her new arm, it was understandable why this particular Ability would show up.

As for the latter, Chain Attack was also a Combat Ability, but one with a bit more esoteric effect.

‘From what I’ve gathered, subsequent attacks inflicted on the same target steadily deal more damage,’ Taylor mused. ‘Chain Attacks seems to work best when fighting a single opponent who doesn’t go down in one hit, like the Black Goliath.’

How that worked, exactly, Taylor wasn't entirely sure. Did the attacks magically deal more damage? Or was it something else?

“So, any ideas for what you two want to get?” Hestia asked.

“Abnormal Resistance!” Bell declared immediately. “After training down on the 19th Floor, I understand the dangers of poisons and other ailments!”

“Good choice,” Hestia nodded. “Taylor, have you made a decision yet?”

“No,” Taylor admitted. “I’m still thinking.”

“That’s alright, take your time,” Hestia said. “There’s no rush.”

Taylor smiled gratefully at the tiny girl, before turning her attention back to her sheet. The parahuman continued to ponder her choices as the rest of the Familia received their updates, until the only ones left were Emma and Ryuu.

“Is everything alright?” Ryuu asked as Emma was summoned by Hestia. Taylor blinked a little before looking towards the concerned elf.

“I’m trying to think of what I should choose for my next Development Ability,” Taylor admitted to Ryuu.

“Chain Attack,” the elf said immediately, and Taylor tilted her head.

“Why do you suggest that one?” Taylor asked.

“A friend of mine had that Ability, as well as Hunter,” Ryuu explained. “According to her, it gave her a tiny, incremental boost to not only her own physical abilities whenever she repeatedly struck a monster, but it also activated when she repeatedly did other things. For instance, her arrows would become faster the more of them she fired, and her spells became more powerful if she kept casting them rapidly.”

The elf gestured towards the parahuman. “Knowing this, I believe your swarm would also benefit from Chain Attack’s buffs.”

Taylor blinked. It made sense, and that was what was frightening. If she ordered a hundred bugs to bite a single target one after the other, would each bug’s subsequent bite be stronger? Or would it boost the entire swarm if new insects attacked the same target? What about the poison? Would that increase in potency the more of it her swarm pumped into a single monster? Could Chain Attack boost her own combat ability, even if she wasn’t the one directly attacking? Did it have non-combat potential? Or perhaps all of it would happen?

The thought of what was possible made a grin slip onto her face that, if anyone else had seen it, would send them running for the hills. As it was, Ryuu just smirked along with Taylor.

“Thank you, Ryuu,” she said. “I’ll tell Hestia what my choice is when she gets back.”

All across Orario, gods and adventurers alike suddenly shivered in fear and yet had no idea why.

“Taylor!” Hestia suddenly shouted, throwing the door to the room open.

“What is it?” the parahuman asked, tensing up and ordering her swarm to scan the area. She didn’t see anything unusual… what was wrong?

“I need you to take a look at this!” Hestia said, waving Emma’s Stat Sheet, and Taylor had the feeling that they were about to get another ‘trouble child’ in the Familia.

Emma peeked out from behind Hestia, a nervous look on her face as Taylor took the piece of paper.

Emma Flores

Level 1

POWER – H 111 - - > H 173

ENDURANCE – I 75 - - > H 123

DEXTERITY – H 188 - - > G 211

AGILITY – H 150 - - > G 202

MAGIC – I 0 - - > I 5

Skill -

Rein Amur – Borrow Stats from Familia members to share them amongst others bearing the same Falna. This reduces the Stats by an equal amount and induces fatigue in both the user and the Familia members upon the Skill ending.

Rein Veritas – Borrow and distribute Skills from other Familia members amongst others sharing the same Falna. Skills cannot be used by the original user while this Skill is active.

Spell –

Rein Occult – Borrow the ability to cast Spells other Familia members know. Borrowed Spells cannot be used by the original user while this spell is active.

Incantation: All for One, and One for All! Let magic bloom as the Hearth is kindled! Rein Occult!

Taylor resisted the urge to sigh. Yes, it really did seem that Hestia attracted the weirdos and outliers.

“We’ll need to set some ground rules,” Taylor announced, looking at Emma. “First, never use Rein Veritas on me or Bell. Our Skills are too dangerous for you to handle.”

“U-um! Yes!” Emma said, bowing her head in acceptance.

“Secondly, always ask permission before you use any of these abilities,” Taylor continued, laying out the next point. “If you take Stats or the like from somebody who isn’t prepared for it, they might get hurt when they suddenly find themselves unable to act as they normally do.”

“Okay! I’ll be sure to do that!” Emma promised.

“Good. And… congratulations. You’ve done well,” Taylor praised, and the pink-haired adventurer perked up excitedly.

“Th-thank you!” Emma said happily.

“Just know that this means you are going to have to go through some tests and training in order to determine just how your new Skills work,” Taylor warned, a tiny smirk slipping onto her face, and Emma’s eyes widened as she realized the downsides of having unique new skills.

“Understood!” Emma whimpered, a little pale at the thought of going through another one of Taylor’s Hell-Gauntlets.

“Well! Now that that is settled, it’s your turn, Ryuu!” Hestia declared. “Do you still want to Level Up?”

“Yes, I do, my goddess,” Ryuu replied, only to receive a tut.

“Nope! No need to call me that!” Hestia replied. “If you have to be polite, call me ‘Lady Hestia.’ But I don’t mind if you don’t. We’re all family, here!”

“…Of course, Lady Hestia,” Ryuu said, a faint smile flickering across her lips as she followed the tiny girl into the other room.

With Ryuu getting her Falna updated, Taylor bid Emma farewell and left the room. She then walked through the halls of the Apollo Familia’s manor, checking everything over with a fine-toothed comb. The adventurers who’d lived here before them had cleared out quickly but efficiently, leaving very little behind.

Perhaps it was out of spite that they took nearly everything, from the furniture to the rugs to the dishes and tableware, though they had left some things that were too heavy to carry out alone. With Apollo returned to Tenkai – and that was a bag of worms Taylor did not want to think about now – their Falnas had vanished leaving them no stronger than the average person, limiting what they could loot.

Of course, this meant that the Hestia Familia now owned a lot of terrible and tacky artwork and statues depicting Apollo himself. Not even the adventurers of the Apollo Familia had wanted to take any of it with them.

The stuff was worthless. Maybe Taylor could pry out the precious stones and extract the usable materials, but aside from that, they’d probably end up using most of the artwork for target practice.

‘At least my assumption about Apollo’s pride and desire for comfort was correct,’ Taylor thought to herself. ‘He repaired the mansion quite nicely while we were gone.’

Taylor was glad the Hestia Familia didn’t have to pay for that themselves. It was also nice to find no surprises hidden away. The former adventurers hadn’t left anything nasty in dark crevices or corners, and while Taylor did find a few pieces of moldy food or long-forgotten socks, that was all.

It would take some time to properly furnish the manor, but they weren’t exactly hurting for money after they’d sold the Drop Items from their week-long training session, or the fact her spider silk had gotten insanely popular now thanks to her increased fame and fetched appropriately high prices.

Though as she moved around through the manor, she spotted a pair of familiar adventurers approach the gate.

‘I wonder what they want?’ Taylor wondered, and decided to go intercept them.

As she was heading to the gate, she spotted Hestia walking in the same direction. A quick check with her swarm revealed that the room Hestia had been updating their Falna in had a window that overlooked the front entrance, which explained how she’d noticed.

“Coming to greet our guests too?” Hestia asked when she met up with Taylor in the foyer.

“That’s right,” the parahuman nodded.

“Do you think they’re mad?” Hestia wondered as the two of them walked out of the manor. “Or maybe they left something behind?”

“Unless one of them is missing some socks, unlikely,” Taylor replied. “As for being angry… they don’t seem upset.”

Hestia sighed in relief, only to squeak as Taylor patted her head.

“You’re too kind for your own good,” Taylor told Hestia. She maturely stuck her tongue out in response.

“Cassandra, Daphne,” Taylor said in greeting, ignoring her goddess’ childishness. The two former adventurers who’d approached the gate bobbed their heads upon hearing her.

“Weaver,” Cassandra said politely.

“Sup?” Daphne inquired, much less formally.

“Call me Taylor,” the parahuman insisted. It felt odd doing so, but she ignored that. “How can we help you?”

“Do you two want to join my Familia?” Hestia asked eagerly.

“Thanks for the offer, but we’re gonna decline,” Daphne replied. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s an honor, but I don’t think we’d be a good fit for your Familia.”

“Why not?” Hestia asked, pouting a bit.

“Honestly, we’re not the best adventurers,” Daphne admitted. “Cassandra is a healer, and I’m better at running from a fight than finishing one. It’s honestly a miracle I made Level 2 at all.”

“Where will you go, then?” Taylor wondered.

“Lord Miach has offered us places in his Familia,” Cassandra said softly, a tiny but genuine smile on her face. “I like helping people, and there’s always a need for medicine.”

“And we’re not exactly interested in returning to our old Familias after they just gave us up to Apollo without so much as a fuss,” Daphne muttered under her breath. “At least with Lord Miach we know he’s willing to go to crazy lengths for his children.”

“In that case, good luck,” Hestia said, happy that her friend was about to expand his Familia after so long. “I hope you two find what you’re looking for with him and Naaza!”

“Thank you, I think this will be a good new chapter in our lives,” Daphne said with a grin, unable to deny that the tiny goddess’s enthusiasm was pleasant to be around.

Hestia was also a lot kinder and more genuine than Apollo had ever been. Daphne had always felt the urge to take a long, hot bath after spending too much time around the smarmy narcissist.

“So then, why are you here?” Taylor inquired.

“We just wanted to say there were no hard feelings between us,” Daphne replied. “You did what you had to, and we don’t blame ya for beating us like drums.”

“You’re not annoyed at having to fight Chris?” Hestia wondered.

“Chris?” Daphne muttered, before her eyes widened in recognition. “Oh! The Crystal Mantis. Nah, no worries. It was actually a good thing. My sword skills were getting rusty and that helped knocked some of it off. I’ll be taking my training more seriously from now on! So I’ll be challenging Chris again sometime!”

“Chris and I always welcome a sparring partner,” Taylor assured her, before glancing at Cassandra.

“Thank you for not breaking my staff,” she said quietly. “And for not slamming my head into solid ground.”

“You’re welcome,” Taylor replied dryly.

A few more pleasantries and small-talk later, and Taylor was feeling good. She wouldn’t go so far as to call them friends yet, but clearing the air between them could only be a good thing, especially since the duo would be working with Miach and Naaza going forward.

When they were done, Daphne and Cassandra said their goodbyes, but before Taylor and Hestia could leave, the purple-haired healer suddenly reached through the bars of the gate and grabbed the parahuman’s golden arm.

“What is-?” Taylor began to ask, but stopped when she caught sight of the rainbow glow within Cassandra’s eyes.

“You are far from home, young mortal who caused the Sun to flee, and who Mantled the Beetle of Dawn, who slew the Golden Fool,” Cassandra said vacantly, looking at Taylor with a distant expression, her eyes shining with rainbow light.

“I am,” Taylor admitted tightly.

“You are far from home, but not forever. Should you manage to ascend to the Sixth Step of Divinity, then a way forward and back will reveal itself to you,” Cassandra claimed, before the curious glow faded and her shoulders slumped. “Oooo… my head…”

“What was that?” Taylor demanded, mind reeling as she tried to parse what had just been said. Just like the last time Cassandra’s eyes had gained that odd glow, she was left feeling unsettled by the words.

“Prophecy?” Hestia whispered in awe, and Daphne glanced between the two with a tense look on her face.

“Cassandra has always had these… flashes of odd insight,” Daphne finally admitted. “They’ve only gotten stronger since obtaining a Falna. She possesses a Skill, called Five Dimension Troia. Nobody knows how it works… but ever since she gained it, her visions have been more frequent and detailed.”

“What did it mean?” Taylor demanded. It had sounded like there was a chance for her to return to Earth Bet… but that couldn’t have been the case… right?

“In the old days, the Falna was referred to as the Divine Path,” Hestia said softly, glancing between Cassandra and Taylor. “And before they were called ‘Levels,’ they were known as ‘the Divine Steps.’ For instance, Level 1 adventurers were known as ‘Ascendants of the First Step.’ And so somebody who’d ‘ascended’ to the Sixth Step would be known as a Level 6 adventurer nowadays.”

“Then… there’s a chance…” Taylor whispered to herself.

She could go home! All she had to do was reach Level 6! And how hard could that be? She’d already gotten to Level 3 in under a year! Half way there already! Give her a full year, and she’d hit her goal!

Clenching her fists with her mind focused on the future, Taylor missed the pained expression Hestia shot her way, and the worried look Daphne and Cassandra shared.

111 ^^^ &&& ^^^ 111

“Hiyaaah!” Lili called out as she charged at Mikoto. The samurai slashed at her with a wooden blade, but Lili’s form flickered as she transformed into a rabbit-kin and with her enhanced legs, leapt high above the sword strike.

Then, while Lili was still in the air, a new glow surrounded her, and what plummeted from the sky was still Lili but with the dark skin of an Amazon. She slammed into the ground with a fist, shattering the earth with her punch, but Mikoto had been able to see it coming and dodge. Of course, Lili had known this would happen, and lashed out at Mikoto’s legs with a Kukri knife that had a dulled edge. This attack was blocked by a second sword Mikoto was using.

The two of them were sparring enthusiastically, leaving plenty of spots they’d have to fill in afterwards. But it wasn’t like they were damaging anything important. Just the backyard. Which, to absolutely no one’s surprise, had been given the Apollo treatment. That is to say, topiary bushes made to look like the god, hedgerows arranged so they spelled out his name, and rows of flowers planted in such a way they formed his face when looked at from above.

Hestia didn’t consider what her Familia was doing to be destruction. It was much needed landscaping.

“Good job!” Hestia called out as Lili managed to score a hit on Mikoto, giving the pallum a thumbs up. Lili flashed her a smile in response before returning to the fight.

Lili had improved a lot since the War Game. She’d been a bit disappointed by how little she’d contributed, so she’d started training with gusto.

Part of what she’d gained from this was a new application to her Cinder Ella spell. She could perform a transformation without chanting, though the downside was the spell was now temporary instead of lasting however long the Supporter wanted. This let her transform even faster than before and swap between usable forms at will, resulting in a more flexible fighting style.

Lili wasn’t the only one who’d gotten the training fever, either. Hestia was proud to see her entire Familia was eager to grow stronger!

Welf, when he wasn’t sparring and trying out new weapons, was experimenting with gadgets and gizmos. Creating Taylor’s new arm had inspired him to look into creating other mechanical objects and even magic tools. His workshop looked like a scrap shop, with half-finished or broken devices lying about on every surface. Thankfully, Apollo had had a big forge installed for his own Familia’s uses, so Welf had plenty of space to work.

Mikoto, their newest Level 2 Familia member, was starting to branch out into dual wielding like Emma, but also was practicing other forms of combat from the Far East, such as martial arts, spears, and even bows. She did not neglect her regular swordsmanship skills either, and was fast becoming the most varied fighter in the Familia.

The other girls were growing at a steady pace as well. Iris and Lucia were mastering the Skills Taylor had given them – Hestia always made sure to check that the ‘shards’ weren’t doing anything, but so far they seemed to be mostly passive and watching without any intelligence behind them – and if they kept it up, would likely be ready to Level Up in a year or so.

Leo was getting better at learning how to work in a group, and Silva were becoming scarily good with her bow, able to hit bulls eyes from a hundred yards nine out of ten times.

As for Emma? She was, like Bell and Taylor, kinda ridiculous. Her stats didn’t rise as fast, but her Skills and Spell more than made up for that, giving her insane versatility on the battlefield.

Not to mention that if she wanted, Emma could go from having decent stats for a Level 1, to somebody with modest Level 2 numbers in an instant if she borrowed heavily from Ryuu’s Falna.

The gains went down the more the pinkette tried to borrow from somebody stronger than her, so it wasn’t a one-to-one exchange, and she couldn't go over the limits of her own Level, meaning 999 was the limit, but it was quite useful all the same.

Emma also had yet to be able to borrow Stats, Skills, or Spells from multiple people at a time, though that wasn't a deal breaker, and both Hestia and Taylor had a feeling she'd be able to figure out a way to do just that eventually, meaning the Level 1 had the potential to be as scary as the captain and vice-captain!

But without a doubt, the biggest stand-outs were Ryuu, Bell, and Taylor, the three highest Leveled people in the Familia.

Ryuu felt freer, if Hestia had to describe her. Meeting with Astraea had done wonders for the elf’s mental state, and she smiled more often around them. Rising up to Level 5 had also boosted her already considerable power to new heights.

Bell had gotten faster, and was starting to develop a better sense of how to fight. Where he had started off raw, the white-haired adventurer had become polished as he trained with stronger adventurers. First Ais, then Ryuu, had done wonders for knocking the dumb and dangerous habits out of his head. Bell absorbed their teaching like a sponge and his skills had sharpened to the point he was like a multi-year veteran and not a newbie.

‘And then, there’s Taylor,’ Hestia thought to herself, her mood souring a bit as she glanced at the bug controlling girl where she was sparring against Ryuu with Bell, the two of them colliding violently against the more experienced elf.

Beautiful green and gold gossamer wings like those on a dragonfly emerged from Taylor’s back, allowing her to zip around through the air, her swarm surrounding her like tendrils of smoke that lashed out at her opponent.

Taylor’s new spell was very pretty. When she’d first created them, they had resembled lovely white wings, reminding Hestia of the winged beastfolk who lived in the mountain peaks across the world. But Taylor had experimented a bit and found she could change the wing’s appearance at will, leading to the current insectoid appearance she sported.

She flew with great skill, bombing Ryuu with blasts of magic from her artificial arm while distracting the elf with her swarm. She worked closely with Bell to try and corner Ryuu, but the part-time waitress wasn’t a veteran for nothing.

Even without using any Skills or Spells, Ryuu was able to counter every avenue of attack the pair of Level 3s tried to use against her. For instance, she could jump up to reach Taylor, or would throw her own weapon to strike the flying adventurer. Her speed outclassed Bell's, and her skill with a sword surpassed his own. But that did not deter the white or dark-haired adventurers one bit, and both just kept up the fight.

For the past week the Faller had become intensely focused on training and getting stronger, surpassing the drive of everyone else. When Taylor wasn’t fighting, either sparring against partners or in the Dungeon grinding Excelia, she was reading books of magic, learning as many spells as she could to expand her repertoire.

Her swarm was always agitated these days, never settling down. A low buzzing could be heard coming from Taylor’s rooms at night when she should be sleeping, and unless Hestia reminded her, she’d forget to eat!

‘All because she got a glimpse of hope,’ Hestia sighed. To have a mortal be capable of prophecy in this day and age was unusual, and a sign of things to come.

The goddess knew that such people always appeared in the days preceding that of great chaos. Considering the purple-haired girl’s age, she’d probably been born before the Zeus and Hera Familias had begun their crusade, so perhaps that was why Cassandra had been granted this role?

‘Or maybe there is another reason for an oracle to appear in this era,’ Hestia mused, her gaze never leaving Taylor’s form.

The battle, which had been a stalemate so far, abruptly changed as Ryuu unleashed a miniature tornado using her Luminous Wind spell that slammed down onto Taylor from above, smashing her into the ground and shredding her wings. As pretty as they were, the spell-forged appendages were fragile.

Bell attempted to move in to try and take advantage of the elf's focus on his captain, but was kicked away by Ryuu. He tumbled across the ground, but had bought time for Taylor to leap back to her feet. Of course, Ryuu proved why her alias was ‘The Gale’ as she shot forward, wooden sword aimed at Taylor’s head.

However, the parahuman had some tricks up her sleeve. Taylor’s artificial arm could move faster than her organic one, the limb responding to her thoughts like part of her swarm, which allowed her to react instantly before the rest of her body could.

Using this to her advantage, Taylor was able to just barely block the blow aimed at her head, the wooden blade bouncing off. She followed up by thrusting her knife up towards Ryuu’s throat, but the Level 5 swayed aside and managed to flick the wooden sword downwards and behind her back, knocking Bell’s blade aside as he tried to sneak attack her from behind after his own recovery.  

Ryuu then completely wrecked them both and ended the fight in a single move by grabbing Bell by the arm and then using him like a club, smashing his body into Taylor faster than they could keep up with.

“And that’s the match,” Ryuu said as the two groaned and separated.

“No! I can… keep going!” Taylor replied, struggling back to her feet.

Ryuu narrowed her eyes at the parahuman but raised her wooden sword all the same.

“Miss Ryuu, I don’t think this is a good idea!” Bell exclaimed, looking between the two adventurers from his spot on the ground.

“It’s fine, Bell,” Taylor declared as she adjusted her grip on the knife.

“Indeed,” Ryuu agreed. “I shall take care of this. Don’t worry.”

Bell frowned at that, but the Level 5 adventurer burst into motion, her speed far outstripping Taylor’s. Ryuu ran around Taylor in circles, moving so fast that it seemed like there were multiple elves surrounding the Level 3 adventurer.

Taylor tensed up, trying to follow Ryuu, but it was impossible for her eyes alone. It was only thanks to the bugs Taylor had managed to plant onto the elf that she could sense where Ryuu was.

However, even that advantage was soon taken from her as Ryuu unleashed her Luminous Wind spell, the air filling with green sparkles and a strong gust of air. The green fairy-like dust that Ryuu had conjured began to target the pieces of the swarm hidden on her body, obliterating them and removing Taylor’s ability to track her movements.

Taylor was thus unable to do anything as Ryuu appeared behind her and karate chopped her neck, knocking the parahuman out instantly.

Hestia winced as Taylor flopped bonelessly onto the dirt, Bell darting over to catch her before she could hit the ground.

“Well, that’s one way to solve the problem,” Welf commented dryly as he looked over from where he was using a whetstone on Leo's giant sword, the blue-haired mercenary watching closely.

“I suppose it is,” Hestia sighed, before turning to Bell. “Take her to her room, please.”

Bell nodded and carried the dark-haired girl off – though she wasn’t really a girl anymore, was she? Taylor was eighteen, and even back in her old world she’d be an adult.

‘I wish she’d act more like proper adult and role model,’ Hestia grumbled, before turning back to the rest of her Familia.

“Okay, guys and gals, I think that’s all the training you’re doing for today!” she called out.

Everyone nodded and broke up. One good thing about the mansion? Nice and big baths for everyone to use! Even if some of the decorations had to be removed. Nobody wanted to use a faucet or showerhead shaped like Apollo’s own smirking mug.

For the next couple of hours everything was quiet in the house. After training the Familia went their separate ways, doing their own thing.

Lucia was working on some orders of silk clothing while Iris tried her hand at gardening. Leo was helping Welf maintain their equipment, Silva was curled up in the library reading, and Ryuu was doing some cleaning in her room. Bell was practicing some party tricks to improve his dexterity, and Lili was going over the Familia’s accounts and expenses, taking her job as treasurer very seriously.

Meanwhile, Hestia was in the kitchen with Emma and Mikoto preparing dinner when the goddess noticed a spider hanging from a web in the corner of the room start to twitch before going unnaturally still.

‘I knew keeping that spider around was a good idea,’ the goddess thought to herself with a bit of pride. It was like an alarm system that let her know when Taylor woke up!

“Can you girls finish up here?” Hestia asked, and Mikoto nodded.

“Of course, Hestia-sama!”

“Great! I’m going to check on Taylor,” Hestia said, and she headed out of the kitchen.

She reached what had previously been Hyakinthos’ room after a bit of walking – another downside of the house? It was way too big! – and knocked on the door.

“Taylor? Can I come in?” the Goddess of the Hearth inquired. There was no response, but the door did creak open.

Hestia sighed. Her child was so dramatic! Still, she’d come here to check on Taylor, and she would do just that!

It was dark inside Taylor’s room, the curtains having been drawn. There was an ominous chittering coming from the shadows cast by the open door, and Hestia was able to see that the parahuman was sitting on her bed, just staring off into nothing.

She swallowed nervously. This was going to be a tricky conversation, wasn’t it?

111 &&& 111

“Is everything alright?” Hestia asked from the doorway, worrying lacing her tone.

“I’m fine!” Taylor snapped, the shadows buzzing as her swarm reacted to her agitation.

Hestia just raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?” she asked skeptically.

“I’m fine,” Taylor muttered, turning away from the smaller girl.

‘But she’s not really a girl at all, is she?’ a treacherous part of the parahuman’s brain that sounded worryingly like Emma Barnes whispered.

“No, I can tell something’s wrong,” Hestia declared. She then sat down without another word next to Taylor, and leaned her head against the parahuman’s shoulder. “You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want. But I’m here for you.”

“…Why couldn’t you have been there for us on Earth Bet?” Taylor whispered softly, finally giving word to her deepest, darkest feelings. “Why did you have to be real?”

“What do you mean by that?” Hestia asked. She then blinked. “Wait, is this… is this about Apollo?”

She frowned at Taylor. “You’ve been acting off ever since we won the War Game. I thought this was because you were excited about our new home, or worrying over the prophecy that girl gave you, but it was something else, wasn’t it?”

“When he vanished… I felt… I saw… I don’t know. It was impossible. For the longest time, I just assumed you were lying. Or playing a game of make-believe by taking the names of mythological figures. How could you possibly be real? How could you possibly be gods?” Taylor asked bitterly.

“You didn’t believe me when I told you I was a goddess?” Hestia asked, pouting a little.

“You saw my memories,” Taylor retorted. “You know about Scion and the Fallen.”

“Fair enough,” the twin-tailed girl sighed, unable to refute that. Finally, curiosity won out, and she looked up at the taller mortal. “What did you see, Taylor? When Apollo returned to Tenkai, what caused this crisis of faith?”

“The sun,” Taylor whispered. “I saw the sun. But it was so much more than that. It was as if he was made of pure energy and his physical form had simply unraveled. And in that instant, I could see every single adventurer he had ever bestowed a Falna upon. Did you know, Hestia? When you give us ‘mortals’ a Falna, a piece of us stays behind with you? You give us some of yourself, and you take from us as well.”

“I-I did not know that,” Hestia stammered out, eyes wide.

“I could see them. Each soul Apollo touched. But I could also hear their thoughts. Their prayers, hopes, and dreams. More than that, though, my Skill… Godslayer was hungry,” the parahuman whispered, a note of horror seeping into her voice. “I wanted to reach out and tear into him, to rip and feast upon his essence and make it my own. To become the sun myself.”

Taylor wrapped her arms around herself, shivering in terror. “I don’t understand what happened, Hestia. If Apollo really was a god… if gods are real… why didn’t you save us? Why did my world have to suffer and burn?”

Hestia wrapped her arms around Taylor’s waist, hugging her tightly.

“I don’t have an answer for you,” Hestia said sorrowfully. “And I truly wish I did. If we could have helped your world, I’m sure we would have. But we aren’t perfect. Nothing truly is."

A moment of realization hit the tiny goddess at that moment. “That’s why you want to return to Earth Bet, isn’t it?” Hestia guessed. “You feel guilty… no, that’s not the right word… you feel like it’s your duty to help whatever survivors there might be recover from the end of the world. To rebuild civilization!”

“…maybe…” Taylor muttered. Hestia bit back a sigh.

“Okay. Fine. I can understand why you’re training so desperately. But please, stop pushing yourself so hard,” Hestia begged.

“You heard what Cassandra said-!” Taylor protested, but Hestia cut her off.

“I did! But you have to slow down! You cannot return home and help anyone if you die!” Hestia scolded her. “Level 6 is not easy to get to, Taylor! You’ve had an absurd rate of growth so far but you have to pace yourself! If you burn out, then what would be the pointing of going back in the first place?”

Taylor had no answer to that, and she lowered her eyes, unable to meet the goddess’s eyes.

“And remember, no matter what, we’re all here for you,” Hestia promised Taylor. “We will help you get home someday, you just have to ask for help. So please, don’t leave us behind.”

The parahuman girl nodded weakly, and after a moment returned the hug. They stayed like that for a while, only breaking apart when dinnertime rolled around. Hestia dearly hoped her words had gotten through to the teen.

‘And if not, I’ll just have to keep hugging her until they sink in!’ the Goddess of Hearth and Home thought to herself as she walked to the dining room, pumping her fist. She was never going to give up on Taylor, or any of the others!