Selling Drugs in the Dungeon should be a profitable business, no? Chapter 15 (Patreon)

He could feel it.

It was faint, like the flame of a candle.

But he could feel it.

There’s a God in the Dungeon.

A God with an unchained Arcanum, yet with their Divinity insanely suppressed to the point where wouldn’t have noticed it if it weren’t for the Leviathan suddenly barging it’s way back into the Dungeon.

Only to seemingly flee in a hurry not too long after.

The Great Beast had clearly been called back by the Dungeon itself, meant to be it’s weapon to slay the God within it’s bowels.

Yet… that failed, somehow.

Perhaps the God’s unchained Arcanum is the reason the Great Beast was driven back?

It is a possibility, yet Ouranos relented on confirming it. Mostly because there was no rebuke from the Dungeon.

Just… pure focused wrath upon that unknown God.

How did a God descend from Heaven without sealing their Arcanum?

His was mostly unchained as a way to keep the Dungeon suppressed, lest more calamities follow, but no one else did that.

All the other Gods descend from Heaven, create a mortal vessel that resembles them, then inhabit it like a puppet.

But this God does not feel like a puppet to his senses, even if their Arcanum was highly restrained. It’s like… they are trying to hide themselves.

But for what reason?

His own Arcanum rumbles forth, his throne quaking in the process as he sends his senses deep into the earth. Deep into the angered Dungeon.

His Divinity flows forth, making contact with the restrained one- Only to be instantly rebuked.

Ouranos startles against his throne, his eyes widening marginally in surprise.

Then his eyes narrow lightly.

Was this unknown God trying to meddle with the mortal world and the Dungeon?

Ouranos refused to stand by and watch as this unknown Divine did whatever they wanted within the Dungeon. He could already feel it’s sheer, boiling wrath.

And it had already called back the Leviathan once… What if it calls back on the other two must stronger Great Beasts?

Just one of them would be more than enough to raze Orario to the ground and leave nothing left in their wake… But with the Behemoth, there at least is still a chance of possibly repelling him.

Or slaying him, even.

But the Dragon? That’ll be merely wishful thinking.

So this God is a danger. Their presence brings the whole of Orario at risk by angering the Dungeon like so, making it do things it has never done before like calling on the Great Beasts to purge the pest within it’s bowels.

Hence, Ouranos Arcanum exploded forth unrestrained.

If before he was trying to make contact, now he was trying to grasp and expel the God back to Heaven, like he did many times before to previous scoundrels who thought themselves above the law he had set down and many followed.

His own Divinity reached for the unknown God’s suppressed one, but Ouranos’s eyes narrow in confusion when he makes contact with something else before he reaches that unknown Divinity.

Why is that God’s presence coming from deep within a Human Soul-

Immense heat startled Ouranos out of his thoughts, and made him very aware that he wasn’t sitting anymore.

Nor that he was within his Room of Prayer and upon his throne.

Below him lay a clear surface of water that reflected his appearance and the clear sky above, a beautiful sight that stretched all the way to the horizon.

The light, fragrant scent of medical herbs makes him furrow his brows even as the scorching heat licked at his skin and robes.

Any normal human would be turned to cinders from such temperatures, but Ouranos stood unharmed before them.

                                                              “Souls are Sacred for us.”

The ancient God startles as a voice containing unquestionable power speaks up, causing the heat to swelter and boil the water below his feet.

Eyes dart to the front, towards a staircase shadowed by light that wasn’t there a second before.

At the top stood a throne with a Sun of gargantuan size behind it, shadowing the throne from view due to the immense light radiating forth from the Heavenly Body.

And atop the throne sat a lone figure. The unknown God.

Ouranos squinted at the Divine, and a pair of eyes glowing with ruby-like radiance slowly open to meet his own, the owner’s cheek resting upon their fist in a lazy manner.

The air swayed and warped with heat, and the eyes glowed with barely contained anger and disdain.

                                “You stain my pupil’s beautiful Soul with your presence.”

Pupil?

Is the Human’s Soul he made contact with that of this God’s pupil?

But… Why bother picking a pupil when a Human could never hope to reach even a tenth of a God’s true capabilities in their field-

That’s when it hit Ouranos.

The boy Hera took in. He had heard of him from Fels.

Medicines unlike potions, which easily surpassed what Dian Cecht’s Familia pushed out.

Now he knows Dian Cecht is a fraud, and the potion recipe isn’t even his own, but that still doesn’t make the human Alchemist’s achievement any less than amazing.

After all, potions are something God’s of Medicine introduced to the mortal world through their Divine capabilities.

And then here comes a human, with medicines far more potent than the ones introduced by the Divines themselves.

“What are your intentions with-”

                                            “I shall overlook this Taboo of yours this once.”

The Goddess speaks over him, her voice holding restrained anger and filled with unquestionable power.

The fragrant scent of medicinal herbs is replaced by the scent of ashes and smoke.

Ruby-like eyes blaze with power, and the Sun behind the throne shudders and blazes with an even greater brilliance.

                                                    “Next time, I shan’t be this merciful.”

Her free hand rises up, and her fingers snap.

Ouranos breathes in sharply as his back hammers against the throne, cracking it in the process.

“My lord…?” Fels confused voice reaches his ears as the ancient God breathes out through his nostrils with a thoughtful frown on his old visage.

He was repelled yet again, this time with a clear show that the unknown Goddess canharm his real self all the way back in Heaven through his vessel.

“Just what are your intentions…?” Albeit worried that there somehow is an unknown God with an unchained Arcanum hiding away in a Human Soul out there, Ouranos still allowed himself to relax.

It was short, but the meeting allowed him to understand that the Goddess holds no plots towards the Dungeon.

She called the boy her ‘pupil’ and went so far as to reveal herself momentarily in order to protect his Soul from his presence. He filed the fact he called his presence a ‘taboo’ away for later.

If she went so far to protect the human boy from his probing – even if accidental – then she surely wouldn’t mess with the Dungeon and put him further into danger.

..Which kinda already happened due to the Leviathan.

“Fels.” His only Familia member straightens himself as Ouranos breathes out.

He’ll keep an eye on the Goddess just in case, but her actions lowered his worries by a great deal.

“You have been keeping tabs on that human Alchemist?” Ouranos questions, and his faithful Child stirs in surprise at the question.

“Yes, my lord.” The Sage bows their head, not even bothering to hide their actions while not on ‘duty’. “I wished to see his skills as an Alchemist with my own eyes.”

Ouranos hums and reaches up to stroke at his beard. “And?”

Fels pauses momentarily, then keeps going; “His skills are beyond my comprehension, my lord.” The ancient God locks in place and his eyes widen a great deal.

For the Sage who made the Philosopher Stone, capable of granting Immortality, to say such a thing…

“I was able to use one of my Artifacts to spy upon his first refinement of his ‘Pills’, and what I saw left me thoroughly baffled, my lord.” The God waved his hand, motioning for his Child to keep going.

“A handful of grounded powders tossed into the furnace came out a more than a hundred Pills in less than a minute.”

And this was by the hands of a Human mortal… Is that why the unknown Goddess picked the boy as her pupil? For this sheer, horrifying talent in Alchemy?

Or are her teachings just that effective?

Or is it a mixture of both?

“And what do you think of him?” Fels yet again pauses momentarily at his question. If they were confused by the sudden interrogation about the new Alchemist in Orario, they didn’t show it.

“He is… unnecessarily kind, my lord.” Those words surprised the God, but he remained silent as his Child kept going, “He constantly struggles with inner turmoil, and in my eyes it feels like he is forcing himself to be an Alchemist and stand out so much.”

“And deep down… I feel like he just wishes to live a quiet and peaceful life.”

A peculiar Human.

“Do continue keeping tabs on him, Fels.” He orders, then pauses. “And one last thing.”

“Yes, my lord?”

“Keep me updated on the Behemoth’s current movements for next few months.”

                                                                          xxxXXXxxx

“Meteria dear… Please, don’t lay on the floor. It’s dirty.” Agnodice kindly calls out towards the beloved Hera Familia child.

Who is currently laying down like a starfish before the Hera Familia mansion main doors, a dark cloud above her.

Meteria merely releases a grumbling whine, her legs kicking in the air and her cheeks puffing up as she glared murderously – cutely– at the ceiling.

“I miss Riley.” The girl whines, earning a gentle sigh from Agnodice, who flushes slightly at the mention of that man.

Another grumble comes from Meteria, her small fists hitting the floor on her sides. “My Riley Energy reserves are running thin!” The girl whines aloud, “I miss his kisses and hugs and voice and getting fucked by him-”

Agnodice chokes and stumbles on her steps, her red face going even redder as she nearly drops the books in her grasp, an embarrassed “Meteria?!” escaping her lips, her voice cracking mid-word.

Yet, the girl just throws her a deadpan look. “We ain’t all prim and proper like you elves, ya know?” What has happened to the pure and innocent Meteria?

Agnodice sputtered indignantly at that. “T-That’s-”

“Just thinking about Riley turns you into a blushing maiden.” Meteria presses on with a smug grin on her face, forcing a boiling tea-kettle like noise out of the older Elf woman.

“I-It does not-”

“Just think about him staring at you with those wonderful eyes of his!” Agnodice shudders, and her mind betrays her by conjuring said image.

Those wonderful eyes that mimic a sunset with their beautiful mix of colors, both set upon a wonderfully crafted face.

W-Why was he sparkling?!

“He smiles at you with that smile that makes so many other girls faint!” The conjured image does so and the near century old elf quivers as a knot forms in her belly.

Wide blue eyes stare into empty space, a tall and curvaceous body quivering in place.

Yet, Meteria pressed on without mercy.

“And he steps closer! Slowly! Like a wolf stalking it’s cornered rabbit!” ‘Riley’ takes a step closer, and Agnodice takes a step back with a fearful yelp.

Then again and again, until her back is forced against the wall.

“His hand slams on the wall besides your head, trapping you in place!” Agnodice yelps when a ‘hand’ slams right beside her head, ‘pinning’ her against the wall.

Her face grows even redder and her breath quickens, causing her mounds to rise and fall in rather hypnotic ways.

Why was her mind torturing her like so?

Why did Riley look so handsome?

Why was he sparkling?

Where’s the music coming from?

“He cups your chin and lifts it so he can stare in your eyes!” Her chin is ‘cupped’ and ‘lifted’, and Agnodice curses herself for leaning into the imaginary touch.

That’s when Meteria quickly coughs into her fist, then speaks up again with a deeper voice, trying to mimic’s Riley warm and light one.

“My wonderful Agnodice… I have traversed the Dungeon’s bowels, slain it’s beasts, fought against mighty foes… All to retrieve the ingredients needed to regrow your legs.” ‘Riley’ leans in as he whispers those words with a passion and heat that made the poor Elven woman quiver with a need she hasn’t experienced in decades.

With a need she cast aside a long time ago.

“And when I succeed in healing you, my dear Agnodice…” ‘Riley’ leans close, causing the woman to quiver more and more as his lips near her pointed right ear.

Only to whisper the most seductively and dangerous words she had ever heard in her life.

“Allow me to hold your hand.”

Agnodice faints right there and then, slumping on the ground while leaning against the floor, a trickle of blood trailing down her nostrils.

Meteria blinks at her handy-work, then sniffs lightly. “Damn, I’m good.” She nods and pats herself on the shoulder, still being a starfish on the floor.

That’s when another voice spoke up. “You can be such an evil bitch sometimes, you know that?” Hera makes herself known, stepping into the hall while nursing a glass of wine like she usually does.

Her cheeks were slightly flushed, showing her inebriated state, and a light smile was present on her full lips, clearly having watched the events unfold.

Meteria shrugs from her spot on the floor. “Gotta find some amusement when I’m bored, no?” Hera glances at the poor, unconscious Agnodice at that.

“She really passed out because at the thought of holding hands…” The Goddess sighs, palming her face with her free hand. “And she has a daughter.”

Meteria pipes up at that, “I mean, it’s holding hands with Riley.” She quips like a smart-ass, making Hera want to kick her. Then hug her until she turns purple. “He can make even that feel good, somehow.”

Hera throws a weirded out glance at her Child. “I have trouble believing that.”

The starfish- Meteria sniffs without care, then throws a cocky glance at her Goddess. “Go ahead and find out for yourself, then.”

The Goddess pauses, then blinks a few times.

“I swear to my other brethren, if you try to hook me up with Riley, I will spank you.”

“I don’t need to hook you up with him. You wouldn’t sew his clothes if you didn’- Geh!”

Meteria ended up getting put into a choke-hold by her Goddess.

                                                                                  xxxXXXxxx

“I just noticed something…” I throw a glance towards Leonidas as I duck beneath Alfia’s slash, then drive her back with a lazy one from my own blade.

Of course I make sure to dampen the sharpness of my much stronger blade, lest it goes through her blade like it’s but a slip of paper.

The dark skinned man is cupping his chin, having been watching the light sparring session between me and Alfia with Zald and Kirin for a while now.

It was mostly for me to stretch my limbs since I managed to snatch a pill from the insufferable Juno and get my body fixed up.

I feel… a bit stronger than before, and my Qi Palace is still slowly recovering from the damaged state I put it into due to pushing it too far.

I think I ended up upgrading it during my fight against the Leviathan due to the overflow of Qi Strands usage I ended up doing.

The excess energy that wasn’t leaking out of my body ended up being absorbed by my Qi Palace, which made it stronger… But also, I haven’t gotten struck by lighting.

I’d say that I have two more Tribulationsto go before I can start on the next Realm, which shall make Qi Strands usage much easier.

I’d better stock up on Qi Strands while I’m in here, because I’m gonna need them for that Realm, then… I dunno if I’ll keep going. Something to see in the future.

“And what’s that?” I ask the man as I pause, smiling slightly when Alfia gently pokes my cheek with her weapon, almost in an admonishing way.

It’s very cute.

Leonidas hums a heavy rumbling sound with narrowed eyes before snapping one of his fingers at me. “You’re not used to fighting people, are you?” I blink at that.

Huh, he noticed that quite easily.

Still, I tilt my head left and right. “Yes, and no.” My answer clearly kinda confuses the man. And both Zald and Kirin.

“My village-” I don’t miss the way both Alfia and Kirin wince, “-wasn’t really that in danger when it comes to monsters. It was in a very elevated spot, and getting to it would require either going up the only available path or climbing up a steep cliff.”

“Monsters usually picked the second one, and it was easy for the guards to just poke them and have them fall to their deaths.” I did that myself quite a few times.

It was fun watching the monsters go ‘Splat!’ and explode into ashes when I was bored.

“Huh, sounds fun…” Leonidas remarks, and I nod.

“And the guards… Well, they weren’t really trained, plus my fighting style isn’t good for spars.” Kirin perks up at that, as does Alfia.

“Is it because of how you put your everything behind each blow?” Alfia questions a tad faster than Kirin, and Leonidas whistles at the information. The light roll of his left shoulder reminds me of our initial spar and the way I nearly fucked up his shield.

I tilt my head left and right yet again. “It’s mostly because each blow is meant to take the target’s life.” I reveal, surprising them a tad bit. That’s the whole thing about Sword Cultivators.

They have basically no defense or defensive techniques and skills. They double down on offense, and focus only on that and their sword.

I’m not fully sticking to that path, yet I somehow managed to awaken my Sword Will.

Perhaps I focused on it a bit too much. Like a fanatic, of sort.

“It fits when I fight monsters, but I dislike going that hard during spars or normal fights.” Alfia quietly lowers her gaze to her blade, seemingly contemplating my words.

There’s still a plan for us to fight and go all out against each other, but neither of us has bought it up yet even thought the Dungeon is… kinda at our mercy.

Perhaps she doesn’t wish to do it here, where we could draw others in the crossfire.

Leonidas hums softly. “Yeah, saw that with how you ripped into the Leviathan.” An enormous grin threatens to split his face as he says those word. “Had that bitch runnin’for his goddamn life! Hah!” His words made both Zald and Kirin smile.

This is probably the first ever ‘victory’ they ever achieved against one of the Great Beasts, but…

The Leviathan just felt wrongto me.

I spent time mulling over it, even thought it’s just been a day – can’t really tell since we are in the Dungeon, and there’s no Day-Night cycle here– but I mulled over the battle to see where I could have done better and how I can improve further.

The fulfilling feeling I had after the fight quickly vanished after I mentally reviewed it.

First, the Leviathan can use Qi. A monstrous amount of it too, with how it crazily released that blizzard.

To not talk about the beam of energy the damn creature was gathering up.

Second...

“I don’t view it much as a victory.” I muse aloud, drawing all gazes towards me. “It felt more like I was bullying a newbie, instead of a monster with centuries of experience under it’s belt.”

The Leviathan fought like a newbie with all that power handed to them from the get-go.

Same attacks with no change in the way it’s delivered or released. Prone to anger when things didn’t go it’s way or when we didn’t easily die.

The only way I can describe is that the Leviathan felt like a child that never got a spanking, never fell and learned to raise his hands to dampen the fall, never lost.

All the fights before us, if they even happened, went by so easily and quickly that the Leviathan never gained real experience.

For why did it need to ‘master’ it’s powers when all the ‘bugs’ around it could easily be squashed?

My words dampened the excitement the Executives were feeling. “You’re onto something here…” Zald whispers to himself, face falling into a pensive look.

“How many times did you all fight against the Leviathan so far?” I ask Kirin, making her perk up.

Her expression twitches lightly, then her lips part to release a sigh. “Us? Other than the battle you took in, we never fought against it.”

“In the past thousand years? Around… four times? Each time the battle was a thorough loss due to the Leviathan having taken residence in an enormous body of water.”

As I predicted. Each battle ended easily for the Leviathan due to home advantage and it’s power advantage.

Then what about the Behemoth? Was it the same?

The Dragon sure as fuck ain’t. That fucker is smart.

The glint of curiosity in it’s lone eye when we stared at each other back then. The interest and thoughtful look upon it’s enormous scaly visage.

Then it simply turned away and disappeared across the horizon with a flap of it’s wings.

“And that last attack, the blizzard…” Alfia suddenly speaks up, understanding in her beautiful heterochromatic eyes. “It was a tantrum.”

A deadly one, but yes.

“By the Gods…” Leonidas leans forward and cups his chin. “This is still good though. We at least discovered the Leviathan’s hidden ace.” Zald nods in agreement.

“And with the fins we recovered, we can use them to raise the morale of the city as a whole.” Kirin points out with a light smile.

Right, she had Calydonia and her sister go and retrieve the fins we cut off from the giant beast.

Zald did eat one of them, though he looked a bit disappointed afterward.

Maybe they tasted like shit.

There go possible ideas of turning that giant fish into Sushi.

Does Orario have sushi? Cause I crave some.

“Perhaps we can take it down with some preparations, but that’s something to discuss out of the Dungeon.” Leonidas murmurs aloud, then stand sup and stretches his back. “One thing I wanna discuss, is giving Riley an Alias.” He states with a big, eager grin.

I tilt my head to the side. “An Alias?” They nod, and I go through my memories to- Ah, something like Kirin’s… well, ‘Kirin’ name.

“Aliases are given by the Gods upon Level Ups, but majority of them are jokes all the way until Level Five. After that, the Gods give you names befitting our strengths.” Zald explains to me, and I nod in understanding.

Though, I do see something missing- “I didn’t Level Up though.” Dunno how to even go about it.

I need that… Falna thing, right? Whatever the hell that is.

Leonidas nods. “That’s normally the case, but your strength befits an Alias. Be it God-given or not.” Hopefully not something cringe.

“What are yours?” I ask, mostly out of sheer curiosity.

“You already know.” Kirin snorts with a shrug. “It’s the name of an ancient mighty beast that controlled lighting. It was felled by some Heroes in the past, far as I know.” Well, it matches her.

“I’m ‘Talos’.” Leonidas reveals, and I hum in understanding. The bronze giant, if I remember right. “Though sometimes we still stick to my old one; ‘The Immortal’.” Probably due to his healing Skill.

“Zald is ‘Gluttony’.” The dark skinned man reveals, jabbing a thumb towards his comrade while I raise a confused brow.

Is it related to when he scarfed down one of the Leviathan’s fins?

I blink, then turn to Alfia. “What’s yours?” She cutely scrunches up her nose and turns away.

“...’The Silence’.” Her gloved hand playfully punched my shoulder the moment I cackle.

It fits her thought.

“Or ‘Monster of Talent’.” I blink and turn to Kirin, a fierce glare being thrown her way by Alfia.

That another alias of hers? “I feel like there’s a story behind that.” Alfia pouts my way, which, again- Cute.

I feel like I’m going to bully her plenty.

Leonidas nods with a light chuckle. “Because she’s crazy talented. Masters everything with a glance and achieved the fastest Level Ups in history.” Huh…

I turn to Alfia with newfound wonder in my eyes. “That’s cool as hell…” She flushes under my praise, a reaction that bring a series of chuckles out of Zald and Leonidas.

“Seeing her flush like a young maiden is a novel experience.” The scarred man rumbles softly, a gentle gaze in his eyes as he stares at Alfia.

There’s a deeper relationship there. Something like family.

Kirin’s hum brings me out of my thoughts. “But what Alias can fit Riley?” She wonders aloud, then shudders together with Alfia. “Nothing from Lady Hera, of course.”

What?“Why?”

“Silver Star Quiet Warrior, Vengeance of the Silent, Silent but Kinky-” I balk at Alfia as she lists off what probably are Aliases made by Hera, but instead are downright horrendous cringe titles that make me shudder.

Hell, even Leonidas and Zald shudder with me.

“Thunder Thighs, Thunder Cheeks, Thunder Tits, Claps like Thunder-” Kirin joins in, flushing more and more as she rattles off her own.

And I mean… I cup my chin and tilt my head at her. “Lady Hera ain’t wrong though…” I point out, causing Kirin’s face to instantly catch on fire.

And of course she throws me a very heated and horny look afterward.

I turn to Leonidas with a raised amused brow. “What about Zeus?”

All Leonidas does is lean in and whisper in my ears.

I hum, then nod my head. “Yep, as expected from a pervert.” For fuck’s sake, Zeus…

“So shall I be spared the cringe?” Doubtful, but perhaps they shall have mercy on poor mortal self.

“The Sword.” Leonidas instantly states with a large grin, one of his fingers pointing at my chest.

Everyone turns to give him a look. “That’s the feeling I get when I look at you.”

“A sword with unmatched sharpness. One that cannot be stopped.” ‘The Sword’, huh?

My blade purrs, and I look down at it with a light smile.

Gone are the imperfection from the crafting of a low-skill Blacksmith, now replaced by an utterly straight and perfect blade reflecting my own face.

There’s a light sky-blue sheen to it, because of the Qi that now infuses it’s body and blade.

It became so much greater after it advanced and became a Spirit Weapon, and I feel so much closer to the Item Spirit.

I should find some monsters to test how much better it has become, and see what else it has gained from this Advancement.

The monsters, now that we are on the 28thFloor, are all like Dinosaurs and stuff, so big and easy targets.

I’ll wait a bit before joining in the hunt, mostly because the Hera Familia is currently using this chance to get used to their now improved strength, using the monsters as punching bags.

While also gathering any peculiar herb, flower or fruit they run across and bringing it back to the camp, so that I can analyze them later and see if they are useful.

That’ll be the routine we’ll keep up all the way to the 36thFloor before me and some of the other Executives girls will make a mad-dash to the 44thFloor, where the herbs I need to regrow Agnodice’s limbs should be. Hopefully.

Kirin said that it’s an area that looks like the inside of a volcano, and it’s quite hot too, the perfect habitat for the herb I need.

If we can’t find it there, then I’ll have to seek a volcano on the surface.

Only reason I’m even going after this herb is because it’ll help with the limb regrowth, numbing the pain to the point where it’s barely felt. I can’t achieve that with other ingredients.

Plus, it’ll help the refinement process of the Tier Three Pill and boost my chances by a great deal.

With the herb, I should succeed with ease and be more relaxed when giving it to Agnodice, as I’d rather she doesn’t suffer from the operation.

“I like it.” I state, drawing myself out of my thoughts.

It’s an Alias that fits me quite well, and one I wouldn’t mind being associated with.

“I agree with Leonidas.” Zald rumbles out with a low nod and smile on his scarred face. “It’s an Alias that can only fit someone like you.”

“You don’t just wield a Swordlike any other… You arethe Sword.”

Guess all my training is paying off, then.

I can trust their judgement as they are experienced warriors with years of refined instincts, so if this is what they feel when they look at me…

“I do wonder, though…” I raise my gaze to look at Leonidas, a pensive look on his face. “Which is stronger… Your blade, or Nemea’s defenses?” Nemea?

Ah, the big blonde guy among Maxim’s group.

“Then how about we find out?” A deep gravelly voice joins the conversation, making me turn to the left and blink as the mentioned man strides into the clearing.

Still as towering as before, and still with a bare upper body bulging with muscles and power.

That’s why I kept feeling like I was being observed… Well, by two pairs of eyes.

One of ‘em must be the Dungeon… I think.

Leonidas sighs and palms his face. “I knew that you’d come to challenge him.” Nemea throws a deadpan look at Leonidas at those words.

“I bet you already challenged him a long time ago.” The giant of a man accuses right back, and I snort when Leonidas turns away while whistling innocently. “Just proving my point.”

Huh, a grown man pouting and sulking. Poor Leonidas.

Kirin turns to regard Nemea with a raised brow. “Off by yourself? Guess you must be pissed with Maxim.” I raise a confused brow myself.

Isn’t he part of the dude’s group?

Nemea snarls in anger at Kirin’s word, but none of it is directed at her. “Motherfucker ordered me to hang back and not join the fight against the Leviathan!” Wait… Is that why he was so pissed back then?

The giant of a man takes a step forward, the ground shaking below his feet. “So, I wish to challenge the man who made the Leviathan run away in fear.” He states, standing and towering over me, blazing red eyes filled with pure excitement and battle-lust.

I hum and reach up to cup my chin as Kirin and Alfia sigh deeply. “You should stop following his orders then…” The Vice Captain of the Hera Familia sighs out softly, but Nemea scoffs and throws a glance back at her.

“He defeated me, I follow him. Simple as that.” A rather simple mindset. Follow the one who defeated you to seek greater strength and improvement…

Yet, this ended up biting him in the ass as he lost the chance to fight the Leviathan.

I tilt my head up at the giant man. “I accept.” His gaze snaps back to me as I grin, “Hopefully you won’t prove to be a disappointment like the Leviathan.”

His lips part to gape at me, and his eyes widen in shock. “A disappointment…? The Leviathan?”

My grin grows sharper, “I stared the Black Dragon in it’s remaining eye.” The Zeus Familia Executives freeze in place, eyes shrinking to dots at the reveal. “The Leviathan is but a candle compared to the sheer might that beast radiated back then.”

Not even a hundred Leviathans can come close to matching the sheer might and power I felt from the Dragon all those weeks ago.

That thing is on a whole other level. Clearly it’s in a rank of it’s own compared to it’s fellow Great Beasts.

I don’t fail to notice the goosebumps rising all over Nemea’s arms, his mouth stretching in a near feral grin of pure, raw excitement and delight.

Alfia hums and moves to stand to the side just as I raise my arm.

A large fist hammers against it, lifting my feet off the ground and hurling me through the air.

My sword purrs with delight at having another opportunity to battle, and I contain my own grin as my back slams and breaks through one of the enormous trees that litter this floor.

I bend my knees, then slam my feet downward at the perfect time, digging them into the ground and leaving behind a pair of trenches as I slowly grind to a halt.

The air whistles as Nemea lands right beside me, right arm reared back and a manic grin on his face.

He’s more excited than I am, damn.

The air booms as his fist hammers towards my skull, but I lean back and out of the way of the blow, raising my free arm to latch onto his with my hand.

My elbow slams against his nose, forcing his head back, but not without me feeling I hit a damn steel wall.

Curious. Must be his insane defense then.

The blow still stunned him thought, so perhaps…

I latch onto that second of being stunned and spin around, latching his arm over my shoulder and lifting his enormous body over mine, then slamming him into the ground with a judo throw.

Hard enough to leave a rather massive crater and bury him deep into the ground.

Not that it’s gonna hurt him.

In fact, he sits up and dusts himself off, but I pause when he hisses and lifts his head up. “You alright?”

He blinks a few times and rubs his eyes. “Dust in my eyes.” Ouch, that’s fuckin’ annoying.

Now I kinda feel bad. Just a tiny, minuscule bit.

He blinks and rubs his eyes a few more times before giving his head a shake. “You good now?”

“Yep.” I nod.

Then punch him straight in the stomach, forcing the air out of his lungs and bending his massive body over my outstretched arm.

And this time he’s the one sent flying.

I hear a ‘Son of a bitch!’ being hurled at me as his body smashes through several trees, which greatly amuses me- Though it’s short lived, as Nemea comes back with vengeance.

I jump back and his body hammers into the ground like a meteor, sending dust and broken pieces of earth, stone and bark flying everywhere.

Then I jump back again as he lunged at me, over and over, digging through the ground in the process like an unstoppable beast.

Wait a second…

I couldn’t help the enormous grin on my face as I keep dodging back, my eyes locked on Nemea’s form as he swimsthrough the fucking ground and roots with a downright perfect Olympic Swimmer form.

Jesus Christ dude…

I take one final jump back, then raise one of my legs high in the air. The moment Nemea draws close, I hammer my kick down in an ax-kick straight to the back of his skull, slamming his entire upper body deeper into the ground he was swimming through.

His lower body rises in the air, and I instantly raise one of my arms to block his own falling ax-kick, the force behind it so great that it forces me knee-deep into the earth.

For being this huge, he can be quite nimble and athletic.

I better not play around too much though. He is physically stronger than me since I can’t use my Qi Strands for bursts of strength, but…

This kind of fight is quite exciting!

His lower body swings back, and his long mane of golden hair whip through the air as he rises out of the hole I smashed his skull into, not an injury in sight as aferocious grin remains plastered on his face.

“Done playing around?” I shrug, then give him the go-ahead.

“Feel free to kick it up a notch.” And kick it up a notch he does.

The hair on the back of my neck rise up as his skin gains a golden sheen to it, his nails sharpening and his pupils turn into slits within a second.

Now that’s fancy-

I duck beneath a swipe of his arm that makes the wind whistle sharply, then rise up like a spring and hammer my fist into his chest.

Again, it feels like I’ve punched a block of iron, and Nemea clearly doesn’t even feel the blow.

I’m curious now. What’s the limit of his defenses?

I narrow my eyes as I dodge another one of his swipes. He’s a bit slower now.

A boost to offense and defense at cost of speed? Guess he’s a literal Tank then.

My free hand swats one of his swipes away, and my right foot slams forward and into the ground, leading into a shoulder-slam that forces him backward.

I lean into the foot hammered into the ground and lift the other one up, spinning around and delivering a kick into Nemea’s chest, hard enough that it lifts the man off the ground.

I have a theory, but I need to pin him against something to test it.

I straighten myself and swiftly grab one of his ankles, then spin around and hurl his massive body through the air and straight towards the nearby edge of the Floor we are in.

Trees explode and collapse as Nemea smashes through them, then he ricochets off the floor a few times before his arms dig into the ground to slow himself down.

But I still got him where I wanted.

I toss my blade high in the air, confusing him- Only for his eyes to widen and a choked gag to escape him when my fist digs into his stomach.

His form is then slammed into the wall, and I rush forward and breathe in.

Qi Strands can’t be used due to the state of my Qi Palace, but that technique can still be used.

I lock in, breathe in sharply till my lungs are full, and clench my fist and flex my muscles.

Feet dig into the ground, and Nemea crosses his arms before him to guard himself, instinct sharp enough to warn him to what’s about to come.

                                                                 “Kunpeng Heavy Dance.”

My right fist hammers against his arms with a tremendous amount of strength, forcing his back against the wall of the Dungeon.

Then the left one follows suit, carrying with it a tiny bit more of that strength.

Then the right one, a bit stronger yet again.

The ground shakes, and the wall behind Nemea cracks and splinters as I breathe in and out sharply, fully locked in and delivering blow after blow.

Kunpeng Heavy Dance is a technique that is tricky to do, especially with Qi, and if I were to use Qi I would be unable to execute it perfectly without reaching the Second Realm.

It requires me to deliver a blow, conserve some energy from said blow, then give it to the next one. Rinse and repeat.

This gives birth to an escalating combo where each blow is stronger than the previous one, slowly grinding down the enemy’s guard until it’s fully broken.

Plus, it’s a technique better used against humans than monsters.

I dip low and send out a punch from below Nemea’s tight guard, forcing a grunt out of him as I nail him straight in the stomach yet again.

The blow finally makes the wall collapse, and Nemea stumbles backward due to suddenly loosing the support of what he was leaning against.

This instantly leaves his guard open, and I capitalize on it.

A fist straight against the center of his chest, nailing him against the crater in the wall.

Another one against his side. Then the stomach, then chin, then left side.

I slowly breathe in and out, keeping it even and constant as I keep my feet locked against the floor, shoulders and arms constantly moving.

Swings grow faster, punches land harder, my eyes never blink.

And my theory is proven correct.

I grin, nearly a feral one that mimics Nemea’s. “Heh, I get it now.” I duck as the man latches onto the lapse of my blows to deliver a straight jab towards my skull.

And I rise back up like a spring, drilling him straight into the skull with a punch containing all of the gathered strength.

His body shoots upward, smashing through the stone above us, blasting dust and stone all over the air as I turn around and walk towards my discarded sword within it’s sheath.

I grab it and pull it out of the ground it stabbed lightly into just as Nemea’s body crashes back down, and I turn around to face him once more.

Again, no clear damage on his body, and even on his face.

But he stumbles as he goes to stand up, a heavy groan escaping his lips.

“As I thought.” I muse softly as his blazing bloodshot eyes flick up to meet mine.

It was a theory, but this proves that it’s true. “Your exterior may be thought… But your organs and brain? Not so much.” I point out with a smirk.

This was but a thought merely born from the fact that there is no perfect shield.

Even if it can stop all attacks and it’s indestructible, it still isn’t perfect.

A small shield? Too many openings, unable to block everything.

Too big of a shield? Blocking becomes a blind spot enemies will capitalize on, dodging to the side to deliver a deadly blow from where you least expect it.

Nemea’s defenses are exactly like that. Impenetrable from the outside but vulnerable on the inside.

Just like the lion he is named after.

A rumbling chuckle leaves the giant of a man as he shakes his head clear, then he slowly stands and pats the dust and pebbles off his form. “Only one man managed to find that weakness so quickly- No, you found it even quicker than him.”

I tilt my head at that. “I presume you speak of Maxim.”

He nods, a tinge of respect flashing past his eyes. “And after that, he defeated me in one blow.” His lips part in a feral grin, eyes once more filled with battle-lust. “Think ya can do the same?”

I file that information at the back of my mind, then grin at Nemea. “I’m sure I could… But that wouldn’t be enjoyable at all, don’t you think so?” I rest my free hand on the pommel of my sword, feeling it purr and vibrate with delight.

Nemea stirs and straightens himself, goosebumps raised all over his arms yet again.

“After all…” I breathe in and slowly draw my purring blade, my Sword Will flaring to life, dicing the stray leaves falling all around us into nothingness. “We both wanna find out which is stronger, no?”

“My blade, or your defenses?”

Nemea breathes in sharply, grin growing more manic and feral than before.

Then he roars out with pure, genuine laughter. “Well spoken my friend!” His muscles flex and swell, his teeth sharpening and his eyes starting to truly glow.

“Fuck warming up! Fuck holding back! Fuck fighting the goddamn Leviathan!” The man roars out with laughter, jabbing a finger towards my chest.

“I wanna fight you! That’ll be much better than that fuckin’ Great Beast!” His upper body bends forward, like a beast about to pounce on a prey. “No holds barred, come at me with everything you got!”

“I’ll repay you with the same honor!”

A burst of familiar energy surges out of Nemea, energy I believe to be Mana. It flows out of him like water pouring out of a dam being opened, coating the huge man in an aura of golden energy with tints of crimson.

                                                               “Xýpna, Chrysó Liontári!”

I raise a brow when golden fur starts growing on his arms and chest, his hands becoming more like the feral claws of a beast than the hands of a human being.

Even his head morphs, the front stretching out to create a long lion-like jaw, snarling and growling ferally.

That chant… It was Greek, wasn’t it?

Wonder what it means. I know Latin, but not Greek.

Still… “Well now…” I muse with a growing grin. “Now you’ve gotten a lot more exciting!”

Nemea bares his teeth at me in a way that resembles a grin, the front of his elongated arms now resting on the ground.

I tilt my blade towards him, and it purrs with delight as I breathe in.

I breathe out, and Nemea pounces.

The ground collapses beneath his feet, and his right arm rises high in the air.

The cuts down with a straight chop as my blade glistens with ethereal light and faint Qi before cutting upward to meet his blow.

A crater forms beneath my feet at the moment of impact, and I breathe in.

Then we both move.

The air whistles sharply as we rush past each other, and I blink as I come to a stop.

Then raise a hand to tap my cheek, feeling the blood flowing down a light cut left behind by Nemea.

Then I turn around when he roars with laughter, locking eyes on his as he too turns around, right arm outstretched to show his furred palm.

And the blood staining the fur, right on the spot where my sword clashed with his hand-chop.

Such a small cut…

“You cut me!” The man roars with joyous laughter while my eyes are wide, staring at the wound left behind.

He is shocked that I cut him, while I am shocked at how little the wound I left behind is.

If this man could cultivate, he’d be a terrifying Body Cultivator.

Even my blade is shocked at the ensuing result from our clash.

After all… This man just tanked a blow from a Spirit Weapon with his body alone.

It’s true that I am not using Qi, but this doesn’t make the achievement any worse.

This is something this man should be proud about.

And this… This stirs my fighting spirit.

Slowly, I raise my excited blade once more.

Nemea grins and turns to fully face me, the sheer excitement between us filling the air.

This time, I’m the one who pouncesforward.

The ground collapses beneath my feet, and the wind screams into my ears.

My Sword Will explodes forth, and entire trees are diced apart, collapsing down heavily upon the ground all around us.

My blade streaks through the air with an ear-piercing squeal, it’s sharp edge turning orange, then purple, then a blinding white-hot colors.

Nemea snarls with laughter and launches himself forth as I swing my blade.

A wave of force blasts forth as I slide past him while completing my swing, slicing apart even more trees and stray rocks or mounds of earth.

But I ignore all that and turn around with a grin.

Nemea’s laughter once more fill the air, and my grin grows even more as I behold the cut on his stomach, staining his golden fur with blood.

It’s a bit deeper than the previous one… But it’s still shallow!

Now this… This is what I’ve been looking for! Something actually worth cutting!

Once more, we launch ourselves at each other, clashing with enough force behind it to shake the whole fuckin’ Floor we are in.

The ground collapses behind us. Trees explode and fall over on our passage.

Each of our clashes fill the air with resounding blasts and tremors.

I’m pissed that I cannot use Qi, that I wasted such an opportunity upon that damn Leviathan. This is an insult to Nemea, who is going all out against me while I cannot reciprocate.

But it matters not. I’m still giving it my all, pushing my body to the limit to meet him in each clash.

I put every ounce of strength in my body behind each swing, each blow, each stomp of the foot.

And he reciprocates with each swing of his claws, meeting my blade without fear, filling the air with his cut fur, blood and sparks!

And my blade joyously doesn’t hold back it’s sharpness, testing the limits of it’s newly achieved growth.

I don’t even dare to blink, eyes locked completely on Nemea’s form as my Sword Will ripples through the air.

I Swing.

I Cut.

I smile.

Nemea crushes into me with a gut-wrenching crunch, my teeth gritting from the pain, yet my smile never fading away as my feet dig through the earth and roots.

My knee slams against the lower part of his jaw, rocketing his head upward- The tip of my blade lands and rests against his chest, my left arm tossing the sheath in the air before coming down to grasp the handle.

Then my right palm slams against the pommel, the force behind it cracking the ground and push Nemea backward.

I switch back to my right hand and brandish my sword, then kick off the ground and launch myself forward.

My blade purrs, and my eyes widen. So that’s what else you can do!

It’s edge flares to life with the blinding glow of Qi Strands being set ablaze, a flame-like sky-blue aura enveloping my sword and hand.

Nemea’s claws cleave through the air, while my sword falls like a meteor.

This time, there’s no resounding clash. No sparks.

My blade cleaves downward, cutting his sharp nails and descending down, rending through his fur and chest, leaving behind a massive gash going from his right shoulder to the left hip.

Blood sprays forth, it’s stench filling the air.

And I laugh.

So does Nemea.

Then his foot slams against my chest, slamming the air out of my lungs and launching me back, through trees and rock formations.

It’s gonna be a pain to get everything out of my clothes later.

I slam my feet into the ground once more, timing it perfectly and slowly grinding myself to a stop.

My hand comes up to wave some of the dust away, then pat some remnants off my shoulders just as an enormous tree is hurled at me.

My Sword Will flares, and the dismembered tree is cleaved in half in the middle, each side parting and flying past me as I walk forward without even glancing at it.

I lift my gaze to stare at Nemea’s hulking and slowly approaching form, golden fur matted with blood and dust, yet the excitement still visible in his glowing eyes.

I twirl my blade, capable of absorbing and using Qi Strands by itself. It has a limit of course, but it’s still a wonderful addition.

One I’m going to use plenty.

Nemea comes to a stop before me, and I grin up at the man. This guy respects strength, he ain’t as bad as I thought.

Shouldn’t judge a book from it’s cover, after all.

Both our arms blur through the air, my free arm – I forgot to pick up my sheath – slapping his own to deviate his swing, my other one joining in to cleave a shallow gash across his stomach.

The man grunts, and I spin under his still outstretched arm, grasping the wrist and kicking his right kneecap out.

The arm in his grasp suddenly jabs it’s elbow toward me, forcing me to dodge and giving Nemea the chance to flip and hurl a fist towards my chest.

I raise my sword and use the flat side to block the punch, which impact against it with the force of a goddamn freight train, launching me off my feet.

I flip through the air and brandish my sword, stabbing it into the earth to halt my momentum, then launch myself forward and swing it, launching it forth like a missile.

Nemea snarls and swings his arm, deflecting the blade with a thunderous metallic crash that could shatter windows- Then both of my feet hammer into his chest, launching his ass off his feet and into the ground.

My own back hits the ground, and we both jump back up at the same time, my sword coming down right beside me, allowing me to snatch it out of the air and giving it a twirl as it purrs.

Qi Strands are ignited within the blade, and I spin as a corona of blinding ethereal light flares around the blade.

Nemea releases a sharp hiss through his nostrils and cross his arms, and I finish my spin with an upward swing resembling the perfect swing of a Golf Club.

But this one doesn’t launch a small ball, but a coruscant wave of light in the shape of a crescent moon, which booms into existence with an ear-piercing screech.

The forest parts like the red sea as the crescent moon travels forth, growing faster and faster until an earsplitting crack shakes the very air as the wave of pure force and Qi breaches the Sound Barrier.

The juggernaut of a man is hammered into one of the walls of the floor with speeds exceed seven-hundred miles an hour, yet he walks out of the plume of dust and debris with a manic light in his eyes, dripping with blood and pebbles.

His furred fists clashed before his chest with inhuman force, releasing a blast of force in all direction while the man cracks his necks.

Then snaps forward with a feral laugh, like that of a hyena.

His form blurs through the debris and fallen trees, appearing high above me within a few seconds, fists cupped together and coming down like artillery salvo.

Another plume rises high in the air, far above the massive trees of the floor, decimating the forest all around us.

His fists decimate the floor and trees, tearing through the air with unmatched ferocity. He was all attack, attack, attack, and more attack.

No defense, no retreat, just pure fucking aggression.

And that I fucking respect.

“This is what I live for!” The man roars, his excitement giving way to seemingly deeply repressed rage.

His fist impact against my slash. A shock-wave releases forth. Sparks fly.

“What I always wanted!” Qi Strands are ignited, my shoulder smashing into Nemea’s chest, staggering back.

Another corona of ethereal light wrap around my blade. “Fight ‘till I can’t anymore! Until I either die, or win, or lose!” I lean back, stray hair getting caught and cut by Nemea’s still sharp broken claws.

Free hand comes up, fingers rest against his solar-plexus. My feet dig into the ground, my whole body spins and puts everything into a one-inch punch that ruptures the earth below us.

Nemea flips through the air with a snarl and digs his claws through roots and stone to stop his momentum, pouncing forward on all four like a lion chasing a gazelle.

“To prove myself against the Great Beasts, to see who is greater!” Fury replaces excitement, and I let my blade gather and compress Qi as I use it to block Nemea’s meteoric fist.

My back hammers against the ground hard enough for me to ricochet off of it, a grunt escaping my lips.

My ankle is grasped, and my body is slammed into the ground before hurled through the air.

I hiss lowly and shake away the dizziness and pain, regathering myself and landing on my feet just in time to see Nemea punch an enormous tree off it’s foundations. “I wish to challenge those creatures! The make history by ridding the world of their presence!”

The tree collapses to the ground with a sound akin to two trucks crash against each other at full speed as I straighten myself and breathe in, watching the juggernaut of a man wrap it’s massive arms around a tenth of the enormous tree and lift it with ease.

“But my Captain is too much of a fucking pussy to go after ‘em!” The man howls with white-hot fury while swinging the giant tree at me like a goddamn baseball bat.

I flicker my Sword Will and cleave the tree apart, leaving Nemea to hurl what was left in his arms my way- Something I swat to the side with ease.

“I thought that following him would allow me to grow stronger, but no!” Each of his step cause the very ground to quiver and shake, like the warning of an approaching stampede of giants. “I fucking stagnated!”

Anger surged up my chest at that.

“Never follow someone.” My father’s words rang in my head, a distant memory of cherished times and moments. “Never stand in their shadows. Cast your own, and make it so fucking massive that you eclipse the goddamn planet.”

“Words to fucking live by!” Nemea roars, and I realize I repeated them out loud.

I flare my nostrils and flick my heated gaze up to the approaching man. “Never seek other ways to strength.” I growl out, a part of me hating the fact that this man became subservient to another just to seek more power.

“This… Falna, I may not know how it works, but it’s clearly reliable.” I flick my chin at him. “Look what it made. Look what your hard-work achieved.”

Slowly, Nemea comes to a pause. “You don’t need anyone else. Nothing else. Just yourself and your own drive. Your Will.”

“The greater your desire, the greater your drive, the greater the rewards. And all of that hard-work, all that sweat, tears and blood… All of it will feel mad-fuckin’ good when one of the Great Beasts lay dead before your feet.”

I relax my stance and give Nemea a look. “The Leviathan’s scales are nothing compared to your defense.” My words stun the man, his eyes widening in shock. “Be proud, Nemea. You’re strong.”

“And you achieved that. No one else.”

The juggernaut of a man shakes, then slowly breathes in through his nostrils. A fang-filled grin stretches on his jaws, excitement back within his glowing eyes. “Things are gonna be interesting with you around.”

I sigh softly at that, “And here I wanted a peaceful life.” This is entirely my fault- No, it’s Meteria’s fault! She’s the one that found me!

Yes, I’ll blame her. And tickle her even more once I get back.

Nemea snorts and rolls his shoulders. “Shall we finish up, then?” I pause, then hum and give my own left shoulder a roll.

Yeah, my body kinda aches. I can’t tank too many of his blows before they start hurting a bit too much.

I’d be able to do more with Qi, but alas… Oh well, this was still very fun. It’s nice to let loose without fear of killing.

The man grins and slams his palms against his bloodied chest, releasing a sound akin to drums of war that reverberate through the forest. “Then hit me with your strongest blow!” He challenges, and I grin ferally.

Now that’s all I needed to hear.

I breathe in and lift my blade, a low hum escaping my lips. You deserve a name.

It vibrates in my hand, sending a feeling through our connection, and I hold back a snort.

Fine then, your name shall be Bladey!

Mostly inspired by Meteria’s lovely childishness. Gods I miss that girl so much.

I chuckle softly and brandish Bladey, then breathe in and lift it high in the air.

My other hand rises up to grasp the grip too, and Nemea tenses and readies himself.

“This was fun!” I call out with a grin and genuine smile as a low whine started flowing out from Bladey.

Deeply contained and compressed energy flows forth with a sound akin to a jet’s exhaust engine, a sharp glow of coruscant energy overflowing out of the blade and casting it’s radiance all around me and the surrounding destroyed terrain.

I feel Bladey push itself to the limit of it’s new capabilities, and I let out a shaky breath.

My right foot rises and stomps forward, my body tenses and the muscles on my arm flex and swell.

And my Sword Will explodes forth, locking down on Nemea.

A flash of fear flickers across his eyes from that, the radiance from my blade reaching a peak.

And I swing it down with every ounce of strength I have left.

No technique, no nothing. Just a simple slash holding all of my strength and Bladey’s capabilities.

The radiance peaks and blooms like a rising sun in the Dungeon, and the light was accompanied by a monumental blast of force as the forest erupted.

A pillar of force rent the air, the ground, the forest, the ceiling and the Dungeon itself, a column of shattered debris, bark, leaves and dust rising in the air while resembling a mushroom cloud.

An earthquake followed, the earth groaning like a beast being woken up as it cracks, splinters and collapses into enormous chunks and pieces.

Trees subsequently groaned and collapsed, others stirred with the loud rusting of millions of leaves being pushed around by the shock-wave and typhoon of air that followed the blast, filling the vacuum of air it created as it passed by.

And before this all happened, I saw it. Instead of dodging, or just standing there… Nemea launched himself at my blow.

Mans got balls of steel, that’s for sure.

I cough and wave my stiff arms through the air, Bladey much dimmer than usual, fully and utterly spent, yet sated and happy.

This fight was satisfying.

I walk forward, past demolished ground and a trench left behind by my final attack.

Still, as I do so, I fall into my thoughts. “Don’t stand in anyone’s shadow, huh…?” I feel like that’s what I’m doing.

Am I not seeking strength through ways given to me by another?

I’m not dumb. I’ve had this thought since I first noticed those memories added into the mix when I was but a baby.

They didn’t come from birth, but suddenly, when I woke up.

No dreams, no nothing. Just sudden memories on how to cultivate and do alchemy.

It’s amusing, as it’s one of the tropes from those damn novels… But it’s also terrifying.

I’ll have to confront this… guestof mine. If they can even be called a guest.

I don’t even know how to confront them, or if I’ll even be able to since they surely know everything I am thinking about right now.

I sigh and slowly come to a stop before Nemea’s downed form, having gone back to a human body.

His chest was covered in blood, all from a massive deep gash at the center of his chest that started below his neck and went down to his lower stomach.

Nearly cut the fucker open, huh?

“You alright dude?” I call out, and he grunts heavily.

“Hurts like a bitch.” I snort and shrug.

“You asked me to hit you, so…” His very mature response is to give me the middle finger.

I chuckle and shake my head, then offer him my hand. He claps it with a grunt, and I help him back up to his feet.

And then I get bonked. Hard.

I turn around with a very annoyed look on my face, meeting the equally annoyed look on Juno’s face, the woman now hugging the sheath of my blade while tapping her foot on the ground.

“Excuse you?”

She sniffs. “You ain’t excused.” I grab the sheath when she tosses it my way, then store away Bladey while noticing the rest of the Hera Familia behind her, together with Zald and Leonidas. “Scared the shit out of me when I saw you two idiots fighting. Thought I had to go and start a War Game on the Zeus Familia.”

I don’t need to turn around to feel the very not-amused look on Nemea’s face. “You’re always so eager to start a War Game on us, huh?”

Again, Juno sniffs. “Always.” She then relaxes her shoulders with a sigh, “Well, at least it was with you. You’re much better than those other idiots.”

Nemea’s face turns deadpan. “Doesn’t take much to be better than Socrates.” He points out flatly, almost offended.

“Hear hear!” Everyone choruses, and I nearly gape at the sheer union of hate towards the old man.

“Anyway…” I sigh out and groan as I roll my shoulder with a wince. “I’m gonna go grab a Pill and get healed up, cause this motherfucker tackled my shit harder than the goddamn Leviathan did.” And of course Nemea puffs up smugly.

“I’m gonna let these wounds heal naturally so that they scar. I’ll wear them with pride.” I pause and give the giant of a man a look.

Juno does the same. “Dude, your organs might fall out at any second.” She points out flatly, but the man doesn’t flinch.

In fact, he shrugs without care. “Ain’t the first time.” Ex-fuckin’-cuse me!?

Juno blinks, then lifts her head up to stare at the ceiling above in realization. “Oh yeah, Lady Hera.”

What?!

“I feel like there’s a story behind that…” A story I really want to know.

Juno snorts and jabs her thumb towards Nemea’s shivering form. “Zeus came to spy on us bathing, this guy came to retrieve his ass. Lady Hera misunderstood, fucked ‘em both up.”

Nemea shrinks in on himself and pales. “That woman is fucking terrifying…”

I…

I have no words.

It’s like dealing with Meteria. Both her and Lady Hera do things out of my possible comprehensive capabilities.

But now I’m curious… “What’s the worst thing Lady Hera ever did?”

Everyone pales the moment I ask that, making me blink in confusion.

Kirin is the one to speak up, nervously coughing into her fist beforehand. “I think it was around a century ago, but… Lady Hera one day got so drunk that she wandered inside the Dungeon… Five minutes later, all of Orario started shaking, and she came out of the Dungeon while riding on the shoulders of a Minotaur and laughing manically.”

“Then hordes of monsters followed suit.” I gape at Kirin, and she nods lowly. “Whatever she did, she pissed off the Dungeon. A lot.”

Jesus fuckin’ Christ…

“Ain’t she banned from ever going near the Tower of Babel cause of that?” Nemea asks curiously.

Everyone quietly nods.

Then, as one, everyone decides to move on from this seemingly Taboo subject. Maybe because we are in the Dungeon.

And you know what? Fair.

So Hera very likely shit-talked the Dungeon into going all crazy and flood the city with monsters, somehow.

...And we left that Goddess alone with Meteria.

Oh God…

                                                                                 xxxXXXxxx

“So, now, this game is a different version than a rather boring one.” Hera starts, slowly moving Meteria into the right position. “This one I call Wack-The-Nuts!”

Zeus struggled futilely on the ground, tied up and screaming with bloodshot eyes, legs spread wide towards the large metal bar in Meteria’s curious hands.

“It’s a game we play with filthy perverts that deserve death!” Hera cheerfully explains to her child, clapping her hands happily together.

Meteria nods with a sweet smile of her own. “I understand, Lady Hera!” Hera pats the girls proudly, face beaming with pure pride and joy. “So then, I just swing?”

The Goddess nods. Zeus squeals and shakes his head.

Meteria’s sweat smile turns into a very cruel one the moment she lowers her gaze to the struggling perverted God. “Hehehehe, I’ll make your nuts go ‘Nyoooom’ through the air!”

The metal bar rises as Meteria preps the swing, a sweet and adorable smile with two big cute dimples on her cheeks back on her face. “That’s what you get for trying to stare at something owned by Riley!”

And then the bar falls, and Meteria swings with all the strength she could possibly muster.

“Nyoooom!”

The metal bar perfectly slams right between Zeus’s legs.

The God twitches and starts foaming at the mouth.

Hera sniffs and wipes the tears of pride dripping down her cheeks.

“I grew up that girl myself. I did such a good job…” Hera sighs with a smile… then she blinks when Meteria starts waking the absolute crap out of Zeus’s unconscious form.

Meanwhile, thunder rumbled menacingly high in the cloudy dark skies above Orario.

And as lighting flashes and lights up the pitch-black clouds, a lone enormous shadowy shape could be seen stirring behind them.

A.N. I don’t think I can apologize enough for the wait on the chapter.

I fell deep and hard in the depressive funk, and it led to a sort of lack of desire to write.

It was further fueled by the guilt that I wasn’t giving you all anything after so long, so… I can’t apologize enough.

I think I’m back now, and I shall try to deliver another chapter soon. Maybe a bit shorter or sum’.

So yeah, I’m sorry for the wait, but thank you for your patience.

Lots of love, hugs and kisses to y’all!

Toodles!