DANMACHI: The Silence's Heir (OC x Freya)

Chapter 3

LADY ASTRAEA

It had been nearly ten hours since she had sent that kid after her familia members. From the intel the guild had provided, she knew that her children had gone to the 30th floor to deal with Rudra's familia.

In normal circumstances, sending only one adventurer as backup into such a deep floor was simply suicide. And yet he was not a regular adventurer, and as she stood outside the dungeon she prayed in her heart for the safety of her children—all her children.

She had called in a favor and managed to obtain the services of Riveria, who had arrived an hour ago and was amongst the best healers in all of Orario.

"If they are deep in the 30th floor, it would take even a team of Level 4s more than twelve hours to reach that level," the High-elf added and she bit her lip, knowing her assessment to be true.

"I know, but he will make it," she said, choosing to believe in her newest child.

The High-elf looked towards her and frowned.

"Just who did you send as their reinforcement? The only person who could make it to the 30th floor in such a short time would be either Warlord Ottar or Vana Freya Allen Fomel," Riveria added as her gaze glinted.

"But both of them are away from Orario on a quest for the guild," and that was a shame, yet she could not reveal her secret yet. Not yet, she would face all the consequences of her action later, but right now, she needed to protect her children.

And then she felt it. As her heart lept up, she looked up and saw it first—a small group rushing out of the dungeon.

As she caught a glimpse of those red hairs, her heart eased, as she could easily recognise them even from afar.

"Alise," she gasped out as she saw her children running out of the dungeon, and yet they were only half.

Of the nine that had left, only four emerged from the dungeon, and all of them looked haggard and tired. And she buried the pain, as the implication dawned on her as she rushed towards them.

"Alise," she said as Riveria joined them and began to heal them. She saw Kaguya huffing, clutching her shoulder, missing an arm. While Lyra plopped to the ground, her whole face caked in blood, her eyes gone.

And then there was Leon, she simply stood there dazed and pale, unmoving.

"What happened?" she asked Alise and the captain of her familia looked to be on the verge of passing out. Her radiant red eyes had become hollow and had dark circles around them as she looked her in the eye.

"It was a trap," and that was all she needed to hear. Her intuition had been right.

"We had them encircled on the 30th floor, but then they summoned it," Alise continued as she looked down at her hands.

"A monster unlike anything I have ever seen," Alise continued as Riveria healed the rest of the group, and both Kaguya and Lyra seemed to have passed out from exhaustion.

"AN irregular," and that explained much more. Most monsters had specific levels at which they appeared, and yet irregulars broke these rules. Monster of variable patterns spawning at any place and laying havoc.

"It killed everyone. Everyone," Alise gasped, and Astraea closed her eyes as she prayed for the departed souls of her children.

"All because I was not strong enough..." Alise continued, her voice shaky as she looked to the ground.

And then, for the first time, she spoke. Ryu, who seemed to be dazed, opened her mouth.

"We left him there," and those words made her still as Riveria turned towards the blonde elf.

"Who? Who did you leave down there?" the green-haired elf questioned, and Ryu looked up at her.

"Him, that boy," she added, and she saw Riveria look towards her.

"This goes beyond familia business. We are now dealing with an irregular on a mid-level floor that has slaughtered hundreds of adventurers, so I am going to need you to tell just who it was that you sent down there. Astraea-sama," the executive from Loki familia rounded up on her, and she bit her lip.

And then before she could open her mouth, it was Alise who spoke up.

"It was him wasn't it," she began as she looked her in the eye, and she knew that one of them would figure it out soon enough. After all, they were the ones who had faced the Witch all those years ago.

And at her nod, she saw Alise's eyes and gaze turn hollow as she gave a broken smile.

"I knew that I had seen that magic before, those short chants and those sound-based attacks," she said as she chuckled weakly and looked to the ceiling.

"Short chants. Sound-based attacks," Riveria repeated as her brows arched before suddenly the haired elf's face paled as she turned towards her.

"Don't tell me you approached him," she asked her, and there was no use in hiding this anymore as she nodded.

"How could you? Have you sensed just whose son he is? But from what I know, he is a middling Level 3. Even Alise is a level 4, and so are the rest of your familia. He should not have been able to..." and then the high elf's eyes widened as she realised the true breadth of her crime.

"No, you did not," and Astraea nodded as she closed her eyes and confessed to her crime.

"I blessed him with my falna..."

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And then hours passed. Kaguya, Lyra, and Cisty were taken to the guild's healing wards and were given treatment. Riveria had long left, rushing back to her Goddess to probably tell on her crime.

She would have much preferred to be by the side of her children, yet she had been drawn to the dungeon entrance by Alise's and Ryu's argument.

"We have to go and help him," Ryu roared, as she was tired and injured. Alise tried to stop her friend.

"You are in no position to enter the dungeon again. Look at your injuries. You will just be killed," Alise roared stubbornly, pushing back the blonde-haired elf as she could do nothing but watch.

"But we left him there. Against that thing, we have to go there, isn't that what we stand for? Isn't that the justice we strive to bring to this world," Ryu roared as Alise's lips thinned as she looked to the floor.

"Sometimes we must make the hard choices to protect those dear to us," and with that, Alise took out her sword and looked Ryu in the eye.

"And though it may stand against my ideals. It may make me the biggest hypocrite in the world, but you are dear to me Ryu. And in order to save you, I shall stand here in your way, no matter what you say," Alise said as Ryu bit her lip.

"Let me go, Alise," Ryu pleaded weakly. And of all her children, she was the most fragile, the one who clung to ideals in this cruel world. And seeing her so broken hurt her, broke Astrarea, yet there was nothing she could do as she saw a red aura bubble around Alise.

"You shall not pass," Alise declared as a green hue covered Ryu.

"Get out of my way. Alise!" she roared as she took out her sword. As she tried to speak up, Alise spoke up first.

"Why are you so hell-bent on killing yourself, Ryuu? It has been hours since we left that floor, that hell. By now he would already be de...."

And then she saw it, as her heart skipped a beat as a silhouette appeared behind Alise, leaving behind a trail of scarlet blood in its wake.

And his face was unrecognizable from the blood that now caked his face and hair. Yet, Astraea was able to recognize those eyes in a glance as the boy let go of the massive bag on her back, which fell to the ground with a thud, finally making Alise aware of the presence behind her.

Alise turned slowly and paled as she saw the person standing behind her.

"You...!"

"You...!"

All three of them gasped as they recognized the boy—who was drenched in death itself, emanating a presence, unlike anything she had ever felt.

"I brought the remains of your friends. I knew that you would want to give them a proper burial," he said to Alise, who finally looked at the massive bag and realized just what was inside it.

And then he threw another little bag to the floor, and she watched as the head rolled out into her feet, belonging to an adventurer.

"He was the one responsible for what happened to your children, Astraea," he said, turning towards her and looking her in the eye.

"Jura Halmer," Alise gasped as she saw that head and opened her mouth as Ryu emptied her stomach and fell to her knees.

"Since I couldn't save all your children. I kind of owe you a bit. So, I am gonna go and clear this all up," and with that, he began to walk out of the building, heading out of the dungeon.

"Where are you going?" she asked with a shaky breath.

"As I said, to finish my end of the bargain," and at that he turned to look at her and she finally noticed those eyes, they had become crimson red, matching the blood that covered his face.

"I am going to put an end to the Rudra familia for you."

0000

GOD RUDRA

Humans were so interesting creatures, so filled with greed and ambition, each more unique than the other. Their lives were so short, but a blip in the grand scheme of things.

And yet they were an amalgam of all the facets of Gods themselves, born with their lust, their love, their ambition, their wellness, and their evil as well.

Rudra had been brought back on Tenkai and, like the rest of the guards up there, had decided to come down here to enjoy himself. He had enjoyed himself much, allowing his children to do as they pleased, allowing them to nurture their darkest desires, for he was Rudra, the God of Storms, Thunder, Poison, and Hunt.

He did not care for balance; he cared for human desire and cared little about what they would do to achieve that.

It was why he had joined the alliance of Evilus, to see how far he could make them fall, how far could these puny little creatures push in their depravity.

And yet all their plans had failed their greatest asset, Erbeus's plans foiled by the combined might of Orario's strongest, and since then, him and his familia had lay hidden, hiding in the underbelly of the city, as those bitches from Astraea familia hunted him and his children, killing many of them.

Not that it mattered to him.

After all, each of them had killed many as well, for they were evil incarnate.

And soon enough, those pesky little girls from Astraea would be no more trouble. Jura, his captain, had organized a rather elaborate plan to take care of their familia, which was becoming a threat on their side.

"It must be done by now," he commented as he looked at the dark skies above and sat on one of the beams, keeping the roof up in their little taverns.

BOOOM!

And then he felt it, in an instant, as the door to their little establishment was struck open, as a sole figure stood there. A mere child of middling height, covered from head to toe in caked blood, and he saw his members perk up immediately as the boy threw a bag on the floor, and out of it, a head rolled out.

"Juraa!" his children recognized the face much like him, and he was intrigued now as he saw the kid step in.

"WHO ARE YOU!" "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!"

The kid looked up, and he saw his red eyes gleam across the room as he whipped out his blade. he noticed the blood dripping down it as the boy opened his mouth.

"I am Vengence," and they all realised his intentions. Though many of them had left with Jura for his campaign, many had remained back and now took out their weapons.

"You think you can kill one of ours and just walk in here! YOU HAVE SOME NERVEEEE!" they shouted as they surrounded him with their weapons and prepared to attack, yet the kid's face showed no emotions.

"ATTACK!" and more than a dozen of his children fell on him, their blades drawn, spears aimed and daggers at the ready as they tried to end him.

"Ataraxis!" he watched as a grey hue covered the boy. None of the attacks managed to get through that shield, and the boy looked up and opened his mouth once more.

"Gospel!"

BOOOOM!

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"HAHAHAAHAHAHA! HAAA! HAHAHA!" Rudra laughed as he watched the carnage infront of him, watched the corpses of his children littered on the floor as that sole kid walked forward through the rampaging fires, unbothered at the hundreds he had just slain.

"You are her child. That Witch's child," he had realized his identity halfway through the battle, recognizing those spells, for he had been there to witness her might once as she had joined Erbeus and their group in trying to bring change to this world.

"In many ways you are just like her, so uncaring of life. Filled with potential, and yet you do all this for what," he balked.

"Those outsides shun you, discredit you—a child for the actions of a mother. You may have killed them all today, but soon enough many more will be born like them, filled with evil. They shall turn to me once more, and I shall take them in, for that is what a God is," he said as he put forward his hand.

"Just as I would take you in," he offered knowing full well of how the boy had been denied a falna by the socalled Gods of Orario.

"Join me, O Child of the Witch, and I shall allow you to do as you plea..."

"Shut up," the boy's voice made him still as he looked up and saw a silvery aura rushing off of his body, and then as the boy looked him in the eyes, and those red amber eyes of his made him shiver as he continued.

"You are right in a way. There will be many more like them, many who will wish to take your blessing to do evil on this Earth," the boy began as he swung his blade, cleaning the blood off of it.

"That is why I am going for a rather permanent solution," and his eyes perked up at that.

"HHAHAHAHAHA!" he laughed as he put a hand on his face.

"You think you can do it. Kill me! A GOD!" he asked as he let loose his powers to show the little human his place and thoughts. Gods could not use their powers on this lower world. They could show a glimpse of it, and he felt his arcanum fill the room.

"You are but a pathetic human. A measly creature made only for our entertainment, and you dare think that you could kill me, RUDRA, THE GOD OF STORMS!" he repeated as the skies thundered and winds began to blow, as the boy was forced to his knees.

And yet, those red eyes continued to glare at him. Suddenly, the silvery hue appeared once more as he heard the boy whisper.

"O Mother! Give me strength!"

BOOM!

The silvery light exploded as he saw the ground beneath the boy's feet crack as he pushed himself back to his feet.

"Limit Off!"

The energy coming off of the boy increased many folds, and he watched as the black mark running down his eye expanded, as if threatening to cleave his body into two as the boy looked him in the eye.

CRACK!

At that moment, Rudra felt a bead of sweat fall down his forehead as he stared at the beast in front of him.

0000

Outside of Orario, two adventurers were riding on a carriage as they made to return to the city. They were a mismatched pair, with one being a gigantic Boaz and the other a thin and lean cat person. And they were amongst the strongest adventurers of Orario, belonging to its strongest familia.

They were Ottar the Warlord, the slayer of Glutton, and Allen Fromel, Vana Freya.

And as they watched a massive light erupt from the city infront, cutting across the clouds above and reaching into the skies, they both perked up and addressed the driver of the carriage simultaneously.

"Stop."

"Stop."

The driver was surprised as well and halted the carriage as the two adventurers stepped out the carriage, eyes pinned to the blinding light that had erupted from the city infront.

"That light, there is no doubt," Allen Fromel began as his gaze narrowed.

"That was a god going back to the heavens," he continued, and Boaz nodded as he threw a pouch toward the carriage drawer.

"Let's go." And with that, they both jumped forward, using all their speed as two of Orario's strongest as they rushed towards the city.

0000

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