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

Chapter 4

GODDESS LOKI

It had been two years since the defeat of Evilus, and though the people of Orario thought the great evil of Evilus was gone, the truth couldn't be further from that. The reality was that the evil named Evilus persisted to this day, it had only gone into hiding, burying itself deep into the cloak of anonymity as it had in the days of Hera and Zeus.

And neither her nor Freya's familia had the time to root it out in absolution, for could one even truly eradicate evil from this world. And so, they all continued in their way of life, keeping a lid on the evil hidden in the shadows, though there were a few that still clung to the idea of absolute peace.

Astraea and her girls had yet to give up where she and Freya had, and they fought Evilus to this day and were reasonably successful at it. Ganesha familia did the same in their efforts to get revenge and maintain peace in the city.

Though Loki cared little for these things, she was much more concerned with the girl lying down beneath her. Her little Ais-chan had begun to truly blossom ever since that time, and was on ehr way at becoming the youngest level 5 this city had ever seen.

"Get away from me," the little golden child whispered as she looked at her.

"Stupid goddess, she threatened, and Loki knew better than to get on the bedside of the little Princess as she backed off.

"Hahahaa, you have made quite an improvement, Ais-chan," she said as she passed him along her stat sheet. The girl went over the numbers, her face impassive as ever.

Had it been any other Adventurer, they would be jumping out for joy right now at the progress they had made, and yet she was not bothered at all. Perhaps this was what made her 'Kenki' the 'Sword Princess.' And to think there were more monsters like her in her era.

"Good. I got strong. I need to get even more strong," she said, nodding so very adorably as she threw the page into the fire, melting her heart.

"What will you do to poor old me, Aiz-cha..."

"LOKI-SAMA! LOKI-SAMA!" suddenly, the door to her chambers was stuck open, and she perked up as she saw an out-of-breath Riveria entering her office.

Riveria Ljos Alf was one of the aces of Loki familia, a high elf whose street lay in healing and area of effect magic. In many ways, she, along with Fiene, formed the backbone of her familia.

And there were only a few things in this world that could unsettle the green-haired elf.

And so, in an instant, the jolly Loki was gone, and the Goddess Loki took her place. She stood tall, looked the elf in the eye, and asked.

"What happened?" she asked, her heart racing as Aiz-chan perked up as well; she was, after all, rather close to Riveria as well.

"We have a problem," Riveria began as she stood tall and looked her in the eye.

"Lady Astraea's familia went into the dungeon, to the 30th floor to deal with Rudra familia, a member of..."

"Evilus," she finished, having already heard about the campaign. Astraea had offered them a chance to collaborate, but she was done with Evilus and did not want to lose any more of her children to that damned cult.

"But they walked into a trap," and she clicked her tongue. Had this been the reason why Astrea had called for Riveria earlier? And so, if she was here, the...

"And in order to save her children, she sought his aide," and the way Riveria looked at Aiz at the mention of 'his,' she knew just who she was referring to. And her eyes widened as she saw Aiz click the dots.

And there was no need to elaborate on just who that child was. A remnant from the era of Zeus and Hera, the son of one of the greatest traitors this city had ever seen, a boy who threatened everything she and Freya had built.

Inumaki-the Silent.

The boy had inherited all of his mother's talent and was a menace that could unravel everything that she and Freya had built over the years, ending their hegemony. That was the power of an irregular, and yet, despite all the troubles the boy caused, they could not get rid of him.

If not for all the potential that would be wasted, then for the warning she had left them with.

And thankfully after those damned seven days there had been much resentment for the Silent witch—resentment which would then turn to her one offspring who would be thought an accomplice in her treason. And so, it would become an unspoken rule that the boy could not be allowed to rise through the ranks.

And yet, someone had broken that pact.

"Lady Astraea blessed his falna and had him go in to save her children. He returned a few minutes ago, after defeating an Irregular that slaughtered half of Astraea familia," and that news made her click her tongue.

"Tsk," there was that monstrous strength that had brought Orario to its knees just a few years ago. Couldn't you have died a widow, you damned Silent Witch. Why did you have to leave behind another monster like that?

"How strong was the irregular?" she asked, and Riveria seemed to think about it for a second.

"I cannot say, but from the words of Alise Flovell, the Astraea captain, it was so powerful that it basically toyed with them, and they are all Level 4s, good and strong levels 4's," she added, and Loki nodded that was proof enough of that boy's heritage.

"Where is he now?" she asked, as her mind whirled on how they would deal with this.

"He killed the captain of the Rudra familia and said that he is going to deal with the rest," she told her and she sighed. That made things worse.

"Have a messenger sent to Freya and gather all the elites you can," she commanded as she picked up the cloak from the chair.

"We shouldn't deal with this by ourselves," she said as Aiz stepped forward.

"I will go, too." And then suddenly, she felt it. The whole city shook as an explosion, and she looked out the window and saw a massive cloud of smoke emerging from one of the corners of the city.

"Tsk. It seems he has already gotten started."

0000

INUMAKI-The Silent

The world of Orario was far more complicated than he had thought. It was filled with dread, pain, and death at every corner, and Inumaki had been unlucky to be born into one of the city's darkest times, bearing on his shoulders the burden of the heaviest legacy that had ever been created in this city.

It was in the nature of an adventurer to look forward, to leave behind their pasts and their pains as they looked to the glory of the future to let it empower them through their labors. That was what made them adventurers, made them walk into the death trap that was the dungeon every day, even though hundreds around them never made the journey back.

And yet there were those who saw the mortality waiting for them, and ace of the Hera familia, the talent incarnate herself had been one of those people. Born with the greatest of talents, Alfia the Silent was the greatest adventurer Orario had seen, her talent, despite being hampered by the congenital illness made her one of the strongest adventurers in the city.

And yet, as a young Alfia looked into the future, she did not see the glory others saw; she saw death; she saw mortality where others saw the illusion of immortality. And because of that vision, and the burden of being the blessed child of the heaven she felt it her duty to give this world a chance beyond her own self. Give the people of this city and the world a chance to fight against the bitter fate lest threads of fate decide to thrust them all into destruction and abandon them.

And this very sense of duty would lead to her giving birth to an heir, one who could carry her burden even after her death. The cost of the elixirs, potions, and artifacts required to make this grand task a possibility was said to range into millions, and yet Alfia was not lacking for money, and neither were her Goddess who supported her in all this.

And so, he was born, a miracle in ways more than one. Blessed with a falna right in the womb, he was the contingency plan left by Alfia for this world. It was a heavy burden for anyone to carry, let alone a child.

But he was no ordinary child, and with one look at his abilities, Alfia had realized the same thing. She had her salvation, and so she raised him to be that very thing. Training him, giving her all she could for the short time they had together.

And then she had to make it all complicated by joining that damned Erbeus in his suicide quest.

He truly wished he could hate that sire excuse for a mother now, and yet as he sat in the broken ruins of Rudra familia, he knew that it was her he had to thank for all his powers, for unlike her she was not born with the ailment, and yet had nearly all of the very same skills that made Alfia, the infamous Silent Witch.

"You could have made it a little easier for me," he complained as his body seared with pain. For though he did not share Afi—his mother's weak constitution and her ailment, he did still have the limitations of a normal human being.

'Limit off' it was a magic that made one transcend the constructs of Levels and stats, allowing one to go beyond anything imaginable, allowing him to tap into the powers of Orario's blessed child, his mother. The magic, allowed him to add a portion of her stats onto his own allowing him to become the very embodiment of her for sometime.

 Yet that power came at a cost, it ate away at his very life if he pushed himself beyond the limits of his body. And he was suffering that very cost, for he had not used it once but twice in a one day going past those limits.

It was something that would have killed him had it not been for the falna update he had received from Astraea-sama.

And yet he knew he was right up there alongside his own mother in making things harder for himself. Attacking Rudra familia was one thing, but killing a God. That would have consequences, even if it was one allied with Evilus.

But he was tired and frustrated with it all, and this had allowed him to vent at the source of his problems.

And even now, thinking of that accursed organization made his blood boil. The carnage and destruction left by them in their wake from the massacre two years ago still haunted many in this city. Thirty thousand had perished in seven days, thirty thousand people gone, their lives lost to the accursed ambition of a few people.

And she had supported them in this, both her and that damned Zald, the Glutton. Giving the next generation a last boost as a parting gift.

"Idiots," he whispered as he thought of their actions. Consequently, he had been away from the city because of a mission that had turned out to be just as equally bizarre, one that had ended in teh ascension of his first patron Goddess—Hera-sama. It probably was a set up by someone, and he had an inkling to just who it was, for there was only one Goddess in Orario who bore her such ill will. A goddess who desired for nothing more than to force him to give up on his falna and join her side.

And yet that had only added to the suspicion around him as he found himself the public enemy number one, the most easy target for the Orario's hate for the devastation and destruction done by Evilus. And though much had changed in the last two years, people had begun to mellow out, but still the rumors had destroyed his whole reputation making him a poisoned apple for any God or Goddess.

No God or Goddess would give him a falna, for that would mean turning the people of the city into your enemy, and not just them. Such an action would also bring the ire of the Orario's two strongest familia. The Loki and Freya familia and few had the courage to take them on.

As he lay there, he tried to push himself up, yet his body gave up on him, and he chuckled.

"I pushed myself more than I should have," he muttered as he sighed and simply resigned himself to sitting there as he looked at the sky above. In some ways one could argue that he had not really killed Rudra, for the God had broken the cardinal rule and had used arcanum against a child of this world.

And it was only because of his bullshit powers that he still sat here. For no mere mortal could withstand a blast of a God's arcanum. Yet he doubted it would all matter much to the Guild and the rest.

By now, all of the city, must have seen that light, and it had pierced the skies. All of Orario's residents long knew what that light meant, and so all of them rushed towards him, and as he closed his eyes, he felt them first approaching his position. Nearly a dozen of them.

And so, as he opened his eyes next, he found himself encircled, with the best of the best of Orario's strongest familia all around him, being led by none other than the captain of Ganesha familia—Shakti Verma, someone who bore the strongest of grudges against him.

"You!" she snarled in rage as she gripped her spear tightly.

And yet, she was not alone. Besides her stood Riveria, and to her side was her. Even as a child, she was a menace, rivalling him in his growth. She was the little miracle child of Loki familia and his once-long friend, Aiz Wallenstein, the infamous 'Kenki.'

Above them was Finn, joined by Heidin and Allen. And behind him appeared him, Orario's strongest adventurer—Ottar the Warlord.

"It is good to see you all gathered here," he said with a smirk as he looked Shakti in the eye.

"I handled that Rudra problem for you," he said, pointing towards the carnage all around him. Shakti's face paled as she saw the pile of bodies, and Aiz tilted her head.

"You can all thank me later," he finished with a smile as Shakti bit her lip and pointed her spear at him.

"Adventurer Inumaki, you are under arrest."

0000

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