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

Chapter 5

GODDESS ASTRAEA

A Denatus had been called, an emergency one, to deal with the situation regarding the slaying of Rudra familia and the return of the God himself. The return of a God to Tenkai was not really that rare, but Rudra's return was special for it was caused by a human child.

It was a divine rule that God's descending to Earth from Tenkai would not use their powers, and yet Rudra used Arcanum. There were visible traces of it all over the ruin of his familia's secret base, and yet the God had been defeated despite the use of Arcanum, and that was a troubling sentiment.

The Denatus would decide the fate of Inumaki. For while Rudra familia was part of the Evilus. Their massacre, as it had been done, was a violation of the laws governing over Orario. People were scared, the memories from the great war two years ago had been refreshed, and there was uproar, and it was upto the Gods to settle this, and yet the truth was all in the hands of Orario's two greatest familia.

Inumaki's fate was truly in the hands of Freya and Loki familia. Had this been before the massacre, she would have been a strong voice, as well, yet her own familia had been decimated by the attack. She was not oblivious to the fate that awaited them. It was the same fate that had awaited Zeus and Hera familia after the massacre they suffered.

And the fate that awaited Inumaki-kun was even much worse. Both Freya and Loki familia had their own grudges and fears against the boy. Loki would never wish the boy well, given the danger he posed to her own familia and its influence, and would always oppose him, while Freya. Freya's grudge against Hera was well known, and she knew that Inumaki had denied her offer to join the Goddess of beauty's familia a few years ago, incurring her wrath and displeasure, and everyone knew that Freya could hold a grudge.

"Why?" she questioned the boy sitting in the specially crafted prison cell for adventurers. She had requested special permission to see the child.

"Why did you go and attack the Rudra familia?" she asked again as the boy sat there, his grey hair shining in the darkness. He stared at her with his dark eyes.

"You knew this would happen, that if you went, they would come for you?" she implored angrily, and the boy raised a brow.

"So be it. But I really couldn't break my promise to you, and more importantly, Rudra familia was a part of the Evilus. You should all be thanking me for what I have done," he replied, and she bit her lip, her fists balling as she looked him in the eye.

"You massacred them," she gritted out. She could see the reasoning for his actions, but still, as a Goddess of Justice, it unsettled her, though not as much as she was worried by the satisfaction she had felt when she had first heard the news.

As heinous as their crimes were, she could not justify a massacre, and yet when she had first heard the word of it, she had been satisfied that her children had been prevented. That her children would be safe, that it was not one of her own girls caught up in this game of revenge.

"If I hadn't done this. One of your own children would have done the same," he repeated, and she stilled at those words, knowing the truth in his words. Knowing that he was not lying.

"I have just lightened the burden for one of your children," and the image of the blonde elf girl appeared in her mind as she looked down on the floor.

"They will kill you," she spoke softly as guilt riled her heart. And she saw him smile.

"If that is what they decide," though there was one way. One way out for him.

"But not if you join Freya familia," she said, seeing his face shift, the smile gone from his face.

"I would allow it. I would beg her myself, she would gladly take you i..."

"There is no need," his voice cut in sharp and devoid of emotion, making her reel back.

"But why? She would cherish you. You would be allowed to live upto your potential, you would be a her..." and as she looked at his face, she stopped, surprised at the emotion she was feeling from him.

"Do not speak about that," he warned her, and she backed off in fear as she saw those eyes shift, the black in them becoming an ominous red as power radiated off of him.

It seems the grudge between them was still there.

"Our deal was only until I ensured the safety of your children from Rudra familia. And with the Rudra familia decimated it is complete. You need not concern yourself with my well-being anymore. We both know the falna on my back was obtained through a contract, I am not one of your children," and the words hurt her. For they were true.

She was amongst the very Gods who had shunned him for the past years, shunned him for crimes he had not committed, and now she had no right to stand here, feigning concern over him.

"You are wrong," she said as she gathered up her courage and looked him in the eye.

"You are my child. And though the falna you wear on your back was obtained through other means, you still carry my blessing, and any child who carries my blessing is my responsibility," she finished with a smile.

"Whether they like it or not," she finished as she turned away from him.

"You may have given up on yourself, but I have not. I will not. I will find a way, no matter what it takes." With that, she walked away, leaving the prison and heading for the only person who could save him, the most powerful and influential Goddess in all of Tenkai—Freya.

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Freya resided on the top most floor of the Tower of Babel, it was a representation of her wealth and power. The floors of the tower were available for rent, and the higher one, the costlier they got. Hepaesteus's familia rented a whole floor to sell their wares, while yet Freya she resided on the topmost floor, flaunting her wealth.

And as Astraea walked towards the Goddess of Beauty's solar, she felt a hundred eyes watching her every move. A part of her had expected to be denied this audience, yet she was proven wrong, and Freya had accepted her request for an audience for some reason.

Few could truly understand what went on in the mind of the Goddess of Beauty; she was an enigma, one that none would ever understand, for few could see beyond the shell of beauty that was Freya and see the emptiness inside.

As she walked through the doors, she saw her sitting there in a chair, looking over the city below from the clouds, picturesque of a deity looking down on its world.

They were alone obviously, and as she saw the chair turn to face her, she was mesmerized for a second. Even though, as a virgin Goddess, Freya's charm did not work on her, she was still affected by her beauty, which was simply inhuman as she sat there in that skin-hugging red and black dress, her light grey hair flowing behind her like a river of silver jewels, as she smiled.

"I have been expecting you for some time, Astraea," she greeted her, and Astraea was broken out of her reverie, reminded of the task she had come to accomplish.

"Why?" she asked, and she saw her eyes glint as Freya continued.

"Because I know how much you care about your children, new or old," she added with a smile as Freya leaned back.

"And then there is the matter of you touching something of mine. You must understand that there are consequences of that," Freya was straightforward, claiming Inumaki to be hers.

Apart from the general disdain associated with the boy, the real reason no God or Goddess had the courage to bless Inumaki was because of Freya, for few—and to her shame that included herself—had the courage to challenge the Goddess of Beauty, the most powerful familia in all of Orario.

"What will it take?" she asked, refusing to engage her in any bullshit, for she was desperate. Had her familia not been entirely decimated, she would have stood a chance against her, but right now, she did not wish to trouble her children any more than she had.

So, she must do this on her own.

"You care so much about the boy and your children that you came here all alone, knowing of just what you had done?" Freya asked as she rose from her chair, as she walked towards her.

"That is admirable," Freya said.

"I have always admired that about you, Astraea, yet you made a mistake," Freya said as she toucher her chin and raised it, making her look into those eyes.

"You touched, tainted something of mine. And I am quite possessive. Know that I take no pleasure in doing this, but I need to send a message," and with that, she leaned forward, placing her lips on the edge of her ear as she whispered her demand.

Astrea's whole being stilled as she heard that demand. It was cruel, and yet she had expected nothing less of Freya.

And she stood there, eyes rooted to the ground, her whole being trembling in sadness, rage, and, most of all, her own helplessness.

"Do I have your word?" she asked, and Freya nodded.

"I swear on the Styx," and she felt the arcanum hold the promise, ensuring that she would not be able to back off. Moreover, she was a proud goddess, and she doubted she would go back on her word.

"You think you can claim him for yourself like this?" she asked, and Freya's lips thinned.

"I do not care. Either he will be mine, or I shall ruin him enough that he shall have no choice but to come into my arms," Freya answered, and at that moment, for some reason she pitied the goddess infront of her.

Pitied her more than hating her.

"And you call this love?" she asked as tear welled up in her eyes, and Freya's lips thinned.

"I am not here for a lecture. If you wish to see your children, all of them, safe and sound, you will do as I say. Otherwise, you know the consequences."

A wargame. Freya's familia would be a challenge on any given day for any familia in Orario, especially for what remained of her familia. And yet that she would not need to go that far, she would just let Evilus's remains kill them, and yet she could protect them. All of them, with her sacrifice.

And the choice was easy for her.

And so, she hardened her heart, made a prayer for her children in her heart, and looked Freya in the eye.

"This will not work," she began as her body began to glow, her arcanum roaring forth.

"Maybe you will succeed for some time, but soon enough, a god or goddess will come, one who is neither enamored by your charm nor afraid of your power, and they shall unravel everything you have built," she warned her as Freya's face contorted for there was nothing more ominous than a God's words.

"You dare..."

"You may have won today, Freya. But you will lose. In the end, you will lose. I promise you this," and then she closed her eyes as she felt her being ascend the real of Tenkai.

At that moment, a streak of light emerged from the Tower of Bable, one the city was quite used to now. Just a day prior, they had observed it, and everyone watched as another God assented, leaving her children behind.

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Days later, four girls writhed on the ground at the gates of Orario, their bodies bruised and injured as one person walked away from them, a cloak covering his whole body, a rucksack hanging on his back.

"You Dare! You monster!" a blonde elf snarled in rage, as blood seeped from her wounds as she wriggled forward, inching forward as the grey-haired stranger walked away, his name and deed now known all across Orario.

He was the heir to the Silent, the slayer of Rudra familia, and the Goddess Astraea—the one goddess who had taken pity on him and blessed him with her falna. And yet, what should Orario have expected of the son of one of Orario's greatest traitors—Alfia the Silent?

"I will wait for you! I will hunt you, no matter what it takes!" the blonde elf snarled in rage as her vision blurred, as the cloaked man turned towards her, as her fists balled up.

"...I will hate you!" and as her vision darkened, she did not see a healing potion on her, and her friends, as their wounds vanished, as the stranger knelt down and covered her with his cloak, his own fists balled up as he whispered into the air.

"...I am sorry."

And the last that remained of him was that signature red spear of his, one famous all over Orario.

The Heart Piercer-Gae Bolg

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Five years later a young adventurer would catch the eyes of a Goddess while running through the streets of Orario, and the world would shift. He was small, with white hair, radiant red eyes and most importantly a soul so clear it was thought an impossibility.

He was covered from head to toe in minotaur blood, having survived an ordeal with a minotaur that had escaped the Loki familia and run down to the fifth floor, and he was saved from that Minotaur by none other than Loki Familia's ace, Aiz Wallenstein.

That boy's name was Bell Cranel.

And he had caught the eye of a very troublesome Goddess.

A very troublesome Goddess.

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