Start of September

.

.

.

----------------

/Later…/

"... Phew… They're gone…" Sophia mumbled to herself as she touched the top of her head

My sister... And that guy...

What an odd combination.

'After talking with Silver and Emma for the past hour, it was only when they left that Sophia realized just how tense she was.'

'Despite how recent he was, he rose to fame at an incredible speed, getting on the same stage as the likes of the Loki Familia.'

'It was an extreme feeling to be at the other end of a table next to him, especially when, for a moment, she might've been seen as an enemy.'

'But… At the same time, she felt light.'

'Because something she had always kept tucked away in a corner of her heart had been finally resolved.'

'Speaking the words she always wanted to her, she could now focus entirely on the future without hesitation.'

"... I'll… Go take a shower." She said slowly as she let her hair loose

'Slowly taking her shirt off, she made her way to a side room, a large bathroom.'

/Splash.../

'Soon enough, the sounds of water echoed from within.'

...

/Shua…/

'And as water splashed, someone walked inside the training room.'

'The hole on the wall had been patched, but the table still remained there, confusing the person that had just arrived.'

"..."

Not here? Weird, she's always training...

They told me she was having guests, have they left already?

A shame, I wanted to meet them too.

'She looked around, looking for her.'

'It was a girl with green eyes and long black hair which covers one of her eyes. She wore a green-centric outfit that exposes her stomach, with green flower decorations on her skirt.'

(Image)

"Hum?..."

So there's where she is...

'Hearing the water splash, the girl made her way to the bathroom with a smile on her face.'

…

/Step step…/

"Hm?"

Is someone here?

It's still too soon for the daily training of the girls, did someone forget something in their lockers again?

'Hearing the faint footsteps echo outside of her shower stall, Sophia took a peek outside to see the girl slowly approach her with a thin smile on her face.'

"Am I interrupting you?" She asked as she looked at Sophia

"Not at all, Dia-Sama."

So it was her, I got a bit worried there.

I'm too tired to order people around now, those girls are too serious for me to handle...

"Then why don't I take some of your time?" She asked with a small smile as she sat on a bench while Sophia continued her bath

"I heard quite a few things on my way here, would you mind sharing?"

They said the wall was broken, but I saw not even a crack on it.

I'm very interested...

"... Not at all…"

/Shua…/

'And under the faint steam, a story was told under the eyes of a Goddess.'

…

/A few minutes of storytelling later.../

"Oh?... Hestia, you say? I've heard quite a bit about her recently." Dia said with a smile as memories passed through her mind

Hestia...

Silver...

Interesting.

"It's been a while, to think her children would meet mine first, the fate of the mortal world is rather peculiar."

"I should've visited her sooner."

'This surprised Sophia, but not much.'

'She already knew that Dia and Hestia were acquainted with each other as they hailed from the same region within Heaven.'

'It hasn't been the first time they talked about her together, as Dia loved sharing stories with her from her time in Heaven.'

'From all of her experiences, she tried to teach everyone how to be better people and to learn from their mistakes, being seen as a big sister to many.'

'But despite their long history together, now wasn't a good time to visit Hestia…'

"You don't mean…"

"Of course, not now, it wouldn't be proper considering how busy she is." Dia replied slowly as she cut the tip of her finger, allowing a small drop of blood to fall onto Sophia's back

"Once she finishes her recruitment… We'll go there to congratulate her."

"We?..."

"Who else? Am I supposed to go alone?" She asked with a small chuckle

"And don't try to hide it, I know you want to visit your sister too."

"Also... Raise your hair, I can't quite see your back if you let them like this."

"Mhum..."

"... We'll go together when the opportunity arises… Oh?"

'As she updated Sophia's Status, Dia smiled.'

I knew it.

'As the Divine Hierogliphs flashed om her eyes, the truth of her emotions was laid bare for her to witness.'

Was it really that heavy of a weight?

"Is something wrong?"

"No, not at all…"

"In fact, how about we eat some ice cream after this?" Dia asked as she put her finger on her own lips

"S-So sudden? I still…"

There's much to do...

"Come on, it'll be fun." Dia said as she rested her head on Sophia's shoulder

"... Fine, but only ice cream, I don't have time to go around the place with you again."

"Deal."

'One smiling and the other exhaling, the two soon left to do their own things…'

'While on the other side of the city, another two made their way back home.'

'With a lot left to do and accomplish, each went to perform their responsibilities, as time waited for no one.'

'Be it the people that lived inside a castle, dreaming of conquering the world below...'

'The people that lived within a temple, admiring the divine...'

'Or the people that lived below, scheming the end of the world.'

'The sun rose and fell, and the people went to sleep as the moon overtook the skies.'

'And like that, the weeks rolled by.'

…

/3 weeks later…/

'As the moon descended back onto the earth, the sun overtook the skies, indicating the start of a new day, the first of a new month, September.'

'As the festivities started and ended, Orario moved on together with time.'

'Together with the birds as they stretched their wings and the insects left their burrows, Orario also woke up as the citizens left their homes.'

'They welcomed the start of a new day, praying for health and wealth as the golden light fell onto them from beyond the Heavens.'

'A blue sky above them and white clouds in the distance, it was a beautiful day to start a new month of their, hopefully, long lives.'

/Chatter!/

'Back in the Hearth Manor, dozens of people could be seen running around like worker ants in a hive.'

'Or like headless chickens, it depended on who you watched and at what time, because some were more lost than others.'

'Some carried boxes from one room to another, while a few others moved around in circles...'

'They all wore similar outfits, a white shirt with blue details, the official uniform of the Hestia Familia.'

'It looked casual but firm, it had been idealized by Hestia herself, albeit Silver and the poor tailors were left to design it into existence.'

'Still, with this uniform, they now looked like a proper working Familia that had been established for many years!'

/Chatter.../

'Amidst the chaotic traffic of people coming and going, holding a long list of tasks several pages long, Daphne slowly wrote with a pen as she every so often raised her head to talk with the people around her, inquiring and ordering, trying her best to fulfill the role she had been "forced" into…'

"... Oi! Is everything done in the main Hall?!" She asked out loud as she looked at an Amazon run by her

"Yes Ma'am!"

"What about the weapon racks? Have they been moved to the training grounds?"

We need them on stand-by for the physical examination...

Although, due to the number of applicants, we may have to leave it for tomorrow.

Thankfully, this time, it seems Captain was more prepared for this than when we joined...

'Daphne still remembered having to wait a few hours for things to go by, it was... A pretty tedious process.'

"Not yet, Lavir was in charge of that."

"Check up on her and report to me, those need to be ready within half an hour, we can't delay on those."

"Understood!"

"..."

Okay… So far so good.

There have been no problems so far… At least nothing significant.

All papers are in order, all equipment arrived on time, and we already prepared for this long ago, we only need to put everything together.

No one's missing, Hestia is currently putting on her clothes upstairs…

"Vice Captain, the Takemikazuchi Familia just arrived." Someone said from the side

"Huh?... They're early… Urg… Where's Cassandra?"

"She just went to welcome Leto and her children…"

"Well, sh... I mean, alright, have someone welcome them inside and lead them to where Cassandra is…"

"And please send someone to check up on Hestia, we need her here…"

Poor Cassandra won't be able to handle it at this rate.

"Vice Captain, the Miach Familia has arrived."

'Daphne froze in place.'

"What?! Why are there so many Gods arriving? This isn't a party!" Daphne complained as her forehead grew tense

Just how many people did she invite this time?!

I knew Hestia had invited some friends to help her this time, since we are indeed in need of help, but why so many?

'Frowning, Daphne relayed orders perfectly, massaging her temples as she went into deep thoughts.'

"What else… Hey! Has the Captain arrived yet?"

"Uh… Not yet, everyone's been keeping an eye out but he's nowhere to be seen."

"##!!"

Damn, that guy! He always vanishes during these times!

And he's always there when you don't need him!

Just where are you?!

…

/At the same time…/

/SLASH!/

/PIERCE!/

/ROAAR!/

"Hupp!"

'Deep in the Dungeon, a one-armed man faced wave after wave of monsters in the center of a massive circular stony arena.'

/CRUNCH!/

'He slashed, pierced, punched, slammed, and kicked while the monsters did the same, wielding weapons of their own, they swarmed him from all sides with seemingly no end.'

'They knew no fear and no tact as their sole purpose was to fight and Kill.'

'10 monsters quickly became 100, and then 1000 as their bodies pilled up around, only to be shattered and destroyed as the fight grew intense.'

'Even as the ground split and cracked, the Dungeon quickly repaired it with extreme speed, as if it had always been able of doing so, that its slow healing speed on the other floors was nothing but its holding back.'

/BOOM!/

'Explosions rang, bodies vanished, cinders splattered all around, gore painted the walls red, and all monsters vanished...'

/Crack!/

/ROAAAR!/

'Even then, the Dungeon kept creating more and more monsters as if in an attempt of killing whoever dared to step foot in this place.'

'It was truly a brutal arena, one where the only winners were the monsters, as they were endless.'

/CLANG!/

/CLING!/

'As his weapons clashed, Silver's arm started to grow weak as he grew tired.'

'How long had he fought? He didn't quite remember.'

'This time, he may have gone a bit overboard...'

/CLANG!/

'But where was he?'

'Well... This place was the famed Colleseum, a unique room of the Dungeon located on the 37th floor in the eastern section of the Warrior's ring of the White Palace.'

(For those that forgot, the white palace is an entire massive floor where each section of the caverns is contained within massive rings where different creatures and challenges are contained within)

'It was normally an area avoided by all, no matter who they were, as in this place, even Level 6 adventurers would fall given the characteristics of the room.'

'The Colleseum was located within a massive room, being surrounded on all sides by an abyss 50 meters deep and several dozen meters wide, full of massive sharp stones so dense it would be impossible to survive were they to fall inside.'

'There were four gates located in the north, south, east, and west, each with a thin bridge a few meters wide to allow access to this terrific zone.'

'But why was this place so feared?'

'Well, if it wasn't enough that this area was within the Deep Floors, being full of monsters not even adults would mention to scare their children, the room itself spawned monsters non-stop until a certain amount was reached, which is quickly replenished whenever it decreases if even by a single entity, turning this place into an endless supply of monsters.'

'Thankfully, the monsters did not leave the Arena, because they were fueled by the desire to fight each other and kill themselves on sight.'

'Only when someone approached them would they stop to pursue them to the ends of the earth.'

'If a place like this were to appear on the upper floors, then an area like this might've been used to make quick money, but this was far from the surface, the very idea of using this place for that purpose would be seen as foolish by anyone that ever witnessed the horrors of the Dungeon.'

'If Finn had to choose between risking the lives of some of his companions by traversing it so they could cut time to save the lives of others, he would think twice… And then thrice… Because traversing this place wasn't something so easily done.'

'Even if he sent Ais together with Gareth and the group to cross it, they would definitely be able to reach the other side…'

'But they might not be able to save the lives of the injured.'

/SLASH!/

'Even to Silver, as he fought wave after wave with great momentum, he eventually grew tired as he was constantly being slashed and pierced by the monsters' weapons, his flesh being torn and ripped as the monsters mobbed him without fear.'

/PIERCE!/

"MUUUUUU!"

/CRASH!/

/BAM!/

'With each second, Silver saw himself being overwhelmed by their endless numbers, being eventually caught off guard by a raging Bull that broke free from the ground beneath his foot, slamming its head on his chest before crashing against the walls of the Arena.'

"Sh-it..."

'Bleeding from his lips, Silver's right hand turned black as he shoved his fist inside the bull's skull, killing it in one go.'

/FWOOSH!/

'He was given no time to heal himself as the moment he raised his head, he saw 3 blades slashing the air in front of his face.'

/Blink!/

'Vanishing from his position, Silver reappeared on the other side of the Colleseum, but he barely drew a single breath, 5 pairs of hands rose from the walls and ground around him, grasping at his body...'

/Slash!/

'He moved his halberd, cutting them all as he once again dove towards the center where a large crowd of angry monsters awaited.'

"HAA!"

'But as he fought, he had no regrets, because this was his call, the cry of the Dungeon!'

'As his body burned into flames, he drew from every reserve he had.'

/BOOOM!/

'And with a mighty exposition, he completely blew off most of the Colosseum, leaving only the ground intact.'

…

.

.

.

Notes