The Wandering Devil
Chapter: 27
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(A New Weapon?)
-{Hestia}-
Hestia went onto her knees, hands clasped together as she stared up at the exasperated woman. her big blue eyes shimmering with desperation.
"Please! Please, Hephaestus! Just this once!" she begged, her voice trembling.
Hephaestus, who was seated behind her massive desk in the workshop, sighed heavily. The beautiful red-haired goddess ran a hand through her hair before giving Hestia a tired look, her lone eye filled with exasperation.
"No," she said flatly.
Hestia visibly flinched at the rejection but didn't back down. She bowed her head, pressing her forehead to the cold stone floor, her twin tails drooping.
"Please! I need this! Zephyrion needs a weapon worthy of him!" Hestia pleaded.
"Hestia," Hephaestus cut her off, crossing her arms. "You don't have the valis, and I don't work for free. Haven't I already given you enough?"
"But-"
"No," Hephaestus repeated, her tone firm. "I get you're excited about having a Familia member but I can't just give you a powerful top of the line sword for him. Especially one created by me."
She sighed at Hestia's frustration.
"Look. Start with making him take the starter package from the guild, then make him carefully take on the first floor, you've even managed to snag yourself two other children. So he will have backup. A few weeks of saving and you'll be able to afford decent gear in no time." She tried to offer.
"You don't understand." Hestia responded.
"I think I do." Hephaestus replied. Hephaestus watched as Hestia trembled slightly, her shoulders rising and falling with deep, frustrated breaths.
She wasn't giving up. That much was obvious. While she hid it, she truly didn't like seeing her long-time friend acting this way.
Hephaestus sighed again, leaning back in her chair. "Hestia, I get that you care about your new child, but weapons aren't just things you throw around. The best weapons are earned, not begged for. Your child is not an exception to this. Plus, having such a weapon as a new adventurer isn't needed and won't be able to be wielded properly."
Hestia's head shot up at that, and Hephaestus almost took a step back at the sheer fierceness in her eyes.
"Don't you talk to me about earning things when you haven't met Zephyrion!" Hestia's voice cracked with emotion. "He's already earned everything, Hephaestus! You don't understand, he's special. That's why I'm more than willing to do anything to obtain a weapon for him."
A silence briefly stretched between them. Hephaestus narrowed her lone eye. "Explain. Why are you so insistent? If what you say is true then he should be able to obtain a weapon of good quality within no time."
Hestia pushed herself up to her knees. "Because I haven't done anything for him. Instead of acting the role of the goddess I found myself thanking fates that someone like him dropped into my lap. In the short period of time I've known him, he's managed to already reach level two. He's already close to reaching level three-"
"Wait a second. You told me you only got him into your Familia a little over a month and a half ago." Hephaestus interrupted, her voice was filled with doubt and confusion. "How is he already level two and supposedly close to being level three?"
Hestia slumped. "That's what I'm saying. I hadn't even realised he was so abnormal until I asked you for advice. I am not allowed to say much but his heritage is… special."
"Special?" Hephaestus reiterated. "You're telling me this child of yours had power before gaining a Falna which isn't unheard of and then somehow in a month and a half is close to reaching level three?"
"Yes, he already had power before becoming an adventurer." Hestia replied.
Hephaestus remained quiet, watching the small goddess shake with barely contained emotion.
"And you know what? He's so strong, Hephaestus. Stronger than I ever imagined." Hestia huffed. "But he's reckless. He throws himself into fights without thinking about himself. You say he wouldn't be able to use such a weapon to his full capacity but I think it'll be the sword that struggles to keep up!"
Hephaestus raised an eyebrow, pushing down the odd competitiveness she felt at that. She knew Hestia wasn't baiting her and actually believed this to be true.
It was why she had suddenly grown so interested during the course of this conversation.
Her voice softened then, her hands resting over her heart as a small, almost broken smile formed on her lips.
"He's… he's wonderful." Hestia sighed.
Hestia had changed.
She should have noticed this at the start of their interaction. Hephaestus had merely thought that Hestia was here to beg again. Which was why she had been so harsh.
Hephaestus' expression didn't change, She had never seen Hestia like this before. Sure, the little goddess was always affectionate and playful, but this?
This was devotion.
Hestia wasn't just talking about her child. She was talking about someone who meant everything to her.
It was enough to make her go completely silent. Hephaestus let out a breath, closing her single eye. "You love him." She concluded.
Hestia stiffened. "O-Of course I do! He's my first child and very special to me."
"You love him, Hestia." Hephaestus rolled her single eye, crossing her arms.
This was unprecedented.
Hestia was notoriously cold to men. Many Gods and Heroes had tried to court her. Thousands of years. It had only been a few hundred years were the offers of marriage and courtship had slowed down.
The small goddess' face turned red, but she didn't deny it.
A month and a half. She had changed so much. Hephaestus had left Hestia to do her own thing since she didn't want the Goddess to keep trying to rely on her. Perhaps that was a mistake.
Hephaestus sighed again, this time more to herself. "...You're hopeless."
Hestia blinked. "Huh?"
The red-haired goddess shook her head and hesitated before standing up.
"I don't do free work, Hestia. Not for the sort of weapon you're asking for." Hephaestus finally said.
She beamed at her. Finally a chance.
Hestia took out a bottomless pouch.
Zephyrion had given her one and she had come prepared. She had brought three quarters of her savings. Her original plan was to get a price and use this as a down payment to show she was serious, but Hephaestus had refused to even entertain her.
She turned it over and coins of a large size poured out.
3,750,000 Valis. Zephyrion had mumbled about it being 75,000 USD. Whatever that meant. It was the total amount that Zephyrion had practically forced her to receive.
Hestia still believed it was too much.
While she liked having a little money, she truly trusted Zephyrion to receive the most of it. She had used to dream of having a massive house with powerful Familia members.
But… her priorities had changed. She had come to experience something she hadn't experienced during her long life as a Goddess.
Hephaestus' eyes widened, and she sent a subtle glance towards the Moleskin Bottomless pouch.
"H-hestia?" Hephaestus muttered. "Did you take out a loan!" She shouted. "Are you insane? The interest rates! I can't believe you would go this far."
Hestia bit her lip, her fingers clenching into fists against the floor. "It's not a loan, Zephyrion made it by dungeon diving. I told you he is special."
"Hestia. That doesn't explain anything and even a level three would struggle to make this alone." Hephaestus hesitantly replied.
She knew Hephaestus wasn't trying to be cruel. Hestia knew how she had been. Her concerns and doubts weren't unwarranted in the slightest.
Hestia smiled. She knew Hephaestus still cared despite how cold she had tried to act. "He's really strong."
"I think I need to meet this lover of yours Hestia." Hephaestus finally stated.
Hestia blushed slightly. "Does this mean you'll make him a weapon?"
Hephaestus paused. She was serious. Hephaestus rolled her eye. "Yes. I'll make the sword. But you owe me, big time."
Hestia nearly tackled her in a hug, eyes sparkling with joy. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Hephaestus groaned, trying to pry the tiny goddess off her. "Yeah, yeah. Just don't regret it when I come collecting."
Hestia grinned. "Never!"
The forge master huffed, shaking her head. "You better make sure he knows the value of this weapon."
Hestia's smile softened, her grip on Hephaestus' sleeve tightening just a little.
"He'll know and he'll make it worth every bit." Hestia whispered, she became slightly nervous. "So, what's the cost?"
That was the biggest issue.
"It depends, do you want him to have an amazing sword or a masterpiece?" Hephaestus questioned her, almost challenging.
"A masterpiece." Hestia responded instantly.
"250,000,000 vali."
"…"
Hestia stopped herself from reacting at the absurd price.
1.5%
The Vali she had just given her had covered 1.5% of that price.
Hephaestus nodded, her crimson eye steady. "I'll be forging this sword myself. I've seen your dedication, and I respect that. You have two options, pay 2.5% of the total price each month, or work for me. The more you work, the less you'll owe, and I'll lower the fee to just 1%."
"I'll think about it." Hestia replied emotionlessly.
"You could start by selling me that pouch." Hephaestus spoke up, surprising Hestia.
She smirked, eyes glinting with curiosity as she leaned forward. "3,750,000 Vali wouldn't even come close to fitting in something that small. A dimensional storage artifact, huh? I've never seen anything like it. Frankly, I'm surprised you have something this rare…"
Hestia frowned, that had been a gift from Zephyrion.
That alone made her hesitate on the prospect but she knew it was an expensive item. The only reason she considered it was due to the fact that Zephyrion had given her two of them.
She wanted to sigh. Even now she was relying on Zephyrion.
Hestia puffed out her cheeks, crossing her arms. "Alright, how much are you willing to offer me for it?" she huffed.
She didn't want to admit that she had no clue as to what it was worth. Hestia only knew that the item was rare and not its actual value.
"I would be willing to pay 50,000,000 Vali for it or alternatively I would be willing to knock off 75,000,000 Million Vali from your debt." Hephaestus offered.
Hestia kept herself from reacting in shock.
That was a lot. 30% of the debt. Her eyes squinted slightly.
"150,000,000." She replied.
Hephaestus blinked.
"That's too much-"
"Is it?" She politely cut off. "An enchanted bag that could revolutionise dungeon diving. Did I mention that it stays weightless and has practically endless storage?"
Hephaestus narrowed her lone eye. Despite how it seemed, these were two ancient Goddess'
"100,000,000 Vali. That's final." Hephaestus relented. "That's only if you use it to pay your debt too."
Hephaestus drummed her fingers on the desk, her lone eye scrutinizing Hestia with a mix of frustration and begrudging amusement.
"100,000,000 is already generous," Hephaestus said, her tone edged with finality. "Even for something as ridiculous as this enchanted item you've somehow obtained."
Hestia leaned forward slightly, resting her elbows on the desk with an innocent smile. "Is it, though?"
Hephaestus narrowed her eye. "Hestia."
The busty goddess hummed, tilting her head. "I think you're underestimating how valuable an weightless bag with the ability to store so much is for dungeon diving and just in general. Imagine how much more resources and weapon your children could move around. How much safer adventurers would be if they didn't have to haul supplies…" She clasped her hands together, her voice taking on a mischievous lilt.
"Tsk." Hephaestus leaned back, crossing her arms. Hephaestus exhaled slowly through her nose. "110,000,000. Final offer."
Hestia's smile didn't waver. "120,000,000."
"Hestia." Hephaestus grouched.
"I think I'm being very reasonable." Hestia replied innocently.
She honestly didn't know its value, but Zephyrion had given it to her and she was going to make the most she could with it.
Hephaestus muttered something under her breath, rubbing her temple. "115,000,000."
"Deal!" Hestia happily replied, all defiance leaving her body.
Hephaestus blinked.
The forge goddess stared at her, completely thrown off. "Wait, what?"
Hestia beamed. "I said deal!"
For a second, Hephaestus just sat there, processing. Then her eye narrowed in suspicion. "You agreed too fast."
Hestia's expression was the picture of innocence. "Did I?"
"Yes."
The tiny goddess only smiled wider.
Hephaestus groaned, rubbing her face. "I swear, you're worse than Loki."
"Hey! I'm way better than her!" Hestia replied petulantly, a wide smile on her face.
She hadn't out anything else in the bottomless pouch so she didn't hesitate to place it on the desk.
"Your debt has been knocked down to 131,250,000 Vali. Congratulations." Hephaestus remarked.
Despite the dry tone, she excitedly inspected the Moleskin Bottomless Pouch.
"Seriously, Hestia. Where did you get such an item? It was only three months ago that you were couch surfacing at my house." Hephaestus shook her head.
"Familia secret." She stuck her tongue out.
"Ah, so it was this child of yours who obtained it." Hephaestus concluded.
Hestia merely smiled. "So when will the weapon be created?"
Hephaestus sent her an appraising look.
"Give me a day." Hephaestus replied.
-Scene Break-
Hestia stepped out of the building with a bright smile.
She could hardly contain her excitement.
A weapon for Zephyrion. A proper one, forged by a divine blacksmith. She knew Zephyrion mostly relied on magic since most normal swords couldn't keep up with his sheer strength.
This would be a good gift. Just imagining his reaction made her practically skip as she walked.
Her thoughts, however, came to a crashing halt when a sudden wave of screams filled the air.
She blinked.
Chaos erupted around her as people ran, shoving past in blind panic.
Stalls were overturned, crates smashed, and in the distance. Adeep, guttural roar shook the street.
Hestia's breath hitched as she turned, her eyes widening.
The massive, dragon-like creature stood in the middle of the street, its normally black scales now emanating a sickly glow. Its body had swollen unnaturally, veins throbbing and muscles bulging.
Its wild, reptilian eyes swept across the fleeing adventurers and civilians until they landed on her.
The Monsters nostrils flared, and its lips curled back, revealing rows of jagged teeth. Then, with a low snarl.
She took a step back, and it took a step forward.
Only for a gigantic ball of fire to form and quickly smash into the monster's side.
-{Zephryion Gremory}-
I frowned deeply. After defeating the Monster that had escaped, I had been set to go back and find Bell along with Lili.
That had been stopped as someone had shouted of another monster.
I already knew someone was behind this, the guards had even said they had been fed monster stones. Explains why they were so strong. Due to that, I hadn't wasted time in searching within the general direction I had been given of the monsters whereabouts.
My eyes narrowed and I pushed down the rage that was gathering in my chest. It had been a while since my primary sin had activated.
A shockwave ripped through the street as my fist connected with the monster's jaw, sending it skidding across the stone.
The mutated monster snarled, shaking its head as rubble crumbled around it.
Its scales had cracked where my fist landed, but the sickly glow beneath them pulsed stronger. The monster's veins bulge and its body twitches, as if trying to move in multiple directions at once.
It lunged.
An arc of wind carved through the air and sent its head whipping around as I stepped forward, grabbing its thrashing head and slamming it into the ground. The stone cracked beneath the force.
A pillar of fire erupted from my palm, engulfing the beast. Its muffled screeches filled the air, its body convulsing wildly before turning rigid. The glow beneath its scales faded, leaving behind nothing but charred flesh.
I took a breath, for once I had been ramped up to full power before the battle even began.
The monster was dead. But the battle had done nothing to cool the fire burning in my chest.
"Hestia," I turned quickly, searching for her.
She was standing a few feet away. Her wide blue eyes locked onto me, flicking briefly to the smoldering corpse behind me.
"Zephyrion." She smiled, and I sighed.
I pulled her into a hug.
"What's going on?" She questioned.
"Two monsters escaped their confinement from the monster festival." I explained. "One of them attacked me and I came to hunt the other one."
"Ah. How did they escape?" Hestia asked, hugging me back tightly.
I grimaced.
"I'm not sure what the official reason is yet, but I suspect someone had a hand in this. To be more specific, the people that were watching me." I replied thoughtfully, hiding my anger.
Which didn't seem to work as Hestia gently nuzzled my chest. I could see the look of concern.
"Why do you think it's them? You said they could have attacked you when you were weak right?" She replied worriedly. "Could it have been a genuine mistake?"
"Well, I'm not completely sure." I affirmed. "But I felt myself being watched just before the attack."
"They could have been merely watching." Hestia thought before shaking her head. "Wishful thinking."
"There's also the matter that someone fed it monster stones, which is probably how they both escaped." I summarised.
Before she could respond, the sound of hurried footsteps reached us. I turned just in time to see Bell and Lili sprinting into view, both looking mildly winded.
"Goddess!" Bell skidded to a stop in front of Hestia, eyes darting between her and me. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine," Hestia reassured, smiling. "Zephyrion got here in time."
Bell exhaled in relief, his shoulders slumping. Lili, however, was still tense, crossbow drawn as she scanned the area.
"That thing wasn't normal," she muttered. "It shouldn't have been up here, and it definitely shouldn't have been that strong. Not according to the guild books. We saw the destruction it had wrought on its way here."
"Yeah, one of the guards said it had been fed magical stones. Meaning someone had deliberately done this." I informed them.
They both looked shocked.
"Why would someone do that?" Bell replied in disbelief.
"I'm not sure, I think it was targeted at me though." I replied.
Lili crossed her arms, her eyes studying me carefully. "Do you suspect the people who were watching you had a hand in this?"
"Yes, I was being watched just before it happened and they were fed monster crystals. So it was done by someone." I responded.
She nodded. "We will have to be careful."
The streets were still recovering from the attack, adventurers and guards working to clean up the destruction.
"Let's go home," I finally said after a moment.
Bell hesitated for a second, glancing back at the destroyed market before nodding. "Alright."
Before we left, I quickly cut a hole in the large monster's corpse and removed its magic stone for myself. A powerful magic stone would give my Familiar a good boost in strength. It took a minute to search for it. I would have liked to have gotten the other but its corpse was likely seized already.
As we walked through the streets, I caught sight of a man strolling past us with an easy-going smile, his golden hair catching the light of the setting sun.
His white and gold robes were pristine, draped elegantly over his frame, and his every step carried a lazy confidence as if he owned the ground he walked on.
The moment he passed, his amber eyes flicked to me, and his smile didn't waver. But his gaze was calculating as he appraised me, his eyes lingered for just a second too long and I boredly regarded him.
I didn't look away. He wouldn't find the first.
His steps slowed ever so slightly before he finally moved on, his smile never fading.
Weird.
We made it back to the house. The house was still new. We'd only just moved in which was why I had been too distracted to properly secure it.
As soon as we stepped inside, i moved.
Hestia blinked as I strode toward the center of the room.
"I'll need to set up the wards again, with my new Familiar we can be confident in our current defences as he can act as a guard for the front gate." I spoke, mainly towards Hestia.
Lili had taken to sitting down and Bell was watching with interest.
I briefly wondered if they could learn magic, since they had their own version of it.
It wasn't long until the house was fully warded once more with the addition of a new powerful ward: Protego horribilis. It created a powerful shield around all of the walls, meaning they couldn't simply break in. Not without difficulty anyway.
"There we go." I finished.
"What are we meant to do now?" Hestia frowned. "I don't like the prospect of my Familia being in danger."
"From now on you'll take Vermisynth with you, he's a level five threat and he's continuing to grow stronger with the amount of magic stones in stuffing him with. He will serve as a good protector." I commanded. I turned towards Lili and Bell. "If you can, try stick together when you leave the house or better yet go with Hestia as extra protection."
They both nodded.
"That won't be a problem, we normally spend time dungeon diving or going with our Goddess anyway." Lili replied.
I smiled, "Good."
Hestia sent me a subtle look and I nodded.
"Me and Hestia need to speak about this further, try not to worry too much. I don't think they're actually trying to kill it but stay alert." I concluded.
"Right." Bell said determinedly, I could see his fists clenched.
Lili simply opted on nodding in acceptance.
With that, me and Hestia found ourselves heading to the master bedroom.
"You're going away in a few days." Hestia stated.
"I am." I confirmed.
She sent me a worried look.
"Is that a good idea? Having people watch us is one thing but they've potentially made a move against us. One that could have seriously hurt or killed any of us." Hestia replied worriedly.
I thought about it seriously.
I couldn't ignore the benefits. Then again, did I want to temporarily leave this world while we were being watched by multiple mysterious entities. I exhaled.
Hestia had a point. Leaving now, when unknown forces were clearly moving against us, carried risk. But that didn't mean it wasn't the right move.
"It's actually the best thing I could do," I said finally.
Hestia frowned. "How?"
"I'd be securing us. Look at what happened today. We don't even know who's behind it, let alone what their next move is. Staying here and waiting for another attack isn't a plan."
I gestured to the house as we approached. "Right now, our defenses are strong but breakable by any adventurer above level four."
"Wards, enchantments, protective charms, if I can bring those back here, we'll be untouchable."
Hestia furrowed her brows. "You think that's enough?"
"No," I admitted. "Which is why I won't just be bringing back magic. I'll be bringing people. A few trusted ones. I've already secured a power base in that world. Through rather unconventional means I will admit."
Hestia bit her lip. Hestia looked away, clearly torn. "I don't like it, then again. I never like you leaving me so that isn't much of a change."
"There'll be a time I can take you with me, but right now even pulling just myself will consume most of my demonic energy. So I can't bring you." I responded with a sigh.
Even the power my strange eyes gave me was uncontrollable as of now, the cooldown period was still a week away from finishing. I could feel it instinctively.
"If that's what you think is for the best, I'll trust you." She replied.
Her lips quivered slightly and she stared up at me with hooded eyes.
Thoughts about the wizarding world could take place later.
-{Reginald Greengrass}-
Reginald studied through the book, before dropping it onto his desk with the already stacked pile with a sigh.
Gremory.
A name that the world should know, yet, no records show anything.
Lord Zephyrion had stated he was a pureblood.
Naturally, Reginald wanted to search further into the powerful being he had decided to serve. Yet, he had found nothing. So he had gone further, perhaps a foreign pureblood?
France, America, Japan.
Nothing.
He had even searched into myths.
Now, he was only left with a few books out of the hundreds he had searched into.
His Lord would be coming back soon. Clint was practically buzzing with excitement.
Recruitment had gone… too well.
Turns out that the Dark Lord Voldemort he had once feared was a bit of an idiot. Then again, he had been of the same mindset. It was easy to overlook the masses.
He could take on multiple wizards, perhaps even five or seven one a good day at once.
Reginald was considered a powerful wizard in his own right. But could he face twenty? Or a hundred?
Wizards and witches were joining in flocks, weak, unassuming and overlooked.
Reginald glanced over to another book.
He might as well finish all of them, he thought.
Picking up the book based on the concept of Demons. An amusing race the muggles had made up to stop people from committing crimes with the threat of 'Hell'
His eyes flicked through the pages, skimming past the names with idle disinterest.
Bael.
Phenex.
His gaze drifted past another name before something in the back of his mind screamed at him to stop.
A cold prickle ran down his spine as his eyes slowly traced back up the page.
There, nestled among the rest, was a name.
A familiar name written as an innocent piece of text.
Gremory.
He stared at the name uncomprehendingly.
The first mention of his name. A pureblood but not in the way he knew. Contracts…
His eyes widened.
Had he made a deal with a Demon?
-END-
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