The sun was beginning to set, casting a warm orange glow over the city of Orario, as Hestia led Bell through winding alleys with excitement, her small hand eagerly tugging at his sleeve.
"Come on, Bell! It's a little old, but it's cozy and quiet!"
Bell smiled nervously, still not quite believing this was real. After being rejected multiple times, he had finally joined a Familia. He glanced around at the quiet streets.
"Even if it's old… I'm just glad to have a place to belong."
"Don't say it like that!" Hestia said, puffing her chest out with pride. "This isn't some shelter—this is the start of our story!"
As both of them continued to walk, the building came into view: an old, ivy-covered church, weathered by time yet still standing.
"There it is!" Hestia beamed.
Bell tilted his head slightly. "A little… old."
"Don't think about appearance," she replied with a grin, placing her hands on her hips. "It's all about love, you know!"
She pushed open the heavy wooden doors with a theatrical flourish—only for her grin to freeze mid-motion.
The smell hit them first. The scent of burnt oil, scorched metal, and something acrid and chemical wafted from within. It clung to the air, oppressive and unnatural. Bell instinctively took a step back, coughing into his sleeve. Then came the sound—faint clicking and whirring, the hiss of pressurized steam, and something like a low mechanical growl beneath it all.
As they stepped inside, Hestia was shocked. The interior of the church had been gutted. The old altar was replaced by an altar of steel and circuitry. Long cables twisted across the walls like veins.
From the ceiling, robotic limbs hung like spider legs, twitching faintly. At the corner of the room, a bulky humanoid figure stood guard. It looked like a man—if a man were made of rusted armor, exposed pistons, and thick breathing tubes. Its chest rose and fell. One of its arms ended in a chainsaw, the teeth stained and dripping with old oil. The other arm was a mess of wires, with no clear shape or function.
A figure crawled across the wall—this one spider-like. Its legs moved in precise motion, dragging a broom-like tool behind it as it swept dust into neat piles. Red eyes blinked from within its head. It paused, turning its gaze toward them.
Bell yelped and jumped behind Hestia. "M-Monsters?!"
Hestia's voice cracked. "What the hell is all this?! Who filled my home with these creepy things?!"
A calm voice echoed from deeper within the church.
"I did."
From a side room stepped a figure in rust-red robes. His face was hidden behind a rebreather mask and a hood, but the single red bionic eye that glowed beneath it was unmistakable. Behind him, a servo-claw folded neatly back into place like a scorpion's tail.
Luthar's voice was mechanical and emotionless.
"Since I purchased this place, it shouldn't matter what I do with it."
Hestia blinked, stunned. "You bought my home?!"
Luthar nodded, not caring about Hestia's emotions.
Bell glanced at her. "So… it's his now? Should we leave?"
Hestia didn't answer right away. Her fingers curled into fists, knuckles white.
"You… you freak! This was supposed to be my place!" her voice rose.
One of the hulking servitors took a slow step forward. The floor groaned beneath its weight. Its chainsaw arm revved faintly.
Bell shrank back with a squeak. "I think it's going to kill us!"
Luthar raised his voice.
"You are trespassers," he said coldly. "If you do not leave, I don't mind adding a few more servitors to my workforce."
Hestia stepped forward, instincts taking over. Her divine presence flared—not enough to send her back to heaven, but enough to rattle the world around her. The oppressive scent of machine oil was suddenly drowned out by something greater—something divine.
Bell stumbled back. "G-Goddess?!"
Luthar's Heads-Up display screamed in a split second—red error messages flooding his interface. At the same time, servitors started to malfunction as steam hissed from their limbs. The spider-like one collapsed, sparks shooting from its head.
Luthar staggered. His bionic eye rapidly adjusted, struggling to make sense.
Hestia stood between him and Bell, arms outstretched protectively.
"I don't know who you are," she said, her voice calm but firm. "But I can't let you hurt my family."
Luthar tilted his head, adjusting his body.
"You are really reckless. Because of your outburst, I could ask the Guild to capture you."
Coming to her senses, Hestia exhaled as the glow faded from her eyes, her divine aura receding. She hadn't meant to release it, but she just couldn't handle the pressure.
"You've damaged my equipment. Breached private property. And threatened me with divine force."
Hestia raised her chin stubbornly.
"Only because you took my home!"
"It's not yours," Luthar said, voice level. "I claimed it through Guild channels."
Bell placed a calming hand on her arm.
"Goddess… maybe we should leave for now. We'll figure something out…"
But Hestia didn't move. She looked around at the steel and cables defiling the once-holy place, and then locked eyes with Luthar.
Hestia forced herself to swallow her pride—not because she wanted to, but because she had to—for Bell's sake.
Hestia stared at Luthar, her breath catching in her throat. Pride warred with desperation in her chest.
Then, slowly… she lowered her head.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to damage anything." Her voice trembled. "Still… please, if it's possible, please let us stay here."
Bell looked at her, stunned by the humility in her tone. It was completely different. He also started to feel bad. If he had some money, he could have just left with her. Then she wouldn't have to lower her head in front of an unknown person.
Luthar's eye scanned her—heart rate, posture, stress signals. No deception.
He remained silent for a short time as he realized how much he had changed in just sixteen years in the hellscape of Warhammer.
Had he been his old self, he might have looked at Hestia and wondered how to win her favor. Perhaps even felt nervous under her gaze.
Now, he only calculated her threat level, analyzed the effects of her divine aura on his internal systems, and considered whether capturing or avoiding her would be more efficient should hostilities escalate.
And yet... there was a flicker of something human buried under the calculations, relaxing his muscles. He made up his mind. While he would not become his old self, instead he would become a Tech-Priest who would not just create new things—but enjoy the benefits they could bring him.
"It's impossible to stay inside right now." He pointed at the modifications made inside the church. "But if you want, I can make temporary rooms outside of the church first now ."
Hestia's eyes lifted. With a proud smile,
"See? I knew it would work out."