Danmachi: The Black Hole

Seven heroes, seven kingdoms, one diety.

None of them survived.

The heroes fought violently, with fervor, might, and courage.

The first to die was the knight, protecting the mage from the god. The second to die was the barbarian, inflicting the damage that managed to buy the rest of the heroes precious seconds they needed.

The lancer held his own, but the wounds inflicted on the god were meaningless, only serving to delay their opponent for a little while.

The twin acrobats charged in, supported by the archer, using their staffs to deliver heavy hits to stun the diety. The twins were disintegrated while the archer's neck was snapped only seconds later.

The spell was completed and the deity turned into a mortal, but that was not permanent. The two remaining heroes capitalized.

Mage, with his abundant mana reserve, barraged their opponent while the last melee fighter, the assassin, tried his best to land a fatal blow.

Even as a mortal their enemy was formidable, with years of experience, battles, and narrow victories giving them the slightest edge, they prevailed.

The god was dead, so was the mage, and so were the kingdoms.

The assassin died moments later, bleeding out due to half of his stomach being absent from the rest of his body.

They had failed. They might have won the battle but lost the world.

The kingdoms were in ruins, all of his brothers were dead, and everyone who helped them along the way was gone. They failed their main objective.

All of this was pointless. What was the point of summoning them, training them, sending them into battle, if everyone was going to die anyway?

They could have died painlessly without them being there.

The last remaining hero closed his eyes, Death finally claiming him.

___

I finally walked into the city, my eyes darting around to understand my immediate surrounding area. The houses were built from stone, and their roofs were made from wood.

The streets were busy, with people walking around, talking with the merchants that had their items on display, and kids running around in the middle of the street, playing.

Overall it seemed peaceful.

My eyes drifted over to the dark alleyways and pointedly ignored them. Not this time, not this life.

I walked down the street, wondering about what I should do now. Glancing at the giant tower in the middle of the city, I narrowed my eyes. The babel tower, which was built on top of the dungeon.

Sighing, I shoved my hands inside my pockets, rolling my shoulder to adjust the bow that was slung across my back.

In this world where gods gave blessings to mortals on a whim, it was a wonder why they didn't deal with it. Actually, it wasn't wonder at all. Gods seek one thing, and one thing only, Entertainment.

That's why they descended in the first place.

at first, when I first found out about it from my grandfather, I scoffed at their arrogance. They got bored from living life in the sky, having everything go perfectly, and came down here to experience life.

Foolish.

Now, where do I find myself a god? It would be better to join a low-level god, one that would actually pay attention to me when I needed an update.

Although, the financial support of a higher level gods would be welcome, but it was short term. Money couldn't make me strong, sure it would help, but it would come eventually down the line.

"Excuse me, could you point me to the adventurers guild?"

I asked a lady that was a few heads taller than me carrying what seemed like repair supplies. A few planks of wood and a box with tools.

"Huh? Oh yeah, sure, it's right over there, just go down the street and turn left. It's a giant building, you can't miss it."

Nodding, I bowed slightly in appreciation and left in the direction she told me. When I turned the corner, I indeed, noticed the building, it was giant, it was like they were trying to make it noticeable, which would be smart in peacetime. but would be detrimental if a war broke out.

Walking inside the giant hall of the building, I looked around and noticed a few rows of people that were waiting for something, tilting my body slightly, I noticed that there were women behind the glass that were writing something on paper.

Noticing that a few lines were empty, I walked over, raising an eyebrow at the dude that was deadpanning at me.

Walking up to him, we both stared at each other for a moment, him because he was wondering why I didn't go to the other lines and me because I had no idea how to start the conversation.

For all my skills, conversationalist wasn't one of them.

"How may I help you?"

Thankfully, I didn't have to.

"Could you give me the list of all gods and goddesses that are currently in the city and their familia numbers?"

The man nodded and disappeared behind the frame. All I could do was wait for him to return. I glanced to my side, observing the adventurers that were speaking boisterously, their loud voices reverberating in the giant room.

"Here you go, sir. Please return this when you are done."

I looked back at the man that returned with a small book that he slid over through the space in the glass. Grabbing it, I nodded and walked off, spotting a pair of chairs and a dest I could use.

Sitting down, I opened the book and skipped a few pages... most of the pages.

God of alcohol, god of... why would there be a god of music? What? Did someone say this music is godly and he was created?

Rolling my eyes I went down the list. 10 members, 7 members, 3 members, and... there. Hestia, goddess of family and hearth. No members.

Target acquired.

Closing the book, I walked back to the empty line and handed it back, getting a nod in return. Nodding back, I walked out of the Guild and back into the street.

Now, where can I find me a Hestia?

___

Finally.

I stared at the small figure of a twin-tailed girl that was handing a snack to someone. Oddly enough, she was working at a stall.

Walking up to the small line of two, I stood behind a blonde-haired girl and waited for my turn. Soon enough, I walked up to the stall and ordered one.

As she was wrapping my snack, which was made from potato, I decided to ask now, rather than later.

"Say, you're the goddess, Hestia, are you not?"

She looked up from what she was doing and gave me a curious look with some suspicion mixed in.

"Yes, I am."

Tilting her head, she finished wrapping the "Jagamaru-kun" in paper and handed it to me.

"Then, mind if I join your Familia?"

She stared at me blankly for a moment, then her eyes lit up like the stars as she started jumping in one place.

"Realy?!"

I just nodded, staring at her, expecting an answer.

She vibrated in place for a moment before taking a pose, hands on her hips and all.

"Alright! I, Heastia, accept you in my Familia!"

I waited for a moment, was that it? Did I have the blessing? I didn't feel any different.

She closed the lid on the snacks, took off the sign, and tilted the stand back, to balance the weight on the wheels.

"Follow me!"

And she took off. I shrugged, bit into the snack, and followed.

I waited outside a shop as she left the stand inside and when she walked out, she grabbed my hand unexpectedly and dragged me off.

Ignoring that, I observed the surroundings as they turned from well-made buildings for the era to a rundown, abandoned section of the town.

My interest was piqued, but I disregarded it for now as we reached a rundown church where Hestia opened a hidden door that allowed us to go down into what seemed like a basement.

An excellent hiding spot, if I do say so myself.

Though the fact that light reached from some windows that seemed to be just above the ground, it proved to be not so hidden as I thought it would be.

"Alright, take off your clothes."

I blinked and turned my eyes to the small goddess, raising my eyebrows, blinked, and stepped back, covering my body with my hands.

"Perv."

The mutter left my lips, though I could tell that my face was still deadpan. The goddess blinked, blushed, and started shaking her hands around in the air.

"No no no! It's not like that, I need you to show me your back so that I can give you my blessing."

I blinked, then shrugged, biting down on my snack, I unbuttoned my shirt and took it off. Turning around and crouching on one knee, I waited for her to do her thing.

"Right... Uh, one moment, I need something sharp."

I reached behind my back and took out an arrow from my quiver, holding it out behind my back.

"Oh, thanks."

The arrow was grabbed from my hand and a second later, I felt something wet hit my back. The light that followed that action was next and I had to raise an eyebrow.

Bruh.

"Let me get some paper."

She walked off to a nearby desk and grabbed what she wanted and placed it on my back, making the light disappear.

"Here you go."

She handed the paper to me and I grabbed it while standing up.

_

Bell Cranel

Strength: I-0.

•Endurance: I-0.

•Dexterity: I-0.

•Agility: I-0.

•Magic: I-0.

Magic: élenchos.

Skill: Black hole.

_

I blinked at the skill.

Oh no. Oh Fuck.

It's still here? Why?

This fucking skill was the reason everyone died, the reason why I lived longer than the others.

This... Ugh!

Taking a deep breath, I released a shaky sigh.

"Thank you, Goddess."

I thanked her, really, that was the only thing I could do. I could do nothing about this anymore.

"I can't believe I got such a talented child as my first! Oh, the other gods are going to be so jealous! Magic and a skill? That's one in a million!"

My deadpan turned more... Deadpanned? Was she fangirling right now? Dear lord, I hope not.

I sighed and waited for her to finish. She went on for eight minutes, yes, I counted.

"So... What do I do now?"

She turned to me, her smile transforming into a confused expression, as if not understanding what I meant by that question.

"What do you mean?"

... This is going to take a while.