5 Familia 2

"tsk..." Freya clicked her tongue in annoyance.

Freya was irritated, so annoyed that she starts biting her finger. The source of her grievance? A certain man named Judas Iscariot. "How dare he..." Freya muttered

repeatedly.

Her first interaction with the man in question is when he arrived at the Hostess at dusk. It was her daily routine to work in the Hostess to search for her hero, but then a man that looked average came, and yet her instinct screamed at her that he was dangerous and that she needed to be on guard against him. She didn't know why, it was the first for her to judge a mortal instantly with distaste.

And so her curiosity was piqued, and she decided to look into the man more. To her surprise, she found not one but four souls! Four souls, two on his head, one on his boots, and one of his soul that was so average it didn't even attract her. After taking a better look, she realized the items on him carried their souls! How revolutionary she thought, she wanted those items for herself, those unique souls on those items were a treasure beyond compare for her beyond anyone else. That cloak with a soul of night and moon. It was so beautiful.

So, she approached the man with the intent of charming him for his magical items. To her surprise! The man resisted! "A lowly useless mortal dare resist my charm!" she seethed. "And oh...OH!!! His anger!" did he think she had missed his anger? For a moment it showed! I have my woman's intuition for this matter, you are too young to challenge me mortal.

"Ahhhh~" Freya moaned. "How lovely...This feeling..." and all his actions, look average beyond compare, from his movement, and intonation, it was as if he was acting. "A husk of a man... How dare he!" Freya felt she was being toyed with throughout their interaction. She was sure of it. Call it a woman's intuition, but she was sure of it.

"Ahhh~ How lovely, being played by a scum mortal." It was the first time for her to feel this way, both exhilaration and hatred erupt within her.

"He could be my villain... The scum that will defile me in front of everyone as the hero saves me... If only you were more extraordinary...How contradicting, a man average beyond compare, can resist the talent of a god." So much better...if you were only so much better. As she was thoughtfully thinking of the man, her lovely little children.

"Freya-sama, forgive us but we had lost him." There was shame in his eyes. Sadness and disappointment as well in his voice. But it didn't matter to Freya. He was beautiful and better than him. Excitement can be felt within her. If only he's better.

"To think a falna-less man escaped you... just how many secrets does he have? fufu... what a mysterious mortal" Her hatred didn't stop her from admiring the mortal for his abilities. So thrilling she thought. An unblessed escaped against a group of level 5s against all odds, If anyone hear this tale, they wouldn't believe it.

"He has humiliated yet again! fufu this feeling, I can't get enough of it." ecstasy is dripping within her voice as she says those words. Then anger erupted from the pallum.

" If we use all our resources, we might be able to find this lowly dreg! please allow us Freya-sama to lynch this man!" Her child shouted in passionate anger.

"Do not worry my child, a mortal man of his caliber of skills dares escape you only to be gone as if he didn't exist only means he's skilled enough to hide from anyone." what a mysterious fellow.

"It only means he will show himself when he allows it... What a hateful mortal, teasing me this way~fufu" Freya is so conflicted, he didn't fancy the man yet she wants him to continue having his way with her.

"For now I shall enjoy this new feeling. This feeling gifted by him."

For the first time in her lifetime, Freya disliked a mortal...

Meanwhile, somewhere near the base of Soma Familia, a boy is obscured by the shadow of the moonlight. Gets a shiver on the back of his spine.

_______________________________________

Under the serene moonlight, in the darkness of the night. Soma, the God of Winery, is toiling away with his craft, attempting to perfect his new wine. Soma does this daily without rest, nothing else matters, and his obsession doesn't permit him to think of anything less. He couldn't care less about his familia. And so when he noticed a person sitting in the corner of his personal brewery room, he was sure that his time is near. 'One of them has finally lost it...' He thought thinking about his mess of a familia.

"Just a moment, I'm almost done." Said Soma without a care for the world.

"Please continue your work, Lord Soma, I shall patiently wait." Said the person.

Young and unknown. A voice Soma have never heard before. 'An assassin perhaps. sent by who? Did I offend someone, is Zanis finally done with me? I doubt it. Perhaps the guild sent him...Too many questions to bother. Let's finish first.' And so Soma continued finishing his work.

"This one is no good too." Finally done with his work. Soma criticized the newly made wine.

"So what do you want?" With haste, Soma directly strikes the root of the matter. And finally, he got a good look at his unknown assailant. Dressed plainly, a pale and tall boy with long black hair stood up on his sit. On his waist was a singular rapier and nothing more.

"I'll be direct Lord Soma, I want to cut a deal with you." The boy said enthusiastically

"I'm not interested, other than matters of wine, you should talk to Zanis Lustra, the captain of my familia." Without hesitation, Soma answered.

"Oh, but this is matters of wine Lord Soma. One that without a doubt beneficial for both of us. And Zanis...Zanis is Zanis let's leave it at that." Humorously the boy answered back.

Soma finally decides to fully focus on the boy. He realized the boy was entirely truthful but for some reason, he can't get a good read at the boy. It's the first time this has happened, and for that reason, Soma's curiosity was piqued, albeit slightly. So Soma decided to play ball.

"I'm not selling you my brews." Soma countered.

"I'm not looking to buy it. Rather, I'm looking forward to you giving it to me for free Lord Soma?" confidently the boy said.

"Hoh...What makes you think I'll give you my wine for free boy?" Now Soma was intrigued, this preposterous offer was new to him. A rare smirk could be seen on his face.

"For you see my lord, in this partnership, you will get your chance to further your craft by leaps and bounds!" Decisively the boy answered.

"Give me the details, if this is a farce, I'll have you hunted by everyone. I'm quite rich you know." Finally, Soma gave in to his curiosity, a chance to increase his craft. very well, I shall humor you, boy.

"Well then Lord Soma, Let me present you, this Bone Rapier..." grandly the boy held the rapier towards him.

Soma held out his hand and grab the rapier. It was light and agile despite its looks.

"And what's so special about this sword?" said Soma almost in disappointment.

"You see, Lord Soma, this sword... "He" likes to drink wine..." teasingly the boy answered.

"What of -" Almost in anger Soma asked but he was too late and was cut off by the boy!

"It gets stronger depending on the wine quality!" The boy announced grandly!

And then Soma was shocked at the proclamation! He suddenly looked at the boy in shock. wouldn't that mean?

"You say that it's possible-" Soma was cut off again.

"Indeed, with this sword, we can assert the wine quality and your progress accurately!" Soma was almost annoyed that he was cut off again but excitement fills him that so couldn't care less. He thought of the possibilities, perhaps with this sword he can break through his bottleneck. He needs to ask more questions.

"What are the limitations? Who made this sword?" Soma inquired not caring about anything else anymore.

"As far as I know, none. My family for tens of generations."

"Good...Good... So what do you want? valis? anything you want. I'll give you this sword." Said Soma, he will use everything to get this sword.

"Ah...we can't have that Lord Soma. This is a partnership offer after all my lord." Pained, the boy said.

"Partnership? Okay! State your terms, I'll do anything you want." Damned the consequences, just tell me already what you need.

"You see Lord Soma, I am an aspiring adventurer and have needs for this sword. If Lord Soma allows me to join his familia and gives me his blessing, it would be helpful, I also will only answer to Lord Soma, I couldn't care less about Zanis. Of course, I will be loyal only to you Lord Soma. Also, the sword have needs four bottles of wine every day, I have already given it three today. So what do you think Lord Soma."

Soma starts weighing the pros and cons in his mind. He realized this partnership is too good of a deal to pass. He gets an adventurer under him and more importantly the sword. But there's still a problem that needs to be addressed.

"Zanis wouldn't like it..." Said Soma dejectedly.

"Leave dealing with Zanis to me Lord Soma, with you and this sword. We'll be unstoppable. So my lord, do you accept this partnership?" Said the boy as he held out his hand.

The boy was so confident, he was really something. To say everything so truthfully, Soma was impressed. But he still needed to test him.

"Very well, I accept. So why don't we have a toast for our bright partnership boy" testingly said Soma as he handed him a glass of one of his perfected wines.

"To our wonderful partnership." Said Soma with a smirk as the boy drank the wine. Expecting the boy to be in a drugged mess, he waited as the boy gulped the wine. But what happened next surprised him beyond anything else.

The supposedly drugged boy looked at him and smiled as if unaffected by his wine. Impossible he thought.

"To our wonderful partnership!" And so

Lord Soma was enticed by a deal with the devil.