Ep. 51 - Expedition Start, Kidnap Me

Well, in preparation for the expedition, me and the gang didn't do much. We just sparred against each other to gain the excess excelia I produce. The day after her announcement, I had Loki update Ais' status. I didn't give her the self-updating status so that she could see where her limits lie and improve herself. Well, my dear daughter is amazing and reached a maxed status level up. She is the youngest and fastest Level 3. Well, fastest after us, we did it in a single day, after all. Loki was happy too and committed the error of asking me: "Who are you?". I went once again in auto-mode. I checked my interface real quick and saw that 'Devil's Whisper' had a new sub-skill: 'Mysterious Stranger'; it activates every time I raise some curiosity in people and makes me go full creep/mysterious-mode. It's a deadly combination that is more like a Drawback than anything.

She was at her desk, so I moved behind her and started giving her a shoulder massage and whispering in her ear: "You know who I am… You've known since the first day, but you don't know how to interpret those pieces of paper… I am a complete unknown. You are curious to know more about me… What is stopping you? Your position as a Goddess? Some kind of law or agreement? Or… Yourself? Come on… Aren't you curious? Ten people suddenly appear and become Level 3 in a single day, beating the best in the Familia without even having Falna… You have been repressing your curiosity all of these days… Did you hope to understand yourself? Heh, how cute… You... just… have… to… ask." I whispered and blew in her ear. She shivered and fired her questions at me.

"What is an Exo? Where do you come from? Why was your status corrupted?"

I deactivated the skin layer on my hand and showed her my metallic hand.

"This is an Exo, a human with a metallic body. We are not from this world. Gods aren't the only ones that can travel through dimensions. As for my status… You should discover that yourself, little girl. There are many interesting things and people to manipulate where I come from… You would like it... Very... Much." I said, simplifying the Exo thing. I checked her mind and saw that it was genuine curiosity, nothing negative in telling her. Plus she is kind of fun to talk to and hard-working, even if she doesn't look like it.

With that, I left the office. Ais had already gone back to the ship to tell everyone that she leveled up. They are her uncles and big sisters after all. Yeah, the men are uncles, not big brothers. Makes them feel old. We're just in our mid-twenties! Not that old!

The next two days, Loki did her best to avoid me. Wow, I must be really hideous in this universe to have this effect on ladies. Yeah, as if. To be honest, if I could at least control the new sub-skill, I would actually enjoy the whisper thing. You know, whispering in bed gets great results.

Finally, the day of the expedition arrived. In the last two days, the gang went up to Level 5, gaining new development skills, a different one for each. At this point though, they aren't even that important.

Loki gathered all the people participating in the expedition in the courtyard and started her pep talk. She wasn't too good at it: "Hey there! Quite a nice day for an expedition, don't you think? I know that expeditions are dangerous, but I want you all to be reassured. Nothing too bad will happen to you. We have potions and a medical squad, along with magicians. Follow orders, stay in formation, and nothing will go wrong. Now go! Explore, adventure, do what you do best!"

The ending was met with cheers and clapping. I guess that being a Goddess makes anything pass.

Finn was glaring a little at me, but I shall forgive him. Some jealousy is normal: we just arrived and are already acting as seconds-in-command. Not very cash money for him, that's for sure. Well, I didn't care because I saw Loki trying to sneak her way out of the group, so I sneaked up behind her.

"Loki, my dear Goddess, where are you going? Do I seriously need to tie you? I've never tried that, but I might like it. Are ropes to your liking?" I whispered.

"Hiii! No! I'm not coming, no matter what!" she said. It's a pity, I seriously think that some parts of the dungeon are really nice. Therefore, I lifted her and placed her on one of my shoulders. The other was reserved to Ais. "Let me go! You madman! You'll get us all killed!"

"Calm down, Loki. Tula knows what he's doing." said Blake.

"Yeah! He's our friend and the unofficial leader of our unofficial team, so you can trust him!" said Nora.

I faked drying a tear and said: "Oh, such great friends! I'm moved!"

"You guys are crazy!" she continued saying that stuff until the dungeon. When we arrived, Finn greeted the smiths from the Hephaestus Familia and started organizing everyone.

"Yeah, you organize everyone, then follow us. We'll meet you inside." said Jaune.

Yeah, no, no way are we going the slow way and waiting for this enormous group to get ready. I want the dungeon to start spawning those black monsters so that we can get some nice excelia and level up even faster.

"W-wait! You can't bring Loki-sama with you! Yo-" I didn't even hear the rest. Whatever it was, it doesn't apply to us. I still had Loki on my shoulder, while Ais was sitting on the other with some candy in her hand, waving at the group.

Loki was shivering and didn't dare look around. I know that I was forceful, but I don't want her to be scared. I wanted her to have a change of pace. At this moment, I was glad I had the 'Devil's Whisper'.

"Loki, open your eyes… I promise that everything will be alright… You can trust me. I would never bring my friends to sure death, neither would I ever do it to you. Calm down… There… Relax and open your eyes." I whispered. Gradually, Loki stopped shivering and started looking around.

"So this is the Dungeon? It doesn't look like much��" she said.

���Oh, that's because these are the first few floors. Some more interesting areas appear the further we go. Have you calmed down? You can even let out your aura, black monsters or not, nothing could harm you if you wear this." I said, taking out a bracelet like the ones the girls wear. "This is enchanted with all sorts of magics. Even Revival. It can produce a magic shield and make you invisible. This is the ultimate form of protection, so don't worry too much. When the rest of the group comes, let your aura out, so the black monsters will spawn and we can take care of them."

She took the bracelet and nodded. 'Devil's Whisper' is basically brainwashing, if you are wondering, but more subtle. My statements need to have a degree of truth in them for it to work, so I am not exactly brainwashing, more like convincing people. I didn't fail to notice that Weiss was pointing at Loki while mouthing "Her?". I knew what it meant, so I shrugged. I then mouthed: "Do. Not. Know."

We were halfway through the first floor just casually strolling when the rest of the group caught up. Sun had a grin on his face and asked: "Hey! What took you so long?! It's a dungeon, not some kind of health check-up!"

"Now, now… I am sure that they have done their best. Now, let's head to the second floor. There is a nice large area where we can spawn in the black monsters and get rid of them, then we can continue." I said. Loki just nodded and looked at the bracelet I gave her. She went close to Riveria, probably asking about the enchantments. Good luck deciphering another universe's heavily modified runes!

The gang spearheaded the expedition. It was faster that way. The upper floors weren't fun at all, but they got interesting around the 50th, so we will get there are fast as possible. Oh, I was wearing my casual clothes and actually brought out my 'Last Word', in case those God-killer monsters were actually that hard to defeat. I doubt it, but I did promise that nothing bad would happen. Ais was still munching on some candy while using her 'Liberty' to snipe some monsters that came our way. In her little head, thoughts such as 'Nothing will disturb my time with dad.' were repeating over and over. I might have created a Yandere. No, a yandere is too extreme, though she might develop into a father-con. Do they even exist?

We reached the 2nd floor in about half an hour. Not being able to run through this place is really annoying, I want to ditch the group already. Anyway, we reached an open area where I wanted Loki to release her aura.

"Loki, my dear little Goddess… Release your aura." I said with a smile on my face.

"You maniac!" that was Finn.

"Haha, good joke! That must be someone disguised as Loki-sama, right? The quality of the disguise is excellent, even the flatn-" that was Gareth, who got a kick on the face. Note to self: Loki doesn't look like it, but she is flexible as fuck, beware.

Loki sighed, took a deep breath, and released her aura/godly power. Boy was that cool! She was shining! It looked like a rave party! And her hair color even changed to black. She I must admit, that she looked really cool. Anyway, before I started thinking about how she looked like a jewel under the light, which I have no idea why I would think, the Dungeon started to shake a little, then black versions of the monsters started appearing.

"Gang, destroy them?"

"I can settle for that." said Weiss, making a glyph appear underneath her and zooming to the closest enemy. She decapitated it in one swoop. "They are weak! We should try again in a few floors!"

Yeah, those hundred-odd black monsters were absolutely destroyed in a matter of seconds.

"See Loki? I told you it would be fun. Now, you guys better up the pace, or we'll leave you behind!" I said.

Ais as well said: "Un, you're slow." Ah, she's adorable and already shit-talks people. She grew so fast!

Since I had nothing better to do, I raised Loki on my other shoulder and started walking towards the next floor, using the shortest route available. Finn was still trying to consult a map. Amateur. "Follow the shining Goddess! Don't get lost! This is a direct line to the deep floors! If you make haste, we should take about 5 hours! I repeat, follow the shining Goddess!"

Oh, how cute. Loki tried bonking my head and hurt her hand. Eh, I'll heal her.

We continued walking through a few floors until Rivira. Loki was still releasing her God power since it felt better than bottling it up. The Dungeon this time seemed to experience an earthquake and a Black Goliath was spawned, similar to canon. But, why are there three of them?

I set Ais and Loki on the ground and said to the gang: "Those three are mine. Hopefully they are more durable than the Juggernaut you fought a couple of days ago, though I wouldn't count on it."

"Destroy them!" said Weiss.

"Can I have one? It looks like a good punching bag!" said Yang. I couldn't help but nod. "Hell yeah!"

I crouched a little. It was, like what? Maybe a kilometer away? I pushed a little and zoomed the way there. I punched one of the Black Goliaths' gut, sending it comically flying. I activated 'Chaosreach' and vaporized the thing. I then switched to 'Shadowshot' and anchored another one to the ground. Heh, those things already move slowly, now it's barely moving. I flew up to where I could feel a concentration of magic and shot it with my laser cannons. The monster disintegrated into particles.

Yang on the other hand had just reached here and was engaging the last Black Goliath. She started with a couple of explosions aimed at its heels. She mixed in some curses and debuffs since she didn't have the level of strength required to bring it down just yet.

The thing's feet were seriously injured, so it fell. While it was falling, Yang went into 'Fist of Havoc' mode and started pummeling the Goliath's stomach. A huge *crack* was heard as the magic stone inside it shattered. It also disintegrated into particles.

When she was done, I went next to her and patted her head. "Great job, Yang!"

"Ahh! That thing helped me relieve some stress. There aren't many monsters that can resist more than two hits now. That Juggernaut was also pretty good."

"Well, as we descend with Loki we will encounter stronger monsters, so we will all have fun. Now let's go back, I want to see their faces, must be hilarious!"

"Oh, my dear husband, you are so evil! Those guys probably had a heart attack by now!" she said.

When we got back, I found Loki with her mouth hanging open, while Ais was clapping.

"Hey Loki, trying to catch flies? I did tell you I was strong, no? I never lie!"

"Not true! You lie often!" said Ruby, immediately dismantling my reliable façade.

"Haah… No. I don't even want to think. Let's just move on." she said and walked off towards the city.

"It's just been a week and you already broke her common sense, this is a new personal best, Tula!" said Sun.

"Heh! What can I say? I strive to impress!"

I completely ignored the rest of the expedition members. To be honest, they are just here to take care of the small fry we let through or comedic relief if needed. But I doubt it. Oh, there's Tsubaki back there.

Weiss was laughing her ass off since this is a pretty reasonable reaction to our common-sense-breaking actions. Well, she was also thinking about how Loki might have to witness things like this pretty often in the future.

We were already on the stairs to the 19th floor.

"Hey Loki! Don't run off by yourself! What if a big, scary monster comes out and eats you?" I asked, just to joke. She however went stiff and retreated close to me. "I was just joking… You wouldn't have to worry about something like that."

"Haa… Seriously a week and I'm both more relaxed and more exhausted. Carry me, my child." she said with a smirk.

"What a naughty little girl. But I'll humour you since this expedition should be pretty fun. How should I respond? Ah, yes. Your every wish is my command, my Goddess." I said and picked her up on my shoulder.

Then Ais couldn't hold it anymore and asked: "Dad, aren't you treating her too well? You're only like this to big sisters, uncles, and me."

Loki smirked even more and asked: "Hoh… Could it be… That you've fallen for me? Oh my! But I'm too old…"

"Age never bothered me. I'm over 100 myself. And… I have no idea. When I see you shining with your God power, I just feel the need to put you in my treasury and make you shine even more. Though that should be because of a curse."

Loki was a little stunned.

"Over 100? And you want to make me shine even more, huh? You are making me blush… Though I want to know about that curse."

I thought a little to myself. There is no real reason not to tell her. It will actually justify some of my recent strange actions.

"My group and I went through a ritual that gave us a magic heart with draconic attributes. It comes with a curse that pushes us to collect treasures. The definition of treasures is extremely loose, so if I consider a person a treasure, I'll have the impulse to collect them. It makes me very confused at times."

Loki was quiet for a while, then actually patted my head.

"What did I do to earn a head pat?" I asked

"Oh, nothing. Just wanted to." she said and continued. It didn't feel bad, so I let her continue.

"Hey. Don't forget you already have three wives right here." said Ruby, coming out of nowhere.

"I never said I didn't love you, nor did I cheat. It's just that Loki is a pretty good conversation partner. Plus, you three should be trying to get more excelia to level up faster. We are soon going to be exploring the deep floors. I want to go up to around the 80th or so floor." I said. "Sorry, that sounded a little cold. Let me rephrase that. I love you three more than anything in the world. I will never betray you. Loki here is a good conversation partner, so I shared our condition with her. She is trustworthy, so there is no problem."

"Hm… Fine. But you're patting my head when we set up camp!" she said.

"Deal. Now go and have some fun killing monsters. I will check that nothing goes wrong."

Ruby smiled and disappeared in a burst of rose petals. Loki was silent for a long while. Ais, on the other hand, had jumped off my shoulder and went with Ruby to gain some excelia.

"Did you tell the truth before?"

"Well, today I have yet to tell a single lie. Ok, the fact that I never lie was questionable. I prefer saying that I strategically withhold information." I replied.

"I see… So, you want to collect me?" she said with a sly smile.

"Well, when you smile, I certainly feel the urge to. But, I will never just kidnap someone. So you don't have to worry."

"What a shame. I kind of want a strong person to kidnap me and bring me somewhere more… More." she said, with a hint of sadness and loneliness in her voice.

"Hm… And, hypothetically, where would you like to go?"

"Hypothetically, somewhere fun, where I am not just Loki the Goddess. Just Loki, a trickster and free-spirited girl..." she said, looking at the roof of the Dungeon. I made an illusion of Nessus and other planets in the Destiny universe appear in front of her.

"For now, we are staying here a little longer, so you will have to make do with this. But… I will kidnap you before leaving, promise."

"Seems like you keep your promises, so you better do so."