The Spear of Destiny

DanMachi: The Dragon's Return

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Chapter 8

The Spear of Destiny (1)

…

Bell sat nervously between Lili and Haruhime, neither of whom would release their tight grasps on his arms. The boy, chuckled, trying to inform the two girls that he was alright, to no avail. Tiona and Ais smiled at the boy, thankful that he was able to pull through. Lefiya, on the other hand, sat away from the group of girls, muttering to herself repeatedly about how she could "never get married now," rocking herself slowly in the process. Michael, who had sent Hestia to gather Loki and Freya, sat quietly by himself, gazing out one of the many windows the commons room had to offer.

"Ah, lord Michael," Bell bowed his head. "Thank you for helping Lefiya and me."

"Think nothing of it," the Titan smiled. "I merely did my duty."

"And Lefiya, thank you for--" Bell started.

"Mention it, and I'll kill you," Lefiya growled through her tears, though Bell could also feel the daggers glared at him by not only the elf, but also Lili.

Bell chuckled again. He felt an itch he always wanted to scratch behind his head whenever he got nervous, but was unable to scratch as long as Haruhime and Lili clung to him. Still, Bell couldn't help but be impressed by Lefiya's resolve, though he was unsure about what caused her resolve to be so riled up when it came to him. Bell thought of when he saw the elf-maiden in his mind. There was a little girl she was protecting, though Bell was certain he had never seen such a girl before in his life.

"You're welcome, stupid human," Lefiya muttered, drawing the attention of Tiona. The Amazon smirked playfully at the elf-maiden, causing Lefiya's face to flush slightly. She hid her face behind her arms, and Tiona quietly snickered at her. Ais, on the other hand, only tilted her head slightly at the teasing coming from the Amazon.

"I'll tell you later, Ais," Tiona giggled.

"YOU'LL DO NO SUCH THING!" Lefiya blushed brightly, standing up from her chair.

Bell, Lili, and Haruhime turned their eyes to the elf, who had whimpered as she sat back down. Only Michael paid no attention to the what was going on inside the room. His gaze seemed drawn far away to lands that could not be seen by any of the others. Though, if anyone wanted to ask Michael what he was looking at, if was interrupted by common's room door.

"We're back!" Hestia called lightly, Freya and Loki following in behind her.

"Ugh. Why are we doing this in the shrimp's home?" Loki grumbled.

Freya smiled warmly at Bell, but Hestia stormed over to Bell and sat in his lap before the boy could even respond to goddess of beauty. Michael, however, frowned at Hestia as he got up and moved walked over to a table at the center of the room. Freya and Loki joined the Titan, throwing expecting looks at the loli-goddess. Hestia groaned, reluctant to move away from Bell's warmth, but went over to the table as well, playing the look of a defeated prisoner about thrown into death-row.

"Are you sure you're not a love goddess, Hestia?" Freya smiled. "You do have a flare for the dramatic."

"Shut up," Hestia grumbled and folded her arms over her voluptuous chest, eliciting a giggle from Freya.

Michael ignored the goddesses and began muttering under his breath whilst writing on the table with his finger. Marks of light began to form upon the table as the Titan continued to write. When he had finished, he placed a bowl of incense at the center of the table before finally lifting his gaze to the three goddesses.

"I need a drop of blood from each of you, please," Michael said, not betraying any look of emotion.

"Ah, the Nidhogg Pact," Freya smiled. "I was curious on how this would be done. Blood, writing with the divine language, incense, you don't beat around the bush, Michael."

"This, too, is part of my duty, Freya," the Titan responded. "As commander of the Helen Legion, I charge you each with the task of safeguarding Orario and the world from the threats of Enyo and Sheol. I charge you each with the duties of leadership, to bear torches of hope against the darkness that lies ahead. I charge you to protect the weak and the innocent. I charge you keep vigil over the darkness that threatens to devour us all. I charge you to fight that darkness for as long as you can, knowing that your sacrifices will not be forgotten, nor shall your duty be in vain."

"And if we shirk from our oaths, may our blood flood Sheol as it has this bowl," the goddesses responded together, each pricking a finger and letting a drop of their blood fill the bowl. Michael filled the bowl with his own drop of blood in kind after the goddesses before setting the incense aflame.

"It is done," Michael muttered. "I will take those whom I have need of and we shall depart in the morning."

"That reminds me," Loki frowned. "There are members of the Pact that we don't have. You said you wanted someone from Oranus and Zeus."

"Yes," Michael raised an eyebrow. "What about them?"

"It just seems odd for you to make a request you can't get," Loki scratched her cheek lightly.

"I have the aid of Oranus through Fels," Michael smiled.

"And the Zeus Familia is dead," Loki matter-o-factly.

"Dead?" Michael stroked his beard. "It is beaten, exiled, disbanded, and many other things, but not dead."

"The hell do you mea--" Loki furrowed her eyebrows.

"Freya, your contribution will be your sorceress from your 'Hostess of Fertility,'" Michael interrupted. "Loki, your contribution will be Ais, Tiona, and Lefiya."

"Hey!" Loki cried, slightly offended over being ignored.

"Hestia, your contribution will be Lili and Hauhime," Michael turned his eyes to the goddess of hearth and home.

"Y-you're not taking Bell?" Hestia's mouth dropped slightly.

"I am," Michael answered. "But he was never yours to give. His falna belongs to you, yes, but the blood that strengthens that falna belongs to another. Blood that has already been sworn to me."

"Eh?" Bell frowned.

"Who are your parents, Bell?" Michael turned his eyes to the boy.

"I… I never knew them," Bell said thoughtfully. "My grandfather raised me."

"Yes, he did," Michael nodded. "Tell me, what would think if I told you your parents were adventurers?"

"I don't know," the boy frowned. "I suppose I would wonder why I was never told about them. Are you saying you know who they were?"

"A Familia is populated in two ways, though both require the giving of falna," the old man smiled. "The first way is through recruitment, which is what you went through. The second way is through the divine magic of the blood of generations. The blood of generations always happens to be a little stronger based on the fact that falna is usually given from birth. So what if the blood of generations is given falna by a god outside origin of that blood's magic?"

"I wouldn't know," Bell shook his head.

"Nothing would be different save for the fact that the god is different," Michael chuckled. "But, due to the fact that such blood has already been given divine properties, an outside god may give falna far after birth, making such a child weaker than others with divine blood. Of course, many with divine blood have anomalies."

"Anomalies?" Bell muttered. "What anomalies?"

"Special skills or powers," the Titan grabbed his pipe from his satchel at the left side of his waist along with some tobacco. "Rapid growth being one of them. Something that has been known to your goddess for some time."

"Liaris Freese," Hestia breathed quietly.

"Goddess Hestia?" Bell looked at the loli-goddess with confusion.

"Y-you have had a rare ability that enables rapid growth ever since that day you met Wallenwhatsit," Hestia said nervously. "I… kept it quiet to protect you."

"Goddess," Bell breathed out, touched by Hestia's desire to protect him, but still confused as to why she felt she needed to keep something that important from him.

"Michael," Hestia looked at the Titan. "What Familia did Bell's parents belong to?"

"The Zeus Familia," Michael smiled. "I recall they were both level nines, if I remember correctly. The Zeus and Hera Familias had plenty of level sevens and eights in their day, but only Zeus boasted two level nines, their captain and vice-captain respectively. After the Black Dragon defeated both Zeus and Hera, both the Familias came to be crushed by the political situations that always surround Orario. Though, I am sure you, Freya, and you, Loki, know of that all too well."

Loki looked away, but Freya stared at Bell, wondering how she had not seen the likeness of the children of the god she had long considered her rival in power. The goddess of beauty frowned. If Ishtar was indeed right about the boy being able to resist the charms of a goddess, it wasn't simply because he was the heretical, hard-to-get hero Freya had always thought Bell to be, but also because Zeus was in her way yet again after so many years.

"My parents were with the Zeus Familia," Bell thought wonder.

"Eh?! The human is special?!" the boy heard surprise from Lefiya.

"Ah! N-no, Lefiya, I'm not special!" Bell chuckled nervously.

"Uh, Master Bell, Lefiya didn't say anything," Lili frowned. Bell frowned and looked at Lili before looking at Lefiya, who was staring at him with some shock.

"Oh, yes," Michael chuckled. "Lefiya, that spell I had you use, there is a reason it is so intimate. The spell joins the spirits of whomever connected through the spell's work, making them one whole. After it is worked, the spell leaves an after effect that allows the two who were joined to read each other's thoughts and visit each other in dreams. So, congratulations on the spiritual marriage."

Bell soon felt stares of rage upon him from not only Lefiya, but also Hestia and Lili. Haruhime looked up into Bell's face with tears in her eyes. Tiona's face was somehow crossed with both disappointment and amusement. The faces of Ais and Loki were filled with shock. Freya, however, could only look at Lefiya with contempt.

"M-m-m-married," Lefiya stuttered, eyes wide with her rage, and began to laugh. "Me and that human."

"L-Lefiya?" Bell gulped and winced as he felt Lili pinch his side just for saying her name.

"N-NO!" the elf-maiden screamed dramatically. For the second time that day, the screams of Bell Cranel could be heard throughout Hearth Mansion.

…

It was the middle of the night when Bell woke next on a couch in the commons room. He groaned in slight pain and winced when he touched the bruise on his cheek. Still, the boy could not help but smile a little at the thought that Lefiya was getting stronger physically. As he got off the couch, Bell saw Michael standing on the balcony outside the room.

"Lord Michael?" Bell called out to the Titan.

"I have something to give to you," the old man turned to Bell after a pause between the two. "Zeus had asked that I give it to you, when I thought it was time."

The Titan extended his arm and bolt of lightning formed into his hand. Bell watched in silent awe as the Titan held the bolt in his hands. Then the Titan handed the bolt to the boy and smiled.

"The weapon of the Zeus Familia, the Spear of Destiny," Michael explained. "It is magic that has become a physical weapon. But, it can also be absorbed and added to the magic you already have. Your magic, Firebolt, combined and upgraded with the magic of the Spear, will become a force that impossible for any creature to dodge. It is the weapon of a hero. And a hero is needed."

"I… I'm not a hero like Ais is," Bell smiled sadly.

"A hero is not defined by mere power," Michael answered. "Many things do not define a hero: not the sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness. A hero is defined by what that hero chooses to defend: the people that hero loves. Yes, Ais is a hero, despite what she believes otherwise. And so are you."

"My lord?" Bell watched the Titan curiously.

"Take it," Michael smiled and handed the bolt to Bell. The magic spear glowed when Bell took hold of it and it was absorbed into him. "Tomorrow, young hero, we begin our long journey north. A journey that will make you the hero you have always dreamed to be."

…

1. The "Spear of Destiny," according to Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox tradition, also called the "Holy Lance," was the spear used to pierce the side of Jesus Christ by a Roman soldier. My idea for the spear, however, more tributes to the Greek concept of a form of "spear of destiny," which is more attributed to the javelin-spear that is known as the "lightning bolts of Zeus." More so than that, the Roman soldier that pierced the side of Jesus Christ was more likely to be a Greek garrison levy that received major training from the Roman army rather than true Roman soldier. While there was a Roman Legion that was near to Palestine at the time, that legion would have been far closer to the Palestinian eastern border to protect Rome's holdings from Parthian invasion. New soldiers would be put on the front lines for a time as part of their training to be used as cannon fodder so the true Romans would have an easier time killing the stragglers of their enemies before being sent to guard of Roman territory. It is easy to tell how Rome and plenty of drafts of soldiers that eventually led to the collapse of the western half of the Roman Empire. Also, due to the Hellenization of the east due to the conquests of Alexander the Great, everyone from Egypt in the south, to Turkey in the north, to Babylon in the east, were primarily Greek speaking. In either case, back to the spear, the interloop between Christianity and Greek Mythology into the Spear of Destiny was fairly simple as both traditions highly emphasize the concept of "predestination," or "fate." The only power, according to Greek mythology, that held power over Zeus was the power of Fate, and Zeus was highly subjective to the concept. According to Christian tradition, God is also highly subjected to 'fate,' but that 'fate' is also something that God has placed on himself.

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