A Monster part 2

After hearing Sona's side, Loki then asked the real identity of the monsters and Hestia explained it to them including those who knew of their existence and how Ouranos was protecting them through the Guild.

The Loki Familia, including Loki herself, was shocked at how intricate this 'problem' was, "Just what are they?" Surprised by a different meaning, Loki asked both Hestia and Artemis but the two Goddesses could only shake their heads as they also had no idea how the Xenos' existence came to be.

Scratching her head in confusion, Loki thought for a moment before looking back and mindlessly asking her fellow Goddesses, "What about that guy? Did he tell you something?"

However, she did not expect them to look at each other with hesitating expressions, "So he did know something. What is it?"

Sona then suddenly said, "Hestia-sama, Artemis-sama, I think it's fine."

"Are you sure? I have a feeling that this is a very important piece of information.", asked Artemis.

Sona nodded, "It's fine. I think Loki-sama needs to know this."

Out of everyone from the group, Sona was the only one who figured that Kisuke wanted to pull Loki herself to their side, 'Besides, Kisuke didn't explicitly forbid us to share this information. Giving it to her will also show our sincerity and trust in her.'

Hestia sighed and said, "He said that the Xenos' existence is evidence of a 2nd will existing within the Dungeon."

Loki's eyes widened but instead of saying anything to Hestia, she immediately turned to her children and said, "No matter what happens, don't ever mention what you just heard to anyone even by mistake! Especially to other Gods!"

Loki's children were startled at her very sudden and serious response but all nodded in promise.

Sighing, Loki held her aching head and thought, 'So that's how is it... Now a few things make sense. But what do you plan to do, Kisuke? On which side do you stand?'

However, she was glad that she was able to hear this information, 'Looks like the 'Promised Time' is a much bigger deal than I initially thought. So big that it could potentially affect Heaven itself. I have to make my decision soon.'

"Anyway, can we meet these said Xenos?", Loki immediately changed the topic.

But before Hestia could answer, everyone suddenly heard the jubilant laughter of little kids from the hallway and they were getting near the room where they were currently staying. A few seconds later, the door burst open with Claire entering the room in a hurry, "Ta-chan! Hurry!"

"Claire! Wait for me!" Immediately after, a familiar bipedal Vouivre entered the room which made the Loki Familia members enter an alert state.

But as if the kids didn't notice their presence, Claire grabbed Tanis' hand and closed the door before running towards the windows and opening them. Claire looked around outside before looking up to the windows on the third floor. "Ta-chan let's fly over there!", she said while pointing towards them.

Tanis nodded with all seriousness and willed her Dragon wings to come out. Once they sprouted from the opening of her dress behind her, Tanis immediately grabbed Claire's hands and the two of them jumped out of the window, flying towards the window on the third floor.

Finn wanted to say something when they left, but he was interrupted by small but hurried steps that came from the hallway.

Everyone was expecting a similar scene, but instead of opening, the door suddenly burst into many pieces. Ophis entered the room, running and demolishing the door on her way. Similar to the two that just came by, Ophis ignored everyone in the room and ran towards the window before looking up.

Ophis wanted to jump towards the ceiling to reach the third floor but she suddenly remembered that she could only go 'through' the doors so she gave up the idea and ran out of the room to chase after the two through a different route.

A minute of silence prevailed before Sona sighed, "I apologize for the sudden disturbance. It seems that their game of tag is going out of control."

"Did we perhaps forget to teach Ophis how to use the doors?", asked Irina suddenly while looking at the broken door.

"I doubt it. She probably got so excited that she forgot or got too bothered to use it properly.", replied the chuckling Aika.

Meanwhile, Akeno went towards the broken door to fix it with restoration magic. As the debris flew back in and mend itself, Riveria wanted to ask what and how she was doing it but this wasn't really the time for that. As she learned that any Magic could be done if one knew the underlying logic behind it, Riveria became more and more interested in other people's Magic.

"Ehem...", Hestia feigned a cough to get their attention, "Going back to the topic, you may meet them if you promise you won't do any harm to them."

Loki nodded, "Of course. As long as they don't bare their fangs, everything will be alright."

Irina exited the room to call their special guest and while waiting, Sona suddenly faced Ais and said, "Wallenstein-san, do you think you can slay the Vouivre just now?"

To her question, everyone looked at Ais and those from the Loki Familia had an expression of concern.

Ais looked down at her hand and stayed quiet for more than a minute. Recalling the happy and innocent expression that Tanis was making while playing a game of tag with her friends, Ais clenched her fist as a tinge of envy surfaced in her heart, "...I can't."

She then suddenly turned around and started walking away, "I'll take my leave... I've seen enough."

Tiona and Tione immediately followed her while calling out to her, but before they could exit the door, Sona said, "I know this contradicts your beliefs and goals. As you live your life, your goal may change or become outright unfeasible, but that doesn't mean you failed or you gave up. It just means that you have experienced and learned something to change your mind or you may have found something that's more important than your own goal."

"And as you confront reality, regrets are inevitable. However, that means you decided on something and you went through with it or else you'll just be standing still, not progressing in any way. Since regrets are inevitable, think. Think, think, and never stop thinking. Whether it's for your own good or others, whether it's for your own goal or justice, don't stop thinking of your options and which one you'll never regret or regret way less compared to others in case you're wrong."

"And it's alright to make mistakes as there are no perfect beings. It's just that mistakes that can make you stronger or destroy yourself are all up to you. But fear not for you are not alone. Not anymore.", Sona then shrugged her shoulders, "Well, those are Kisuke's words and not mine but I think you should hear them."

Without turning around, Ais asked, "Kisuke... What does he think of me?"

Sona rubbed her chin and thought for a moment, "Let's see... If I recall correctly, he described you as a brat who doesn't realize all the good things she has and can't be honest to herself by being drowned with her own self-ridicule and self-loathing. A kid who thought that the only way she could do something big is by giving up on herself." Sona then looked straight into her eyes and said with a big smile, "In other words, I think he's annoyed by you. If you think he has seen anything good on you, then you're very wrong because, for him, you're just a little kid that's trying to act mature in a very annoying way."