The Twilight Manor

"I heard you want to join our family."

Bjorn knew this voice even though he still does not see its owner…. It's still the same voice as he had heard 5 years ago… The voice that gave him his fire. Yes, it's from Loki.

Bjorn stayed still, to the point that he was frozen in time… Loki's hand is still placed on Bjorn's left shoulder…

"Oh! Hi Rose! I hope you're taking proper care of our sword princess hihi."

"She's doing fine even if I rarely give her guidance…. and even if I did… She'll just brush it off and go straight to the dungeon…By the way Goddess, what are you doing here?"

Loki walked towards the front of Bjorn.

"Well, the Denatus is such a bore. I also received a lot of stupid remarks from that Loli! Damn it! Do you know how much I want to punch her?!"

"I'm sure you do, goddess."

"Well if you're sure…."

Loki then adapted her usual perverted old man face.

"Maybe I should also cop up a feel? Hehehe."

Rose then grabbed a cell phone-like device from her pocket. She then dialed a number and put it close to her ear.

"Hello, is this Riveria?"

"Hey! WAIT! NO!"

Loki grabbed the cellphone from Rose's ear and put it close to her ear.

"Hehe, don't worry about it Riveria! I'm here currently at the adventurer's guild! Ah! No no! I'll go there by myself."

Loki then turned around and looked at Bjorn with her slitted eyes.

"And who knows… I might bring someone over too."

Loki put the phone down and walked towards Bjorn.

"You really do look familiar… Have we met before?"

Bjorn, now unfrozen from his unusual feeling, thought about it more before speaking.

Weird…. It really is weird… The last time I also saw the Goddess I felt something awkward…. Something like a piece of myself had been missing….. and now found….

"Yes Goddess… we had met before."

Bjorn then opened his long sleeves on his left arm, exposing his firm but not large biceps. He then pointed towards the arm ring on the said left arm

"I had received this arm ring from you, goddess, five years ago."

Loki leaned closer towards Bjorn's arm and tilted her head, while her hand was on her chin.

"Really…? Hmm."

Loki thought about it more…. She then suddenly hit her right fist on her left hand.

"Ah! I remember now! It's from the village near Solingen, right?! What's your name hmm… ah Bjorn! That kid from 5 years ago. Wow, you grew up big huh."

Rose then interrupted the talk between the two.

"Well… you really know this guy, Goddess Loki?"

"Yeah! You see… I had this vague feeling back then you know? It was vague, but that was one of the times when my intuition went off unknowingly… and you should not just dismiss a Joker's intuition, you know?"

"Right, Goddess… Do you want him to be added to your familia register?"

Loki then looked back to Bjorn who was smiling innocently towards her.

"Hahaha, puppy eyes don't work on me, you know?"

She then looked back towards Rose.

"Not yet… Though I want to just accept you, my familia members would not let it be, you know?"

Bjorn gave her a soft smile.

"I understand Goddess."

Bjorn then grabbed something from his knapsack, and presented it to Loki.

"Here. Please take it, Goddess…"

What Bjorn presented to Loki is a wine from Solingen. This wine is beloved by the dwarves who worked on the blacksmiths of the city, mostly those dwarves who have sophisticated dwarven taste. 

"Ohhhh… what do you want with this?"

Bjorn gave her a smile which is close to Loki's joker smile.

"You may take it… as a bribe, Goddess."

Loki enlarges her eyes, making it so that her vivid red eyes are for everyone to see. She then smiled with her usual joker smile.

"Hahahaha! I like you! I want you in immediately!"

"But we can't do that, Goddess. Your other children would rebel… I think, hehe."

"Yeah, hahahaha. Come on. Follow me to the Twilight Manor immediately!"

Loki grabbed Bjorn's arm and dragged him out of the building. 

Bjorn gave Rose a small bow, before letting him be dragged by Loki…

Rose, on the other hand, returned to her usual receptionist duties, thinking of the Goddess and Bjorn's interaction.

Looks like the Loki Familia will have a new member huh… someone with partially the same personality as the Goddess….

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After Bjorn was dragged through the streets of Orario, they had ended up being in front of the Twilight Manor. 

This Manor…. is not just a manor… The Manor was a multi-tiered stronghold, its tall stone walls blending practicality with elegance. Its surface bore carvings of twilight imagery, rising suns and falling stars intertwined with Norse motifs, hinting at the cunning and mystique of its patron goddess, Loki. 

Banners depicting the Loki Familia's crest hung proudly from the upper levels, fluttering gently in the breeze. Around it, an open courtyard served as both a defensive perimeter and a space for activity.

Bjorn was continually being dragged by the goddess to the wooden gates of the manor. 

The guards, upon seeing their Goddess, immediately opened the gates, even though she was dragging someone unknown.

The inside of what the gates are guarding is rather silent… Since it's currently morning, the residents of the place must be eating their breakfast.

Loki continued to drag Bjorn until they reached the dining hall. 

There… Bjorn had seen the entirety of the Loki Familia.

Their captain, Finn Deimne, a pallum, is currently looking at Bjorn with his usual contemplative expression. Besides him are the other executives of the familia; Riveria Ljos Alf, a high elf; Gareth Landrock, a dwarf; Ais Wallenstein, A human; Tiona and Tione Hiryute, the amazon sisters; Bete Loga, a werewolf; Anakitty Autumn, a cat-kin; and Lefiya Viridis, an elf.

Around them are also the other members of the familia. Their expression towards Bjorn is rather… different. Some are amused since they saw him being dragged by Loki… Some do feel sorry… While some had calculative expressions on how strong Bjorn is upon getting Loki's attention.

Finn Deimne's piercing eyes studied him like an unsolved puzzle. Riveria, calm and poised, observed with the detached curiosity of a scholar. Gareth offered a warm, if guarded, smile. Ais Wallenstein, the Sword Princess herself, barely spared him a glance, more focused on her meal.

Seeing them all…. gives Bjorn a sense of an awe…

Finn, the captain, looked towards Loki and said.

"Loki-sama… who's this person you're dragging?"

Loki dropped Bjorn's hand that she was dragging, then she looked at Bjorn to introduce himself.

"Captain Finn. My name is Bjorn Aseldr."

Bjorn then heard someone shouting towards him.

"HEY! YOU SHOULD ADDRESS HIM AS FINN-SAMA OR I'LL CRU-mm mmmm mmmm!"

The one who shouted was Tione Hiryute…. Tiona, her sister, covered her sister's mouth and apologized.

"Haha… I'm sorry about that. She's a bit… you know… when it comes to the captain…"

Tiona continues to cover her sister's mouth…

Meanwhile, Finn gave a soft sigh.

"*sigh*... alright. Loki-sama, where did you find him?"

"Remember the village near Solingen 5 years ago?"

Finn thought about it for a moment before saying.

"Yes… where we found an Evilus member?"

"Yeah, that! Do you remember the time I went away for a moment? Yeah… I found him! Tada!"

Loki presented Bjorn to her familia, like a presenter presenting a reward in a game show….

"I felt something during that time… and even now, I still feel it. I'm inviting him to the familia because I'm curious about it, you know?"

Loki looked straight at Bjorn. Finn on the other hand gave Loki a small nod.

"Loki-sama… are you inviting him… based on curiosity?"

"Not just curiosity…. but also instinct… You know…, you should trust… the intuition of the trickster from heaven. "

Loki then opened her eyes, revealing her vivid red eyes, showing the people how serious she was. She also gave them a smile, befitting a cunning and calculative Joker… a far cry from her usual demeanor.

The people inside the dining hall gulped, while Loki's executives gave a small nod.

After a few moments, Finn told Loki and Bjorn.

"But… we can't just invite him… We need to test him."

Bete, the gray haired werewolf, immediately stepped forward.

"I'll do that. I find joy in beating weaklings, you see."

Before he left the table, Riveria handed Bete something.

"Hey, wear this."

"What's this?"

"It's a collar which regulates your strength to level 1…. It is used for training purposes and can be broken easily."

Bete wore the collar and confidently walked towards Bjorn.

"Hey, Captain! What do you think this guy's deal is?" 

Tiona said, her voice brimming with excitement from the incoming fight.

"Probably nothing worth mentioning, compared to the Captain!"

Tione said, still looking at Finn with hearts in her eyes.

Loki, on the other hand, tapped her hand on Bjorn's shoulder.

"Good Luck. I have my full trust in you."

She also tapped Bete's shoulder and said.

"Take it easy alright?"

"Take it easy on this kid? Really, Loki? You're scraping the bottom of the barrel now."

"Right, but you might be in for a surprise, you know?"

Loki then continued towards her seat, which is in the middle of the executives.

Bete also continued walking towards Bjorn, cracking his neck on the way.

"You should give up."

"Hmm?"

"Weaklings always give up."

That… popped a nerve in Bjorn's head….

Bete continued to taunt Bjorn.

"You know what.. Let's make this easy for you. If you manage to hit me, a proper hit, even once, then it is your win."

"Alright… an advantage is still an advantage."

"Don't flatter yourself, it's just to even out the odds, weakling. How about you go first too."

Bjorn just nodded. 

Bjorn then adapted a defensive stance, his right hand stretched towards the front, with his palm facing above. His left hand is balled into a fist, which is located at his hips, in a ready stance.

His feet are parted with both his feet pointing towards the front.

Looking at this, Bete wondered.

"You ain't using your sword?"

"Yes. It is to even out the odds, you see."

This popped a nerve on Bete... 

This fucker.

"Alright. Come."

Bete's stance is just… no stance… He has no stance. His arms are curled together in front. His feet… are just in the normal position. His stance reeks confidence that no matter what Bjorn does, it will not work.

However, Bjorn didn't give in. He went forward towards Bete until the both of them were at least a meter apart from each other. Bete still didn't move… showing no signs of moving.

The both of them are silently sizing up one another.

After a while, Bjorn started. 

Bjorn jumped and spun around. His legs were lifted into a flying kick position targeting the head, whilst spinning. Bjorn's right leg was lifted and stretched, whilst his left leg was curled towards inside.

Seeing this, Bete just tilted his head to his left, giving Bjorn a cocky smile.

However… whilst Bjorn's right foot missed, his left foot gave a follow up kick, whilst in the air, which hit Bete's left cheek...

Bjorn landed on his back. He softened the fall with his hands. He then did a kip-up to regain his standing. 

Bjorn stepped back for a moment, and adopted a ready position… He then looked around and saw the expressions of the people around him..

Loki… was giving him her Joker smile, whilst Finn had a surprised expression, as well as Riveria.

Gareth gives Bjorn a soft but approving smile, whilst Tiona gives him a 'Wow' expression… Tione… is looking at… Finn.

Ais is nonchalant, watching the fight, whilst eating.

Bete himself was…. shocked.

The others, as well, wore a surprised expression on their face… They didn't think that the fastest member of their familia would be hit...

Loki gave Bjorn a thumbs up and said.

"Nice."

...

….

…

.

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Yow! If you are curious about the move that kicked Bete… search Guyver kick in youtube haha. It is a fun kick, and it is a great move.

I also added modern elements such as cell phones in my story… Well, it will not widely be used, but it will be there. Also, it will only be usable within Orario only. Other modern appliances would also be present… not all though. It will be powered by the monster cores instead of electricity.

So yeah, the next chapter is… another fight chapter hehe.

Yeah.

Peace out my dudes!