Chapter 7

Chapter 7

[The Labyrinth City of Orario]

Ashton didn't sleep much that night.

Not that he wasn't expecting it, but finding out that Evilius, the organization he despised, was somehow back again. At the same time, he wasn't here when the entire organization was destroyed from the bottom up. He thought it was gone for good, or the survivors became too fearful of rising again.

Yet Finn said otherwise. While he knew Finn was just trying to keep him in Orario to get more information, he wouldn't have to use Evilius if it wasn't true.

"Dammit, why couldn't coming back to this accursed city be simple?" Ashton asked himself.

Orario wasn't his home; he was born here and spent the first seven years of his life here, but he could never see it as a place to live. The Hera and Zeus Familia kept the peace for hundreds of years, yet one failure cost them everything.

He should be mad at Loki and Freya for what they did, but he couldn't. Gods don't care about fairness or peace. They want entertainment more than anything. At the very least, he respected them since they had been doing a decent job filling the shoes of the old-timers.

"Bell Cranel…" Honestly, seeing him for the first time in seven years brought back painful memories, especially how he interacted with Aiz.

It reminded him of how Aunt Meteria acted when David pulled the moves on her.

"Well, at least he inherited more from Auntie than his scum of a father," Ashton said before gaining another hateful look in his eyes.

Things would have been so much better if he wasn't born. He would still have his Aunt and his… mother and not the Bitch who replaced her.

Honestly, he hated his little cousin for not suffering as he had. He didn't lose family members one by one, powerless to stop them from leaving or dying, nor the pain of…killing his own mother.

He just hated his cousin because he got to live a carefree life unburdened by the knowledge of what he had lost and the people who sacrificed their lives for him.

Ashton knew his hatred for his little cousin was unjustly put, but he didn't care about fairness. He just wanted someone to be the scapegoat for his hatred, and Bell Cranel was just too easy to hate in his eyes.

"Enough moping around," Ashton said to himself as he stared at the city below from a watchtower. He took out a map, a pendulum, and some ingredients for a spell.

Within the world, there are three types of magic. Personal, Ritual, and Spirit magic. Personal magic is three or more unique spells tailored to the individual, which is achieved through years of introspection and meditation. Ritual magic is performed by creating a magic circle and using ingredients to perform the spell. Finally, spirit magic is an incorrect term, users of spirit magic just make contracts with the spirits, and they lend their power.

Being a Demigod allowed Ashton to break the rules of the world. Meaning he didn't have to do years of introspection to use magic. He just had to think about a spell, and boom, it was done. The only other race that could do something similar was the elves, but they still needed to study for years.

Ashton chuckled, remembering the stupefied faces of the Elven Instructors at their prestigious academy a year ago. He was doing a job for King Larfal and got annoyed by the arrogant attitude and decided to show off. It was so satisfying.

Yet when it came to Ritual magic, he had to do it like everyone else. A tracking spell was what he was preparing. While Finn probably had a decent amount of knowledge about the current Evilius, it wasn't enough. Evilius was an organization that waited until Evilius became a part of Orario's infrastructure before revealing its nature.

So he needed the person who knew the most about how Evilius operated. So he placed a small green cloth with blood stains in the center of the circle.

Tracking spells were difficult to pull off since there was no way to tell you where a person was accurate. Where they last went, sure but showing their movements were more challenging. So he was preparing the best tracking spell he knew.

Sure, he could just use a personalized tracking spell, but that would be a big miss since he would only know his target's current location. Ashton needed to be able to find her fast and so one Ritual spell or multiple personal spells. It's an easy choice.

"Oh, lost soul who is lost to the road of light,

I beseech thee to those who found themselves in darkness

Look up to the dark sky to find a ray of light

That shines upon the fork in the road

and Will guide you to where you seek."

The magic circle begins glowing, and the pendulum begins swinging wildly until it lands on a pub.

(***)

[Hostess of Vertility]

Five years since she avenged her family.

Five years of quietly repenting for her sins.

Five years of healing from her scars and moving on.

Five years wasted!

She thought she had eliminated them all, but they were like vermin. But like vermin, some slip through the cracks.

Not just any vermin but the one who took everything from her.

She will have her vengeance. The last remaining vestige of Evilius will soon die.

She looked at her friends with a sad smile. This will be the last day she spends with them. She will miss mama Mia's kindness, Syr's teasing, Anya's clumsiness, Luniore's quietness, and Chloe's perverted antics.

Her time here will be missed, but it will be for the best. Everyone here had a dark past that they escaped, but she could never do that. The past was chained to her for the remainder of her life. It's best for someone like her to leave them so they can have a brighter future.

What is justice?

A question drifted through the recesses of my mind. Someone was talking to me.

I knew this voice. It was the voice of my best friend.

What is justice? It was a question I had heard a hundred times before. But no matter how often I heard it, I wouldn't tire of trying to answer it.

The surroundings around me changed, turning into the main room of my home. Around me were my closest friends. My companions. My Familia.

Alise, Kaguya, Lyra, Neze, Iska, Maryuu, Noin, Asta, Ryana, Celty, Cecil.

I felt a painful throb in my chest as I saw every one of their smiling faces.

"So, what is justice? What do you think, Lyon?" Alise asked me. I opened my mouth to answer, but–

Silence.

No words came out.

Justice? A cold wind swept up from behind me as a voice whispered into my ear, sending shivers crawling down my spine. Alise and the others had frozen, their smiles and faces turning into stony visages.

Around me, the fire roared. The halls of Stardust Garden erupted into flames, an inferno swirling to life around me. The unmoving bodies of my Familia blackened as they were engulfed by fire before withering into ash.

As Stardust Garden burned to the ground, a scene of carnage replaced the sight of my home.

Bodies were stacked atop one another, forming pile after pile around me, their faces twisted into horrific grimaces. Some had been ripped apart with relentless sword slashes. Others were mangled beyond recognition as they had been ripped apart with traps and explosives. Still, others were bloated with the symptoms of poison or charred with the power of magic. The ruins of buildings were torn apart as children's toys surrounded me.

In the middle of this stood a lone elf. A violent gust swept up around her, setting her cloak aflutter in the wind. Blood was splattered across her entire body–her clothes, body, and even her face and hair.

As she looked up, I felt a shiver run down my spine.

Empty. Even though her eyes were there, there was no emotion behind that gaze other than a chilling fury that swirled at the bottom of those eyes.

Justice? the voice mockingly repeated to me, its voice honeyed and saccharine. Is this what you call justice?

I wanted to say no. To deny that this wasn't justice. That this wasn't what Astraea-Sama or Alise would have wanted for me.

But no words came out.

Of course, it is not justice. The voice affirmed my resolution. But it is what you have done.

Around the elf, the bodies dissolved into a swirl of ashes as the elf stepped toward me. Closer and closer she got until the two of us were face to face.

I knew, without a single doubt in my heart, that this ugly image in front of me–so dirty, so empty, so broken–was what I had become.

But it was with a startle that I realized just who the voice belonged to.

You have no right to carry the burden of justice. Lady Astraea

Around me, the surroundings blurred again, fire and brimstone replaced by grass and sunshine.

I seemed to be standing on the banks of a river, the current so powerful and unfathomably wide that I could not hope to cross without being swept away.

My voice caught as I saw my Familia members on the other side. Their faces were turned away from me, gazing towards the light beyond the far shore. I felt a surge of warmth in my body as I called out to them.

I wanted to tell them that I was here. That I missed them. That I would join them soon.

But the warmth in my body turned into a terrible coldness as they didn't respond. No matter how often I shouted their names, they never looked back.

This is your punishment.

No.

Please don't leave me behind.

Please don't leave me here.

Please–

Her friends will be better off without her. They do not need to be dragged into her darkness. They all deserved to live in the light as she jumped out her window and onto the roofs of nearby buildings towards her target. Yet a familiar presence came near, and she stopped to hear a voice.

"Long time no see, Ryuu," Ryuu whipped her head around to see a man with snow-white hair and sapphire-blue eyes.

"Hello, Ashton," Ryuu said

(***)

"Bell… are you sure about this?"

The young boy with ashen-white hair turned towards Welf, offering a smile to his perplexed face.

"Yes. I've made up my mind," he answered, firm and resolute even in spite of his cheerful tone.

The blacksmith stared at his fellow Familia member and younger brother figure with a serious face, surprised by his sudden resolve. Along with him, Lily, Haruhime and Mikoto were staring at the boy as well, all of them looking no less surprised than Welf. There was only one person except for Bell who didn't seem surprised right now… that being the other presence in the room: the patron goddess herself, Hestia.

This was a cathartic moment. Now that dinner was concluded and all the chores finished, all members of the Familia were seated in the spacious living room of Hearthstone Manor, having a somewhat serious conversation among themselves. It had been an inevitable outcome since their beloved Captain had stated that he was going on a date with Aiz.

Someone who had just recently tried to kill him alongside Weine. Who everyone in the Familia saw as a little sister or daughter in Lady's Hestia case. So it was understandable for all of them to warry about his course of action.

"Lily still thinks this is a bad idea," the small prum and Supporter of the group pointed out from the couch, her arms crossed and her face morphed into an annoyed pout.

A chagrined smile and weary faces was all she received in answer from Bell and the others. Her grumbling tone was so blatantly obvious that none could miss it. Warranted, they supposed.

Haruhime smiled at the smaller girl, albeit a bit sadly. "Now, now. Bell-sama has taken his decision. I'm sure he must have a reason," she tried to defend her savior's choice with a comprehensive tone, even if the idea of Bell meeting with the Sword Princess was not a pleasant one for her either. She simply couldn't help it, since the renard secretly held feelings for the boy in her heart― just like the majority of the girls inside the room. Except for Mikoto, of course.

Bell felt a small pang of guilt blossoming inside his chest upon being confronted with his Familia – his family's concern. He did not like to see his friends worried, especially when he was the cause of their concern. "I'm sorry everyone but I can't leave her."

He was serious about it. Everyone could clearly see that. Hestia especially, since she was the only one who knew exactly what was going on inside her beloved child's mind. He was an honest soul who just wants to save people.

"We will support you, Bell-dono," Mikoto spoke with a solemn tone, offering a reassuring nod to the boy. "If you really need to do this, we won't stop you."

"That's right. As long as you're certain about it," Welf agreed as well, patting his favorite Adventurer on the shoulder.

The smile the boy sent to them was absolutely heart-warming.

Lily bit her lips, her pout growing by the second even upon being faced by Bell's charming smile. "…ugh. This isn't fair. At least let us accompany you!" she tried to bargain.

"That's enough, Supporter-kun," Hestia chimed in, gently. Everyone turned to the goddess, noticing with no small amount of surprise that she, too, was willing to let this happen. There was no way anyone could mistake the steeled duty inside her blue eyes. "We cannot deny this to him. Give it up already."

Lily was baffled by her reaction. "How can you say that, Hestia-sama?! You were the one who tasked Lily with the duty to keep an eye on him!" she demanded with a sharp tone, making the goddess cough in shame at that reminder.

Welf, Mikoto and Bell sweat-dropped at the scene. Haruhime just stared in blissful ignorance.

Keeping an eye on me…? I've thought this for a while now, but they really are too overprotective of me, the boy mused with a deadpan.

"A-Anyway, Bell-kun has talked to me about this matter, and he has my approval. I won't deny him this choice," Hestia declared with a serious tone, offering a nod and a smile to the first member of her Familia. "If he says he needs to do this, then it is my– our duty, to support him. I am the goddess of this Familia, after all."

Haruhime nodded, her tail wagging a bit behind her back. "I agree. Bell-sama will be just fine. I am sure of it," she spoke as well.

"Sure leave him alone with that monster," Lilly said and Bell felt pain in his heart. While he knew Aiz has darkness in her heart but that didn't mean she was a monster.

"I know, Lily. But that is also why I want to speak to Aiz again. I want to ask her what she's thinking. I want – no, I need to know what is going to happen between us from now on," he said, for once admitting the whole truth without mincing words or backing away from the prum's complaints.

The sheer strength behind his words blew away all the tension and bad premonitions, freezing everyone's thoughts in place. Lily and the others, who had been staring in a stupor under the new display of resolve that the young boy was showing for the first time in such a way, could do nothing but widen their eyes and watch in silence, flabbergasted by his decision.

And how could they not be? After all, this was the first time that Bell was showing such an obvious display of resolve in front of them. Or, at least, a display of resolve regarding this peculiar subject. Hestia and the others knew better than anyone how stubborn and resolute Bell could be, especially when the safety and well-being of his friends and loved ones was involved; but this… this was a first. They had never seen their Captain so fixated on something – on someone – before. Bell had always been a sweet, considerate boy; a young man who had never acted selfishly and was always willing to listen to others even when he was filled with doubts. To see that sweet, charming boy being so stubborn and acting so "selfishly" for the first time… was almost a mind-blowing experience for them, to be honest. Not even when he had decided to save Wiene and take the Xenos' side Bell had been so committed in front of them, so they couldn't help but be stunned by his words.

Moreover, the fact that this fixation of his was primarily aimed toward Aiz Wallenstein was something that they could hardly dismiss. On the contrary, it only made the concern inside of them grow. Especially for Lily and Haruhime, due to their unspoken feelings for him. Everyone knew that Bell greatly admired the Sword Princess ever since she had saved him in the Dungeon… but the boy had never been so explicit about his not-so-subtle interest on the girl before. This was a first, in the literal sense of the word.

Hence: now, perhaps for the first time, those two were finally starting to realize that despite how frustrating Bell's attraction to Aiz could be for them, they couldn't stop him from choosing his own path.

While Hestia looks at him with sad acceptance, in her heart, she knows Bell would never love her as a woman and only as a mother figure. Hestia sighed before looking at her Familia.

"Enough. Bell-kun has made up his mind. We should respect his decision." Hestia said, and every one of her precious children nodded at her words.

"Go then, Bell-kun. Do what you must," Hestia managed to say with a sincere tone, banishing the pain for the sake of her child.

"Thank you!"