Chapter 15: Change of plans

"... This is bad..."

Lucias muttered while biting his finger nail due to frustration from the news given to him by Jibril 

"What's wrong?"

Lucifer asked while sitting down on an empty seat on the table.

"... I didn't consider Artosh and the flügel..."

The elves allied themselves with the Dragonias and Fairies against the alliance of the dwarves, phantasma, and giants. Planning to launch their strongest attack towards each other to end the other.

This means that both Kanias, the creator of the elves, and Okein, the creator of the dwarves are now on each other's neck, so both sides will engage in a full on war that might wipe out the other... Holou on the other hand is neutral and wants no involvement in the war but only to answer her unending curiosity about everything.

The only problem is the flügels and their god Artosh. Lucias didn't consider them since their traces are nowhere to be found within Lucia Continent but according to Jibril, their base Avent Heim is in Lucia Continent so any suspicious movements will easily attract their attention.

"Shit... We need to change the plan"

Lucias says while taking out a map left by Riku as they evacuated the colony.

"Since the other races are busy killing each other and the dhampirs, Seirens, and werebeast are uninvolved in the war... I want all the Ex-Machinas to corner Artosh and the Flügels... We have no choice but to sacrifice a few Ex-Machinas to keep him in one place"

Lucias said with a heavy tone from the thought of sacrificing his own men.

"Yuu contact Schwi and tell her about the change in our plans"

[On it]

"What about me, Master?"

Jibril asked while pulling his shirt from behind.

"... Jibril..."

Lucias called out with a complicated expression on his face while gazing at the flügel who was staring at him with anticipation.

He didn't know if Jibril was willing to fight for them, especially when they're fighting her own kind and creator, so Lucias was a bit hesitant on assigning a position to her.

'Even though the contract dagger increases they're loyalty towards me... that doesn't mean that they're loyalty towards another being will diminish...'

"I don't think... Jibril just stay here"

"W-what? Why? I can be a great help to you considering my power, so ple-"

"Can you kill your own creator and kind, Jibril?"

Lucias cut her off by asking the most crucial question that was weighing him. If she is unable to answer him... That means that she is not someone they should bring with them.

"... Master..."

Jibril muttered with a pained voice causing Lucias to close his eyes from disappointment before removing his gaze at her.

"... are you... doubting me, Master?"

"Huh?"

Lucias asked in confusion as he hurriedly stared straight at her pained expression.

"I... I-I already said that I belong to you... but... you didn't believe me?"

"That's not wha-"

"*Sniff*"

"You made her cry, Lucias" 

Azazel said with a frown as she tried to comfort her.

"I thought you said we can trust her? Why are you doubting her?"

Lucifer asked with a strange expression on her face from his contradicting actions and words.

Lucias looked at them strangely while reading Jibril's new skill that suddenly popped out when she started crying.

[Skill: Acting (lvl 2/100) has been identified]

[Skill: Deceit (lvl 3/100) has been identified]

"..." (Lucias)

'This flügel...'

Lucias clenched his fist as the temperature around him quickly decreased, freezing everything that couldn't handle the sheer coldness that he is emitting.

"I-I was joking, Master"

Jibril nervously laughed while scratching the back of her head, averting her gaze from Lucias, quickly switching her attitude from earlier.

"Fine... Just don't make mess, ok?"

Lucias sighed, giving up before pointing an area on the large map.

"You will join the Ex-Machinas to ward off the Artosh and the other flügels... Can you do that?"

"I will do my best, Master!"

Jibril energetically answered, before running away from the room from fear of what Lucias might do to her if she stayed a bit longer.

"... Then, you 4 can leave the room now... I have something important to do"

Lucias said with a tired voice as they quickly left the room without question leaving him alone on the room

After confirming that they all left he then used his appraisal on himself to see his status board, moving towards the latest section that he earned two years ago.

[Summon: 1x (1 Free summon)]

'I will need a few more allies to ensure Azazel's and Lucifer's safety, especially when they're weakened'

"I almost forgot about this section..."

Lucias pressed the [Summon] button causing a large magic circle covered the entire floor of the small wooden house as it's light covered the entire room, blinding Lucias from the bright light that the magic circle emits, forcing him to unconsciously cover his eyes with his hand.

Slowly, the bright light slowly disappeared... Leaving a young slightly androgynous woman in her early-mid teens with a slender physique, soft skin, and green eyes wearing a shining armor with an old styled dress, made from old-fashioned blue cloth, underneath.

She emits a dignified and noble aura around her as she stared directly at Lucias, studying her new master before breaking the silence.

"Are you my Master?"

-With Justice and Ingvild-

"Things are going pretty smoothly doesn't it, Ingvild?"

Justice says with a grin while observing the newly renovated church of the Hestia Familia. Unlike the ruined church from before where most of the walls and pillars we're barely holding on.

The stage of the church was expanded, the walls were painted and decorated with various flowers to be more welcoming to the guests. Golden chandeliers were placed, hanging on the ceiling, illuminating the entire room.

A large dormitory for the members of the Familia was built from the land that they bought as the main church was made as the main residence of the goddess Hestia.

The rooms were not luxurious but modest, enough to give a sense of comfort to those living in it, complete with furniture that they might need.

A small garden were the members could relax was added on the back of the dormitory, with a small fountain located in the middle, complimenting the aesthetics of the garden.

"Now that church is finished... All we have to do now is to search for the members... Our first destination would be the Ishtar Familia... According to the reports their God hasn't come back to the mortal realm for a long time, causing the Familia to be in the verge of collapse" (Ingvild)

"Tch... So they collapsed even before we could do anything" (Justice)

"The members are still as despicable as before, so do whatever you want with them... We're planning to declare war anyway with the Loki Familia to get them on our side... Since you already pissed their Goddess off because of the oaths you created with every member of her Familia" (Ingvild)

"Hehehe" (Justice)

"*Sigh*... Let's get this over with" (Ingvild)

Ingvild tiredly sighed from the amount of documents she needed to verify concerning the land they bought and the bills for construction.

"Let's go!!" 

Justice says before pulling her towards the location of the brothel owned by the Ishtar Familia.

"So... Justice, how's the girl Ais Wallenstein?" (Ingvild)

"You mean that blond haired girl? She is pretty obsessed with growing stronger just like Lucias. She repeatedly challenged me in a duel trying to overtake me but I won every single time which caused her to become frustrated... There's something weird inside of her... An unknown magic that we never once encountered in the past but for some reason, she is not nurturing it so it was pretty weak" (Justice)

"An unknown magic? There was nothing written like that in the information given to me" (Ingvild)

"Only the members of their Familia know about her hidden magic, so I guess that's the reason why they aren't able to obtain that information about her" (Justice)

"It seems like I have to conduct a through investigation about them myself" (Ingvild)

Ingvild sighed before hiding the pile of documents in her hand bag.

"How are the other members?" (Ingvild)

"Hmm... That Finn guy is pretty cautious around me and was able to imagine the consequences of my actions immediately in his mind. The noisy werewolf is pretty reckless like me... that is all I can comment about his personality, he is pretty strong, he easily outclass almost everyone on the same level as him... well when it comes to hand to hand combat at least" (Justice)

"The strongest in terms of physical strength is the bearded shorty, I think his name was Gareth? He is pretty strong for his level... Stronger than any of them in my opinion, and also he is the Big Daddy of the group" (Justice)

"How about the two Amazoness?" (Ingvild)

"Oh those two, if I have to describe them in one word... They are annoying to deal with. The one with short hair is a fanatic and kept bugging me asking several questions about my journey and stuff. The other one is paranoid, she will stare daggers at me every time I get close to Finn" (Justice)

"I'm asking about their strength..." (Ingvild)

"I'm just messing with you, Ingvild don't be so serious, Lucias might not like you for that you know" (Justice)

"You talk like you aren't as desperate as me... I know you planned everything to make their Goddess recklessly challenge you so you can take them all in one move. You're not the type of person to involve yourself with other people without a reason" (Ingvild)

Justice stopped in her tracks before turning around with her hands on her pocket.

"That's because I can't show any type of weakness, Ingvild"

Justice says in a serious tone before smiling widely and smacking Ingvild on her shoulders.

"Enough of that, we're already here"

"... So this is the red light district"

Ingvild muttered while looking around the place, filled with the stench of perfume and alcohol.

"Ugh..."

Ingvild grunted in discomfort from the smell, covering her nose while covering herself with pure and clear water to block the smell.

"Well, I expected more actually"

Justice muttered while looking at the shabby looking buildings around the small district.

"What do you expect from a familia that is in the verge of disbandment... It's surprising that they still have this store"

Ingvild bluntly stated as both of them tried to open the door to enter inside but was stopped in their tracks when 2 men slammed door open.

"That bitch fainted again!!!"

"*Sigh* This is affecting our business, when will Ishtar-sama come back from heaven?"

Both of them shouted in annoyance as soon as they left the store.

"Gentlemen, can I ask you two a few questions?"

Justice says with a wide grin on her face as she placed her hand on their shoulders, shocking both of them from recognizing her identity.

"I-Iron Fist!?"

"W-what are you doing here?!"

"I thought said I wanted to ask a few questions?"

"T-that is... I'm sorry! H-How can we help you?"

One of the men asked politely with a flattering smile, afraid of offending the monster in front of him.

"Do you know a girl named Sanjouno Haruhime? The girl with the fox ears?"

"W-we do"

"We want to buy her from you"

"W-what?"

The men muttered in shock as they couldn't imagine one of the strongest figures buying a slave.

"B-but-"

"We will offer 10 Million Valis for her, but we have a few conditions that you must follow" (Ingvild)

"T-ten Million Valis?!"

"Yes... Do you accept the deal, gentlemen?" (Ingvild)

Ingvild said cutting off every chances they have to make things much more complicated from them by placing all the conditions down immediately.

Timeskip

"T-Thank you, Thank you!! For taking her away!"

One of the men shouted while waving their hands towards the leaving figures of Justice, Ingvild, and a girl with long straight blond hair and fox ears sticking out of her head.

"That's not the only thing we will take away from you guys"

Justice she whispered with a myterious smile on her face while walking away from the brothel.

"But for them to easily sell her away, it seems like the information about her fainting during 'training' is true" 

Ingvild said with a relieve smile on her face from knowing that the girl beside them still had her purity.

"A-ano..."

The fox girl nervously raised her voice while looking up the 2 figures beside her.

"Haruhime-san, you don't be nervous around us. We didn't want a slave, it was just an excuse to get you out of their without conflict"

Ingvild reassured while gently patting her head, causing her fox ears to twitch from the sensation that she felt.

"W-why?" (Haruhime)

"Why? we wanted to help you out of there, you don't look like you want to stay at that place... and we also wanted your help?" (Justice)

"H-help? B-but I-I'm not strong, I-I can't do anything right"

"That's because you were only trained inside a brothel, that's why you couldn't bring out your full potential" (Ingvild)

"P-potential?"

"Yes, you have a set of skills that have limitless potential but... because you were trapped inside that brothel and wasn't able to join a proper familia to see your skill. You weren't able to nurture and train it properly" (Ingvild)

"I-I-I-"

"That is your only task, Haruhime. Grow stronger, we will assist you however we can" (Ingvild)

"Fueeeeeeee"

"We still have a long way until you can be qualified to enter the dungeon, right Ingvild?"

"... We will have to start with her self-esteem... If she can't trust herself, she will die easily inside the labyrinth"

Ingvild nodded her head as all 3 of them arrived in front of the church.

"Pretty..." (Haruhime)

"... Hey, Justice" (Ingvild)

"Yeah?" (Justice)

"You increased the security around the entire church, right?" (Ingvild)

"Why?" (Justice)

"... Who is that?" (Ingvild)

Ingvild pointed at the crying girl crouching down on the stage. The girl had soft curly white hair that reaches down her hips, complimenting her milky white skin giving off a sense of innocence to whoever look at the little girl on the stage. 

(N/A: just imagine that she's wearing Bell's usual outfit)

"... Oh it's Bell" (Justice)

"...What?" (Ingvild)