Chapter 1: The Meeting of [Sword] and [Beast] (Arc 2) (Patreon)

Someone once said:

"The stars never forget the glory they once held."

Someone once looked up at the sky and sighed.

"The clouds are too thick. Not a single star can be seen."

And once, someone stood atop Orario's highest point and sneered with a victor's contempt.

"This sky looks just like justice swallowed whole by evil."

The rain kept falling.

Dark clouds blanketed the labyrinth city. Rain fell from the sky, washing over rooftops, streets, and bloodstains that hadn't yet dried. Daylight refused to break; the whole sky hung the color of rotting moss, gray-green and heavy, so that no one could tell whether this was early morning or merely the ashes left behind by an endless night.

In the city's southwest, in a graveyard hastily cleared for the emergency, countless mounds of earth stretched to the edge of the woodland.

This place had once been a quiet slope planted with elm trees.

Now most of the trees had been cut down, and the cleared ground was used to bury those who had died the night before. Orario's First Cemetery had long since run out of room for so many dead, and the Guild had been forced to requisition this stretch of forest.

Coffins were far from enough.

There was no time to carve gravestones.

Many bodies could only be wrapped in coarse cloth and lowered into hastily dug graves. Broken weapons, scorched wooden plaques, and shattered shields were driven into the mounds — the only proof that these people had ever existed.

Rain ran down the blades of swords, pooling into small puddles in the mud.

Only a handful of gods stood before the countless graves.

Astrea let the rain soak her walnut-brown hair. The wet strands clung to her shoulders, and drops slid down her cheeks — no one could tell whether tears were mixed in.

She gazed at the mounds stretching deep into the woodland, her galaxy-blue eyes stripped of their usual gentle light.

"Last night's resistance cost many adventurers and residents their lives."

Her voice was quiet, but it carried clearly through the curtain of rain.

"Even now, the number of dead keeps rising."

Some hadn't survived their wounds.

Some had been found after a full night buried beneath rubble.

And there were still adventurers who had lost their patron deity's blessing, who had not yet returned from the districts under Evilus's control.

Every time the search teams brought back a body, this graveyard gained one more mound.

The burials didn't stop.

Neither did the rain.

Standing beside Astrea, Ganesha finally lost his composure.

"My children!"

He pressed both hands over his elephant-headed mask, his massive frame shaking violently.

"I'm sorry! Even if an apology means nothing now, I still have to say it! I failed to protect you!"

His loud sobbing drowned out the rain.

Tears poured from beneath the mask, soaking into his collar along with the rainwater.

"As your patron god, I could only stand here while my children fell! All I can do is weep and howl! I'm truly sorry!"

No one thought him too loud.

In this moment, weeping without restraint had become a rare kind of honesty.

Loki stood a short distance away, hands tucked into her sleeves. Her head was bowed, her red hair soaked by the rain, and the smile that usually hung at the corner of her mouth was long gone.

Hephaestus hadn't bothered with an umbrella either.

The one-eyed goddess faced a mound with a forging hammer planted in it, silent for a long while. The child resting there had been a young smith of her Familia, killed the night before less than two streets from Central Plaza while carrying a magic sword to the front line.

Every god recognized some of the names.

Every god could only remember a small fraction of them.

Death had come too fast, and in too great a number.

Hermes stood on Astrea's other side, his hat brim shadowing his eyes.

"The children's souls are no longer beneath this soil."

His tone was calm.

"They may already be on their way back to the heavens, or perhaps they've entered their next cycle of rebirth. There's no soul left here to hear our prayers, no consciousness waiting to be comforted."

Ganesha's sobbing eased slightly.

Hermes raised a hand to steady his hat before the wind could snatch it away.

"Burying the dead is a custom of the Lower World. For gods like us, who can see the cycle of a soul's rebirth, these rites are nothing more than an act of sentiment."

He paused there for a moment.

Rain trickled down the brim of his hat, hiding his faintly tightened jaw.

"But now, I finally understand — sentiment has meaning of its own."

Astrea nodded softly.

"The dead need no gravestones. It's the living who need a place to say goodbye."

She stepped forward and knelt before the nearest mound.

A broken sword had been planted before the grave.

Faded red cloth was wrapped around the hilt, soaked through by the rain and clinging tightly to the metal. Astrea reached out and set the tilted, broken sword upright again.

"The adventurers didn't even have time to pause for a moment of silence."

She turned back to face the gods.

"They're still putting out fires, searching for survivors, carrying the wounded, and staying alert for another attack from Evilus. Since the children can't come here themselves, let us see them off in their place."

Loki lifted her face.

"Seeing off just today's batch won't be enough."

She walked to another grave and crouched to check the name carved into the wooden marker.

"More will be brought here after this."

"I know."

"Erebus will move again too."

"I know."

Astrea's answer came without hesitation.

Loki studied her for a few breaths, then slowly let out a breath.

"Even so, you're still going to talk about justice?"

Astrea rose to her feet.

"It's precisely because of what happened last night that I can't afford to give it up."

"That bastard used the very thing you value most to mock this entire city."

"Erebus won last night's battle."

Astrea looked up at the cloud-shrouded sky.

"A single defeat doesn't decide whether justice still matters. Evil having greater strength doesn't prove that evil's path is the right one."

Loki didn't press further.

She turned toward the graveyard's exit and raised her right hand without looking back at the others.

"I'm heading back. That brat Finn is planning to throw the most troublesome kid in the family onto the battlefield — I need to get there before Riveria tears Babel apart."

Hermes lifted the brim of his hat.

"The most troublesome kid?"

Loki's steps paused briefly.

"A sword that hasn't learned to return to its sheath yet."

With that, she walked alone into the rain.

Central Plaza had become one vast makeshift camp.

Wounded crowded the hastily erected tents, and adventurers ran back and forth along the muddy roads. Supplies were sorted and stacked on either side of Babel's entrance, while Guild staff huddled over maps and lists, constantly confirming which districts had fallen and counting the casualties.

Finn stood in a side chamber on Babel's first floor.

A massive city map hung on the wall. Large swaths of the southern and eastern districts had already been painted black, marking territory lost. Symbols marking Evilus strongholds dotted the districts, many of them still unconfirmed.

"After last night, the enemy's main force has withdrawn for now."

Finn tapped the northwest region with the butt of his spear.

"Erebus, Zald, and Alfia have all vanished without a trace. The Guild has posted watchers at the city gates, and none of them have been spotted leaving Orario."

Gareth sat in a reinforced chair.

His breastplate had been removed, his upper body wrapped in bandages, his right shoulder splinted with boards. He'd been struck head-on by Alfia's [Gospel] the night before and hadn't regained consciousness until half an hour ago.

"Meaning they're still hiding somewhere inside Orario."

Gareth said gravely.

"Those two monsters could jump out again at any moment."

"With our current strength, we can't face them head-on."

Finn drew a circle around Zald's and Alfia's names.

"Ottar is still unconscious. Your injuries will take at least two days to stabilize, and Riveria's mental strength hasn't recovered either. The Freya Familia's officers are scattered between the north and the industrial district — there's no way to gather them all in a short time."

"For now, our job is to hold the line and regroup."

"To guard against a second attack Evilus might launch at any moment, for whatever reason they've withdrawn temporarily."

Finn's reply was calm.

"Acting rashly will only cost us more strength."

An angry voice rang out from beyond the door.

"And what exactly is it you're doing right now?"

The side chamber door swung open.

Riveria walked in, leaning on her staff.

Gauze covered the side of her face, and her left arm was bound to her chest with bandages. Her emerald hair had lost its usual shine, and even her steps were noticeably slower than usual.

Raul trailed behind her, sweating cold.

"Captain Finn, I really did try to stop her. Lady Riveria insisted on coming — there was nothing I could do."

Finn glanced at the elf princess.

"You should be resting in the medical tent."

"I've lain there long enough."

Riveria used her staff to hold herself up as she walked over to Finn.

"I hear you're planning to send Ais into the coming battle."

Silence fell over the side chamber.

Gareth frowned as well, but Finn didn't dodge the question — he admitted it outright.

"Yes."

Riveria gripped her staff tighter.

"She's only nine."

"She's already a Level 3."

"A level doesn't mean she's ready to kill!"

The elf princess's voice suddenly rose.

"The monsters in the Dungeon are nothing like Evilus. Monsters don't set traps, don't take hostages, and definitely don't exploit a child's hesitation to strike!"

Finn met her gaze.

"Ais has trained in combat against people."

"Training grounds don't actually take her life!"

"Riveria."

Finn's tone hardened.

"Our front lines are short on people."

That single sentence stopped Riveria's breath.

Finn turned back to the map on the wall.

"Evilus has already proven they can strike multiple districts at once. Central Plaza, Babel, the medical district, Guild headquarters — every single one needs a high-level adventurer holding the line."

He traced a few of the still-passable roads with the butt of his spear.

"I won't let Ais act alone, and I won't put her against anyone above Level 5. She'll join the mobile unit, working with Raul and the rest of the squad to clear out Evilus members attacking the rescue teams."

Riveria still wouldn't back down.

"She doesn't even fully understand why she swings that sword."

"She understands perfectly well."

"Finn!"

"It's precisely because she understands too well that we can't keep her locked away somewhere safe forever."

Finn's expression didn't change, but his grip on his spear tightened slightly.

He knew just as well as she did how cruel this decision was.

Ais possessed strength beyond her years, and an obsession that ran far deeper than any of her peers. Sending her to the battlefield meant letting that obsession keep devouring her.

But Orario no longer had the luxury of refusing that strength.

"We're past the point where we can afford to hold combat power in reserve."

Finn said slowly.

"We need every single person who can fight."

Pain surfaced in Riveria's eyes.

"You want me to treat her as a chess piece?"

"I want you to acknowledge that she's an adventurer of the Loki Familia."

"She's also a child!"

"There are more children in this city than just her."

Finn gestured toward the space beyond the side chamber.

Through the wall, the groans of the wounded, the wailing of residents, and the shouts of rescue workers could still be heard.

"They have no strength to hold a sword, and no one to protect them. If the central defense line falls again, they won't even get the chance to run."

Riveria opened her mouth, but in the end no rebuttal came out.

Finn stepped past her, heading for the door.

"You're not wrong to think of her as a daughter."

He stopped beside the elf.

"But right now, you also have to accept that she's already capable of making her own choices."

Riveria lowered her head.

The knuckles gripping her staff had gone white from the strain.

"She hasn't even learned to value her own life."

"Then it's up to us to bring her back before she loses control."

Gareth pushed himself up with his uninjured left hand braced on his knee, rising slowly.

"I'll stay in the center. If that girl gets hurt, I'll go carry her back myself."

"She won't go down that easily."

Riveria shot him a sharp glare.

Silence fell over the side chamber again.

Loki walked in just then.

She glanced at Riveria, then at Finn, who was about to leave, and quickly understood how far the argument had gone.

"Let Ais choose for herself."

Riveria turned around.

"Loki?"

"She's one of our family's kids, and she's also an adventurer."

Loki walked up to the elf and pressed a hand to her tense wrist.

"I don't want that little squirt on the battlefield either. But I want even less to decide everything for her and then call it protection."

"And if she chooses to fight?"

"Then we let her go."

Loki narrowed her eyes, her expression rare in its seriousness.

"And bring her back safe."

In front of Babel's main gate, several members of the Loki Familia stood in a loose semicircle.

They hadn't drawn their weapons, yet they looked more tense than they ever did facing monsters.

At the center of the semicircle, on the steps, sat a golden-haired girl.

The girl held a sheathed longsword in both hands, sitting as still as a delicately carved doll. Her straight golden hair fell past her waist, and beneath her bangs her eyes stayed closed. Rain dripped from the edge of the tower's eaves, leaving dark streaks on the ground in front of her boots.

She'd held this pose for a long time already.

"Ais, want to go back to your room for a bit?"

Raul tried edging closer.

The girl didn't respond.

"Captain Finn's still in his meeting. Even if they decide to let you fight, they'll still need to sort out the squad first, right?"

The girl's arms tightened slightly around the sword.

Raul stopped in his tracks.

He had the strange sense that getting any closer might get him grazed by her blade's edge.

When Finn walked out of the tower, the members gathered around all let out a breath of relief.

He came to a stop below the steps.

"Ais."

The girl opened her eyes.

Her golden pupils held none of the confusion a child should have — only a burning, unbroken resolve.

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah."

Ais stood up.

She barely reached Finn's shoulder in height, yet her grip on the sword was already perfectly steady.

"I'm going to fight."

Finn studied her.

"The enemy will be human, elf, beastman — possibly even people close to your age. They'll lie to you, use residents to threaten you, and attack you from behind while you're saving someone."

Ais didn't look away.

"I know."

"If you run into Zald or Alfia, retreat immediately. You're forbidden to engage."

The girl pressed her lips together slightly.

"I want to get stronger."

"Staying alive is the only way to keep getting stronger."

Finn raised his spear and gently tapped the sheath in her arms.

"That's a captain's order."

Ais was silent for a few breaths, then finally nodded.

"I'll come back."

Standing just inside Babel's doors, Riveria heard those words, and her eyes trembled slightly.

She didn't step outside.

She only watched that small figure through the open gate.

At that same moment, Adi arrived at Central Plaza with Artorias, who had returned to human form.

Artorias was wrapped in an oversized white cloak.

At least now, he could walk on his own two feet.

The black-haired boy had only recently transformed back into human form, and his original clothes were long gone; he was left wearing a borrowed shirt and trousers the Astraea Familia had scrounged up.

The clothes were too big for him, cinched at the waist with a strip of cloth, and over them he wore a cloak to keep off the rain.

Adi walked beside him, carrying a wooden box of medical supplies.

"How's the wound?"

"It doesn't hurt if I walk slowly."

Artorias pressed a hand to his stomach.

After turning back into human form, the location and severity of his injuries had shifted along with his body. Bandages wrapped his midsection, and any time he took too large a stride, a tugging pain still shot through him.

"Then don't push yourself."

Adi slowed her pace.

"Once we drop off the medicine, I'll take you back to the Astraea Familia's base."

"I can still help with the search."

"You already searched through three collapsed sites yesterday."

"Today I'm human again — I can do more."

Adi glanced sideways at him.

"Like what?"

Artorias thought about it seriously.

"Carrying lighter things."

"I'll pass that suggestion along to Alise."

Adi's tone stayed even, but Artorias could tell she hadn't actually agreed.

The two of them crossed through the makeshift camp and arrived in front of Babel.

Members of the Loki Familia were falling into formation.

Young adventurers checked their weapons and supplies, while support staff handed out maps to each squad. Everyone looked exhausted, yet their movements still held strict discipline.

Artorias's gaze was quickly drawn to the golden-haired girl on the steps.

He had a deep impression of that figure.

No — it would be more accurate to say

that the Artorias of another life had a deep impression of what that figure would one day become.

The girl descended the steps in front of Finn.

She wore light combat gear, a longsword hanging at her waist. She was clearly younger than the adventurers around her, yet the aura she gave off was sharper than most of the adults there.

Artorias stopped walking.

Ais looked at him too.

The two young people gazed at each other across the flow of passing people.

Artorias noticed her eyes first.

Deep within that pure gold lay a coldness that didn't match her age.

It wasn't hostility toward anyone around her — more like a path nailed firmly in place, one that allowed for nothing but moving forward.

Ais, in turn, studied his white hair and red eyes.

She tilted her head slightly.

"Rabbit?"

Artorias blinked, caught off guard.

"You've seen me before?"

"Yesterday."

Ais raised a hand and pointed at the top of his head.

"White. Long ears."

The night before, she'd seen from high up in Babel, at a distance, Adi carrying an injured white rabbit into the medical district.

Those same red eyes, matching this boy in front of her exactly — the aura hadn't changed either.

Artorias reflexively reached up to touch his hair.

"I don't have ears right now."

"You do."

Ais's gaze settled on the two tufts of white hair that had sprung up after the rain soaked them.

Artorias followed her gaze and touched them.

Sure enough, the two tufts were sticking straight up.

He tried pressing them down, but the moment he let go, they popped right back up.

Ais watched the whole process in silence.

"Still a rabbit."

Artorias couldn't come up with a rebuttal.

Adi glanced at the sword at Ais's waist.

"You're going into battle?"

"Yeah."

Ais gripped the sheath.

"Going to defeat the enemy."

"Are you hurt?"

Artorias noticed the bandage wrapped around her left wrist.

Ais glanced down at it.

"From training. It's nothing."

"There are strong people among the Evilus soldiers."

"I know."

"Zald and Alfia are among them too."

A flicker of light passed through the girl's eyes.

"They're strong?"

"Very strong."

Artorias didn't exaggerate, nor did he hide the truth.

"As you are now, you can't beat them. If you run into them, leave right away."

A few nearby members of the Loki Familia turned their heads in surprise.

They'd spent a long time trying to convince her, and Ais had never given a clear answer. Yet this unfamiliar black-haired boy had barely opened his mouth before telling her to run.

Ais didn't get angry.

She simply stared at Artorias.

"Have you fought them?"

"Not really fought, no."

Artorias recalled the crushing pressure of Zald's swing, and the moment Alfia had stopped him cold with a single finger.

"I couldn't even get them to take me seriously."

Ais's grip on the sheath tightened slightly.

"Are you afraid of them?"

Artorias nodded.

"Afraid."

"And you'll still fight?"

"I will."

The answer came without hesitation.

A trace of confusion showed in Ais's eyes.

"Why?"

Artorias looked out across the plaza.

Wounded were being carried into tents. Children who'd lost their homes huddled against their families. Members of the Astraea Familia were still clearing rubble in the distance, and Alise's hoarse voice occasionally cut through the curtain of rain.

"Because there are still people who need help."

He looked back at her.

"I'm weak, and I'm scared. But there's still something I can do."

Ais listened quietly.

Those words didn't match the path she carried in her own heart.

She wanted to fight in order to grow stronger.

And she wanted to grow stronger in order to take revenge on the Black Dragon, to reclaim everything she'd long since lost.

She had never seriously considered that she might pick up a sword for any other reason.

Finn came over to join the two of them.

"Ais, time to go."

The girl looked up at her captain.

"Okay."

She took a step forward, then turned back toward Artorias.

"What's your name?"

"Artorias."

"I'm Ais."

The girl gave her name formally.

"Ais Wallenstein."

Artorias glanced at her sword.

"Come back safe, Ais."

Ais blinked.

Finn had said something similar just a moment ago.

Hearing it again from a stranger felt strange, somehow.

She couldn't quite put the feeling into words, so she answered as best she understood it.

"Don't turn into a rabbit again, either."

Artorias looked down at himself.

"That part might not be up to me."

Ais thought about it for a moment.

"Then don't get caught."

With that, she turned and ran to join her squad.

Her golden hair whipped up in the gray rain, still young and unrefined — but already sharp enough to cut.

Riveria, standing just inside Babel's gate, finally stepped forward.

"Ais."

The girl stopped.

The elf princess came up to her, knelt down, and straightened her slightly crooked shoulder guard.

"Don't leave Raul's line of sight."

"Okay."

"Don't chase down fleeing enemies."

"Okay."

"If your magic power drops below half, return to Central Plaza. If a situation comes up you can't judge, defer to Boss's orders."

Ais — agreed.

Riveria's hand stayed on her shoulder.

There was so much more she wanted to say.

In the end, she only hugged the golden-haired girl gently.

"When you come back, I'll check your schoolwork."

Ais's body went stiff.

"Even today?"

"As long as you're not hurt, yes."

"And if I am hurt?"

"Treatment first. Then schoolwork."

Ais fell silent.

Nearby, the tense members of the Loki Familia couldn't help laughing. The heaviness that had weighed on everyone all night eased just a little because of it.

Riveria let go of the girl.

"Go on."

Ais nodded and turned to join the mobile unit.

Finn raised his spear.

"Target: Southeast District Seven. Clear the remaining Evilus forces and cover the rescue teams' search. Everyone, move according to your assigned groups!"

"Yes, sir!"

The adventurers answered as one.

The squad crossed Central Plaza and set out onto streets still being scoured by rain.

Ais walked beside Raul.

She didn't look back.

But her grip on the hilt had loosened slightly, more relaxed than before.

Adi watched the squad leave, then looked down at Artorias.

"We should get going too."

Artorias was still watching that golden figure grow smaller in the distance.

"She's strong."

"Far stronger than you are right now."

Adi picked up the medicine box.

"All the more reason for you to focus on healing."

Artorias looked away and followed her lead.

"Will I see her again?"

"As long as you're both alive, you will."

The rain gradually weakened.

The clouds still hung heavy over the sky; neither stars nor sunlight had appeared yet. The mounds in the graveyard kept growing, and the groans in the medical tents hadn't stopped either.

The disaster Erebus had unleashed was far from over.

And yet, in Orario, people had already picked up their weapons again.

For revenge.

For protection.

To prove to the evil that had stood atop the throne of the temple last night that defeat was not the same as surrender.