Chapter 32: Aria
Chapter Thirty-Two: Saigo no Yōji
Luck had been with him, in managing to contact more than a few spirits. Bantu, Ulmo, Terra, Jophiel, and Noel had all responded to him in time, agreeing to lend their power when the time came to one of their choosing, though they all seemed unsure of whether a person existed which could mediate the bonding required for their powers to be bestowed. He had assured them all, but had his most surprising contact at the last.
"… Hello?"
"! A voice, and I can tell you are real, not imagined or remembered; please, tell me who you are, and anything else you care to!" a nearly panicked female voice answered him once he had established a connection.
"Peace, please; I am Aedan, and my title is Haroeris. I'm an adventurer from Orario, and I am gathering strength to complete the last of the three Grand Quests"
"Grand Quests? Could you be more specific, please?"
"The One-Eyed Black Dragon, we mean to slay it"
"! That is a bold goal; I do not know you, Mr. Aedan, but I fear for your failure. The strongest people I have ever known have failed in that task, and even more capable people from this recent time have also failed"
"Hm?" he felt a chill of recognition run down his spine, "Could you tell me your name?"
"Ah, I'm quite sorry, it was rude of me not to do so sooner! I am Aria"
The words sent a bolt through him as his hunch was confirmed, "We know of the danger, but we are doing our best to prepare. To that end, would you be willing to lend your strength to our effort?"
"Would that I could; unfortunately, my will does not dictate my actions now; it has not for some time"
"My apologies, I don't know your situation; however, even any advice you have may serve us well. Is there anything you can tell me? You and your allies faced it a long time ago"
"You know of it? Then know that it is even more formidable than you imagine. It has only gotten stronger since those days, and it is powerful enough to have kept me prisoner against my will all this time"
"You, one of the great spirits, are its prisoner?"
"Indeed. If I may, could you answer a question for me?"
"Of course" he said, trying to straighten out his thoughts.
"Is there a girl named Aiz adventuring in Orario? I have… reason to believe that may be the case"
"… I see. So my feeling was actually that; yes Aria, Aiz is in Orario, and she has become strong, with many friends around her" his words carried the weight of the answer that the spirit truly wanted, beyond what she felt she could ask.
"Thank you"
"Would you be able to answer one of mine?"
"If I am able, yes"
"Do you know where the Dragon is now, and how strong it might be at the moment?"
"That is two" she laughed like a breeze, "but I can try. We are in the mountains, but I'm afraid that is all I can say to that" her mention putting herself with the monster didn't escape his notice, "As to how strong… I suppose you must be aware of the last group to challenge it?"
"I am, I trained them"
"Oh… I am sorry to hear that; given what you must know, I would say that it has grown stronger than that time, perhaps by what you would call one 'level'?"
"… I see, thank you. Is it still resting from that fight?"
"Mostly, but I fear it will recover fully in just a few years, now, and continue growing ever stronger"
"Then we will make all haste. Please try not to worry, Aria; we will do our best to finally kill that monster and free you. For all our sakes, failure is not an option this time"
"Then may the Fates be with you, Aedan"
He sighed as the connection faded, gripping his leg with some increasing anxiety, 'Time grows short; I better revise that guess to four years instead of five, and hurry!'
Shortly, he stood and tarried no longer, returning to the court of the elf king, where he was unceremoniously granted the branch he sought and sent on his way. Once free of the woodland realm, he began a sprint that would not stop until he made it to the capital of Rakia: Valua.
A single week was all it took.
That was what they had discovered after Finn first killed the rex on the 66th floor; it took just one week to reappear on the floor, staggering the group familiar with the Dungeon's ways. The Goliath took two weeks, itself, and the time it took for other floor bosses to regenerate increased from there, until the deepest one so far, apparently.
"Now I can see why he thought we would all have plenty of time to each kill it" Riveria sighed. So far, Finn, Ottar, Musashi, and she had all landed a killing blow, which left Nobunaga, Gareth, Charles, Minerva, and Belisarius to do their part. At least now it was basically routine to kill the monster, and only a matter of waiting on it to spawn. While waiting, she noticed Belisarius studiously ignore the four of them from Orario, preferring even to converse with the two from Altena or the easterners than even speak with them.
'I wonder how this will truly go, in the end'
Aside from them, the mapping group had made it to the 37th floor, their final and greatest challenge until the safe zone past Udaeus. It was here that they were truly being pushed to their limits. Like those below them, they had tasted the limit of not having their status updated, and being confined to the Dungeon for so long. Still, they carried on without complaint, working together just as well as ever.
The middle group was another story, as it continued to work not so well together, seemingly no matter what. Tensions between the two Amazons and Freya Familia… frankly between Freya Familia and everyone else, even among themselves, had grown. The new arrivals from the Empire and Altena were welcome, particularly to Mia who saw that a relative of hers was among them, but between their groups was some not insignificant tension. Still, they steadily approached their goal, with many having already hit the target of 200 magic stones. Bete- who had been tied with Bell for some time in stone count- had become increasingly belligerent over that fact, which had grated on seemingly everyone's nerves, yet they still continued.
Unknowing this, Aedan shot off from Rakia once he finished his work there, blessedly quickly. It had surprised him that a pair of recently promoted and levelled generals had been granted control of the military by the countries leader and head god: Ares. At level 4, it was unreasonable for him to recruit Balbanes and Cidolfus, but he was able to get an agreement from the generals easily enough to train up Rakia's strength in their new methods, and to maintain the peace while the world marshaled its power to kill the common threat. They even promised to split up their army and send them out to be dispersed in the free lands to the north, around Rakia, Dedine, and up to the border of the Empire after his conversation with them. They would guard the roads against bandits and keep the worries of the people at bay, even if he knew it would position Rakia in a particular manner for after the Dragon was dealt with.
Knowing that there was little chance of them accomplishing anything subversive with their numbers stretched so thin, and with their homeland left so relatively undefended, he commended their effort and left as quickly as he had come, making straight for the home of Odin and Frigg Familia: Vinland.
Arrival was shortly in coming, thanks to his speed. As he took it in, he had to acknowledge that the land was charming, and were it anywhere else besides the entrance to the Dragon Valley, it would have been perhaps the most charming place he had ever been since his homeland was lost. He slowed greatly, but still hurried to the seat of power, and was little surprised when he was quickly accosted.
"Hold there, stranger! Please state your business here, we don't recognize you" he stopped and turned his attention to those he had been waiting on.
'A pair of level 5 were-wolf people, and a mass of lower level members with them…'
"Are you the Einherjar, the guards of Vinland?"
"That's right, I'm Freki, and this is my brother Geri; who might you be?"
"I am Haroeris of Orario" he paused as the words rippled through the small crowd, "I have come to speak with your god and goddess to curry favor in completing the last Grand Quest"
"Ah, I knew Ouranos was up to somethin' fishy with that announcement, to think he had something like you tucked away from the world"
He had been taken to Hlidskjalf, the very home of Odin and Frigg, in the capital fortress of Vinland: Valhalla. Standing before the two divines in the flesh, he was being scrutinized by them as Odin addressed him.
"I can see great power in you, beyond that of even those who last challenged the Dragon; this must be the last, desperate attempt before Ragnarok, eh?" the god mused on the prophecy of the Promised Time, and he agreed.
"That's right, I have been gathering all the strength from across the world that I can, and mean to solidify it in Orario before we kill the One-Eyed Black Dragon, after a final bout of training in the valley here beyond Vinland"
"Seeing you, I am inclined to believe that, though I'm not sure that I can bet on your chances" the god muttered, turning to the other.
"Most don't know, but we descended at the same time as Zeus and Hera, agreeing before we left our realms in Heaven that they would build the strength to kill all three of the beasts, while we would build the bulwark to hold back the greatest of them while they did so. In the end, it was for naught"
"Not for nothing, goddess; after all, the remnants of Zeus and Hera will show our way. I won't allow the sacrifice of my old students to be in vain"
Odin eye widened, "Y-you, then that means~"
"You are… Horus?" Frigg intoned.
"Yes, and I would speak to your Familia to see who would be willing to aid us"
"This changes things; Zeus spoke for you himself, saying that it would be those you trained that eventually killed the Dragon, even after their failure. If he was right, and if you intend to go on this final effort, we cannot simply turn you away"
"Yes, we will let you speak to them, but will leave the decision to our children, in the end. They have important roles here, so they will need to discuss and plan what will be acceptable; if they decide to help you at all, but it will be their choice, in the end"
"I understand, thank you"
The conversation with the people of Odin and Frigg Familia had been simple; few in the world knew as intimately as they did the danger that was posed by the remaining Grand Quest. The problem wasn't their willingness to help, but in balancing their need to defend their home and guard against the Dragon Valley, as Odin and Frigg warned. His reassurance that Rakia would be helping to keep the free lands somewhat defended was appreciated, but he could tell they didn't take it too seriously. Still, it seemed to sway one of their co-captains, and eventually it was decided that more help would be given him than he expected.
Baldr, one co-captain and level 6, would remain while the other- Thors- would come. Thors also being a level 6 and dwarf, he wielded powerful lightning magic, which would prove useful. Also coming would be Thors second: Hugin, a level 5 elf, while her sister- Munin- would remain as she was Baldr's second. Geri and Freki would both come, too, along with a pallum known as "Sleipnir", the ace of the Familia. The boy's name was Fernus Althus, and had been chosen by a Divine Artefact- Odin's own ring, Draupnir- and risen to level 6 quickly. Knowing that they were sending much of their strength that they needed with him, he gave the Familia his total gratitude.
"Should you find yourselves in need; send word to Orario. If I am able and failing all else, I will come aid you myself" with those words and the promise of the last help they would have, he left for one last destination before finally turning his sights back to Orario.
The quick trip took him near the Black Desert in the land of Dedine. Near where the Behemoth had been slain by Gluttony, the Predator and the alliance of Zeus and Hera, he found the flower he was seeking, adding it to the branch from the first holy tree of the elves and the water from the Spring of Life that he needed; at long last, he made for home.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
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