章 15: Hope
**Dian Cecht Familia Residence, Pyrion's Recovery Room.**
"Pyrion!"
While Pyrion was recalling the moments of his battle against Zald, a loud shout and the sound of hurried footsteps took him by surprise.
**SLAM!**
The door to his room was suddenly thrown open, and a tall woman with brown skin quickly entered.
"Pyr!"
That shout, full of relief and anxiety, was the last thing Pyrion heard before seeing the woman throw herself forcefully onto him.
**BAM!**
**THUD!**
"Aghh, Tsubaki, damn it! Have a little delicacy... I'm wounded!" Feeling the air leave his lungs, Pyrion complained in pain as he was "run over" by a "truck."
"Pyr!"
Tsubaki, on the other hand, didn't hear his complaints; she simply hugged him tightly as tears fell from her beautiful face.
"Hey... I'm fine. Your beloved brother is fine." Feeling Tsubaki's body trembling in his arms, Pyrion's heart softened, and he gently stroked her head.
"Pyrion!"
However, the emotional moment didn't last long, as soon another person quickly entered his room. Just like Tsubaki, a woman with fiery red hair appeared in his field of vision just before leaping onto him.
**THUD!**
Once again feeling the air escape from his lungs, Pyrion didn't have time to complain as he saw who the new person was that was now hugging his head.
"Hephaestus..." Pyrion couldn't help but be surprised when he saw his goddess, who was shedding tears as she hugged him tightly.
Since he was a child, this was the first time Pyrion had ever seen Hefesto cry.
For a moment, guilt flooded Pyrion, as he realized he had worried his mother so much that it had made her cry.
"I... I'm sorry, Hephaestus. I'm sorry, Tsubaki." Pyrion said guiltily Troubled by his selfish desires that had put his family in danger, Pyrion lowered his head in remorse.
"Idiot... do you know how worried I was about you?" With tears on her face, Hephaestus hugged him tighter, pressing Pyrion's head against her chest.
Tsubaki also lifted her head and, through tears, complained, "Do you know how much it hurt to see you in that state, the goddess and me?"
Pyrion remained silent, burying his head in Hephaestus chest.
How could he imagine the pain that Tsubaki and Hefesto felt seeing him nearly dead coming out of the dungeon?
Although no one could have predicted Zald's sudden appearance, the outcome would still have been different if he hadn't sunk into the sadness of losing some of his brothers and ignored the concerns of those who truly loved him.
"It's okay, now it doesn't matter, the only thing that matters is that you're fine." In a soft voice, Hephaestus, sensing the air around her son become depressing, stroked Pyrion's head while comforting him, leaving her complaints for another time.
Feeling warmth in his heart, Pyrion hugged both women tightly. For him, both Hephaestus and Tsubaki were his most precious family, something he had longed for in his past life and now had, and he wasn't willing to lose it.
Now he had unintentionally hurt his precious family, and Pyrion silently promised that he would make up for it in the future.
The strong hug lasted for a long moment, soothing the hearts of all three.
**CRUNCH**
However, the next moment, the warm moment was suddenly interrupted by the sound of the door, and then a small group of people entered the room.
"Oh! Sorry to interrupt, we'll come back later." Finn, accompanied by his goddess and the executives of the Loki Familia, suddenly felt embarrassed for barging into the warm scene.
"It's okay, no problem." Hephaestus, somewhat embarrassed, let go of Pyrion and, discreetly wiping away her tears, regained her usual composure. Unlike her, Tsubaki, however, showed no discomfort and continued hugging Pyrion without worrying.
"Wow, how emotional. For a second, I almost cried." Along with the executives of the Loki Familia, Loki, who wasn't the least bit embarrassed about interrupting the moment, made a dramatic gesture of wiping away tears while looking at Hefesto with a teasing smile, which only made Hephaestus feel even more embarrassed.
"My apologies again..." With a hand on his forehead, Finn sighed, feeling helpless in front of his goddess' teasing. Shaking his head, he looked at Pyrion with a flash of relief. "It's a relief to know you're okay, Pyrion-san."
Finn's words were sincere. After all, if something had happened to Pyrion, one of the most powerful adventurers in Orario, at such a critical moment, it would have been a real disaster.
"It's okay, it seems I'm not that easy to kill." With a sarcastic smile, Pyrion sat up on the cot and carefully moved Tsubaki, who was still on top of him. Then, looking at the members of the Loki Familia with a warm smile, he slightly bowed his head in their direction. "I must thank you. If it weren't for you, I probably would have been in serious trouble... I'll definitely repay this favor in the future."
"Not at all, it's our duty as adventurers of Orario to help each other." Waving her hands modestly, Riveria returned Pyrion's smile.
"HA HA! Though it wouldn't be bad if you kept it in mind for some future discounts." With a hearty laugh, Loki, who knew no modesty or embarrassment, didn't miss the chance to take advantage of Pyrion's kindness.
"Loki!" Riveria, upon hearing her goddess' words, blushed in embarrassment and, throwing her hands at Loki, gave her a small pinch.
"Ouch! Stop, mom, please stop!" Feeling the sting in her arm, Loki immediately begged for mercy.
"I'm not your 'mom'!" Even more embarrassed, Riveria pinched Loki harder, intensifying her punishment.
"Hehe, sorry for the embarrassing scene, Pyrion-san." With a somewhat embarrassed smile, Finn seemed resigned to the constant antics of his familia.
"Hahaha, not at all, I love the atmosphere of your familia!" With a sincere laugh, Pyrion responded, finding the Loki Familia's chaos quite endearing.
After a few more moments of laughter, the Loki Familia returned to a serious demeanor.
"Well, you see, Pyrion-san... although it's somewhat uncomfortable to ask this so soon after the incident, I feel obligated to do so... Could you tell us what happened in the dungeon?" With some caution in his voice, Finn asked the question that had driven the Loki Familia to rush here so urgently.
All the members of the Loki Familia fixed their gaze on Pyrion, including Loki, who, usually cheerful, now had a serious expression. It was clear they considered the matter to be of utmost importance.
Hephaestus and Tsubaki also looked at Pyrion with concern; after all, they didn't know what kind of threat he had faced to end up so gravely injured.
Pyrion sighed, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before beginning. The brief memories of the battle resurfaced in his mind, making him relive certain desperate moments, causing his body to shiver slightly.
"What happened was... unexpected," he began. "I had been exploring the ultra-deep floors for a while, aiming to gather materials to repair the weapons and equipment of the familia." Pausing to let everyone process the information, he continued. "I had finished gathering what I needed and was heading to floor 18 to meet up with the others..."
Pyrion took a deep breath before continuing the conversation, aware of the worried looks on Hephaestus, Tsubaki, and the Loki Familia's faces.
"I was about to return to floor 18," he continued, "However, on floor 24... something stopped me. It was an instinct, a sense of danger I can't quite describe. And then, out of nowhere, that guy appeared..."
"Guy?" Finn frowned, puzzled. "Sorry if I misunderstood, Pyrion-san, but are you talking about a human and not a monster?"
"That's right, Finn. It wasn't a monster I fought. In fact, it's someone that all of you here probably know or have heard of..."
The atmosphere in the room grew even tenser, and a bad feeling filled the air.
"The Ambrosia, the Glutton, a hero and a legend from the Zeus Familia. That was the person I encountered in the dungeon, and the one I had a life-or-death battle with that left me in this state," Pyrion declared, no longer beating around the bush. He didn't mention the name, as those titles were enough to know who he was talking about.
Of course, Pyrion omitted certain details, such as the fact that it had been more of a desperate chase than a fight, in which he had barely managed to escape with his life. But his pride and his position as the captain of the Hephaistos Familia prevented him from sharing that part of the story. He had a reputation to protect.
The silence that followed was absolute. Hephaestus and Tsubaki exchanged looks of disbelief and concern, while the members of the Loki Familia processed the magnitude of the threat Pyrion had faced. Finn frowned, with a grave expression, while Riveria and the others showed astonishment.
I mean," Pyrion continued with an ironic smile, "thanks to some desperate tactics, I managed to escape his grasp. If not, I'd probably be dead by now."
Finn, still stunned by the revelation, also gave an ironic smile. "I see... that explains the state we found you in, and the destruction left on floor 22."
He had gone to inspect the battlefield after leaving Pyrion under Airmid's care, and he found the desolate scene: the 22th floor had practically been remodeled, as if a volcano had erupted in it.
Silence once again filled the room, as everyone was still processing the information. One of the two pillars their enemies had relied on had appeared and almost killed one of their own pillars.
That was certainly not good news for anyone.
"Pyrion-san..." After a moment of silence, Riveria spoke then, with seriousness reflected on her face. "You who personally faced Zald... Do you think we have any chance against him and Alfia?" Her voice was weak, as if she feared the answer, the weight of her question clear to everyone.
Pyrion fell silent for a moment, surprised by the question and feeling Riveria's somber gaze on him. After a moment of reflection, he answered: "Don't worry, Riveria-san. We still have a chance of winning."
Pyrion wasn't entirely sure of his words. In fact, had he not known the details of this world's plot, he would never have dared to say such a thing. He wasn't even sure if he could defeat Zald, let alone Alfia. But, with the knowledge he had, he knew that neither of them truly desired the destruction of Orario.
"Hehe, then it seems we still have to fight with everything we've got," Riveria responded, relieved. Although she couldn't be sure that Pyrion's words were completely true, his answer gave her the hope she needed to keep going. She only needed a small ray of hope to keep fighting.
"HAHA, THAT'S RIGHT, ORARIO WON'T FALL SO EASILY!" Loki jumped up with a loud cheer, raising her hands to the sky, infecting everyone with her energy.
"Thank you very much for the information, Pyrion. For now, we'll let you rest," Finn continued, regaining his leader's demeanor. "Then, we'll organize a small meeting to prepare for what's to come." With a confident smile, Finn said goodbye in a friendly tone.
"His will is really strong, isn't it?" Looking at the group leaving through the door, Tsubaki commented as she reclined her head back on Pyrion's legs.
"Well, they wouldn't be the pillars of Orario if they didn't have that strong will," replied Hephaestus, with a look of recognition. He then walked over to a small basket of fruits near Pyrion's cot and began to carefully cut them.
"Hehe, it's nice to have such brave people supporting you," Pyrion said from the bottom of his heart. He truly felt relieved that the Loki Familia was leading the way to deal with the upcoming battle. If he were alone, he definitely wouldn't trust in defeating Zald or Alfia.
"It's good to see that you still have energy, but right now the most important thing is that you focus solely on recovering," said Hephaistos softly as she approached Pyrion with a piece of cut fruit. Gently, she offered him small pieces to eat.
"Understood, Hephaestus," Pyrion replied with a happy smile, naturally opening his mouth as he nodded at his goddess's words.
Pyrion knew that his previous fight was just the beginning of the war against the dark faction; many more battles awaited, and enemies to defeat. Now the most important thing was to recover and focus on repairing the previous damage his familia had suffered.
...
Well, here are these two chapters for today, sorry for not uploading yesterday, but something important came up that I had to do.
By the way, I recently received a review accusing me of having my story written by AI. Honestly, I was really annoyed by it because I put a lot of effort into writing a story that people would enjoy, but comments like these really bore me.
So, I would like to clarify that my work is not exempt from AI. After all, my native language is Spanish, so I use it for translations and also to modify the lexicon from my original country to one that English-speaking readers can understand. However, I have never used AI to write the novel for me.
If you still have any doubts or suspicions about me, you can read my previous work or visit my Wattpad, where my books are posted in my original language without editing.
But well, leaving those bad experiences aside, I appreciate all the support, and I hope you're enjoying the work. Remember, your reviews help me a lot.
THANK YOU!
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