A gentle rustle of leaves signaled the shifting wind of the Under Resort, but the ambient light filtering through the canopy had noticeably dimmed.
Yuuya's eyes snapped open. The heavy lethargy that had kept him to the mossy root was gone, replaced by the clarity of a fully rested body.
He remained perfectly still for a moment, letting his senses expand outward. The distant, artificial sky of the 18th floor was hushed. Judging by the dimness, it had to be deep into the night on the surface world.
[You're awake.]
A familiar voice echoed in his mind.
It was his own voice, carrying that soft, distinct warmth the System had adopted.
'Yeah.' Yuuya replied internally, his gaze dropping to the silver haired woman curled tightly against his chest. 'How long was I out?'
[Long enough for the stars to align above Babel, Yuuya. But before you stretch your legs and begin the final ascent, we need to address the countdown you're currently carrying.]
Yuuya's brow furrowed.
'The countdown?'
[Look at Alfia. The stasis matrix completely halted her physical clock for seven years, preserving her exactly as she was when you sealed her away. But it did not cure her. The moment that crystal shattered, the incurable disease residing in her lungs woke up alongside her. If you fail to treat her, she has exactly 72 hours before her body permanently shuts down.]
The numbers hit Yuuya like a jolt of electricity. His left arm instinctively tightened around Alfia's waist, pulling her a fraction closer.
'I have the spell for this and unlike Bell, this was specifically made with her as the blueprint. Can't I just cast it right now?'
[You can't.] the System replied smoothly, its tone dropping into a grave, instructional register. [Like you said, we made
'Understood. Then we don't waste another second here.' Yuuya thought, preparing to shift his weight and lift her back into a secure carry.
[Yuuya... wait.] the System murmured, its voice carrying an unusual, lingering hesitation that caused him to pause. [Take a moment to listen closely. Because this is the last time I will be able to speak to you directly for a very long time.]
Yuuya's breath caught in his throat. His mental posture grew rigid.
'What do you mean? What's happening to you? Are you leaving?'
[Not permanently.] the System clarified, a faint, metallic chuckle echoing behind the voice. [But you must remember the reality of what we did. To pull off your rapid ascension—to force you from Level 4, to Level 5, and finally to Level 6 in the span of a mere two weeks—I had to actively bend the fundamental mechanics and settings of this world. Naturally, I have a penalty to pay just like you seven years ago.]
The voice grew slightly faint, a subtle distortion rippling through the connection.
[There's an equivalent exchange for everything. Once we conclude this conversation, I will fall into a deep, forced hibernation. I don't know when I will wake up. It could be weeks, months, or longer.]
'System...' Yuuya's fist clenched against the moss.
A sudden wave of worry threatened to break through his focus. Through every descent, every floor boss he fought, and every moment of agonizing grief, this voice—his voice —had been his absolute, unchanging constant.
[Do not look so grim.] The System comforted, its tone rising with a proud, reassuring flare. [You are no longer the powerless boy seven years ago. You now have the strength to carve your own path. You don't need a guide to walk through the dark anymore. Furthermore... your pocket dimension storage will remain entirely functional. I ensured that your inventory was safely insulated from my shutdown. Your supplies, your gear, and the food are secure.]
A soft, fading chime resonated within his consciousness, like the distant ringing of a silver bell.
[Fulfil your promise, Yuuya. Bring the Maiden of Silence... Alfia... back into the light of the sun. It was an honor being your shadow.]
The presence vanished.
The silence that followed inside his head was heavy. The mechanical warmth was gone, leaving him entirely alone with his own thoughts.
Yuuya took a single, slow breath, letting the cold air settle the sudden ache in his chest. He didn't dwell on the loss. He couldn't. The clock was already ticking for the woman in his arms.
As Yuuya carefully shifted his posture to rise, the subtle movement of his chest caused Alfia to stir. Her long silver lashes fluttered open, her heterochromatic eyes instantly clearing of sleep as she looked up at his face.
"We still have a long way to go, Alfia." Yuuya said softly, his voice a gentle whisper against the quiet forest. "The ascent through the upper floors is smooth, but it's tedious. You should close your eyes and sleep. I'll handle the terrain."
"No..." Alfia murmured, her raspy voice carrying a sudden, fierce intensity that brooked no argument.
Her unconditioned fingers weakly but deliberately curled into the fabric of his inner shirt, her knuckles turning pale as she brings herself closer against his chest. The lingering terrors of her seven year isolation flared behind her gray and green eyes.
To her, closing her eyes meant risking the return of the silence. It meant risking the possibility that when she woke up, the warmth would be gone, and she would be back inside the silver coffin.
"I want to stay awake." She insisted, her jaw setting with a frail semblance of her old pride. "I will not sleep through the transition. Do not command me to close my eyes, Yuuya."
Yuuya looked down at her, seeing right through the stubborn facade to the raw, bleeding vulnerability beneath. He didn't argue. A soft, understanding smile touched his lips as he adjusted his hold, lifting her into a secure carry and ensuring the Goliath scarf shielded her completely from the draft.
"Alright." Yuuya murmured gently. "Stay awake then. Keep your eyes on me."
With a single, fluid push of his legs, Yuuya launched himself out. He didn't use the speed of his Level 11 stat; it would make the ride too rough for Alfia. Instead, he slipped into a refined, quiet sprint.
He weaves through the ancient trees of the 18th floor, avoiding the standard routes entirely, scaling the vertical rock faces and slips of the cavern with effortless grace.
By the time they broke through the final threshold and bypassed the grand spiral stairs of the first floor, they emerged into the open air of the surface world.
It was exactly 2:00 in the morning.
The sprawling metropolis of Orario was wrapped in silence. The vibrant, chaotic colors of the daytime market squares were washed out, replaced by the deep, cool silver of a midnight moon.
The roaring crowds, shouting vendors, and clattering armor of the city's adventurers had completely vanished, leaving the stone streets entirely vacant. Almost everyone was fast asleep inside their respective quarters.
It was the perfect window. But Yuuya didn't relax his posture.
"We aren't taking the main road." Yuuya whispered, his eyes scanning the layout of the central plaza from the deep shadow of Babel's exit archway.
"Is that due to the uproar you caused?" Alfia asked, her head resting against his shoulder, her sensitive ears tracking the distant breathing of the city's remaining night watchmen.
"Exactly." Yuuya replied, a sharp, cynical smirk playing on his lips as he veered hard to the left, diving straight into the narrow, winding back alleys of the residential districts. "Before I went down, I had a little disagreement with one of the executive gods at the Guild lobby. I casually declared a solo dive to the 70th floor just to get them off my back. Right now, the entire city thinks I'm either dead, insane, or trying to stage the most spectacular suicide in modern history."
He navigated the labyrinthine alleyways, his boots making absolutely no sound against the cobblestone.
"If I just walk down the main thoroughfare at two in the morning, looking completely fine without a single scratch on my clothes, as if I just took a leisurely stroll through hell... the Guild will be breathing down my neck by sunrise. Every major Familia will send a representative, demanding the exact method of how a single Level 6 adventurer conquered territory that doesn't even exist on their modern maps. I'd give Goddess Hestia a massive headache before breakfast."
But beyond his own political complications, there was a far more dangerous variable resting in his arms.
Yuuya kept his gaze fixed on the shadows ahead, his mind mapping out the safest approach to the Hearth Manor.
They couldn't reveal Alfia's existence to the public. Not yet.
In this timeline, her hands weren't stained with the merciless slaughter of innocent civilians nor adventurers like the dark legends of the original lore.
Her path had carried a different weight. But to the average citizen of Orario, the name "Alfia" was still entirely synonymous with the terrifying events of the Great Feud seven years ago. Her association with Evilus was a historical scar that the city had never truly healed from.
If the Guild or the populace discovered that the Silence of the Hera Familia had been dragged back from the deepest throat of the Labyrinth, fully alive and resting within the city walls, it wouldn't just cause confusion—it would trigger a panic. The fragile peace of Orario would fracture in a single afternoon.
The gods would demand her execution, a permanent banishment, or even imprisonment, and the Hestia Familia would be branded as traitors to the public safety.
"They still fear me." Alfia stated flatly, her voice carrying no bitterness, only a cold acceptance of her reality. She felt the subtle shift in his direction, noting how he actively avoided even the faint light of the distant streetlamps. "Even if my hands did not tear through the populace as my companions intended... the ghost of the Silence is a shadow this city wants buried."
Yuuya stopped in the deep recess of a covered stone archway, just a single block away from the gates of the Hearth Manor. He looked down into her heterochromatic eyes, his dark gaze burning with a fierce protective focus that completely shattered the coldness of her thoughts.
"Let them fear." Yuuya said, his voice dropping into a deep, quiet vow that resonated through the silent alley. "They don't get to decide your fate anymore. They don't get to touch you, and they don't get to lock you away. We are going to heal your lungs, we are going to build your strength, and until the day you are ready to stand before them on your own terms... you stay with me. I'll be your shield against this entire city if I have to."
"And if Orario still sees you as a murderer, a villain, a terrorist—then I'll be your accomplice."
Alfia stared up at him, her chest rising with a soft, trembling breath as the sheer weight of his protection washed over her. Her fingers tightened their grip on his shirt, her head slowly resting back down against his collarbone as she let out a quiet, compliant sigh.
"You are an absolute fool, Yuuya." She whispered softly, the faint color returning to her pale cheeks as she completely surrendered her safety to his stride. "But I will hold you to that promise."
Turning his back on the moonlit streets, Yuuya slipped through the final boundary of the shadows, setting his sights directly on the silent, dark silhouette of the Hestia Familia home.
Yuuya didn't bother opening the gates, he simply jumped over it. Moving fluidly, he crossed the threshold of the dark, silent main hall.
The house was completely wrapped in the heavy stillness of the early morning. Every bedroom door along the corridor was firmly shut, the breathing of his sleeping Familia members the only indication of life within the walls.
Yuuya carried Alfia up the grand staircase. He pushed his bedroom door open with his shoulder, stepped inside, and clicked the lock cleanly into place behind them.
The transition from the harsh atmosphere of the Labyrinth to the quiet sanctuary of his room was instant. Yuuya walked over to the bed, carefully lowering his posture as he settled her down onto the mattress.
Alfia sank into the soft, quilted sheets, the plush fabric a jarring contrast to the cold crystal she had known for seven years. The folds of the Goliath scarf remained draped securely around her shoulders, shielding her fragile frame from the sudden draft of the room.
"Stay right there." Yuuya whispered, his voice barely a breath in the quiet space. "I'm going to get the rest of the food."
With a swift mental command, a rift cut through the dim air beside the bed. Yuuya reached into his pocket dimension storage, pulling out the remaining containers of the rich, steaming broth Haruhime and Mikoto had prepared, along with a hearty portion of solid rations for himself.
The savory aroma of the hot soup instantly filled the bedroom, bringing a subtle touch of domestic warmth to the isolated space. He sat on the edge of the mattress, lifting a wooden bowl in one hand and a spoon in the other.
"Open up." Yuuya murmured gently, holding a perfectly cooled portion of the broth directly in front of her lips.
Alfia didn't argue this time. Her heterochromatic eyes tracked his steady hand, her initial resistance completely dissolved by the sheer exhaustion clinging to her muscles.
She parted her lips, swallowing the savory liquid down as a faint, comfortable warmth began to spread across her chest.
Yuuya worked with patience. Between taking bites of his own food, he guided each spoonful toward her with careful devotion. When a small stray drop of broth threatened to spill down her chin, he used a clean, soft cloth to gently wipe the residue from her mouth before she could even register the awkwardness of the moment.
Once the bowl was entirely empty, he conjured a flask of water, supporting the back of her neck with his palm as he tilted the rim against her lips, allowing her to drink at her own precise pace.
As the flask vanished back into his inventory, Alfia let out a soft sigh, her silver hair spilling across the white pillows. The rich nutrients were already doing their work, but the sudden influx of energy after seven years of absolute stasis made her eyelids grow incredibly heavy. Sleep was aggressively pulling at her consciousness once more, yet her mind refused to quiet down entirely.
"Yuuya..." Alfia murmured, her raspy voice cutting through the silence of the room. "Earlier, you said you're gonna heal my lungs. Tell me. How do you intend to heal an illness no one has ever succeeded in curing? My lungs are already failing."
Yuuya set the empty containers on the bedside table and looked down at her, his dark eyes filled with certainty.
"I have a spell." Yuuya revealed softly, leaning his upper body forward to ensure his voice remained entirely grounded. "It's called
Alfia's gray and green eyes narrowed slightly, a flicker of deep suspicion crossing her features.
"A spell capable of rewriting the soul's decay? Such a miracle does not exist within the records of Orario. How can you be so certain it will function on me?"
"Because I've already used it before." Yuuya countered immediately, his tone dropping into a low, solemn register. "I used it to completely save Bell."
The words struck the room like a physical blow. Alfia's breath hitched sharply in her throat, her entire slender frame going completely rigid beneath the blankets.
"What did you just say?" She whispered, her voice suddenly laced with a sharp, terrified edge. "Bell...? Why would my nephew require a spell for the soul?"
"It wasn't obvious at first. His symptoms are only coughs when he pushes himself too hard. Until a few weeks ago, it flared up." Yuuya explained, his gaze unwavering as he placed a reassuring hand over her trembling fingers. "He inherited it, Alfia. The exact same incurable disease that took Meteria and crippled your own body. It was actively dormant inside him from birth."
A wave of profound shock and agonizing guilt washed over Alfia's pale features. Her fingers clenched violently into the fabric of his shirt, her jaw tightening as her mind reeled from the terrifying revelation. The child she had abandoned in that quiet cabin—the boy she thought she was protecting by removing her cursed presence from his life—had been carrying their family's executioner's blade inside his own blood all along.
"He... he carried the curse..." Alfia choked out, her heterochromatic eyes swimming with a sudden, overwhelming gloss of moisture. "And I was not there. I left him to rot alone in the dark..."
"Hey, look at me." Yuuya interrupted, his fingers tightening around her wrist gently to pull her back from the ledge of her own despair. "He is entirely healthy now. I wiped the disease out of his system until there wasn't a single trace left. He's growing stronger every single day, completely free of the burden. And the moment everything here is settled, I am going to do the exact same thing for you. I swear it to you. The curse ends with this generation."
Alfia stared up into his dark eyes, searching the depths of his face for any hint of exaggeration. She found nothing but an unconditional, unshakeable focus. The heavy panic in her chest gradually began to quiet down, the sheer weight of his validation acting as a soothing balm on her frayed nerves.
She let out a long, trembling breath, her head slowly sinking back into the pillows as the residual fatigue finally claimed the rest of her strength.
She didn't say much after that. The revelation about her nephew's survival had thoroughly exhausted her remaining cognitive defenses. But as Yuuya began to shift his weight, intending to stand up and monitor the room from the chair, her stiff fingers frantically tightened their grip on his sleeve, refusing to let him move an inch away from the mattress.
"Don't leave..." Alfia commanded weakly, her voice dropping into a fragile, desperate whisper that completely betrayed her proud demeanor. She looked up through the curtain of her silver bangs, her gray and green eyes wide with an undisguised vulnerability. "Sleep here. With me."
Yuuya looked at her locked fingers, a soft, understanding smile gracing his lips. He didn't protest. He kicked off his leather boots and climbed onto the bed, sliding his upper body upward until his back was resting flat against the solid wooden headboard.
He pulled the thick blankets and the Goliath scarf higher up, securing the insulation around both of them before resting his large palm gently onto the crown of her silver hair.
"What... what are you doing?" Alfia murmured, her eyes fluttering slightly at the sudden contact.
"Patting your head..." Yuuya replied smoothly, his fingers beginning a slow, rhythmic stroke through the long, silky cascades of her hair. "It helps quiet the mind. Just close your eyes."
Alfia's jaw set into a slight, disgruntled pout, her pride as Alfia making one final, stubborn stand.
"I am not a child, Yuuya..." She chided softly, her voice raspy and devoid of any real venom.
Yet, even as the cold complaint left her lips, her actions entirely contradicted her words. Her pale cheek instinctively leaned heavier into the warmth of his palm, her slender shoulders relaxing completely as her body melted into the soothing motion of his hand.
She let out a soft, compliant breath, her eyes finally drifting shut as the music of his presence thoroughly dismantled the last of her defenses.
"Sure you aren't." Yuuya whispered back into the shadows.
He kept his hand moving, his fingers continuously stroking her hair with devotion. The quiet bedroom was filled only with the gentle, rhythmic sound of her breathing as she finally fell into a deep, dreamless, and genuinely peaceful slumber.
Yuuya remained exactly where he was, his back propped against the headboard, his eyes tracking the soft rise and fall of her chest in the moonlight. The intense physical and emotional strain of the last few days—the race against time, the descent to the 70th floor, and the heavy silence of the System's departure—finally caught up to his own senses.
His eyelids grew incredibly heavy, his vision slowly blurring into darkness.
He didn't move his hand. Even as his mind drifted completely out of consciousness and a restorative sleep claimed his body, his palm remained resting gently over her silver head, keeping her close, safely to his warmth throughout the remainder of the quiet night.
∆∆∆∆
The golden clarity of the morning sun sliced cleanly through the gaps in the window curtains, painting sharp lines of amber light across the bedroom floor.
Yuuya's eyes opened precisely as the internal clock of his mind registered at 7:00 AM.
As he carefully began to shift his weight, intending to slide out from beneath the blankets without disturbing the woman beside him, the mattress gave a subtle creak.
It was enough.
Alfia shifted instantly, a soft, groggy murmur escaping her throat as her silver tresses spilled across the white linen. Her heterochromatic eyes fluttered open, heavy with sleep and entirely lacking their usual sharp, piercing authority. She blinked against the morning light, her focus wavering before locking onto his silhouette.
"Where..." She rasped, her voice muffled slightly by the plush pillow as her fingers instinctively reached out, brushing against the fabric of his sleeve. "Where are you going?"
"I need to slip downstairs and let Bell and Goddess Hestia know that I'm back in the manor." Yuuya answered quietly, his voice a low, soothing hum in the quiet room. "And more importantly, I have to go to the Pantheon. I need to report my status to the Guild before they deploy an official search and rescue team to the lower floors."
He reached out, his palm resting gently over the crown of her head. He began to stroke her silver hair again, his thumb lightly tracing the shell of her ear.
"I promise you, I won't take long. Just close your eyes and rest. Your body still needs to recover."
Alfia's jaw tightened in a faint, stubborn display of resistance. Despite the immense weight of her fatigue, she actively fought the drowsiness pulling at her consciousness. Her unconditioned fingers curled tightly into the edge of his shirt, her grip surprisingly desperate for someone so physically weakened.
"No..." She whispered, her gray and green eyes filled with vulnerability that contradicts her reputation. "Stay here... Yuuya, don't go. Stay."
The sheer, naked dependency in her voice caught him completely off guard. Yuuya faltered, his movement freezing entirely as he looked down at her.
For a single, fleeting second, the urge to obey her wish, lock the door, and ignore the rest of Orario entirely threatened to override his logic. Her trauma was still a bleeding wound, and the fear of the silence was clearly screaming in the back of her mind.
But the weight of his situation crashed back into his thoughts. He couldn't afford to be selfish. He had already dropped a massive political bomb on the Hestia Familia by declaring his solo dive to the 70th floor.
If he delayed his reappearance any longer, the Guild's investigation would boil over, and Yuuya fears that the subsequent fallout would drag Goddess Hestia, Bell, and the others directly into a bureaucratic nightmare. He had to clear his name first to keep the manor safe.
"I'm not leaving you behind, Alfia." Yuuya murmured, his tone gentle as he continued the slow pats on her head. "I'm just clearing the path. I'll be back before you even realize I'm gone. Trust me."
Alfia stared up at him, her lips slightly parted as she tried to voice another protest, but the soothing, constant motion of his hand was a hypnotic force against her exhaustion. Slowly, her stubborn grip on his shirt began to slacken, her silver lashes growing impossibly heavy.
With one final, defeated sigh, her eyes drifted shut, her breathing settling she slipped back into sleep.
Yuuya waited until her hand completely relaxed against the mattress. He carefully pulled the blankets up to her chin, ensured the Goliath scarf was tucked securely around her shoulders, and slipped out of the room, clicking the lock into place with silence.
The interior of the Hearth Manor was entirely hushed as Yuuya navigated the corridors. At seven in the morning, the rest of the Familia members were still fast asleep, likely exhausted from the days of tense, anxious waiting.
Choosing not to wake them until he had the Guild situation entirely sorted, Yuuya bypassed the kitchen and quietly exited through the front gates, disappearing into the morning mist of the city.
When he arrived at the Pantheon, the atmosphere inside the Guild hall was thick with a palpable, suffocating exhaustion.
The usual professional demeanor of the clerks was completely shattered. Staff members were shuffling across the stone floor with sluggish, heavy steps, their uniforms slightly disheveled. Loose documents and unorganized files were piled high on every available counter, and the distinct scent of stale, bitter coffee hung heavy in the air.
Eina was leaning heavily against the main reception desk, her head propped up by her palm as her glasses sat slightly crooked on her nose. Dark, purplish circles underscored her eyes, her gaze staring blankly at a stack of blank casualty reports.
The wooden entrance doors groaned as Yuuya pushed them open.
The moment his tall, uninjured silhouette stepped into the lobby, a sudden, dead silence fell over the room. Eina's head snapped up. Three other clerks stopped mid-stride, their arms frozen full of folders.
Then, a collective, synchronized groan echoed through the entire grand hall. It wasn't a roar of celebration or a sigh of profound relief; it was the heavy, miserable lamentation of overworked bureaucrats staring at an administrative crisis.
"Oh, look." Misha said as she dropped her head onto the wooden counter with a hollow thud. "He's alive. Great. That's another fifty pages of standard survival documentation we have to log by noon."
"Look on the bright side, Misha." Another clerk muttered from behind a massive wall of parchment, her shoulders slumping in sheer defeat. "Since the anomalous lunatic is standing right there without a single limb missing, the paperwork we have to file is technically less than what we would have to do if we had to process a first-class corpse."
Eina slowly stood up straight, her fingers trembling slightly as she adjusted her glasses. She stared at Yuuya, her expression a terrifying mixture of profound relief and absolute, homicidal exhaustion.
"Yuuya..." Eina said, her voice dangerously quiet, carrying the specific edge of a woman who hadn't slept a full hour in days. "Do you have any idea what the past ninety six hours have been like for this department? You have been missing for four entire days."
Yuuya blinked, his mind quickly calculating the timeline. To him, the descent, the battle, and the subsequent stasis event had felt like a rapid, concentrated blur of adrenaline and rest.
But according to the surface world's calendar, his sudden disappearance into the deep floors had left the Guild hanging in a state of high alert panic for nearly a hundred hours.
"Four days?" Yuuya echoed, rubbing the back of his neck with a casual, sheepish smirk that only served to make Eina's left eye twitch. "Well... the traffic in the lower floors was a bit worse than I anticipated."
"Traffic?!" Eina marched out from behind the counter, a thick, leather bound logbook clutched in her hands like a weapon. "You declared a solo dive to territory that modern maps don't even cover, vanished past the safety perimeters without a secondary scout team, and left the executive board screaming at my department for updates every six hours! The higher ups was preparing to authorize a multi-Familia deployment just to look for your remains!"
She stopped directly in front of him, her chest heaving as she let out a long, exhausted breath, the anger slowly draining out of her to reveal the deep worry she had been carrying.
"Four days, Yuuya." She repeated softly, her emerald eyes searching his face, looking for any hidden wounds or signs of trauma from the abyss. "No armor damage. No severe lacerations. You look like you just took a casual morning stroll through the central park. Go sit in the private booth. The director is going to want every single detail of what happened down there, and you aren't leaving this building until every single line of this report is signed."
Yuuya shuddered upon hearing the word "report" and "signed."
Yuuya held up both hands in a placating gesture, taking a half step back as Eina advanced with the heavy logbook. The sheer volume of raw, unadulterated exhaustion radiating from his advisor was enough to make a Level 6 adventurer break into a nervous sweat.
"Uhh, can we do this later?" Yuuya asked, his voice adopting a strained, sheepish tone. "I haven't even announced my return to my Familia yet. Everyone was still completely knocked out when I left the manor. Plus, I'm guessing the Denatus had to be moved back because I wasn't around to clarify my status, right? So... can I just do the formal report after the Denatus instead? Please? I swear I won't make any excuses to skip out on it this time."
Eina stopped right in front of him. She didn't instantly launch into a tirade. Instead, she just looked at him. She really, deeply looked at him, her eyes scanning every inch of his unblemished face, searching for the phantom horrors of the deep floors that usually broke the sanity of anyone who dared cross into the abyss. Finding absolutely nothing but a tired, slightly desperate boy, the rigid tension in her shoulders finally snapped.
With a heavy, long-suffering sigh, she lowered the logbook to her side and waved her hand aggressively toward the exit.
"Go." Eina muttered, her voice carrying the utter defeat of a woman who knew she couldn't chain him to a desk. "Get out of my sight. If you stand another minute in this lobby, I am genuinely terrified that your mere presence is going to spontaneously multiply our paperwork. Just... go tell Goddess Hestia you aren't dead."
Yuuya offered a quick, grateful grin, turning slightly as if to head for the grand double doors. But his footsteps faltered, his posture freezing as the critical reality of the silver haired woman resting in his bedroom flashed across his mind. The 72-hour clock was ticking but he couldn't just play the standard bureaucratic games.
He turned back around, his expression suddenly dropping the playful demeanor, replaced by a gravity that made the surrounding air feel instantly heavy.
"Actually, Eina..." Yuuya murmured, his dark eyes locking onto hers with seriousness. "Before I leave, I need to request an immediate, private audience with Ouranos."
The silence that followed his words was thick enough to cut with a dagger. Eina's hand, which had been reaching for a fresh stack of index cards, froze entirely. The two clerks behind her stopped rustling their papers, their jaws dropping slightly as they stared at the young man who had just casually demanded a meeting with the boss of the Guild.
Once the initial shock washed out of her system, Eina's face didn't soften. Instead, a dangerously quiet, terrifyingly intense aura began to emanate from her slender frame. The temperature in the immediate vicinity felt like it dropped by ten degrees.
For the past four months—ever since Yuuya had first registered as an adventurer up until this exact, agonizing morning—he had never failed to give her a single week of peace. His first month was fine, it's quite peaceful. But the following months after that? Absolute insanity. Every single report he brought back to her desk was a heart attack wrapped in parchment.
She vividly remembered the sheer terror from his Level 2 days. While normal rookies were struggling to coordinate against standard Kobolds in the upper layers, Yuuya had casually wandered into the 17th floor and soloed a Black Goliath. A black variant. A variant so rare it was considered a myth, a Level 5 threat, which means it required more than just a squad of adventurers just to suppress. And he had slaughtered it alone, as a Level 2, coming back to the Pantheon with a dented armor and a massive magic stone.
He was constantly jumping into the throat of death without a second thought, making her worry about his actual survival far more than the mountain of doom that was their daily paperwork. And now, fresh out of a four day disappearance into the unmapped depths of the 70th floor, the very first thing he wanted to do was bypass the entire administrative hierarchy to speak directly to the ancient god in the basement.
"An audience..." Eina began, her voice carrying a dangerously sweet, melodic sound that made Yuuya's internal danger senses scream at maximum volume. "With Lord Ouranos. Yuuya, do you have any idea what kind of precedent that sets?"
Sensing the incoming scolding regarding his highly questionable life decisions, Yuuya immediately raised his hands, his posture adopting a thoroughly panicked, pleading stance.
"I know, I know! I look like a lunatic—"
"THAT'S BECAUSE YOU ARE!!!"
Yuuya winced, but he continued on as he begged, his voice hushed to avoid drawing the attention of the wider lobby.
"But I swear to you, Eina, this isn't just me being reckless. It's incredibly important. It's something that directly concerns the state of the seventieth floor. Something... something the gods need to know immediately. I just need five minutes with him. I swear, after this is done, I won't do any more crazy stuff for a long time!"
Eina crossed her arms tightly over her chest, her gaze boring holes straight into his forehead. She didn't budge, her expression remaining entirely flat as she weighed the sheer absurdity of his track record against the intense, desperate focus in his eyes.
"You swear?" Eina pressed, her tone sharp, demanding an absolute guarantee.
Yuuya didn't answer immediately. His jaw tightened, his eyes darting slightly to the side as his mind calculated the fact that he was currently hiding a Level 7 remnant of the Hera Familia in his bedroom and would likely need to break a few more city ordinances to keep her safe.
Eina's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. She stepped closer, her voice dropping into an icy whisper.
"Yuuya. Do. You. Swear?"
Yuuya awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, his gaze completely averting from her face as a nervous, entirely unconvincing chuckle escaped his lips.
"...No promises." He muttered weakly.
Eina let out a sound that was half sigh, half growl, her hands dropping to her sides as she completely surrendered to the realization that trying to control Yuuya's destiny was an impossible task. She closed her eyes, rubbing her temples to stave off the massive migraine currently forming behind her glasses.
"Wait here." She ordered flatly, turning on her heel without another word. "I will convey the request to the high-ranking administrators. But do not hold your breath, Yuuya. Lord Ouranos does not simply grant audiences to adventurers just because they survived their own stupidity."
She disappeared through the heavy oak doors leading to the secure back corridors of the Pantheon, leaving Yuuya alone in the tense, quiet lobby. The remaining clerks gave him wide berths, looking at him as if he were a ghost that had miraculously forgotten to stop walking among the living.
Minutes ticked by, the heavy silence of the Pantheon stretching out until Yuuya began to mentally rehearse how he was going to sneak into the secret prayer chambers if she came back with a refusal.
But then, the oak doors swung open once more.
Eina walked back into the lobby, but her previous exasperation was completely gone. Instead, her face was completely pale, her eyes wide with a profound, stunned disbelief that made her look entirely detached from reality. She stopped a few feet away from him, her fingers clutching a sealed parchment slip so tightly the edges were wrinkling.
"He... he said yes." Eina whispered, her voice trembling slightly as she looked at Yuuya as if he had just performed an impossible miracle. "Lord Ouranos... he was already tracking your return. He gave the immediate go-ahead. You are authorized to descend to the secret chamber right now."
The descent into the depths beneath the Pantheon was a journey into a heavy silence. Yuuya followed the hidden, torch-lit stone corridors that led straight to the heart of the Guild. The air grew progressively cooler.
When he finally entered the room leading into the grand prayer chamber, the sight that greeted him made his footsteps instantly freeze.
The chamber was exactly as he remembered—vast, shadowed, and dominated by the colossal, throne-like stone seat where the supreme god of the Guild resided. But Ouranos was not alone.
Standing in the dim light at the base of the dais was Fels, the immortal mage clad in their signature black robes, their hollow hood shifting slightly as Yuuya entered. But it was the third figure leaning casually against a nearby pillar that caused Yuuya's eyes to narrow in surprise.
"Yo, Yuuya-kun!" Hermes chirped, offering a bright, cheerful wave of his hand. His signature feathered hat was tilted slightly to the side, and that famously enigmatic, playful smirk was plastered across his face. "You certainly know how to keep a city on its toes, don't you? A solo dive to the seventieth floor and back in four days without a single scratch. Truly spectacular."
Yuuya slowly walked forward, his posture tense.
"Hermes. I didn't expect to see you down here. Especially not in the secret chambers."
"Oh, come now, don't look at me with such suspicion." Hermes chuckled, raising his hands defensively as he strolled closer to the center of the room. "When a mortal violently shakes the bedrock of the entire Labyrinth and forces a shift in the registry, a god that specializes in information is bound to notice. Besides, Lord Ouranos and I were actually right in the middle of discussing your most recent... acquisition, when you walked through the door."
Yuuya's heart skipped a beat. His hand instinctively twitched toward his side, his thoughts instantly racing back to the quiet bedroom in the Hearth Manor where Alfia was currently sleeping.
'They already know?'
Before the panic could fully lock his muscles, the deep, resonant voice of Ouranos rumbled through the cavernous room like a slow wave of thunder.
"Rest your mind, child of Hestia." Ouranos spoke, his ancient, weathered eyes looking down from his stone seat with a calm serenity. "You have crossed thresholds that would have claimed the lives of entire generations. Take a breath. You are among allies who understand the true weight of the burden you carry."
Fels nodded slightly from beneath their dark hood, their skeletal voice echoing softly.
"We observed the fluctuation within the lower floors four days ago. The stasis matrix you shattered was an architectural anomaly we have tracked for seven years. We knew the moment her binding dissolved."
"Wait, you guys know?" Asked Yuuya, a bit surprised.
"Well, not exactly in a sense that we are aware she's there. It's you who confirmed our suspicion." Replied Fels.
"Fels is right. In all honesty, I only became aware of her presence on the dungeon five years ago. I was unsure what it was, what floor it's in, but the dungeon is irritated with its existence." Explained Ouranos. "Then, another two year have passed and finally, I was able to pinpoint the abnormality. The seventieth floor."
"And then we also find out after another year that there was life in that floor. Not the monsters, but a human life." Followed Fels. "To say we are surprised is an understatement."
Yuuya looked bewildered. But then again, Ouranos is the one managing the dungeon from going berserk. He is bound to notice a constant presence inside the labyrinth—one that has been irritating the dungeon for seven years no less.
"Then what did you guys do?" Asked Yuuya, a pique of curiosity on his mind.
"We want to investigate what it was but unfortunately, the floor is simply too deep and we are not confident in the strength of the current familia." Replied Fels.
"And that's considering if they would even agree in the first place to explore that deep." Said Yuuya.
"Correct. The dangers are too high and the objective is unclear." Replied Ouranos. "Even if the Loki and Freya familia worked together, they might simply see the task as too dangerous and not worth the risk."
"Then how did you guys find out it was Alfia?" Said Yuuya.
"We deducted. And even then, it was still a guess." Said Fels decisively.
"Elaborate."
"With Lord Ouranos order, I began digging and investigating through the events of the past decade. Eventually, I came across a particularly interesting piece of information, dating way back into the Dark Age of Orario." Explained Fels. "According to the Astrea familia, on the last day of the Great Feud they fought the Silence of Hera. Who, showed up out of nowhere after a long disappearance."
"True. Orario was already having a hard time with Zald and then bam. Out of nowhere, Alfia appeared on the last day." Hermes chuckled, reminiscing at the memory. "Almost everyone present that day thought Orario was done for."
"But that wasn't the important part, its what happened during that day. Especially the fight that took place in the 18th floor." Continues Fels. "The Astrea girls said that in the very end of the battle, after Alfia have accepted defeat, she let herself willingly fall into a hole that leads to the lower floors. Where it was concluded that she died by incineration from the flames of the lower floor."
Yuuya thought for a bit, trying to place himself in their position so that he can understand how they came into such a conclusion.
"And with that information, you guys came into conclusion that Alfia is the most probable candidate?" Asked Yuuya.
"Yes. The time where the dungeon became irritated is not far from the day of her presumed death. Life also does not appear out of nowhere in the dungeon, the seventieth floor and a human one at that." Said Ouranos.
"We came into conclusion that she's alive. We don't know who, how, and why, but one thing is for sure. Out of all possible answers, her's is the only logical conclusion." Said Fels.
"Then how did you guys know she's sealed?" Asked Yuuya.
"We guessed again. When Alfia falls, the Astrea familia says she was barely clinging on to life. Her incurable illness was on its last stage and even if she survives the battle, they said they were sure she's gonna die sooner or later that day." Said Fels. "So we hypothesized, that something must be keeping her alive on the seventieth. We theorized that she must be sealed or trapped in some kind of spell that keeps her in a suspended animation, while also protecting her to the might of the monsters on that floor."
"And then you came into the picture." Said Hermes. "Four days ago, you declared your solo expedition to the seventieth because you feel like it. After a day, coincidentally..."
"The presence in the seventieth floor disappeared." Followed Ouranos. "I then sent Fels to go to the 18th floor in hopes of catching a glimpse of you. To see if our theory were correct."
"Two days of waiting later and that's where I found you, in quite the surprising scene. Something I thought I would never be able to see in my long life." Fels chuckled at the memory. "In your lap was the Silence of Hera. The Incarnation of Talent. Being spoon fed and taken care of."
"My eyes would be bulging out if I still have one when I saw that." Joked Fels dryly. "After recovering myself, I immediately reported back to Ouranos. Which all leads to now."
"But the goliath in the room still remains." Voiced out Hermes as he looked straight at Yuuya, his eyes narrowing, still smirking. "What are you really, Yuuya Mitsukuji? How do you know Alfia is on the seventieth? What are your intentions? And most importantly, what's going on between the two of you?"
Silence.
Yuuya didn't answer, but he didn't averted his gaze either. Then finally—
"We all have our own secrets, are we not?" Replied Yuuya smoothly, a small smile on his lips that doesn't say anything.
"Fair enough." Replied Hermes. "I was actually surprised when I receive the news from Ouranos that Alfia is alive. To say I was shocked is putting it lightly. I was... Terrified..."
Yuuya sweat dropped at the statement.
"How so?"
"Well... I was more concerned of her... Psychotic attitude more than anything else. Seven years in the dungeon won't do anything good to anyone. Especially to a person who's already... that... So I was worried that her personality became even more... Questionable." Said Hermes as he rubs the back of his neck.
"...I guess...? Now that I think about it, Alfia isn't afraid to blast anyone, even a god, if she finds them irritating."
"You don't say." Said Hermes as his face became grim as he recalled a certain memory. "Back when Zeus is still here, I used to go along with him in peekin—I mean, scouting of the woman's bath. For educational and security purposes. Yes. Unfortunately, one time, it was Alfia who saw us."
Hermes gulped loudly.
"I never knew one could fly that high and far with just a single spell until that day. Luckily, I landed on a river. Zeus? My last memory of him before being sent airborne is his head two feet into the cobblestones."
"...okay..." Said Yuuya as he looked at the god, his expression a mix of pity and 'you brought it on yourself.'
Hermes shook his head and stepped up beside Yuuya, casually clapping a hand onto the young man's shoulder.
"Details! Anyways, that's why, you can drop that posture of yours, Yuuya-kun. We aren't here to ambush you, nor are we here to demand you hand over the Silence of Hera to the Guild authorities. In fact, you've actually saved us a great deal of trouble by bringing her back intact."
The change in Hermes's act and his genuine warmth and the relaxed demeanor of the three figures in the room acted like a physical weight lifting off Yuuya's chest. He let out a long, slow breath, his rigid shoulders finally dropping as he ran a hand through his dark hair.
The sheer luck of the situation felt almost engineered by fate itself; he had come prepared to fight tooth and nail for her protection, only to find the highest authorities of the city already waiting to clear the path.
"Alright." Yuuya murmured, his voice returning to its steady, pragmatic tone. "If you already know she's with me... then what's the play? Because this isn't a standard situation."
"It is not a negotiation, Yuuya." Fels clarified smoothly, stepping forward to spread a map of Orario's historical districts across a small stone pedestal. "It is a matter of strategic planning. Lord Ouranos and I have maintained a meticulous record of the Great Feud from seven years ago. We are fully aware of the truth behind Alfia's actions."
The immortal mage pointed a finger at the central districts of the old city map.
~~~~
The Historical Record of the Silence of Hera.
Civilian Casualties: Absolute zero.
During the final day of the Great Feud—the only day she actively participated in open combat—Alfia did not execute a single non-combatant and combatant alike.
Structural Preservation: She did not target the city's critical infrastructure. The only destruction attributed to her name was the inevitable collateral damage caused by battle.
Behavioral Intent: Her combat parameters were strictly contained to engaging the frontline forces of the Loki, Freya, and Astrea Familia, serving as a trial rather than a merciless slaughterhouse.
~~~~
"Her reputation among the high-ranking survivors is complicated, but it is not entirely blackened." Ouranos rumbled from his throne. "She did not partake in the atrocities committed by the core factions of Evilus. Her hands are untainted by the blood of the innocent. However... the masses do not possess our records."
"That's the real kicker, isn't it?" Hermes chimed in, his playful tone dropping into a sharp, analytical register as he adjusted the brim of his hat. "To the average shopkeeper in the market square or the rookie adventurers drinking in the pubs, the name Alfia is just a terrifying ghost story from the darkest period of history. They only know she wore the colors of the enemy for a single battle. That single association left a massive, toxic mark on her legacy. If we reintroduce her to the public right now without preparation, it will trigger an immediate city wide panic."
Yuuya kept his eyes fixed on the map, his mind absorbing the data.
"So we can't just announce she's alive. We have to actively control the narrative."
"Precisely." Ouranos declared, his gaze locking onto Yuuya with seriousness. "We recognize the immense, irreplaceable importance of Alfia to this city, to humanity, and to the future of the world. A Level 7 of her caliber is not a relic to be buried in the dark out of political cowardice."
Ouranos leaned slightly forward, his voice dropping into a deep, solemn vow.
"Give us time, Yuuya. Alongside Hermes and the network of the hidden eyes, the Guild will actively orchestrate a series of calculated maneuvers to thoroughly clean her name. We will slowly filter the true records of her restraint during the Feud into the public consciousness, chipping away at the fear until the masses see her not as a monster of destruction, but as a tragic hero who stepped into the dark to force the city to grow strong."
"It's all about timing, Yuuya-kun." Hermes added with a confident grin, his eyes gleaming with the thrill of a grand performance. "We'll drop hints, manipulate the historical texts, and let the rumor mills do the heavy lifting. We'll make Orario realize that her one time involvement with Evilus was nothing more than a trial. And why are we doing all this work for a legendary ghost? Because we all know what's coming."
The cheerful atmosphere in the room completely evaporated, replaced by a cold weight as Hermes spoke the final, defining truth of their alliance.
"The promised time is drawing near." Hermes stated flatly, his gaze turning toward the ceiling, as if looking right through the stone layers toward the distant horizon. "The final trial of humanity—the battle against the One-Eyed Black Dragon—is an inevitability that this world is currently entirely unprepared for. To conquer that nightmare, we cannot afford to waste a single drop of strength. We need the Silence of Hera. The Incarnation of Talent. We need her silence at the front line when everything was drowning and screaming in despair."
Yuuya looked at the three. A profound sense of relief finally settled deep into his bones. He wasn't alone in his fight to keep his promise; the grand machinery of the world was shifting its gears to accommodate her return.
"Alright." Yuuya said, his jaw setting with a determined focus as he turned back toward the stone doors. "Do what you need to do with the public. I'll handle her health and her recovery at the manor. We'll be ready when the time comes."
∆∆∆∆