-At the Heracles Manor.
The members of the Heracles familia all had a nervous look on their faces. At the moment, their God, Heracles, is at the Tower of Babel and would be declaring war games on the Apollo familia at the Denatus that was being held.
They have full trust that their God would be able to pull it off, but there's a lingering fear that the others might take this opportunity to gang up on them. Like Heracles said, he isn't a well-liked god. Hell, most of the deity hates him if he was being honest.
They were planning their move for the upcoming war games, and the atmosphere is tense. It has been close to two hours since Heracles left for Babel. Standard Denatus usually lasts within the hour.
August has left everything to Denki and Helga. The two of them are more well-versed in the strengths and weaknesses of the other members, and Denki has been handling the others for quite some time now.
And August is a more "on the spot" type of fighter and strategist, and his primary tactic is attack. But in a confrontation as large as a war games, that tactic isn't really that dependable.
"So, do we all agree?" Denki stared at everyone, their faces serious as they stared at the paper Denki had set up on the ground. "I will be the one fighting Hyakinthos, while Helga would be leading the assault on the other members of Apollo familia. The captain would play the role of support; he is stronger and faster than everyone, so he can be at multiple places at once, supporting those who need it."
Jogu shrugged as he stared at the plans Denki had set up. "I mean, it's fine and dandy and all, but is this really necessary? I mean, we could just drop the cap'n in those lots and call it a day, right?"
Helga slapped the back of Jogu's head as she growled at the poor man. "And what makes you think that we'll only be fighting Apollo familia? What if he made an alliance with the other gods? Gods who have level 5 in their ranks? What then?"
Jogu scratched the back of his head, muttering something about always getting bullied.
"She's right. It's safe to assume that we won't be getting any allies in this fight, and Apollo would get plenty, so I made the adjustment of the safest route we can take. And the captain's strength would be a major key if we want to win this." Denki nods, he had racked his brains on how to win the war games with no casualties on their side, and doing this is their best option. Especially since they didn't have a clue on how many gods would support Apollo in the war games.
"I get that... But why only you? Isn't it safer to have another one with you when you fight Hyakinthos?" Nadia asked while looking at Denki.
The young samurai clenched his fist as his eyes momentarily moved towards Froke. He then answered, his voice cold and dangerous. "It's personal."
Helga closed her eyes; she had never seen Denki this angry before. She clapped her hands one time, gaining everyone's attention. "This is the best plan we can come up with; it's a solid plan. Stick to your roles, and we should win this without any complications."
""Aye!"" the others nodded in agreement. If both Helga and Denki agree on this plan, then it was the right move to execute it.
Helga then turned towards Denki, seeing the young samurai nodding at her. She then sighed, she knows Denki was being selfish in his desire to fight Hyakinthos alone, but now that she knows the full story, she doesn't have a say in the young samurai's plan for revenge. 'I just hope he wouldn't bite more than what he can chew.' Helga massaged the bridge of her nose as they finalized the plan.
Meanwhile...
August was meditating on the side; his thoughts are stuck on what happened earlier in the morning. His mind flashed back on how Hyakinthos caught his spear, and the last time he checked, he was level 3. It should have been virtually impossible for him to sense the attack coming, much less catch it to a degree.
"Hmmm... Did Apollo really do it?" he murmured silently to himself, as his mind theorized how Hyakinthos was able to gain that much strength in a very little time. And as much as he wants to think that Apollo wouldn't stoop so low, all proof indicates that he did something incredibly stupid... And dangerous.
'That black flame, it has miasma-like properties... Much like that of the abomination.' he couldn't see well due to the distance, but his mana sense was able to perceive something sinister coming from the captain of Apollo familia. His eyes opened and moved towards Denki, who was talking with Helga and Bors, finalizing their plan.
He made a promise to the young samurai, and he is known to not go back on his word. Denki was the one he first told of his plans, and the young samurai agreed on the spot. But not before asking him a favor.
He wants to Hyakinthos.
At that time, August agreed, and a plan quickly formed between the two. August would support the rest of the familia since he was a level 6; he could take multiple adventurers all throughout the battlefield while providing help to the others who are outnumbered. While Denki would fight Hyakinthos, who is on par with him in level.
At least that was before the events of the morning happened. He didn't tell anyone of what transpired inside Apollo's manor; he didn't want to scare them, after all, the events of three and a half months ago are still fresh in their minds. And if there's a possibility that they would be marching against another abomination, then they would undeniably back down.
The words of Heracles' sermon played over and over his mind again; perhaps he did rush into things. With the benefit of hindsight, it looks like that was really the case.
If his suspicion was indeed true, he had just put everyone's life in danger, like Heracles had said.
"Fuck!" he stood up and cursed, earning the eye of everyone in the room. He grabbed his spear and walked towards the door. The others quickly got up from their seats.
"August, please don't tell me you're gonna do something reckless yet again?" Helga hurriedly grabbed her weapons; she wants to follow August, the rest of them following her lead.
"I just want to get some air... Don't worry." August answered while looking back, smiling and feigning nonchalance.
Denki, who has known August the longest here, quickly saw through his facade. 'He's hiding something.' he thought, he walked forward and placed his hand on Helga's shoulder. "I'm coming with him; I too need some fresh air. Don't worry, I'll be stopping him if he does something stupid." Denki smiled, reassuring Helga and the rest. "That's fine right, captain?"
August shrugged. "Sure." Truth be told, he was thankful; he wanted to talk to Denki, and this was the perfect opportunity to do so.
Helga looked at the two, the captain and the vice-captain of the familia. She sighed, knowing she couldn't stop the two of them from doing what they want. "Be sure to return quickly; Lord Heracles might come back any moment now."
"Will do," Denki answered as he marched towards August, while the captain just nodded as he opened the door.
The two left as the others stared at the now-closed door. "Lord Heracles firmly ordered us to stay here. Why didn't you stop them?" Ozwald asked Helga as soon as the door closed.
Helga looked at Ozwald like he was stupid. "Stop them? I'd like to see you try that." She sighed again. 'Ever since I became a member of this familia, all I ever did was sigh.' she thought to herself, a soft chuckle escaping her lips.
"They wouldn't do something stupid, would they?" Katty asked, fiddling with her fingers.
"Denki is with the cap'n. He could probably pull him out before he does his usual... August stuff." Jogu shrugged as he sat back on his seat, everyone looking at him with deadpanned eyes, as if they were saying "really?" in an extremely sarcastic way. "What?! I said probably, right?!"
"Let's just hope they return before Lord Heracles..." Bors shrugged before sitting back down as well. "And as much as I hate to admit it, Jogu is right. Fuck, that's difficult to say. Hahaha."
""Hmmm"" the others nodded and laughed as well, barring Jogu who was grumbling in his seat, spouting something about bullying, but the others ignored him.
"So we all agree? If the captain does anything stupid, we blame Denki?" Katty smirked.
""AYE!!!"" everyone quickly answered, passing the responsibility to Denki.
Helga, meanwhile, palmed her face. After all, she noticed that Denki would actually enable August instead of stopping him. 'Gods help us.' she thought, sighing again.
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August and Denki walked in the bustling streets of Orario, the cheerful calls of the vendors humming softly in their ears, the soft breeze of the summer air wafting on their faces.
Denki took a deep breath, steeling himself as he gazed at August, who had a scowl on his face. "Captain... What's on your mind?" Denki walked closer, matching the pace of August as they walked.
August woke from his deep thoughts as Denki's voice hummed in his ears. He looked at his friend and his face smiling. "Oh. What was that? I didn't catch it."
"Something's bothering you right? What is it?" Denki looked at August straight in the eyes.
August merely tilted his head; he then smiled an assuring smile as he answered. "Bothering me? Nah... Everything is fi-"
"Don't give me that." Denki cut him off; he then glared at August, eyeing him seriously. "It's because of earlier, isn't it? The moment you released that spear, something has been off with you... At first, you looked excited, the look you always have when you find someone you want to fight... Then you became quiet, like something bad is about to happen."
August was taken aback; his eyes then softened. In the past, Denki wouldn't have questioned him like this; hell, he would just fully trust that he would take care of it. Don't get it wrong, he can still feel the trust Denki has in him, but something is different with his friend. 'He had grown.' A sad smile formed on his face; he reckoned that the reason for Denki's quick growth and maturity was because of his absence. Not only has he grown in strength, but he has also grown in maturity, in leadership.
Before Denki would have just left everything to him, follow his orders, and fight by his side, but now, Denki isn't just thinking of doing that; he's thinking about the others as well.
"You've grown, Denki." August mutters. Seeing Denki as he is now made August realize just how much time he missed. Sure, he has grown stronger with Beowulf, but he still lacks that leadership quality that Heracles is searching for. Something he can see clearly in Denki as he looked at the young samurai.
August sighed. His face then turned serious. "I may have fucked up." He answered straight. He looked down, clenching his fist. "As you saw, I have grown stronger; I even leveled up. And truth be told, I may have grown arrogant because of that."
Denki looked puzzled; for as long as he knows August, his captain was always arrogant. Believing in his strength above all else. "You were always arrogant." Denki mused.
August chuckled and shook his head. "Yes... That I have." He then took a deep breath. "My arrogance had always led to me biting more than I can chew... Have I ever told you about my first dungeon dive?"
"I think everyone knows that story. Killing a rex at your first dive is quite a large accomplishment." Denki was confused. 'What's the point in all of this?' he asked himself.
August chuckled. "Well, that's what the rumors said, but the truth is... I almost died that time."
Denki shrugged. "You still managed to win and beat i-"
'I lost, though.' Even now, he still considered the first time he fought Goliath as a loss. He scowled as he spoke, cutting Denki off. "Yes... But that isn't the point... Because of my arrogance, I almost lost my life."
"What's the point of this story?" Denki was starting to get worried. He felt something was amiss in the way August is acting.
"Me being in danger because of my arrogance is something I can handle just fine... But I may have fucked up and put everyone in danger because of the same arrogance." August spoke with a seriousness Denki had never seen on him before. His eyes were angry, and from the looks of it, he was angry at himself.
Denki gulped; his worries were growing the more he hears what's bothering August. He pushed it down and smiled. "What's this? It's not like you to be worried. If you're worried about Apollo familia, don't be... Their captain is someone who I can handle. And if all things fail, we still have you."
August scowled and looked at the side, dodging Denki's eyes that are full of trust in him and his strength. He steeled himself; he needed to bear the responsibility; he needed to act as a captain right now. "That's the reason I'm worried. And I'm sorry, Denki, but I have to call off the favor that you asked for... I'll be the one who'll fight Hyakinthos."
Denki froze; his feet that were walking in a steady pace along with August suddenly came to a halt.
August stopped as well; he turned around and saw an angry look on Denki's face. "We had a deal," Denki angrily spouted. "Don't tell... Do you believe I'll lose to that son-of-a-bitch?!"
August stared at Denki, his face stoic. Without missing a beat, he answered straight. "Yes."
"...." Denki and August stared at one another, neither man backing down, a hurt expression could be seen on Denki's face, while August had that same stoic authoritative look.
Denki took a minute to calm down; he knew August had his reasons, but this was a blow to his pride. He took a deep breath, trying to relax himself. "Care to explain why?" Denki asked, his voice colder than he cared to admit.
"Hyakinthos was able to catch my spear," August answered, his voice still carrying the stoic demeanor. "That should have been impossible; he shouldn't have sensed it, much less catch it."
Denki's eyes widened; it all clicked-the excitement August released mere moments after he threw the spear, and the silence after the initial excitement, his contemplation, his worry.
"You don't mean?" Denki now had a worried expression on his face. He gulped at the implications behind August's words.
"Yes... Somehow, within two days, Hyakinthos, who was level 3, was able to grow all the way to level 6," August growled. "And if he was able to grow that strong, there's a chance that every other member had also grown in power."
Denki was now quiet; his face paled, just thinking about it filled him with dread. If that was the case, not only were they outnumbered, they were also severely outgunned.
And he was right to assume that; August had confirmed the rapid growth of Hyakinthos, and as of right now, they had no idea if this growth was only unique to the captain of Apollo familia, or if every member had grown in strength.
Heracles' words echoed inside August. Sure, he was strong, but as the god said, he was still too green. He rushed into it; he didn't think it through. If he had, he might have noticed that the attack on Bell was a trap.
If he had, he might have taken what Heracles planned, taking Apollo by surprise and declaring war games on the spot.
But instead, arrogance got the better of him once again; sure, he had walked away many times from biting more than he could chew. Hell, he grew stronger because of it. But now, not only was his arrogance putting him in a bind, it also put everyone in Heracles familia in danger.
The benefit of hindsight-it can do many things; with it, you can have perspective on what you should have done, and with it, August realized he made every wrong move possible and had put everyone's life in danger.
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***
Chapter 124 is now complete. How are you all enjoying the story so far?
I'm back, sorry for the long wait... TheManCandy needed to rest. To be honest, I was pretty much drained both physically and mentally due to the 2 week straight overtime I pulled, and last week should have been free for me but I was too tired to even think about writing.
I just wanted to relax, maybe have a few nights for my self. So I put this project in the back and did just that. I hope you guys could understand.
By the way, no new chapters on Monday, and regular updates will resume on Wednesday. The wife and I would be celebrating our anniversary so I won't be writing on the 5th.
Anyway...
Please leave a comment, review, and feedback to help me improve this fanfic. Every little thing helps me understand your preferences and will contribute to writing a better fanfic for you all to enjoy.
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Have a good day, everyone. Love y'all.