*Dusk*
Heracles sat in his office, an angry scowl etched on his face. He sighed deeply, running his hand through his hair.
"Damn it!" he cursed, his mind replaying the afternoon's events. "Talk about hypocrisy." He grabbed a bottle of ale from his drawer along with a glass, looking at it for a few seconds before choosing to chug the liquid straight from the bottle.
He slammed the bottle on the table after chugging it halfway. 'And here I am, always preaching about not letting emotions control oneself...' The god stared at his hand, vividly recalling how he had raised it towards August in a fit of anger. He clenched it tightly and sighed, closing his eyes as he massaged the bridge of his nose. Honestly, the stress was starting to get to him after everything that had happened, especially with the revelation that Hyakinthos, Apollo familia's captain, might be a level 6 as well.
'Apollo... What have you done?' Heracles's mind began to ponder the worst, as there seemed to be no logical solution for a mortal to gain such strength in such a short time.
Before he could contemplate further, a knock sounded, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Who is it?"
"Lord Heracles, it's Helga... I would like to discuss something with you."
"Come in." Heracles straightened himself up, attempting to hide the stress showing on his face.
Helga opened the door, moving in front of Heracles' table and giving a respectful bow. The god gave a curt nod in return, then gestured for her to sit.
"I take it the others aren't taking the news well?" Heracles guessed why Helga was there. "I can understand if you and the others opted to leave this familia, especially after what August, the captain, did."
Helga shook her head. "On the contrary, Lord, August managed to raise morale inside the familia." She answered, but Heracles could see that there was more to it by the looks on her face. "It's just... It makes me worry."
"Hence why you're here, wanting to discuss something with me?" Heracles took another glass from his drawer and slid it towards Helga. He then poured the glass with the ale.
"Yes, Lord..." Helga held the glass and took a small sip. She then sighed as her face turned serious. "I believe August isn't ready to lead the familia, Lord... To be honest, Denki is more capable of leading the familia compared to him."
Heracles appreciated this about Helga; she didn't mince her words and went directly to the point. He nodded in understanding and took another gulp straight from the bottle. "I understand where you are coming from. Even I can see that he isn't ready."
"Lord, he needs time to adjust... There's no denying how strong August is. But I believe that his strength is the same reason why he hasn't acclimated to his new role as captain..." Helga paused, staring at the amber liquid inside the glass as she twirled it around. "We simply can't keep up with his standards, making him unconsciously take everything onto himself... If this keeps up-"
"He'll isolate himself from the others." Heracles continued for Helga, running his hand through his hair. "I can see that as well. I admit, I may have rushed this one; I thought he could adjust, adapt into the role... I fail to see that no matter how strong he is, at the end of the day, he is still just a kid."
Heracles stood up from his seat and strolled toward the window, staring at the setting sun and the city starting to brighten up from the artificial lights.
"By the way, you said earlier that he was able to raise the morale of the others... How was he able to achieve that?" Heracles asked without looking back at Helga.
"He said that we will win... Because he was with us," Helga answered, taking another sip from the glass. "That he'll do everything to make us win."
Heracles chuckled. "That does sound like him... Arrogant to a fault. Still, I like that about him."
"Yeah... Me as well... I wouldn't follow a weak-willed captain." Helga chuckled as well. "And I can speak for the others; they think like this as well. August is someone capable of giving hope."
"That he is..." Heracles took a deep breath and faced Helga with seriousness. "Helga, even though I do think so as well that August isn't ready to lead, I won't be taking him off as the captain, even temporarily. Doing something like that now would do more harm than good."
Helga nodded; she could see where Heracles was coming from. August is one prideful individual, and doing something like this after he made a mistake would be a blow to his pride.
"But that doesn't mean I'll be turning a blind eye to what he did. From now on, You'll be in charge of handling the affairs of the familia outside the dungeon. August would lead the familia inside the dungeon and combat, while Denki would be handling planning and logistics. This would ease up the pressure on August's side."
"And it wouldn't give him the power to do whatever he likes. You even thought about adjusting the role to each one of our specialties." Helga gave it a thought before nodding; this plan will have its merit, and it would be doable since it caters to everyone's strengths.
"That's the idea." Heracles walked closer toward Helga. "What I ask from you is to support August with the best of your ability. Take some of the burden off him; this way, he wouldn't need to take everything onto himself."
Helga stood up, bowing down to Heracles. "I will do what you ask, Lord Heracles."
"Thank you." Heracles smiled softly and nodded in approval. "Now then, if you will... Please call August and Denki into th-"
*BOOM!*
A loud explosion outside shook the house. Another followed, and the door into Heracles' office plunged open as Katty panted and ran inside. Her face was sweating and nervous.
"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!!!" Katty shrieked as another explosion sounded outside.
"WHAT!?" Heracles' face crumpled into a frown as he marched outside his office with Helga and Katty following behind him.
"Katty, Status?!" Helga, who was walking beside Katty, asked with a tense voice.
"We were just coming up with a plan for the war games when suddenly the captain and Denki felt multiple adventurers heading towards our home. And in the next moment, the captain rushed outside and redirected a fire spell that headed here." Katty answered quickly, not even stopping to breathe.
"Who would be stupid enough to attack us, especially now that the Aug-" Helga paused as a frown developed on her face. "Of course, it's the Apollo familia!"
"Yes! And other familias as well! It isn't just Apollo."
"Others?" Heracles glanced at the two while still walking towards the living quarters.
"Yes, I can recognize some of them. Others are from Soma familia, some are from Hanuman, while-"
"Yeah, I get the gist. Multiple familia are attacking this place right now, huh?" Heracles cut her off while turning towards the corner. "And how about the others?"
"The captain told us to stay inside."
Katty's answer made Helga and Heracles give each other a stare.
.
.
.
August was currently engaging with Hyakinthos. Their weapons clashed as red lightning and black flames threatened to consume each other.
"Ah, Gaé Bulg. How nice of you to join us out here," Hyakinthos smiled as their two weapons pushed off against each other.
"Hyakinthos, I should have killed you back then," August spoke coldly, no emotions could be heard in his voice aside from anger and detachment.
August twirled and blocked an arrow that was heading for his abdomen. Before he could retaliate, though, Hyakinthos charged at him, slashing his sword towards August's neck.
August placed the spear in between the sword and his neck, blocking the blow. He then kicked his spear at the end, sending it twirling towards Hyakinthos' chin.
Hyakinthos dodged the blow by leaning back, and August didn't give him the time to breathe as he charged forward with his spear poised to strike.
But before he could, another barrage of spells and arrows headed his way. He clicked his tongue and canceled his attack, jumping back to dodge the projectiles.
"Tsk tsk tsk... You're outnumbered here. Why don't you call the others to play as well?" Hyakinthos placed his sword on his shoulder, smiling at August mockingly.
August looked around and scowled. It wouldn't have been a problem if it was only Hyakinthos, but not only was he not alone, some of the adventurers with him are level 4 and close to level 5. There's also a legitimate level 5 who is with him; the rest are a mixture of level 2 and 3.
"What do you want here? The war games are already scheduled-"
"This isn't about the war games." Hyakinthos cut August off before he could finish. "Lord Apollo is just simply providing help to his friend Lord Soma in retrieving a traitorous palum who is hiding here."
August looked around, seeing everyone of the attackers smiling at him. He then chuckled. "Seems a bit excessive bringing this much force just to retrieve someone."
"That someone is extremely valuable to us," Zanis moved forward with a smile on his face. "Greetings Gaé Bulg. I am the captain of Soma familia, and our quarrel isn't with you lots. We're here for Hestia familia, but alas, seeing that the goddess and her familia are living with you, It gave us no choice but to engage here."
'That's smart. Saying that they are here for Lady Hestia and not us, knowing full well that we would protect Lady Hestia and by extension, the one they are searching for. It would give them an excuse for attacking us, reasoning that we were only caught in the crossfire because we got in their way.' August's eyes darkened as he gripped his weapon tighter. 'This was planned.'
"And may I ask who you're looking for?" August got into his stance while asking.
"Liliruca Arde," Zanis answered with a smile, while Hyakinthos and the others sneered at August.
"There's no Liliruca Arde here," August answered coldly, his mana rising out of his body as red lightning cracked all over him.
"Oh, is that so... Then you wouldn't mind us searching this place, right?" Hyakinthos sneered even louder, the black flames coming to life as they surrounded his body.
"Take one step inside and I would personally rid you of your head." August's cold voice echoed as he added his killing intent into his mana. "That goes for everyone here."
"I was hoping you'd say that." Hyakinthos whispered and smiled. "Very well then, don't say we didn't warn you."
"Stand down, Gaé Bulg... You're all alone here." Zanis held back his laughter; looks like Apollo's plan is working as intended.
"He isn't alone." Heracles' voice made everyone pause; they suddenly felt an overwhelming pressure pushing them down.
Some adventurers fell onto their knees, Zanis included. While Hyakinthos gritted his teeth, trying hard not to crumble under the pressure Heracles is exuding.
They followed the voice and saw Heracles, with his mace in hand, standing at the hole he had slammed August earlier, behind him is the other members of Heracles familia, all with their weapons in hand.
"Old man..." August muttered, and then smiled. He turned back towards Hyakinthos, who now has an ugly look on his face.
'Whoever said that a god isn't dangerous and is incapable of fighting in the lower world is a god damn idiot.' He thought as the pressure the god is exuding grew larger and larger.
"Our qualms aren't with you!" Hyakinthos roared as he stabilized his feet and gripped his sword tightly. 'So far, everything is still within Lord Apollo's plan. We expected the god to be involved. But nobody said that he'll be releasing such a potent pressure.'
"Yes... I heard." Heracles stared coldly at Hyakinthos, his eyes digging deep into his soul. "And like my captain said, there's no one here with that name."
"LIES!" Hyakinthos screamed. "We know she's hiding here, along with the little rookie. You really think that with our numbers you'll come out on top if you try to stop us!"
"Then come." Heracles smirked as he took a step forward.
"Enough!" A shriek interrupted and caught everyone's attention; their eyes moved towards the roof, where Lili stood. "I-I'm here... I'll be coming with you."
Hyakinthos clicked his tongue. 'Well, there goes the plan.' He looks at Lili with frustration, cursing the palum for showing up.
Their plan was simple: have multiple familia attack Heracles manor with the reasoning that they were here to help the Soma familia retrieve one of their members who ran off.
Knowing Heracles familia, they would inevitably take offense to this, getting in the way. This would lead to a skirmish.
Then in the skirmish, they would do as much damage towards the members of the Apollo familia right before the war games.
That's why only Hyakinthos was here from Apollo familia; his job was to preoccupy August while the others rid off the other members of Heracles familia where they aren't prepared for the attack.
But if Lili is willing to come with them, then their plan goes down the drain. 'That bitch just had to show up.' Hyakinthos frowned.
Lili walked towards Zanis, her eyes glued to the ground and blank. With a monotone voice she said. "Well what are we waiting for. Let's go."
Zanis's eyes momentarily looked at Hyakinthos; he sighed knowing he isn't too happy with this development.
"We'll be leaving now. We got what we came here for." Hyakinthos turned around, the others following behind him. Lili robotically followed along with them.
The members of Heracles familia glared at the back of the attackers. They awaited the order to charge, to stop them from taking Lili, but Heracles didn't give an order.
Hyakinthos looked back one last time, his eyes meeting that of Froke. He smiled and mounted. "Be seeing you soon, trash." It then moved towards August, who was glaring at him; he could feel the killing intent prickling his skin. "And you as well, Gae Bulg." He smirked as he left along with the others.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
***
Chapter 127 is now complete. How are you all enjoying the story so far?
Question of the day.
How is Heracles' plan to adjust the responsibility given to August to ease his burden?
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.
Thank you for following this fanfic. I hope you're enjoying it.
Have a good day, everyone. Love y'all.