Zeus and Hephaestus stared at one another for a long moment before the forge goddess spoke slowly. "Zeus... Darmun was the grandson of my first mortal apprentice when I landed on Gekai centuries ago." Hephaestus spoke and Zeus grimaced as his eyes snapped to the mounted head of our retired familia captain.
Hephaestus walked towards Zeus with her flame-covered form melting the pave stones beneath her feet and as she came face to face with the regal older man whose lightning-sparking frame they silently made eye contact and I could see Hephaestus's mind whirling.
The pain that she felt at the loss of so many smiths she had personally trained. She had watched literally grow up within the Familia. I could see in her eyes how she was weighing the scales.
The scales of being on one side bitch smacking Zeus with her true divinity and smiting his Familia and getting banished back to Tenkai. And on the other side simply swallowing her frothing rage for now.
She was obviously torn on the decision... It was a heady thing to watch a goddess, a divine being consider their actions in causing terrible destruction because I knew that as a puny mortal, it would affect me just as much.
Because if Hephaestus gets the boot back to Tenkai... I will literally lose my Falna.
"Hephaestus I didn't want this... Maxim, just said he was going to send people to negotiate for large orders for the days to come." Zeus said with clear regret in his tone but Hephaestus wasn't having it.
"Your Captain didn't even show up Zeus. Your children Krios, Wiles, and Hafrid there came, and told me the Familia was going to lower our prices by eighty percent while also doing free maintenance." Hephaestus leaned in and hissed. "I rightfully laughed them out of my office for demanding such foolish nonsense, and with their pride slighted they began killing my Familia members as soon as they left my office."
Zeus took a step back away from the beyond pissed goddess and he looked over at the armored man who was previously threatening Hephaestus and he snapped. "Is that true?"
The armored man nodded without a change to his expression as he simply stated. "It was Captain Maxim's order Lord Zeus. The goddess refused Maxim's orders and as per his follow-up orders we precisely decimated the Familia killing ten percent, crippling another twenty percent and at the end of the day she will still have fifty percent of her Familia after another twenty percent likely leaves out of cowardice."
'That's beyond cruel and calculating... No wonder they call Maxim, the Cruel Lion of Lightning.' I thought as I held Tina behind me and just tried to stay invisible.
But as though my thoughts summoned their gaze, I saw Hephaestus's eyes finally land on me and she grimaced as she saw how her injured Familia members couldn't even run away from her cursed eye being unveiled. That sight seemingly made her calm down slightly as she took a breath and covered her eye with her eye patch.
However, Zeus didn't relax at all with the eye being veiled as Hephaestus's lone crimson eye landed back on him and she stated frankly. "Zeus, you let your Familia off the leash, in wanting to push your members to their furthest with those damned quests... Congratulations your Familia is a cabal of monsters who only believe in might make right. The Hephaestus Familia formally hence forth, will not sell or perform any form of maintenance for a member of the Zeus Familia while Maxim still lives."
Hafrid the armored man wielding the mace snorted and Zeus closed his eyes as he seemingly realized something else wanna going to happen. "Lord Zeus, She is threatening you! You cannot allow an uppity crafting goddess threaten our goals in taking the Three Great Quests in the next few couple years! She was to be the example to other Familias to behave Lord Zeus!" Hafried spoke impassioned and then he looked around and his eyes landed on me and a smile crossed his face.
"Ah... A little level One or Two? Is he one of your smiths?" He spoke and then blurred with motion and before I could blink I heard a cracking noise as the level six Adventurer snapped in existence from his high-speed movement and I screamed as his hand landed on my armored shoulder and with a squeeze, I with all too much clarity felt his fingers dig literally into my flesh through the thin metal of my scale mail armor and break my Clavicle and Scapula with wet crunches.
Blinding pain filled my body as the man tittered and then absently as I tried to move away from him I heard Tina snarl before another crunch rang out and she gurgled as the man kicked her swiftly in the chest cracking her ribs and obviously giving her some internal bleeding as she flew back a couple meters.
"Hafrid... Thats enough." Zeus spoke out with a sigh while I gritted my teeth as I felt the man pat my other shoulder with his hand obviously taunting Hephaestus whose form was engulfed with flames again and gritting her teeth at Zeus and the man behind me.
"I only obey Captain Maxim's orders Lord Zeus." And then he did it. My eyes went white and then black with agony as he crushed my other shoulder in his palm and as I was about to collapse at the agony he tsked and spoke. "Jeeze... Four cleanly broken bones and you are about to faint? No wonder you guys are so fucking weak... Might as well just kill you with how you can't handle even this much." He said and then his hand moved from my shoulder and landed on the back of my neck.
There was a long moment as I looked at Hephaestus with blurry eyes as I realized I was going to die... None of my enchanted weapons could do anything to a Level Six, my armor made out of scales of adamantium alloy the most durable known dungeon material was just thin aluminum to this monster.
I had no cards to play.
A soft whisper caressed my ears and I felt the agony of my shoulders dissipate as the whisper made my vision go pink. "Oh dear... I had hoped I wouldn't have to directly stand in, but there is no other choice I suppose."
Hafrid went still and so did everyone else as a woman... No, a goddess walked in alone into the gore-filled courtyard and it didn't take me more than a second to figure out it was the goddess Freya who walked over to me and Hafrid. "Hmm... She was right, you are quite interesting indeed." She spoke as her purple eyes captured my vision and while maintaining full eye contact with me and dulling my mind.
I heard a guttural choking as she stuck a sparking dagger into the throat and spine of the mentally ensared Hafrid and in that motion, her Charm weakened allowing my form to naturally collapse but as I went to fall I fell into soft arms and I heard Freya speak as her blood covered hand petted through my hair as she perfectly supported my body to not put strain on my broken shoulders.
"Hephaestus, Zeus. It was a lovely day, wasn't it... Now while Hera is on her way. Let me put this adorable young man to bed." She announced and then her Charm blasted my mind making my head roll forward but even as my head slumped into her divine tits... I kept my mind on one thing as I whispered. "Get Tina toooo..." And with that one whisper, I let go of my consciousness and gave into the sinful whispers Freya was soothing my soul with.
And in the depths of my mind, I heard Freya chuckle with a smoky tone as she whispered into my ears with sweet temptation and need. "Oh... You resisted my charm so well, maybe I will give you a surprise my Einherjar."