Prytaneum
Burnt
True to Ryuu's word, Apollo's mansion was easy to find. If I'd been in a more forgiving mood, I might have just called it conspicuous. Right now, I thought I was being charitable by just saying it was gaudy and pretentious—and the guy inside was an actual god. It looked almost polished on the outside, red and golden stone almost metallic in appearance, and the house nearly shined even in the dim light of morning, as if the building was on fire. Which gave me ideas, certainly, but I'd told Fels I wasn't going to burn it down and I kept my word.
Instead, I took a position where I could see most of the house and stopped to get a good view of my surroundings. Closing my eyes, I wiped my hand across them, covering them in a film of water that seemed to open them even before I actually did. Breathing slowly, I looked around carefully before squinting at the house, frowning. Water gave me a lot of cool senses but, alas, x-ray vision wasn't one of them; still, even in the still dim light, I was confident no one was standing guard outside, or else I'd have seen their body heat.
Besides, I didn't need to see them to know where they were. Slowly, I let my eyes track to somewhere near the center of the house, an almost imperceptible background noise reaching my ears. More than that, I could feel them, the power of so many adventurers in one place. They were there, I was certain of it.
Blinking once, I turned my head towards the side of the building, where someone had parked a carriage drawn by two horses. Judging by the mark on the side, it was Apollo's, no doubt ready to escort him wherever he needed to go in the coming day.
Drawing my sword absently, I cut through the wood and the reins before the horses could even react, watching them draw away and trample the ground nervously the moment they did, seeming torn between sudden fear and aggression towards me.
Scram, I told the horses dispassionately. You don't want to be around for this.
As if my mental words struck a chord in them, that seemed to decide things, because they drew away.
Lord, I heard one murmur, but didn't turn his way. Instead, I just waited until they were far enough away before dropping several shells on the ground and watching them bubble quietly with water. I could have just torn it from the pipes below the streets again, but even leaving aside the trouble that'd cause other people, it was more effort than it was worth at the moment. I could have torn it from the pipes inside the house, too, but who was I to spoil the surprise?
Slowly, I raised a hand and a massive arm of water rose, large enough for the entire carriage to fit in its palm.
"And I'll huff and I'll puff," I said blandly before squaring my shoulders and stepping forward. I'd never been much for baseball—for sports, really, unless they involved live weaponry, potential death, or water—but I kept my hand in for the occasions where the Camp decided to play a game that didn't involve stabbing each other.
And let me tell you—I had a mean fastball.
As I pretended to release the ball, the watery hand released the carriage, throwing it towards the house with the force of a speeding car. I straightened, watching it mildly as it tore through wood and stone, the carriage itself being ripped to pieces in the process but a chunk of it surviving to crash into the room I sensed them all in. Given that they were adventurers, it probably wouldn't kill any of them, though I was still trying to decide whether or not I cared. I heard screams from within, just barely audible over the scattered, crashing stone, along with swears and the sound of steel on stone.
Brushing myself off, I cracked my neck and waited, leaning against the wall of a nearby building. A full minute passed, maybe even two, the sounds of screaming and hurrying echoing within the house as people apparently found themselves preoccupied with something, and only then did anyone appear, jumping up to the room of the building and looking around wildly, eyes nearly glowing as he searched the area, apparently expecting to see someone running away. He was tall, with dark hair and a suit, and I thought I might have recognized him from the party. Had he been the guy standing beside Apollo? It would make sense, because he felt like the strongest guy in the house. Not as strong as a lot of people I'd been hanging around lately, granted—I was pretty sure Ryuu could have handed him his ass with one hand tied behind her back—but still strong. Probably not the type of guy who was used to impertinence and disrespect.
Oh, boy—he was gonna love me.
"Howdy, neighbor," I said, raising my voice a bit to make sure I was heard. "Looking for something? I think you might have misplaced your carriage, there."
Immediately, his eyes snapped down to me, widening and then narrowing as he recognized me and started rubbing brain cells together.
"You…"
"Me," I said, smiling at him. "Forgive me if I don't know or care who you are, though. I'm glad to see you, though, because I was starting to get worried. I mean, what would I have done if not even one of you gutless pieces of shit had the balls to come out after me? Burning down someone's house when they're away is one thing, but actually fighting? That's something else. For a second there I thought you and your worthless Familia were too scared to come out and try, so kudos for showing your ugly face. Now come on down here so I can kick your ass."
The man, who looked older than me, like he was in his early twenties, obliged by jumping down—and it was then that I got a good look at him. His clothes were torn here and there, revealing in some cases small bruises and shallow cuts. His face and clothes were covered in a fine coating of white dust, remnants of broken plaster and stone, but it wasn't enough to hide the pulsing vein on the side of his neck, standing out against tense muscles due to gritted teeth. For some reason, he seemed to be getting upset with me.
"You worthless bastard," He nearly growled. "Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?"
Wow. I'd only heard that, oh, about a million times.
"A bunch of assholes," I replied anyway before giving him a meaningful look. "In tacky suits. But I guess Apollo can't afford better."
His knuckles popped loudly as he clenched his hands into fists, hand rising to the sword on his back.
"You know, I was just thinking," He said. "Since we were going to have to heal you anyway, losing a limb or two is probably fine."
"Glad to hear it," I said, twirling Riptide. "Mind if I rip off some of yours?"
The man snarled something vicious and probably about my mother—and, come on, I couldn't let that slide. I met him halfway, swinging Riptide with all my might, and our blades met with an echoing ring.
That first moment told me pretty much everything I needed to know. From the look I got of him and his reach, I knew he was almost six feet tall. The sword he wielded was a flamberge whose edge shined like the sun, and it was a long sword, a bit over fifty inches from tip to pommel. From the force with which he swung it, I knew at once that he was probably on the upper end of Level 3 and that he was stronger than he was fast. The moment our blades made contact, I shifted my sword, aiming to twist it and cast it aside in a move that brought back both good and bad memories—but he shifted with it, pressing me as he aptly changed his grip on his sword, keeping a grip on it. He was Dexterous, with a capital 'D'.
But most importantly, when I pushed against him and he pushed back—for a long moment, we were even. Demigod or not, it seemed that most of two Levels of difference was enough to close the gap. Well, sort of, since my stats fluctuated based on something like half a dozen factors, but here and now, we seemed pretty evenly matched.
So I immediately drew away, considering him thoughtfully even as I noticed others begin to arrive. I paid them passing attention, keeping them in my periphery and noting anyone that had ranged weapons or seemed like they planned to sneak up behind me, narrowing my eyes. It was hard to think in terms of stats, since I still wasn't used to things being so…quantified, but it was useful in its own way, predictable if you knew what to look for. Because adventurers were defined in many ways by their Statuses, having a decent grasp of your enemies Abilities told you a lot about how they were likely to act, simply because their Falna grew in accordance to how they acted. Those who took many hits would have a higher Endurance, those who used their speed to their advantage would improve their Agility, and those who depended on their strength would naturally increase their Strength. Knowing how a person's Status was distributed was useful, because it told you about how the person had gotten to that point in the first place. A grasp for stuff like that wasn't the type of thing that was useful against monsters, but I'd picked up a thing or two fighting against Ryuu, polishing and adjusting what I already knew.
From what I'd seen so far, this guy favored Dexterity, then Strength, then Agility, with Endurance and Magic being big ol' question marks. He was the type of guy to stand his ground, face things head on, and slip his blade through even tiny openings—he was a swordsman, first and foremost. Of course, even where he was 'lacking', he was still a Level 3, so he was hardly unable, but I was pretty sure that was how he'd fight given the choice.
Humming slightly to myself, I rocked back on the balls of my feet for a moment, considering him. Sword fifty…fifty-one inches long, but while the blade was long, it wasn't wide, nor was it particularly heavy. In fact, there was definitely something magical about it, even beyond the lighting effects—a normal blade that long and light and thin would have shown serious signs of wear just from general use, even with good craftsmanship. He held it well, shoulders and back not quite tense, body low and held stable as he gauged me. The blade was long enough he could have probably used it for thrusting, but I was pretty sure he didn't; instead, he took advantage of the blade's design, using the wave pattern to catch and slow blades as he parried and to cut as he dragged it through skin. It didn't look like the type of blade meant for hacking, but rather for slicing—using the wielder's force and the momentum of foes to open deep wounds across muscles and veins.
It wasn't the type of sword I was used to, but I had a good idea of its reach, a general idea of his fighting style, and a decent idea of the terrain. Here, on the street, I didn't think I was particularly at a disadvantage; he didn't seem like the type to run and try and use it to his advantage, not with his pride on the line. I was proud of my own swordsmanship too, of course, but pride wasn't my flaw; I was willing to give him a fair fight, but only on the condition that I was sure I would win. At the moment, I was trying to decide when and where best to cheat to have the most effect. I could start flooding the area now, whether he realized it or not, and stack the odds in my favor, but I was wary to reveal my hand quite this early, when I knew he was probably on the lookout for it.
Besides, while I wasn't arrogant enough to simply assume I knew more than him, if it came to sword fights, I thought I probably had the edge in experience. Fighting people was different from fighting monsters and it stood to reason that fighting adventurers was different from fighting demigods in turn. But even so, I thought I had a decent idea of what I was doing. If we were counting the duels at Camp, then if it was man to man, I'd already fought thousands of times.
Of course, this wasn't quite man to man. It was man to a lot of men and women.
"Hyacinthus! Is that…!?" A voice shouted as several figures gathered behind the man. The other people on the street didn't quite crowd around us or encircle us, but they were steadily closing in. Of course, being surrounded wasn't inherently a bad thing, either. While there was a lot to be said for numbers, crowding too much can be more of a hindrance than a help at times, especially when weapons and magic started flying. I could swing my sword around and not care who got hit, but accidently smashing a friend's face in with a hammer might cause from hard feelings. I could tell they knew how to work together, but I was betting it was more from the Dungeon, battling groups of monsters or a single, large foe, rather than trying to fight a single, relatively small guy in a crowded area. That didn't mean they weren't dangerous—they were—just that they weren't quite as dangerous as they probably thought they were and they weren't just dangerous to me. And how dangerous, in either case, would depend greatly on how well they could keep control when things didn't go according to plan; it could be anywhere from very bad for me to rather useful.
The unfortunate part was that, well, it was Apollo's Familia. I wasn't surprised to see about three dozen people carrying bows when they got their blessing from the god of archery and had a bow on their Familia sigil, but I wasn't happy to see them, either. Quite a few people were holding back from the rest of the group, standing distinctly apart from the rest and yet had people standing close enough to guard them if needed. With the exception of practice runs with Ryuu, I didn't have any experience with them, but…I was betting they were magic users.
It was enough to make me tense a little—as much because it was such new territory as because of the danger. Ryuu had tried drilling into me what to be prepared for when it came to magic, but it wasn't very useful when it boiled down to 'everything.' Attacks that poisoned, lightning, fire, wind, area of effect attacks, binding spells, spells that tracked, spells that didn't do physical damage, disguises, tracking, and much, much more. Apollo seemed to have a couple dozen people capable of using magic to one degree or another and I knew that none of them would have precisely the same spells. That was a lot to have to watch out for.
The bright side, sort of, in that Magic was supposed to take both time and concentration to cast. Generally, it required a long chant and required the user to stay pretty stationary, so as not to lose focus. It wasn't much I could rely on a rule I was a living exception to, but hey, I worked with what I had. If they started chanting, I'd have no choice but to attack them first, even if it meant tearing up the entire street. Then the archers, followed by everyone else.
So decided, I put on a confident grin.
"I don't see what you're so upset about," I said. "I thought interior decorating was how you guys said hi. Besides, we both know it looks better this way."
The words sent a ripple of anger through the ranks of the Apollo Familia and I saw several people brace themselves to attack me right then and there.
"You bastard," A nearby elf spat and I watched him start forward out of the corner of my eye, waiting for the spark that would set things off. Would he be first? If so, I'd take him down quickly, throw him into Hyacinthus' way, and throw myself into the crowd to cover me from arrows and spells.
"Stop, Lissos," Hyacinthus said, speaking for the first time since we'd clashed blades. He hadn't moved much since then and I noticed that the look in his eyes had changed—he still clearly despised me, but he hadn't moved from where we'd collided and he looked wary now, as if he'd learn a lot from that clash, too.
"Yeah," I said. "Stop, Lissos. You're an elf; shouldn't you have more empathy for burning houses?"
"You dare speak of burning homes when you've allied yourself with the Crozzo!?" Lissos demanded, stepping forward.
"Yes," I replied. "Because you burnt down my house, jackass."
"Stop, Lissos," Hyacinthus said more firmly. "Either control yourself or remove yourself. He's trying to bait you."
"I object to that claim," I said. "But I would like to say that you're an ugly, yellow-bellied coward, Lissos, that you bring shame upon your entire family, and that Welf's twice the man that you are."
"All of you, back away," Hyacinthus continued, as if I wasn't even there. "He's been lying about his level from the beginning—Leveling up in less than a month was a ridiculous claim to begin with, let alone fighting a Goliath. He's at least Level 3; he must have transferred to Hestia Familia some time ago and hidden his real power."
"Believe what you want to," I said. "But I'm only Level 2. Is it that hard to admit you're weaker than me?"
Hyacinthus grit his teeth hard enough to make the muscles in his jaw bulge, but slowly released a breath.
"At best, you can barely match me," He said with apparent calm. "But I'll admit you're more dangerous than I thought. Lissos, fall back to protect the mages and keep in mind where his attacks might come from. Everyone else, shift away to give the archers and mages room. He'll want to turn our numbers against us—don't give him the chance."
Shit. I hated when my enemies thought of the same thing I did. Then…I guess I'd have to strike first, after all, even if it meant taking a bit of damage. Without moving, I slowly began to reach below the ground—
"Hyacinthus," A voice I hadn't heard before rasped. I glanced in the direction of it and saw a dark-haired woman in a dark dress staring at me, looking frightened behind her bangs. "Stay away. There's a dragon around the tree. If it wakes up, it'll devour everything."
Hyacinthus looked like he was about to close his eyes in pure frustration.
"Now's really not the time to talk about one of your dreams, Cassandra," He said. "Please be quite and fall back behind Daphne."
What was that? Was someone in Apollo's Familia…doubting a lady named Cassandra?
Now, that's just bad form.
"Hey, do you mind saying that again, actually?" I asked. "I'd like to hear it."
"Cassandra," Hyacinthus said warningly.
"When the dragon wakes, everything will burn," She said, sounding hysterical. "For seven days and seven nights, it'll burn, and no blade will stand before it. Hyacinthus, end this now!"
"…I don't get it," I admitted, mulling over that for a minute before giving up. I noticed, however, that by end this, should could have meant 'kill me' just as easily as 'surrender.' Even so, the words calmed me, somehow. Maybe it was just the familiarity of having a prophecy spoken to me—or maybe it was just the implication of which side of the fire I'd be on. I knew better than to take anything about a prophecy at face value, but…I relaxed a touch. "But I'll keep it in mind. Thank you, Cassandra. So I'll end this instead."
Breaking my stance, I relaxed Riptide's edge against my shoulder and saw Cassandra's eyes follow it, light reflecting in them. She didn't even seem to see me raise a finger to Hyacinthus.
"One week," I said. "Unlike you guys, I actually have stuff to do, so I'll let you off easy today, and in one week, I'll play your War Game. My goddess asked that I humiliate you and your entire Familia in front of everyone in Orario, so look forward to that. Later, I guess."
"Hold on," Hyacinthus snapped as I began to turn away. "War Game or not, do you honest think you can just walk away after assaulting the Apollo Familia home?"
I looked over my shoulder at him.
"Yup," I said before whistling for Mrs. O'Leary, hardly stirring as the shadows beneath me rose. There were a few startled screams; she did that to people. "Make no mistakes—I'm letting you walk away from this on your actual legs only because Hestia said she wanted a show. If you flee the city before then, you might save yourselves some embarrassment, but I'm honestly too busy to bother with you right now."
Reach out with a tug in gut that honestly hurt, I grasped every pipe in the Apollo Familia home at the same time, grit my teeth, and then ripped them two feet closer to me before dropping them. Because they were made of steel and all the water within them had been moved simultaneously, the network of pipes remained largely intact. Screw their house, though.
"Did that just to be petty," I admitted before pausing, trying to think if there was anything else. "So uh, fuck you, by the way, and goodbye."