7 4.2 A (not so) Divine Encounter

A/N: You know the drill guys.

Here is a bit of a key:

{this is The Game talking to the MC and also system messages}

"This is speaking out loud"

'This is thoughts'

{{This is Gods saying Godly things}}

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A few minutes later, a blushing and embarrassed Hestia had collected herself enough to stand up, only to loudly lament the loss of the starchy snacks. That was until the young man placed a warm and comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, I have plenty more food."

Truth

She eyed him suspiciously until a bulging backpack appeared out of thin air and they widened comically. Ramiel just put the pack on, shrugged and sent her a smile that said 'I will explain later' as his sword similarly 'appeared' back at his hip.

Hestia attached herself to his waist on the opposite side of the shortsword and looked down at the floor embarrassedly. "Umm, What's your name?"

"Ramiel."

"Hmm." She cutely put a finger to her lips as if thinking hard about something and then nodded to herself. "Rami-kun."

Ramiel choked a little in disbelief. His unformed and yet unspoken protests withered away, the second he saw that genuine, if a little mischievous smile on her face and ultimately, he decided to just... let it go.

"So, are you gonna lead the way home?" He asked in resignation.

Hestia flinched a little and squeezed a bit tighter into him, however, she recovered remarkably quickly, her worries turning into determination, she nodded. "Mhmm."

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They walked together like that for some time, chatting idly and somewhat awkwardly as she led them down one confusing turn after another.

At one point, the buildings around them changed in design and material. Warehouses, storage areas, courtyards and houses alike were each made from dark stone bricks instead of the commonly seen timber.

The further into the mass of buildings they travelled, the more the air began to carry with it, soot and an unnatural warmth. The majority of these new buildings were adorned with tall stone chimneys and the occasional sounds of metal striking metal or raised voices echoed around them.

The Gobinu familia workshops, as Hestia was happy to explain.

Still, she clearly knew her way around the city as it wasn't long before the two of them had found themselves on the Northwestern main road, not far from the guild. Hestia herself didn't dally and practically pulled him across the main street and into another side alley, one that ducked below the level of the main street and then rose above it via a winding, stone staircase.

After that, it was as if everything changed abruptly.

Things got, …worse.

Past those stairs, the building materials used seemed to immediately be of a lower quality, the small streets and alleyways slowly but surely grew seedier and less sanitary. With an increase in the amount of garbage present being most prevalent.

It didn't take an idiot to realise that this was a bad part of town and the young man's free hand rested close to the knife strapped on his thigh while Presence Detection ran quietly in the background.

Thankfully, the journey passed without incident but the buildings on either side of them were now starting to show signs of disrepair or outright abandonment. Some had even subsided into the ground and were leaning at angles that should have been physically impossible.

Ramiel gazed around at the fascinating sights, captivated by the sheer fantasy of the setting of an entire ruined city situated within a functioning one.

Hestia, who had classically mistaken his interest for disdain, began to shiver again and pressed herself up against his side as if she were trying her very best to merge with him. He absentmindedly pulled her in closer, already completely comfortable with holding her in his arms.

'That's gonna be dangerous.' He thought to himself and let his gaze slip down towards the Goddess at his side only for his eyes to widen.

She was hunched over, her shoulders faintly shaking, her hands trembling, knuckles white as she tightly gripped onto his jacket, her face pressed into his side and her footsteps slow and reluctant.

She looked so… vulnerable, so alone, so afraid.

*Sniff Sniff* Was.. she crying?

Ramiel stopped his steps and held her at arm's length, revealing that yes, she had in fact been crying, her eyes were puffy and her face was streaked with silent tears. He felt as if his heart was pierced and for a moment, it made him freeze up.

Her trembling only increased as he held her there and realising he was the cause, the young man fell to his knees with a thud, swiftly drawing her into his chest and stroking her hair.

"Hey, hey. Shhh. What's wrong?"

"I-I d-don't live *sniff* i-n a n-nice *sniff* p-part of town. I-i don't want *sniff* y-you to leave MEEEEEE!"

Ramiel knew it wasn't the time but he just wasn't fast enough to stop that small chuckle from escaping his throat. He had died and literally crossed worlds, albeit at another behest, to be here with her. The thought of him leaving her of his own volition was not something the young man would or even could entertain. Unfortunately, the small woman in his arms didn't know that. She predictably stiffened up at the sound, her breath hitching.

Ramiel just rubbed her back and spoke soothingly. "Silly girl. I won't ever leave you."

Truth

"I don't care what you have or where you live."

Truth

"It's you I want."

Truth

"I came here for you, after all."

Truth

"In fact, I actually prefer we start with nothing. That way, in the future, we can look back on everything we have and say that we built it all... 'together'.

Truth

Ramiel always did have a way with words and unfortunately, these intense confessions, one after another, were having a profound impact on his pure maiden of a Goddess companion. 'It's you I want. It's you I want. It's you I want. It's you I want.' Those four words echoed in her head, over and over.

For the first time in millennia, her heart was pounding in her chest.

Her cheeks heated up in an atomic blush, and her eyes, although still aimed at the floor, were comically spinning in their sockets while she made small "awawawa" sounds under her breath. Wait, was that steam he saw out of the corner of his eye? A quick turn of the head revealed… nothing. Strange...

Despite her obvious embarrassment, however, not even once did she try to leave his embrace.

Was the steam even really a thing?

{Anime Logic.}

Ramiel rolled his eyes. '...Yeah, thanks. That answers all my questions for sure.'

{Doesn't it?}

The warm embrace continued for several more minutes until Hestia herself seemed to have calmed down enough to pull away. She gazed down at him with those bright blue eyes, surrounded by puffy red circles that in no way detracted from their beauty and held out a hand to the young man.

"Let's go home Rami-kun~"

At that moment, despite her bedraggled appearance, to Ramiel, she looked so bright, so pure and so beautiful, that his own heart skipped a beat.

He grabbed onto that hand. "Yeah, let's."

Before today, if someone had asked Ramiel if he believed in love at first sight it would have been a hard no. As they began to walk forward again, however, he glanced down at the Goddess beside him and that belief had changed to unlikely but not impossible.

Either way, in that very same moment, he resolved himself to protect this beautiful and bubbly yet incredibly fragile woman and treat her as the family he had spent years yearning for. As that thought solidified, the young man felt a change in the air. A huge rush of the earlier warmth swirled around his chest before entering into it... attempting to consolidate into something more, something unique...

In the end, something was missing and it fell just a little short.

If Hestia had been looking anywhere but the floor at that moment, perhaps she would have been shocked at seeing a multitude of white motes of light, resembling thousands of shooting stars, entering into her companion.

"Hey, Hestia."

"Yeah, Rami-kun?"

"This city is too damn big and this area seems dangerous. Next time we are taking one of those taxi carts."

"But they cost a lo-" The young man cut her off with what he could only assume to be an extremely withering glare and she shrank back a little giving him a look like a kicked puppy. However, no amount of adorableness on her part would convince him to gamble with her safety and so, even though what he said next sounded like a question, they both knew it wasn't.

"Next time either of us head into town, we will take one of those taxi carts... Okay?"

She gulped and nodded. "O-okay."

The glare dissolved and the charming smile returned as he patted her head with his free hand. "As you wish my Goddess"

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On the top floor of Babel, The Goddess of Love, War and Beauty seethed with unbearable jealousy as muffled moans and hot sighs periodically left her cherry lips. One of her dainty hands was moving furiously inside her underwear whilst the other groped her breast over the top of her dress. Her eyes, albeit heavily lidded with lust, were still pure and clear as she gazed at one of the most fascinatingly frustrating sights she had ever had the fortune to behold.

The already obsession evoking soul of that impossibly handsome young man, 'Ramiel Gedeon' if she had read his lips correctly earlier, was fluctuating and evolving before her very eyes. It was not only brighter and more powerful than it had been earlier in the day but now it was going through some form of metamorphosis, the likes of which she had never seen before. Freya knew not how powerful the end result would become but she was certain that it would be both beautiful and unique.

As she watched and masturbated to the sight, wet schlicking sounds echoing in the empty room, it happened again. His figure glowed as countless shining motes of incandescent light whirled around him in, feeding his soul, growing and changing it for the better yet Freya's own frustration only increased. This time, a connection, an invisible bridge of sorts, wreathed in gentle yet tyrannical flames, formed between the boy and his companion.

As the light show reached its crescendo, a new symbol permanently formed within Ramiel's soul and Freya's back arched, a sonorous cry left her lips as she finally achieved the peak of pleasure. The symbol, similar to an ancient hieroglyph, was that of an illusory flame, perched upon the Origin symbol for infinity. Undoubtedly, it was something special, something amazing that would help to shape the young man's future and possibly the future of the entire city of Orario.

She should be happy that her destined one had grown, she should be content with his success but she only felt a crippling sense of loss. She wanted him, no, by this point she outright needed him, despite it being less than a single day since he arrived, but due to her hesitation and pride, another Goddess had gotten to him first.

"Hateful! Hestia, I will let you have him... for now," she whispered venomously. Now that there was no rush, no apprehension over which Familia he would join, the Goddess of Beauty was able to think more clearly. For now, she would observe, aiding her Odr's growth from above, challenging him, paving his way towards greatness and preparing him for the day he would finally make her his.

Of course, he would still belong to her in the end but Hestia was no pushover in the power department and Freya was even less inclined to provoke the wrath of Vesta. Had he joined the likes of Loki, she would already have been marching to war. In no way would she ever allow that dangerous trickster to put its filthy claws on her Ramiel. Her eyes gleamed with a deep violet hue as her breathtaking features morphed into a maddening expression. 'Mine.'

Running her little pink tongue along her glistening fingers she moaned her Odr's name one last time and called for her most trusted children, The King and Vana Freya. There were preparations to be made and she couldn't allow herself to be caught off-guard or fall behind again.

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Unaware and probably uncaring of the recently awakened Yandere Goddess' plans, Ramiel had continued to walk side by side with Hestia in comfortable silence, occasionally stepping to the side to avoid some stray rubble.

At the same time, he was ironically picking the brain of the being inside his own.

'So, I had been meaning to ask… Do I still have a normal lifespan or does the Gamer give me any form of immortality?'

'Because you know, I kinda just told a Goddess I would never leave her'

{Honestly, I'm impressed. Most Gamers don't ask that question for a while and even more, don't ever get the opportunity.}

Ramiel's eyes narrowed. 'What do you mean by, they don't get the opportunity?'

{Technically, as a Gamer you are immortal.

Each stat point gained in CON beyond a base human provides you with around 5 extra years of lifespan and your HP regeneration will effectively grant you eternal youth.}

'Buuuut?'

{But, the life expectancy of the average Gamer is usually less than a year.}

'Let me guess, their biggest foes are their own hubris?'

{Ehhh, you're not wrong.

A lot of Gamers choose one of their favourite worlds and bumrush the I.D's until they are powerful enough to grab all the available waifus without ever actually learning to fight.}

{Inevitably they succeed and the power goes to their head causing them to next choose a world like Marvel/DC and act the same there only to be obliterated to Kingdom Fucking Come by some multidimensional being or Universal God, within their first week.}

'Ouch... Fuck Marvel and DC though, gonna stick to DxD, or shield hero, or irregular, or the one with the elemental weapons, or maybe that one with the space quakes and the freaky time chick.'

{Fun fact.

The most common reason for death among new Gamers is actually total obliteration through the power of destruction.}

'Heh?'

{Trying to cuck Sirzechs Lucifer by hook or crook doesn't always work out for the best.

That and he's often a terribly unhinged Siscon in an absolutely terrifying way.}

'To think Shiro was right. I remember Sirzechs always used to get railed in fanfics but seemed like a good bro in the actual source material.'

{Grayfia…}

'...Point taken. So, what you are saying, is that I should either go to a version of DxD where she and Sirzechs aren't married or pick her up before they ever have a chance to meet.'

Ramiel didn't even hint at there being a possibility of him not wanting Grayfia. There was no point. They both knew full well it would be a downright lie.

{Exactly.

If you don't have a Grayfia in your harem, you aren't a real Gamer after all.}

'Why don't other Gamers think of doing that though?'

{Two reasons actually.}

{The First reason is that they can't.

They either have a fucked up, sadistic or weak version of the Game that lacks the ability to alter the worlds or select alternate timelines when world jumping.

Defective products.}

{The second reason is that most Gamers are extremely lustful...

That trait kinda comes with the Gamer territory, to be honest. Also, when heading into DxD a lot of them tend to only think of the chicks and tits and not the fact that the world is full of overpowered assholes while also personifying the very definition of a power creep world. What with the timeline being like a year long in total.}

'That… actually makes sense yeah. Issei went from 'standard normal pervert' to 'pervert that can kill Gods' in less than a year. Though If the DxD chicks are anywhere near as hot as the ones here in Danmachi, I could see most guys being led around by their dicks. Especially when it's a real-world where actual sex exists rather than simply blueballs and fanservice.''

{Umu.}

A small nervous cough brought him from his thoughts and the being that lived inside them. "Umm, Rami-kun. We're here."

The young man glanced around and what he saw both saddened and gladdened him in equal amounts.

The old broken down church was actually quite accurately displayed in the source material but it still failed to fully capture the bleakness of the surroundings. The courtyard was full of cracked stone, rubble, shards of glass and overgrown weeds but that wasn't what affected Ramiel.

In the surroundings, there was nothing.

A few other shells of buildings were nearby and in various states of dilapidation, disrepair or in some cases outright ruin but there were no sounds of people, animals or even birds.

It just seemed so… lonely.

On the other hand, it may be at most a pile of broken rubble and timber but after so long, it was finally a place he could call home. That thought alone was successfully able to make even that busted up and abandoned old church look especially attractive in his eyes. That familiar, pleasant, feeling struck again, the warmth swirling around his chest, one that wasn't quite his own...

Hestia, however, seemed to be getting rather nervous, if her, once again, nervously trembling figure, was of any indication. He would really need to try and stay out of his own thoughts for the time being.

Ramiel crouched down and drew her into his arms with a gentle smile. "It's perfect... for now."

Truth

She just sighed in relief and returned his embrace. Then turned to look up at him, a mischievous light dancing in those azure globes.

"You know Rami-kun, those hugs really aren't very fair." She stepped away from his chest, twirled around and bent over with her hands clasped behind her back, doing absolutely wonderful things to her chest. "If you keep on hugging me like that. I might never want to let you go~" With that, she ran her tongue across her top lip, giggled and started heading towards the church doors.

Well, what was left of them…

Ramiel however, stood there a little dumbstruck. 'Did I just get teased by Hestia?'

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Inside the church was no different than the outside, except it was darker. Rubble, glass and overturned pews covered the floor along with a thick layer of grime and dust.

The only thing left untouched was a marble altar, illuminated by the last few rays of the setting sun that were shining through a large hole in the wall that Ramiel could only guess had once housed a window.

Past the altar and into the depths of the church she led him. Down a set of cracked and chipped stone steps, through a patched-up yet heavy wooden door with a creak and into…

A tidy and relatively fresh smelling, if a little dingy, basement room.

Sure, the brickwork was exposed here and there and he wasn't entirely sure if the ceiling made from floorboards would be waterproof, (probably not if the scattered rays of sunlight peeking through were any indication) but it honestly wasn't That bad.

The sole bed, table and couch were all worn down, the sheets and upholstery showing patches here and there, but they were clean and neat. The frosted glass of the room's singular, head-height window remained unbroken and the smell of damp wasn't That heavy in the air. Mostly due to another, gentler and far, far nicer fragrance covering it up, he noted.

Ramiel just happened to take a deep breath in through his nose at those thoughts and hummed contentedly. The Goddess in question, who was once again glued to his side, still smelt pleasant despite the lingering scent of soot, spices and fried potatoes that followed her but the room or rather the bed had a faint fragrance of lilies and sunshine.

Talking of Hestia, she was once again training those beautiful blue eyes on him, her perfectly sculpted eyebrows knitted together in worry and her little hands balled up into fists. She was so cute that Ramiel couldn't help himself. He swooned.

Almost too naturally, he brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear and brought his lips to her forehead before giving her a wry smile. "Admittedly, the outside is not great... But for now, it's home."

Truth. Too bad that due to his overflowing affections, she wasn't really paying attention to anything beyond squealing into her little gloved hands.

Feeling rather proud of himself for resisting his curiosity at how they kept appearing and disappearing on a whim, Ramiel looked fondly at the adorable Goddess before his gaze once again swept the room. Yeah, he could work with this.

Hmm, there was no way he would be sleeping on the dilapidated looking couch, however. He wasn't a beta nor was he a perfect gentleman and if a beautiful girl just so happened to offer to share a bed with him, who was he to deny her?

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Around a quarter of an hour later, Hestia had given Ramiel the tour and they were seated side by side on the old couch enjoying a warm meal together.

Well, Hestia was enjoying the meal through floods of tears and heartbreaking whimpers while Ramiel just gently rubbed her back and consoled her with a few choice yet comforting phrases, from time to time. Things like "It's going to be okay." "Don't worry, you won't ever go hungry from now on." "Let it all out, I'm here now."

Which, for the most part, seemed to be working as she was still eating through the tears and sometimes giggled or hummed appreciatively at his efforts. He also dutifully dabbed at the corner of her mouth with a napkin from time to time.

The rest of the… Ramiel was hesitant to call this a house... So, 'accommodations' consisted of a toilet which he would never use (Gamer things) and a small kitchen/pantry that somehow had a magic fridge in it, (go figure), which, as of ten minutes ago, was full of all the various cooking utensils and fresh food he had brought earlier in the day.

Chuckling to himself, the young man remembered his little Goddess's adorable reactions. What started as a single, raised eyebrow, was followed almost immediately by comically widened eyes, a gasp of disbelief and nearly ended with a bit of drool escaping said Goddess' mouth as he pulled more and more delicious things from his inventory.

Once they had managed to both get through the meal, it was time to have a serious conversation with Hestia. She also seemed to understand this because, despite the slightly sooty clothes and tired look in her eyes, she sat up straight with all the dignity of a high-class lady and put down her knife and fork.

He had only started to fumble his words for a few short seconds when a little hand found its way into his and the Goddess spoke for him.

"What are you Rami-kun?"

"Hmm, well I guess I'm just a man, a man who wants a family... Albeit one with some fairly strange powers?" He offered up with a small awkward chuckle.

Truth

She puffed up her cheeks a little and wagged a finger in front of his eyes. "Nuh-uh! That's not gonna fly with me, mister!"

Ramiel let out a sigh. At least he tried… now where to begin.