198 Brewing Cauldron
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/THUD!/
"?!"
Who?...
'In her usual way, Mia slammed the plates of food on the table, startling Loiju who hadn't noticed her arrival, almost giving him a small heart attack.'
/Sniff…/
'But any thoughts of rebellion were dwarfed by the aromatic smell of food in the air…'
"..."
Rude as always...
'Silver, on the other hand, stared at Mia, she seemed the same like any other day, but her expression looked a bit stiffer than usual as she stared at him.'
'It was hard to see her show such emotions, at most helplessness at the face of her young employees causing trouble, or anger at a customer that wasn't behaving too well.'
'But this time, she seemed troubled about something.'
"Here's your food, and while you enjoy it, do everyone a favor and stop whatever you are doing." She said as she pointed at his chest
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Silver asked as he raised one of his eyebrows
/CHOMP!/
'Loiju on the other hand was totally uncaring as he devoured the food.'
"Don't test my patience kid, you've been talking with this drunk elf for almost half an hour already and you two barely uttered a single sound."
"I'm not a big fan of Magic being used within my pub."
"!"
Oh...
'Silver finally realized his mistake, when he made this sound bubble around them, it seemed he forgot to consider others… The people that were watching them.'
'It would certainly be weird to see two people talking to no end but hearing no sounds…'
'Though he found it a bit annoying to have so many people paying attention to them.'
"..."
'Regardless, with a slick smile, Silver didn't say much and instead, snapped his fingers as the bubble burst without a sound.'
"Good."
'Though Mia noticed it nonetheless, she was no mage, but detecting such Magical fluctuations right in front of her face wasn't anything difficult.'
'Even Lid, the Lizardmen Xenos could feel magical power fluctuate, much less her.'
...
'Just when she was about to leave...'
"Can I ask you a question?" Silver suddenly asked as he spread some condiments on his chicken wings
"Make it quick, today is quite full due to your little stunt." She said with an audible scoff
'As always, Mia would always act rudely, but even then, she was kind.'
'Because she did not lie, she was extremely busy, and even then she was giving him some time without much thought.'
"I've noticed something ever since I arrived… Everyone seems quite stiff…?"
Pensive might be a good word for it too.
'Yet, midway through his words, Mia raised her hand.'
"That isn't something you should ask me." She said with a half snicker
"Besides, it's your fault."
"..."
'Direct strict, and even hurtful, Mia spared no words.'
'Still, she smiled slightly.'
"Your display was a tad too much for their eyes, now they are so pensive they can barely pay attention to work." She said as she pointed at the side
"It's quite the bother really, can't even have my own workers pay attention at their jobs."
'She stood silent after that, but there was no need for any more words, Silver already understood what was going on for the most part.'
"..."
'He looked to his right, and saw Anya with an absent look as she walked forward holding a tray of food… Until she tripped on a slightly elevated wooden board.'
"NYA?!"
'Even for a dextrous adventurer, catching half a dozen mugs of beer and several chicken wings in the air after being surprised could be a torturous act…'
'Of course, he didn't let her make a fool of herself, so he slowly let the tray and the food fall onto the ground orderly, and Anya immediately realized what had happened as she looked at the side towards him.'
'She smiled widely, but as she did so, someone screamed "BEEEER! MORE!" and as such, she ran to deliver the food and alcohol.'
"I see nothing different." Silver said with a slight smile
'Mia scoffed, nevertheless, she was smiling.'
/THUD!/
'Slapping his shoulders, she said:'
"Keep up the good work kid, it's hard to see anyone with half your balls around here, much less someone that would survive after trying anything resembling your foolishness."
"..."
Are you praising me or scolding me?
"Still… You should try to mind your steps a bit more, if you keep running like that, you'll slip like that foolish cat."
"Or end up finding yourself alone at the end of the road."
'Returning to her serious expression, she said as she turned to leave:'
"Not like there'll be any difficulties now, if you can take down that Amazon, then you're good enough for now."
'Silver looked at his juice and smiled.'
"Yeah… But soon enough, I'll be able to take my revenge." He said as he looked at her
"Brat…"
/FWOOOSH!/
'Mia's fist became an afterimage as she knocked it onto the top of his head, making it bounce a little as his eyes unfocused…'
"..."
He stayed still on purpose… Damn kid.
He saw my fist, but did nothing to stop it…
"Ha!"
'She let out a single laugh, something even rarer than her smile before returning to her job.'
'Silver stared as she left, his head hurt greatly, it seemed he was still a tad far from facing her.'
'But he knew that this moment would be soon.'
'Even if he were never to cross arms with her, just surpassing her is in itself a great milestone to aim towards.'
"What I did..."
'With such thoughts, he started eating his food, only to see Loiju sneakily grabbing one of his chicken wings, the one he had just seasoned.'
"..."
"..."
'They stared at each other for a few moments, but even then, Loiju slowly brought the wing to his mouth and took a bite of it.'
/Chomp.../
'Silver's eyes twitched.'
'But he let him be… For now.'
…
/A few hours ago, and a few hours after the War game… Somewhere else…/
/Clap clap clap.../
"Indeed, that was an amazing display!" A God with purple hair exclaimed as he looked at a girl with pink hair
"On whose side are you on?" Valletta asked as she tsked
"Jealous now Valletta-Chan? I'm obviously on your side and always will be!"
'The girl rolled her eyes at her frivolous God's actions.'
"Still, this is now a problem." He said as he sat on his throne
"In 6 months, from 1 to 4, and with the capabilities of 6… This is rather troubling don't you think so?"
'The girl was also pensive as she crossed her arms, staring sideways at the ground.'
"It is indeed an unforeseen variable." She replied with a cruel smile
"If that speed is maintained, don't even talk about a few years, within one at most he'll advance to Level 5, and if his growth keeps up the way it is, he might become another top dog like those bastards following that flat bimbo."
"If we look towards more distant places, we might be seeing another 'King' in the making." She said as she snickered
"Oh?! I didn't expect you to see him in such a way!"
"Tche! I'm just looking at the worst possibility, but even in the most conservative way, the son of bitch will become a top-tier pain in the ass and a bother in his own right…"
Especially when we add his bizarre unpredictable magic.
"His powers are the greatest shit I have ever seen, perhaps not as absurd as the Golden-Haired doll's, but incredibly more troublesome."
No, their thing is not about being potent, but being versatile.
Trying to capture him is an impossibility.
'She scratched her hair.'
"Healing, control, damage, defense, buffs, transportation, you name it, and he can likely do it."
"I wouldn't be surprised if he pulled Anti-Magic and Anti-Curse out of his ass too."
He's like the thousand Elf, but in her case, she is barely a sprout, still wet behind the ears.
'However, smiling scornfully, she said "If he doesn't kick the bucket before then." as she turned her face to stare at the God.'
"There is a pattern he follows, he is reckless but thoughtful, and he is likely the only one that can afford such high-profile fights thanks to his own self-sustaining ability."
Likely the reason why he grows so fast too.
Reports said he consumes a lot of Mind potions just by taking a look at where he buys them.
"Bastard will deal with his problems in a controlled way, eliminating all possible threats and controlling his enemies, making use of their shortcomings…"
He played Ishtar like that.
"And once he thinks things are under control, he'll be greedy and try to grow from his predicament by facing it all head-on."
In this fashion, his growth saw no signs of stopping.
"If you underestimate him, you lose, and that was how he won multiple times till now, of course, that won't work anymore."
"This is the pattern he showed so far."
"So… If we take a look at this pattern, it becomes obvious what his next actions will be."
'She stared at the ceiling as if looking at something beyond it…'
"Besides, this isn't of my concern now."
"It isn't? From what you said, it looks like to me he is something that should be eliminated at all costs."
'Valletta simply shook her head.'
"Even with his existence, the plan doesn't change."
"... I guess you're right." Thanatos replied as he scratched his chin
Even Ottar isn't strong enough to stand against us on his own.
Neither is the Freya Familia.
And neither is the Loki Familia.
The possibility of them working together is slim, even then, it would only be at the last possible time when it was already too late.
He alone, even if he became another Ottar, it wouldn't change anything, he would just end up falling with the others when the plan came to fruition.
As for the Hestia Familia… There is nothing to talk about, it's just another growing Familia, barely anything will change within 2-3 years.
By then…
"Leave dealing with him to that failure, Dix and his pathetic gang, perhaps they'll succeed, who knows?"
"The faster they do it, the faster I can start using them for something more useful, especially now that Dix lost his team and with it, a great stream of income."
'She bit her lips in annoyance.'
First them, now Ishtar, we lost most of our income streams just like that!
He isn't a threat, but he sure is a pain in my damn ass!
"Oi oi Valletta, aren't you just sending them to die at this point?" He asked with a slightly tired expression
And isn't it risky also?
I know you know what I'm thinking about…
"Dix has been training non-stop for the last few months, and he's planning something with that half cripple Jura."
"They've been diving into the Dungeon, taming all sorts of monsters and conducting all kinds of freaky and perverted experiments."
And the ones they throw aside, we sell for some profits...
Still, now... We can't even go after those monsters too.
/PFFT!/
'She spitted on the ground.'
"It makes me sick, one Jura was enough, two is over my budget."
"There's one good thing from that isn't there?" Thanatos asked with a smile
"..."
'Valletta remained silent.'
"Now now, wasn't there something about Dix…"
"HAAA! You're pissing me off!" She exclaimed with a twisted expression
"After everything I said, that motherfucker somehow managed to develop a new Magic… And by the looks of it, it's another disgusting curse."
A useful one at least.
"With that, their odds of capturing strong monsters have increased greatly, and they're progressing at high speeds… And we made some money out of it..."
"Happy now?"
"Being honest is important Valletta-Chan, don't you feel better now?"
"Tche! Annoying bastard."
'Despite being bothered greatly by his words, her eyes centered on what was important...'
"How should we deal with that mega bitch?" She asked as she turned to look at Thanatos
"Hm... Weren't their countermeasures for when she became useless?"
"There are, but the reports all shared the same thing, a mass exodus is currently undergone in her Familia, if we don't act now..."
"Leaks might form huh..." Thanatos said as he rested his head on his throne
How tiresome...
"If we act just like that, Ishtar might feel betrayed and spill the beans, but if we strike her down as well, people will definitely find it odd..."
Not like that would change things too much, the Guild has already started to sniff our movements, but making things any more evident would only be a detriment to us.
"Can't we do anything about her?"
'Valletta snickered.'
"If you haven't figured it out already, we are in shit right now... But it's not like there isn't a solution..."
"I wanted to send someone to contact her, but there has been some strange movement in the District, I believe they're already waiting for us... No, I'm 100% sure they are."
'Valletta's eyes turned sharp.'
"Now it's a wait-and-see game, who'll persevere in the end?"
"But Valletta-Chan, even if they are working on a tight schedule, aren't we also in a hurry? The longer we take the higher the chances of Ishtar..."
"I know idiot, but rest assured, Ishtar is prideful, the last thing she would want is to throw away the very last bit of dignity she has."
Because that would mean betrayal to Orario, and her days living in the heart of the world would come to end.
"One week... After that we'll go after her."
"Depending on what she replies, we'll proceed accordingly."
"Isn't it going to be too late by then? Her children will..."
'Valletta's expression became fierce.'
"And how's that my problem? It wasn't me who approached her in the first place..."
'Valletta's expression grew dark as she said "But if she doesn't comply... Then I already have a plan on the making, once it's done, we'll just have to cut the tail and we'll be done.".'
No matter what, something is going to leak, the only thing I can guarantee is that the leaks won't be of any threat as they likely won't go over what the Guild already knows.
'Thanatos nodded, and they went to the next subject at hand.'
"In any case, for now, we should focus our attention on what truly matters." She said as she walked to the door
"Is something the matter?"
"Haven't those maniacal screw heads said anything to you?"
"Don't say that! They're all merely lost and pained…"
"Whatever!"
"... The King has started to move." She said slowly
"!"
"In no less than an hour, the King and the Executives of the Freya Familia arrived at the Middle floors, and in another hour, they already went past Rivira."
"Several hours have passed, I'm sure they are now somewhere around the 27th floor, as I'm 100% sure they would just jump down the Great Falls to cut down time."
"Those crazy muscle heads."
"Within another hour they'll likely arrive at the 28th floor."
"And how is that a problem?"
"Can't you see? They have no signs of stopping."
"It's likely they'll dive deeper and establish a new record."
"Isn't that an exaggeration? Not even the Loki Familia can go that far."
"That's only because the Braver is careful and sly, he's slowly building up his forces and making sure no one dies, he is arrogant as he wishes to become the living embodiment of perfection."
"If he wished to, I don't think it would be impossible for them to go beyond… Not without some risks of course."
"But those are exactly what he is trying to avoid."
"You make sense Valletta-Chan… So? What should we do?"
"Do I have to do everything in this shithole?!"
"The King and the Freya slaves will arrive at the 59th floor and meet with the Demi-Spirit, and even though I would like to believe we can win, it's also difficult to affirm it."
We're not ready yet, not at all, that wasn't the Demi-Spirit's purpose...
To be culled down just like that.
"Can't we move forces to pinch them?"
"Impossible, all of the forces we can move on time to intercept them, given their current speed, aren't going to make a difference."
"And even if we could move them, I doubt that guy would allow it." She said in a disgusted tone
"... Enyo huh…" Thanatos whispered as he looked at the darkness of his room
"It's just not time yet, the Demi-Spirits are still being nurtured and the 'bomb' has yet to fully develop, at this rate, if the Freya Familia catches on to anything, we might just be pressed against a rock and a hard place."
"Do you think they would act? Why would they take the Demi-Spirit as an irregularity and not as a normal Monster?"
"That may fool others, but the King won't be swayed by it, he knows more than he lets be."
"He'll notice the irregularity right away…"
"But then it'll be up to Freya, I doubt she would do anything with the information, at most, she might tease Loki about it, but that isn't her style at all." Thanatos replied as he crossed his legs
"Even then, they have no leads."
"That may be true… But I have a bad feeling in my stomach…"
It's not like they lack time, but if they truly decide to act, it'll become a fight of perseverance and patience.
'To her words, Thanatos said playfully:'
"Was it the food you ate yesterday? I told you to relax a bit more and grab some from the…"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP ASSHOLE!"
'And with that, Valletta left the room with a twisted expression.'
"My my… Women are all the same, be it up there or here."
They can't take such jokes at all.
'Chuckling slightly, he rested his head against the throne, thinking…'
'And thinking…'
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Notes
That's it, chapter end, sorry bros.
Anyway, I tried to make sense of some things, and hopefully, it came out alright.
Some of these villains and their aspirations received entire Volumes to be developed, in here, we have to improvise.
It may feel a bit weird, but hey, at least those that have no idea of what is going on have a better idea of what their plans are.
This will be developed over time.
I'm a bit tired now, so I'll end it here, but I may add more words at the end regarding the plot and my take on it later, so if you have some time, come check it out here.
That's all from me, thanks for reading.
