186 Defiance: War game Part 1

The War game is here, hope you all have your belts in hands.

Hopefully, this is going to be a ride.

As always, I would love these chapters to be bigger, as I could add so many reactions...

But that would make the chapter feel artificially lengthy.

Its up to preference anyway.

Some prefer the world to feel more alive, while others are okay with the basic world-building in favor of more action.

I honestly like both, but I do like my world-building.

What about you?

Anyway, thanks for reading, tchau.

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/Shaaa…/

'Dry wind blew in the valley, lifting dust together with the birds.'

'In the middle of this stretch of the Valley, a large section had been razed by human hands…'

'The weeds and grass had been removed and the stone smoothed out before being covered with several layers of materials and then finally, compacted.'

'A large section of this land had been surrounded with small yet sturdy wooden fences, with a few improvised watchtowers ever so often, it wouldn't do much, but it was good enough to prevent outsiders from wandering in.'

'At the foot of these mountains, even if they were only a few hours from Orario, every so often villagers and travelers made their way to the city, and not all followed the conventional path.'

'Silver himself felt that it was ironic, as the path he once used to come to the city was within sight, a straight and narrow passageway at the mountain.'

'Though the dangerous section was still several more hours away from here...'

'Regardless, this shabby arena was the best the Goibniu Familia could do given the time of around a day.'

'And in the corner next to the foot of the mountain, a large wooden structure had been built, it was simple, but it was solid, more than enough for this War game.'

'There were a few people in it, but they didn't belong to either the Hestia Familia or the Ishtar Familia… For the most part.'

'They were guards from the Ganesha Familia, here in the wilderness to make sure no one would interfere in the War game.'

'Aside from them, there were, obviously, the people of the Ishtar and Hestia Familias.'

'From Ishtar's side, her 'Captain', Tammuz, her great warrior, Phryne, and her actual Captain, Aisha.'

'And from the Hestia Familia side… There was only one person, holding a Halberd in the middle of the hot valley, ignoring the heat with a serious look, waiting for his fight to start.'

'The Captain of the Hestia Familia and the man who would fight alone!'

'Like a statue, he remained unmoving, yet he shook the hearts of many, even if they were far away...'

'His presence here reflected a bold decision, that he would be the only one to fight.'

'But some also saw this as his way to atone alone, even though his actions already affected others.'

'He knew of his hypocrisy, but so be it.'

…

'This valley was about an hour on carriage from Orario, not far, but not close either, a few times more distant than Melen, the coastal city that is located about 3 km SouthEast of Orario.'

'Going too far away wasn't wise, but then again, the War game had been announced yesterday, so there was no time for anyone to make any move even if they wanted to…'

'Their biggest enemy, the Rakia Empire was located over a month on the fastest of horses from here… So they wouldn't have had any chance to cause chaos at all.'

'Even if they did, it would take a lot of effort to keep an army hidden.'

'It makes one wonder why Ares, the God that rules over the Empire, has such an unending desire to take over this city.'

'No matter how important Orario was, it was simply too far away for him to try.'

'If you're thinking about an assault from the sea, then, if all of the sea monsters weren't enough to say that it wouldn't be a wise idea, the Poseidon Familia has one of the strongest fleets in the World.'

'Also they are also the only Familia, apart from the Freya Familia that has a Level 7 adventurer.'

'It wasn't exactly a good place to attack.'

'And as previously stated, it had been slightly a day since the announcement had been made, it was barely enough time for anyone to prepare.'

'If they had prepared something, what would they do when the Ganesha Familia was here?'

'Several Level 3s and 4s including one Level 5!'

'The very Vice-captain of his Familia, Ilta Farna!'

(Image?)

…

"It's almost time..."

I should start preparing.

/Clears throat.../

"Cough cough... Mnmm... AAaaa Ooo IIiii Eeee UUuuu..."

"Testing testing… 1-2-3…"

'Next to the benches was a small platform made of, yet again, wood.'

'On top of it were 2 people, both males, one wearing a pair of black goggles and the other… An Elephant Mask…'

'A human and a God.'

'The Human held something in his hands, a carved magic stone imbued to a stick, a microphone.'

'He brought his microphone to his face, whispering words to it, testing its sensitivity…'

'Soon enough, he would be broadcasting the War game across all of Orario, so there was no room for any mistakes!'

'For the honor of the Gods, his God, his family, and himself!'

'It would be shameful to screw up in the face of the entire city…'

"I am… Ganeeesha…"

"G...Nesha... shaa... shaa..."

'Ganesha whispered to the microphone, letting his voice echo a little…'

"... W-we aren't live yet Lord Ganesha…" The boy replied, dumbfounded

"..."

'Ganesha seemed visibly upset.'

…

/At the same time…/

'Atop Babel, the Gods and their favorite children gathered together, all sitting around in their preferred spots together with the people they were closest to.'

'Like many times before, they would gather here at the top of the Divine tower to watch the mortals fight in their name.'

'And although they wanted to go see for themselves how the fight would play out, it was indeed risky to go outside...'

'If all of them were to leave, things could get messy pretty fast.'

'Though that wasn't the case for all Gods...'

'Some were more than happy in staying at Orario, currently waiting in the comfort of their own rooms, holding a bottle of wine as they wanted for time to pass…'

'Wasn't this the peak of life?'

…

/At the entertainment district…/

"It's sooo hot…" Ishtar complained as she moved her shirt up and down

'Despite so, her focus was somewhere else.'

It's going to start soon.

'Ishtar smiled, letting a servant fill a glass in front of her with icy cold liquid, who she then proceed to gulp down.'

'Though that wouldn't stop her from sweating, it would certainly make this 10 times more bearable.'

/Swoosh swoosh/

'If that wasn't enough, another servant on the side grabbed a large shell-shaped object, moving it up and down, blowing fresh air on her face.'

'And at the same time, another servant fed her a grape… She was living the life of a queen.'

"Give me a good show."

The determination that made Freya lock her eyes on you...

The qualities that made you stand out from the rest.

I've armed my children pretty decently, they won't fall down easily...

'She ate another grape.'

Not like they would in the first place.

But at least... You should be able to give me a good show with my strongest Berbera.

Now... Dance.

…

/At the same time in the Hearth Manor…/

'As for Hestia and her Familia… They were all sitting together in the middle of the living room, waiting.'

'They also had their own drinks to resist the heat, but they barely touched them.'

'Waiting in silence with a mix of conflicting expressions plastered across their faces...'

'Though, despite how heavy the atmosphere was, none of them regretted joining the Hestia Familia.'

'Each of them were hand-picked from hundreds, people with clear hearts and intentions.'

'They wouldn't abandon a Familia that had done so much for them and this rare environment where they could be themselves… But neither could they.'

'There was a one-year time limit for you to move from one Familia to the other, and it had barely been a quarter of that time since they joined…'

'However, this didn't stop them from fearing the future, when all odds were against you, such thoughts came naturally...'

'Because if they lost...'

"Dammit…" The Eldest of the triplets said as he hugged his knees in frustration

Too weak... Too weak to do anything.

To voice my opinion, to move on my own...

To make a difference.

Captain is out there, fighting for his ideals, and here I am, watching it all unfold... Hugging my knees in the corner.

Pathetic.

"..."

"..."

'His brothers felt the same, but what could they do?'

'Right now, they understood that this wasn't their place to voice their feelings and complaints… They didn't have the right to do so.'

'But what could they do? They were barely Level 2… Their true, final enemy was Level 5…'

'Yes, they didn't know that Phryne had become Level 6 and Tammuz Level 5, and this was to protect them.'

'The Guild announced it, but those news were washed away by the waves of excitement, only over time people learned about what happened.'

'And the Hestia Familia had been stuck inside their manor since the incident, they knew little of what was going on.'

'Had they known this fact, they might be drowning in despair by now…'

'Hestia felt extremely conflicted about hiding it, but she had to, let them cheer him on with that little hope... She didn't want to shatter their expectations so brutally.'

'The only thing she could do was say Silver had leveled up, to make him a bit closer to his targets...'

'But if Silver was here, he would tell them to use that anger to move forward... And they knew that.'

'So they raised their heads, waiting... Soon enough, they would witness it.'

'They believed in him, they knew what he could do.'

'Until he was back... They would go with their own beliefs… That their Captain was a crazy person that loved training…'

'And if they believed just enough, there was a chance he could take her down...'

'This shred of hope is only here because they don't know the truth… They couldn't…'

"..."

The atmosphere is terrible... I can't bring myself to mention it.

'And this was especially the case for Daphne, one of the few people that knew the truth of this matter...'

'The paper she had read… The one Silver had shared with her yesterday…'

'It made her frown and twist in anger… And it also made her realize the seriousness of this situation.'

'If it wasn't for his words, she would've torn the paper into pieces, better that than to have the others read it.'

'However, her duty propelled her to take rational action, so she still shared it with the other 'Executives' so they could help her in controlling the situation amidst the people, and their reactions were all similar.'

'Unending disgust.'

"..."

'She turned to Hestia, her own expression turning dim…'

'Because her Goddess expression was bright!'

'Daphne could see that behind that smile was a massive wave of helplessness and sadness…'

'But she had to be like her… Even if it was hard to do so.'

'Despite Hestia's hidden emotions, she believed in him, and from the bottom of her heart, she wanted him to shine.'

'She wanted to scream out loud, "Show yourself to the world!"...'

'But right now, this would only bother the tense children around her.'

'So she remained on her chair, waiting.'

'Let his actions speak for themselves.'

…

'All around Orario, people prepared yet again for what could very well be another massive commotion.'

'Adventurers canceled their ventures to the Dungeon, others took advantage of it to rake in more commissions…'

'People gathered in both inns and pubs, grabbing drinks and making friendly bets.'

'Shops closed, knowing there would be few clients at this time, opting to remain with their family or doing something else…'

'And the Guild worked non-stop…'

'A War game was an opportunity for many, and a disaster for others.'

'Even if for a single day, if Orario were to stop, it would cause massive damage.'

'For some, this was a blessing, smiths like Hephaestus managed to have a short day without new commissions coming in, though it also came in as another problem because she wouldn't have more materials coming in…'

'A blessing in exchange for a curse.'

'Each had their own opinions of this War game, some even cursed the Hestia Familia, calling them fools for bitting more than they could chew…'

'Wasn't this all too familiar? It happened before with Apollo…'

'Though the Ishtar Familia was no Apollo, and no matter how much they respected the rising Familia, almost all saw this situation as their last stop.'

'Would it be though?'

…

"It's time." Silver mumbled to himself as he raised his head

'He looked at the wooden platform, and considering Ganesha had yet to scream, it meant there was still some time to spare.'

'His hands moved up, towards the tip of his weapon.'

'Its runes flickered in blue light under the sun.'

"... You have been like this ever since the morning huh..." He mumbled as he looked at it

Are you hopeful too?

'Slowly, he removed the banner of the Hestia Familia from his Halberd, tying it around his left shoulder.'

'And although he didn't want it to get dirty, he hoped that it would give him strength.'

'So he could completely...'

/Chatter!/

"Hm?..."

'It didn't take long for him to hear loud sounds coming from the platform, it seemed they had started…'

…

/At the same time.../

"... AND I'M HERE WIIIIITH!!..."

"I-AM-GANESHAAAAAAAAA!"

"INDEED YOU ARE!!"

"YET AGAIN HERE WE ARE TO WITNESS ANOTHER WAR GAME!" The boy exclaimed with all of his strength

"I SHALL BE YOUR VOICE THIS TIME AS WELL!"

'He moved the microphone away so he could take a breath of air.'

'This time, he spoke in a lower yet still excited tone:'

"Though I would very much like to be with you all, this time, I stand at the forefront of the battlefield!"

"So come with me! It's time!"

'Though it wasn't possible to hear it from here, Orario shook with the cries of the people.'

/Thud!/

'And with that, Aisha jumped out of the stands, making her way to the battlefield.'

…

/Back at Babel…/

"Hermes-Sama…" Asfi mumbled as she pointed at her wrist

"..."

Can't laze around anymore...

It's good to let my wings out once in a while.

'Hermes looked at the distance before he pulled his hand down.'

"Ouranos! I request permission to use my Arcanum!"

/Snap!/

'Hermes snapped his fingers.'

"Permission granted."

/Crack…/

'Like before, all across Orario, floating mirrors of light formed in the sky and inside all places.'

'The War game had officially begun!'

…

/Back at the Arena…/

"So… We meet again." She said with her seductive smile as she approached him

'Aisha was very different this time, she was wearing some very fancy clothes, though they were still very sexy, reminiscent of a dancer.'

'In her hands was a massive sword, it was the same one he saw last time at the Dungeon, no change in there.'

'It seemed Ishtar didn't bother in giving her a better weapon, only some nice clothes to make her look good.'

'Either that or her weapon was already perfect for her to begin with.'

'Though this lack of preparation wouldn't make him underestimate her for that, as her equipment was still likely of a very high quality.'

"At least this time you aren't trying to kill me." Silver joked as he pulled his Halberd from the ground

"I do apologize for that, being subtle isn't exactly my forte."

'She lifted her sword with one hand, pointing it at him.'

"I don't think we need to waste any more time with words."

'Aisha might feel conflicted in pointing her sword given her current position, but right now, Silver saw all of this hesitation wash away as she raised her sword.'

'She was ready to cut him down, be it moral of her to do or not.'

'Even if her rules followed the law of the jungle, this did not mean she was a cruel woman...'

'But as an Amazon, it was in her heart to adore a fight!'

"..."

'To her words, Silver remained silent.'

"Well then, shall we start?"

"... The first to concede defeat or gets the other unconscious wins, right?" Silver asked with a slight smirk

"Of course… Though, don't you dare think this will be easy."

'Aisha's body started to tense...'

"I have no intention of falling without a fight." She proclaimed as her eyes trembled

/CRACK!/

"LET OUR BODIES DO THE TALKING!"

'Aisha rushed forward, crushing the earth with a mighty stomp.'

/Grins…/

'Silver smiled.'

…

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Notes

The next 4-5 chapters or so are composed of constant combat, I believe I showed everything I wanted to and now we can focus on fighting and fighting.

What do you expect him to do? How do you think this war will end or develop?

I'm interested in your opinions, and with that, bye.