Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Riveria POV - January 8, 1977, Magical World / July 2, 2008, DxD.
"Loki said you'll be going alone to investigate Daedalus Street," Finn said as he leaned against my bedroom door while I finished getting ready. I nodded.
"I'm going." I said easily.
"You know more than you're letting on." Finn said easily, without being angry. I stopped before nodding.
"Evilus." I said simply, and Finn froze.
"Are they still here?" Finn asked solemnly. I straightened up, my gear ready, and looked at him.
"Not for long." I said coldly. Finn stopped before sighing and nodding.
"Do you need help?" Finn asked with a small smile. I stopped before smiling back.
"If it had been months ago, I would have said yes without hesitation, but now...no...but thanks for asking, Finn." I said, honestly, Finn just nodded, smiling through his teeth.
"You've become much stronger," Finn said simply.
"We all did." I corrected him, and Finn nodded with a smile.
"Yeah... we did." Finn said with a smile, clenching his fist. "Go and cause a lot of trouble for me, don't worry about the destruction, if anything happens, we'll take care of it." Finn said easily. I nodded.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure to resolve this completely," I said easily, flashing my grin while gripping my cane tightly.
"Good," Finn said, pleased. "Now, since you've decided to solve the Daedalus Street problem on your own, I have another one to deal with. Since they won't be busy, Bete, Lefiya, and the others are still really outraged that Bell Cranel leveled up another level in just one month. I think they wanted to delve into the deepest levels of the dungeon to train." Finn said, shaking his head.
"I thought they'd gotten over it after visiting the underworld." I snorted playfully; Finn just snorted louder.
"And after seeing you kick that devil's ass? No, actually, now they're even more motivated to try and catch you." Finn snorted, and I gave him an apologetic smile. "Don't worry, it's good that they're motivated," Finn said playfully. I nodded.
"I'll see what I can do to share High-Speed Incantation," I said honestly. Finn just shrugged.
"It's okay if you don't. Serena Prince has already done so much for us. It's fine that she gave you something special, especially since you're now her fiancée. You don't have to share everything with the familia," Finn said gently. I smiled warmly at him.
"I know, but I want to do it." I told him honestly. Finn just looked at me before smirking.
"You really spoil us, Moma Riveria," Finn teased. I snorted and let out a sharp curse that he couldn't avoid, and he let out a small yelp of pain. "That hurts!" Finn complained. I chuckled, my eyes twinkling.
"I know," I said simply. We looked at each other and smiled broadly.
"Alright, I'll let you get ready. Good luck on your hunt." Finn said with a wild grin, and I smiled back as I nodded.
"Yes... I'll enjoy it." I said honestly. Finn smiled before walking away. I took a deep breath before my expression hardened. It was time to hunt Evilus.
I cast magic to become invisible before discreetly teleporting above Daedalus Street. I began to fly stealthily as I descended toward the underground sewers of Orario.
I continued flying discreetly, without touching the ground or making a sound. My eyes immediately turned towards the entrance of Knossos; although it was hidden behind a false wall and magic, it was something that could not fool my Six Eyes in any way.
I looked around, finally making myself visible. I destroyed the hidden entrance before casting powerful defensive enchantments to prevent anyone from leaving. Finally, I walked over and looked at the entrance to Knossos.
I took a step forward before stopping. I paused for a few moments, staring at the door. This was my last chance before confronting and killing Evilus, especially his god Thanatos, but… something kept nagging at me.
There was one power in particular that had been on my mind, especially every time I returned to Orario. Could I ask Serena to buy it for me? I'm sure it would be useful from now on, especially if we started facing gods.
She had wanted the template of a Campione. A Godslayer. A Demon King.
A Campione were those humans who had managed to kill a Heretic God and steal his divine authority. They were the bastard children of Epimetheus. People foolish and insane enough to confront a god directly and succeed in killing him.
Those who managed to assassinate the Heretic God would usurp that god's powers thanks to Pandora and her Circle of Usurpation. They not only stole a god's powers but also had their bodies transformed to absorb that divine power, granting them the ability to confront other Heretic gods.
And the Heretic Gods referred to gods, heroes, and divine monsters that had emerged from myths and legends and manifested in the mortal world. And that… could practically be anything, really. In a world where the age of gods hadn't ended, it was a really powerful resource.
Even in Orario, any adventurer with a Falna, a blessing from a god, would count as a 'Hero', any dungeon monster could be considered a 'Divine Monster', and the Gods walked so carefree through the streets of Orario.
Even in DxD, all pantheons existed; anyone with a Sacred Gear would be considered a 'hero'; anyone with a reincarnated spirit or descendant of Heroes would also count; anyone strong enough to make a name for themselves and accomplish certain feats would count as a hero.
Just like divine monsters, depending on how you consider it, any monster above a certain strength should count.
Therefore, depending on how far Pandora's circle of usurpation extended, it would be indispensable. If we continued visiting worlds where the gods walked freely on Earth and eventually confronted them, it wouldn't be a bad way to keep growing without constantly relying on templates.
Especially for Serena. The only problem she still had was that she couldn't replicate divine power with her Reality Marble. But if she stole enough authority? I'm sure it would be easy to do.
And even if usurpation were more restricted than I was theorizing, it would still be just as useful. Many beings above a certain rank possessed their own divinity, or something similar enough to count.
Therefore, it would still be a gain to usurp those powers.
The only real problem was whether claiming and stealing the authorities was truly worth it, given the credits gained from selling the target to The Company. But considering Serena needed over 300 credits for her next roster, and that number would only increase further, becoming a Campione was, to a certain extent, a necessary step.
Missions could help you get credits easily, but the cost of a character just kept growing exponentially. Serena's next character would cost 600, then 1200, then 2400, and it would keep doubling each time. And that was just for Serena; the rest of us would see our character rosters grow, too.
There would come a point when missions or the capture of targets wouldn't be profitable. And I didn't know if Serena could steal authorities with her Hemalurgy, so being able to steal authorities with the Circle of Usurpation would be a good way to grow.
After thinking about it for a few more seconds, I wrinkled my nose before sighing. It would be better to talk to her about it after I finish here; it was too late to consider this in front of the gates of Knossos. I wasn't really eager to kill Thanatos. Did I want him out of Orario? Yes, but not necessarily to kill him. Simply selling him to The Company was more than enough. Besides, I wasn't eager enough to acquire his authority from a god of death.
Hmm, maybe capture him and give him to Bella as a wedding gift? Even if we didn't use Campione's circle of usurpation, Bella would surely have fun with Thanatos. That... was a good idea.
I smiled slightly and finally focused on what was in front of me.
The gate of Knossos, the gate made of orichalcum. The strongest material in Orario. Indestructible enough that no adventurer could destroy it directly.
But… it was only Orichalcum. Before… it would have been impossible to cross this door, and it would have caused me problems. Well, at least if I wanted to restrict the level of destruction, I could melt it if necessary, but it would consume the entire Daedalus Street above me.
But now… I simply raised my hand and looked at the glove covering it. It was completely white with circles and markings all over it, and a blood-red stone on the back. A tool Serena created to make using the Philosopher's Stone easier.
I clenched my fist before touching the door. I let my intention envelop the Philosopher's Stone; long red rays emanated from it before it flew toward the door, and then the door began to crumble, turning to dust at my feet.
I moved my staff and dusted off my clothes before walking towards Knossos. I continued walking calmly, looking around apathetically. I already knew everything there was to know about Knossos, and although it was truly impressive that humans had built it entirely, it was something that shouldn't exist.
I kept walking even when I felt someone watching me. Finally, I reached one of the large rooms where someone was waiting for me.
"Nine Hell, Riveria. It wasn't you I was waiting for." Valletta Grede spat contemptuously as she looked at me from the top of the stairs. I just stared at her, bored.
"You were looking for Finn." I said simply. Valletta simply smiled sadistically before her tongue licked her lips.
"Ah, so you know." Valletta laughed maniacally. "Since our little... trap wasn't able to lure my prey, perhaps I should send your remains to that damned hero. Maybe then 'The Brave One' will come — cough! " Valletta coughed up a mouthful of blood, looking terribly confused before staring down at her stomach, where there was a gaping hole. I just lowered my staff and teleported to her side.
"You're... terribly boring." I said coldly. Valletta looked at me glassy-eyed, trying to take a step forward.
"N-no, not like this s-shouldn't-" I sighed before knocking her unconscious, cutting off her pathetic whimpers. I looked at her half-dead body before healing her, the words rushing out of my mouth before Valletta was fully healed. Then I crouched down, placed the seal on her body, and threw a time bubble grenade at her as I walked away.
I moved backward when I felt a large sword flash past my head. I could see Revis appear out of nowhere to attack me. She didn't even flinch when her attack missed; she just kept moving to attack me.
I easily kept up with her, calmly dodging everything. I continued to retreat effortlessly until she cornered me against a wall. I didn't even flinch when she tried to cut me in half.
Instead, I used my right hand to hold the Philosopher's Stone, touched the stone wall, turned it to dust, then touched the Adamantite wall and molded the metal. Dozens of Adamantite stakes were driven into the ground beside me, piercing an unsuspecting Revis.
Then the same stakes bent and restrained Revis in place before hardening once more. I watched Revis's face just inches from mine as she tried to free herself from the adamantite. I finally cast a powerful sleeping curse upon her, and she fell unconscious.
I placed the seal on her before throwing a time bubble at her. Then I stepped away from it while dusting myself off once more. I hummed as I watched the monsters being freed from where they were. I just muttered one more time, turning the entire interior of Knossos into a fiery inferno as far as the eye could see.
When I finished, all the monsters turned to ash, and the walls were melted. I just sighed and then looked up at where I felt the presence, the feeling of being watched. With my Six Eyes, it was terribly easy to see where the images from the surveillance eyes were coming from. I sighed again before teleporting into the room.
The moment I appeared, I raised my staff and reinforced it, stopping Dix Perdix's attack. The captain of the Ikelos family glared at me, furious and a little panicked, as he tried to force his spear against my staff. I just stared at him dully before opening my mouth.
"How the hell did I spend-" Dix couldn't say anything more as I finished my incantation in a fraction of a second; his body was immediately pierced by dozens of stakes that grew from the ground, reinforced and strong enough to pierce his skin.
Dix coughed up blood as he stared at me in disbelief. I just scoffed, removed the stakes, and left him unconscious while I healed him.
Finally, I turned to look at Thanatos and Barca Perdix. The former seemed shocked and a little scared, while the latter had his eyes wide open.
"You, you have destroyed the work of a millennium of—" Barca Perdix broke off as he tried to back away when he saw my attack coming, unlike Valletta and Dix. Even so, he was only a level 3; his movements were too slow. My slashing curse severed both his legs and one of his arms, leaving him screaming on the ground.
I glared at Barca Perdix with disdain before sighing. Really, why bother talking in front of an enemy? I cast a sleeping curse on him while healing his wounds enough to stop him from bleeding out.
Finally, I looked at Thanatos.
"I am a God, you cannot-"
" Crucio." The words of the curse escaped my lips before I realized it. The torture curse struck Thanatos before he knew it. His body fell to the ground, writhing. His piercing screams echoed throughout Knossos without ceasing.
I looked at Thanatos without emotion. I looked up from him when hundreds of his followers ran in our direction.
"Thanatos-sama!" they shouted simultaneously. I simply flicked my staff. Thousands of lightning arrows erupted around me, piercing every enemy in front of me. I watched the carnage with dispassion before glancing at Thanatos once more, his body still writhing even though the curse had vanished. The aftereffects of the torture curse seemed to affect even a god's body, at least when their power was sealed.
"P-please-" Thanatos tried to say to me, but I simply used the same sleeping curse on him before forcing him to swallow the Draught of Living Death. This would keep him in that state for several months.
Finally, I looked around. I approached the Perdix and sealed them off, then threw time bombs at them.
Then I took out Sera's phone, looked through everything, and started selling them all.
Valletta Grede(T6) from Danmachi –SOLD [40]
Revis (T6) from Danmachi –SOLD [40]
Dix Perdix (T6) from Danmachi –SOLD [40]
Barca Perdix (T6) from Danmachi –SOLD [40]
To my surprise, they were all T6, especially Barca Perdix; he was much weaker than everyone else. But… maybe I was taking into account his fusion with the Demi-Spirit as his maximum potential. I just shrugged before looking at Thanatos.
I hummed softly before creating a coffin for him, then teleported him to my room in the underworld mansion. I'd deal with him later.
I still had things to do.
I continued walking around Knossos, killing every monster I encountered and all of Thanatos's straggling minions. Finally, I arrived at the place where the half-spirit Power Bull was.
A massive beast! I swung my staff before unleashing a Wynn Fimbulvetr powerful enough to freeze it completely. The chained monster was helpless to dodge and was ultimately frozen solid.
I hummed. My Wynn Fimbulvetr could last for weeks, maybe months, without any problem. Perhaps Serena or Bella would want to use it. The former to research it, and the latter to use it as a familiar.
Finally, I headed towards the last point. I continued descending until I found what I was looking for.
Niddhog.
Or at least, a bored, sleeping clone of him. It was a ticking time bomb, I hummed before flying down. I cautiously sealed Niddhog before throwing a time bomb large enough to engulf his body.
And then I finally sold it.
Niddhog (T6) from Danmachi –SOLD [40]
And with that, all of Evilus's forces were completely dealt with. I allowed myself a slight smile as I looked around. Hmm. Dix Perdix was part of the Ikelos family, wasn't he? Perhaps I should visit them as well.
I smiled sadistically. I messaged GLaDOS before she gave me the go-ahead, then teleported Power Bull beneath the Underworld mansion, into a room GLaDOS had built large enough to hold him.
And finally, I teleported back to Orario. After that, I'd get rid of Knossos; now I had a familia to track down and hunt.