The wooden door creaked softly as it closed tight, leaving behind a soothing silence. Behind that door, Meteria had fallen back into a deep sleep with a peaceful smile gracing her face. For Alfia, seeing her sister resting safely was a worthy payoff for all her hardships at the bottom of the labyrinth.
Alfia took a deep breath, neutralizing her emotions that had momentarily softened. She turned and walked down the hallway toward the main room of the church.
In the corner of the room, Aria was seen stroking the hair of Ais, who had just fallen asleep snoring softly on her lap. Meanwhile, Venti was sitting cross-legged, cleaning the strings of his lyre with a soft cloth.
"Venti," called Alfia, breaking the silence, her voice returning to being as cold as ice yet radiating absolute authority.
The God of Wind turned his head, stopping his activity. His eyebrows raised slightly seeing the seriousness in the mage's heterochromatic eyes.
"Update my Falna now," said Alfia without beating around the bush. "The limit of the Level 7 vessel within me has crumbled. I can feel it. I am ready to ascend to Level 8."
Venti widened his eyes for a moment before a crisp laugh slipped from his lips. "Well, well. Just returned from hell and you're already impatient to ask for a status update?"
Despite saying so, Venti jumped down from the altar lightly. He knew very well Alfia never exaggerated her abilities. If the Calamitous Talent felt her vessel was full and ready to be expanded, then it was an absolute fact.
Venti instructed Alfia to sit on one of the wooden chairs in the middle of the room. Alfia complied. She unfastened the upper part of her clothing, letting it fall to her waist to expose her flawless, smooth white back.
As a god, especially a reincarnator from Earth who deeply understood the laws of Excelia in this world, Venti remembered exactly the condition of Alfia's status when he first transferred this woman into his Familia. According to the laws of the world, changing Familias would reset all basic parameters to absolute zero.
Falna Status (Upon Initially Joining the Barbatos Familia)
Name: Alfia
Level: 7
Ability:
Strength: 0 (I)
Endurance: 0 (I)
Dexterity: 0 (I)
Agility: 0 (I)
Magic: 0 (I)
Magic:
Satanas Verion: Super-short chant magic that hits the enemy with a block of sound.
Silentium Eden: Super-short spell that covers the user's body in magic-nullifying armor.
Genos Angelus: Super-long chant magic that makes a giant silvery-gray bell appear above the user's head and has an effect range of over 100 meters.
Skill:
Gif Blessing: In exchange for their status always being in a Limit Off state, the user suffers from many ailments and all their abilities decrease over time at a faster rate when in combat.
AlmeVel Ardore
Development Ability:
Ataraxia: Absolute resistance to mental attacks and Charm.
Mage: Passive magic power increase.
Abnormal Resistance
Magic Resistance
Spirit Pleasure
Supreme Light
It was with that completely empty basic status that Alfia plunged into the Deep Floors.
Venti bit his thumb until a drop of holy glowing blood appeared. He pressed his finger right in the middle of Alfia's back, letting his Ichor seep in and react with the black hieroglyphs hidden beneath the mage's skin. A blue light glowed in the main room of the church.
Venti focused his gaze, reading the string of sacred text hieroglyphs that wove the history of Excelia on Alfia's back. The text that was previously faint now appeared and lined up neatly before his eyes.
One second. Two seconds.
Venti's teal eyes suddenly widened greatly. His breath caught in his throat. The god's hand trembled slightly as he directly read the numbers that had just been formed from Alfia's battles in the dungeon.
"Wait... this... this is insane," muttered Venti unconsciously, staring at Alfia's back as if he were looking at a real monster.
As someone who knew the original lore of this world, Venti knew that even with the cheat skill belonging to the original story's protagonist Bell Cranel, it took weeks and multiple updates to reach parameters this high. But Alfia... she raised her basic status from absolute 0 to the highest peak in just one expedition.
Falna Status (Before Leveling Up)
Name: Alfia
Level: 7
Ability:
Strength: 780 (B)
Endurance: 850 (A)
Dexterity: 1099 (SSS)
Agility: 1050 (SS)
Magic: 1100 (SSS)
Magic:
Satanas Verion: Super-short chant magic that hits the enemy with a block of sound.
Silentium Eden: Super-short spell that covers the user's body in magic-nullifying armor.
Genos Angelus: Super-long chant magic that makes a giant silvery-gray bell appear above the user's head and has an effect range of over 100 meters.
Skill:
Gif Blessing: In exchange for their status always being in a Limit Off state, the user suffers from many ailments and all their abilities decrease over time at a faster rate when in combat.
AlmeVel Ardore
Development Ability:
Ataraxia: Absolute resistance to mental attacks and Charm.
Mage: Passive magic power increase.
Abnormal Resistance
Magic Resistance
Spirit Pleasure
Supreme Light
"What exactly did you fight at the bottom of the labyrinth there, Alfia?" asked Venti, his voice filled with disbelief. "You slaughtered a floor-boss-class anomaly and... what? The Excelia from your physical combat jumped so drastically that it broke through the SS and SSS limits!"
Alfia snorted softly, looking toward the altar indifferently. "Just destroyed a labyrinth tumor with Genos Angelus, then the rampaging Dungeon sent two Level 9 Juggernauts at once. I smashed their exoskeleton frames with my bare hands as a whetstone."
Venti smacked his forehead. "Two Level 9 Juggernauts... bare-handed. No wonder the world calls you the Calamitous Talent. Your existence truly breaks the balance of common sense."
Venti laughed hollowly, but quickly refocused on carving her falna. The light on Alfia's back glowed even brighter, illuminating every corner of the room with a silvery-blue color.
"Get ready, Alfia. I will expand your body's vessel," Venti said calmly.
A sacred silence filled the air as the hieroglyphs on Alfia's back rewove her falna. Alfia closed her eyes, feeling an extraordinary sensation within herself—a feeling as if the boundaries of her soul that had confined her were now wide open. The flow of her mind felt denser, purer.
Alfia had officially stepped into Level 8.
However, that wasn't the only thing that made Venti smile in awe. As the hieroglyphs on Alfia's back rearranged themselves, a new Skill and Development Ability appeared, shining with an elegant silver color. Venti traced the text, and a nostalgic smile bloomed on his lips.
"Alfia... do you remember what I told you when I first healed you from the brink of death back then?" asked Venti softly.
Alfia kept her eyes closed. Her memory returned to the first night they met, to the impossible promise offered by this strange god behind her.
"I cannot heal you as fast as Meteria. Your damage is too deep. But... I can teach you harmony.""Harmony?""Your magic is a song of death. I will teach you the song of life. I can use the wind to cleanse the poison in your body—just as I once cleansed the poison of an old dragon—and use music to realign your Mind. It will take time. Maybe years. But you will live. You can see your nephew grow up."
"I remember it very clearly," answered Alfia calmly. "Every time the curse of Gif Blessing tries to eat away at my body when I fight beyond my limits, I focus my mind on that melody of harmony. I use the remaining deadly mind in my body to align my pulse with the vibration of life."
"And your genius understanding of sound magic has manifested it into an absolute miracle," said Venti in awe. He copied the status onto a piece of parchment and handed it to Alfia. "See for yourself. You have just created a defensive magic that breaks the laws of the world."
Alfia pulled her clothes back up, tidied her collar, and accepted the status paper.
Falna Status (After Leveling Up)
Name: Alfia
Level: 8
Ability:
Strength: 0 (I)
Endurance: 0 (I)
Dexterity: 0 (I)
Agility: 0 (I)
Magic: 0 (I)
Magic:
Satanas Verion: Super-short chant magic that hits the enemy with a block of sound.
Silentium Eden: Super-short spell that covers the user's body in magic-nullifying armor.
Genos Angelus: Super-long chant magic that makes a giant silvery-gray bell appear above the user's head and has an effect range of over 100 meters.
Skill:
Gif Blessing: In exchange for their status always being in a Limit Off state, the user suffers from many ailments and all their abilities decrease over time at a faster rate when in combat.
AlmeVel Ardore
Aegis Harmonia (Shield of Paradox Harmony): Manipulates sound mind into an absolute defensive frequency around the user. This skill creates an 'infinite distance' based on sound waves. Any physical or magical attack approaching the user will be blocked by an increasingly dense dampening frequency; the closer the attack gets, the slower its movement becomes until it reaches absolute zero point. As long as Aegis Harmonia is active, no object or magic can touch the user. (NEW)
Development Ability:
Ataraxia: Absolute resistance to mental attacks and Charm.
Mage: Passive magic power increase.
Abnormal Resistance
Magic Resistance
Spirit Pleasure
Supreme LightResonance: Allows the user to manipulate the mind frequency around them. Can be used to synchronize magic with allies for multiple amplification, or distort the structure of enemy magic and destroy it from the inside before it is chanted. (NEW)
Alfia's heterochromatic eyes widened slightly upon reading the explanation of Aegis Harmonia. This was not just a shield that could be broken if the enemy's attack power was higher. This was a paradox of space and time manipulated purely through sound vibrations. The concept was very simple: creating a frequency barrier that drained the kinetic energy of enemy attacks to infinity.
As if, between her and the enemy, there was a horizon distance that could never be crossed.
"Let me guess," Venti walked around Alfia, smiling mischievously. "In the past, even though you had a terrifying talent to copy the martial arts techniques of other fighters, your fragile physical vessel due to the disease was always a deadly risk if you took a clean hit, right? Well, with this skill, the enemy won't even be able to touch a single strand of your hair."
Alfia snorted, but she couldn't hide the smirk filled with absolute satisfaction. "I suppose I must thank you for the 'song of life' you taught me, Venti."
"You're welcome," chuckled Venti, turning and picking up his lyre again.
However, in the midst of that relaxed atmosphere, Venti suddenly let out a long sigh that sounded very exaggerated and dramatic. He twisted his body, leaned against a stone pillar, and pulled out an envelope sealed with thick red wax bearing the Guild's emblem.
"Now, speaking of unavoidable things," Venti waved the envelope in the air with a visibly sour face. "While you guys were busy fighting and making history underground all night, I received this 'love letter' from the Guild."
"Emergency Denatus?" guessed Alfia.
"Exactly. A mandatory invitation tonight for all the gods in Orario," complained the God of Wind, massaging his temples. "Honestly, I'm very lazy to attend the boring meetings of the gods which are just ego debates. But the stamp is red. That means if I as a god don't show up, our Familia will be hit with severe sanctions by the Guild."
Alfia crossed her legs elegantly. "What's the agenda?"
"Oh, you know... just the mass panic of the gods over what has happened during the past week," Venti rolled his eyes while idly plucking a string of his lyre. "Ouranos and the gods are scrambling. They want to discuss three phenomena that make them feel the apocalypse is standing at Orario's doorstep."
Venti raised three fingers one by one. "First, the mysterious roar from the northern end of the world that made the sky dim for a moment. Second, the pillar of light from the Far East signaling the sudden forced repatriation of a God to Tenkai. And the third..."
Venti pointed below his feet. "...the illogical earthquake from the bottom of the labyrinth last night that kept the whole city awake."
Silence instantly enveloped the old church. Alfia exchanged a glance with Aria. The three world-scale phenomena that plunged all of Orario into hysteria were, in reality, entirely centered on the actions of the three people currently in this room.
"Make sure you play your fool role perfectly in front of those gods tonight, Mr. Bard," said Alfia, snorting softly with a condescending tone. "Not that I'm afraid of lowly Familias like Freya or Loki, but I'm not in the mood to bother sweeping up trash flies and disturbing Meteria's peace."
Venti laughed casually, not in the least intimidated by the murderous aura radiated by Alfia. He hugged his lyre cheerfully.
"Don't worry, Miss Calamitous Talent. My alibi has been perfect since long ago," answered Venti, winking one eye. "I'm just a poor bard god who happened to be out of town to recruit my sweet new members, Sylphie and Ais. Black dragon rampaging? God repatriated to Tenkai in the Far East? Earthquake in Orario? Wow, I don't know anything, I was just busy playing the lyre!"
A playful yet cunning smirk was etched on Venti's face. The bloody physical battles inside the labyrinth might be over, but the battle of manipulation at the gods' round table was just about to begin.
------------------------------
"Like my work? Catch up to Chapter 54 over on my Patreon!"
P - Gem_Blanks
Thank you so much for your support — you make all of this worthwhile.)