Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Freya Pov.
"So," I said calmly, setting down my empty cup and smiling at Loki. "Why don't you tell me why you called me here?" I asked easily. We'd already gotten past the introductions and initial pleasantries; it was time to get to the point.
Loki laughed jovially.
"Hm? I just wanted to have a chat with you, it's been a long time." Loki laughed, and I smiled dangerously.
"You're lying again," I said coldly. Loki's smile froze and dropped several degrees, finally sighing.
"Tell me honestly, what are you are up to?" Loki asked directly. Now we were getting somewhere.
"What do you mean, Loki?" I asked playfully.
"Don't play dumb with me. You showed up so suddenly at the banquet, and besides, you've been gathering a lot of information lately... so tell me, what are you up to this time? " Loki asked, slightly opening her eyes to stare at me.
"Plot? You make me look like a villain." I laughed lightly.
"Then you shouldn't act like one," Loki said dryly. I smiled wider, and we both stared at each other. Loki finally sighed deeply. "So, Miach's child, huh? " Loki hummed.
I blinked several times, completely bewildered. What?
"What?" I echoed my thoughts; this time, it was Loki's turn to blink.
"Huh? Was I wrong?" Loki said, confused as she tilted her head.
"Wrong!? You think I'm chasing Miach's child?! I hissed virulently as I stood up and slammed the table hard. Loki stepped back slightly.
"I mean... yeah? You seemed really curious about her! You asked Miach about her several times, and you seemed nervous! You're never nervous!" Loki said quickly. I looked at her indignantly.
"My Odr is nothing like that—that abomination!" I hissed once more.
"Wow, wow, wow, calm down, I'm sorry." Loki said quickly as she raised both hands, trying to calm me down. I gritted my teeth before taking a deep breath, and I glared at Loki once more before taking a seat.
"If you even hint again that-"
"I get it, I get it. I feel you." Loki said quickly, and I clicked my tongue. Loki seemed to sigh in relief before turning serious. "But... what do you mean, abomination? The child of Miach? " Loki asked quickly. I wrinkled my nose.
"It's no secret to the gods about my... ability to see... the color and brightness of souls." I said lightly, Loki wrinkled her nose.
"I suspected as much, yes, many other gods as well, your ability to claim talented adventurers before anyone else is well known." Loki said dryly, I simply hummed.
"Yes, that, for example, your cute Sword Princess, is a nice golden color." I said as I looked at Loki's child, Loki straightened up and puffed out her chest.
"Of course! My Ais is the best!" Loki said happily as she hit Ais's back several times. I smiled condescendingly at her.
"My Odr… my chosen one… my destined one… he isn't strong… yet, he's still unreliable, prone to injury and crying easily… but he has a beautiful, transparent bearing, that child… he has a color I've never seen before…" I said dreamily. I could hear Loki snort.
"You really sound in love… it wouldn't be the first time, you stupid sex-crazed goddess." Loki said dryly, and I laughed amusedly.
"Oh my goodness, that hurts." I said, amusedly, before losing my smile. "On the other hand…Miach's child-" I spat out as if it were poison. "Her soul is disgusting. Neither in Heaven nor in the underworld have I seen anything as disgusting as her soul." I hissed. Loki became serious.
"Is that so?" Loki asked seriously. I nodded solemnly.
"Her soul is a miasma of darkness, her darkness all-consuming, ready to devour and drag everything within her; she feels… unholy, is the only word that comes to mind, corrupting, disgusting." I said with a shudder.
I couldn't help but remember the first time I saw her, that soul that threatened to swallow me whole, just like the others, the tens of thousands of souls within that rot, within that darkness.
Thousands of souls, whose brightness and color I could still see, souls I could feel crawling inside the darkness of Miach's child's soul, thousands of souls screaming in pain and suffering, being tainted by the darkness.
All the souls were trapped and bound within Miach's child. I had never seen such an abomination, such a horrible thing. It held thousands of souls locked within its own soul, subdued them with the weight of its own soul, and amused itself with them. Not even the evil gods or the worst of humanity that I could see. That soul… was an abomination.
And… the weirdest one. It completely baffled me, before I passed out from sensory overload at seeing thousands of souls all at once screaming in a cacophony and trying to get to me, I could see it… a… a purple chess piece, a queen piece, glowing brightly inside of it.
I didn't know what it was, I didn't even know if what I had seen was true, but it was there, and I could feel the presence of another person in that chess piece, as if there was a part of a soul or the essence of someone inside.
And that queen piece, it was at the center of the abomination's soul… and I had no idea what it was.
"That's… worrying." Loki said worriedly. "Will it be a danger to Orario?" Loki asked immediately. I wrinkled my nose.
"I have no idea," I said honestly.
"What? You just said how horrible she was, and you don't know if she's a danger? " Loki asked incredulously, I shrugged.
"Her soul reminds me of you, in fact, also of the other gods who come down from the underworld," I said simply.
"Me!?" Loki asked, now she was the one who sounded indignant. I rolled my eyes.
"Not in that way, but about her desire, about her goal," I said nonchalantly. "She's here to have fun, simple as that, she's just looking for fun, now… I have no idea how she could be looking for her fun," I said simply. Loki growled slightly.
"That doesn't help at all; it can be as simple as finding the best food in Orario, to massacring the entire city." Loki growled, frustratedly. I shrugged.
"I know, and it's not like we can act against her. Especially you. I heard she had already checked you in at the Hostess of Fertility. If you act against her, or if anyone even smells that you're involved or targeting her, then you'll be proving her completely right." I said simply. Loki froze stiffly.
"She did all that to protect herself?! She joined one of the smaller families and humiliated us to defend herself!? She planned this all from the beginning!? " Loki exclaimed incredulously, I shrugged.
"Maybe so, maybe not, maybe it's just a coincidence, but the truth is you can't act openly against her, at least not until she does something that gives you the perfect, irreproachable excuse." I pointed out, Loki growled loudly.
"That little vermin." Loki growled. "And you? Can you take care of her? " Loki asked directly, I shook my head.
"Not really, she's strong, stronger than you think. That soul… is definitely far superior to that of a level 1 adventurer, even without Falna. I'm sure it would be of a much higher rank. I would need one of my executives to act, even several of them." I said simply.
"You're joking," Loki said incredulously, and I shook my head.
"I have no reason to joke or lie," I said honestly. "I don't want that abomination in Orario, but the truth is, for the moment, we can't do anything against it without it blowing up in our faces," I added. Loki ran a hand through her hair in frustration.
"Where the hell did Miach get that woman?" Loki growled. "I thought she was just a damn dark elf who had just arrived in town." She snorted tiredly.
"Dark elf or not, her soul is rare, and if I were you, I'd keep one eye open and all your children out of her way." I warned Loki, she grimaced.
"I will. I'll talk to my children when the Fair is over. They already have an order to ignore her because of the problem at the restaurant, but I'll be firmer," Loki said almost immediately.
"Is she a monster?" Ais asked suddenly as she looked at both of us. Loki grimaced as I looked at her. I could see Loki's child gripping her sword tightly as a look of hatred flashed in her eyes. I smiled slightly.
"Who knows." I shrugged. Ais just frowned.
"Is she strong?" she asked again. Loki sighed.
"You're not fighting her," Loki said immediately. I hummed lightly.
"Perhaps, she might have strength similar to a level 4 or level 5 even without Falna, and she'll only grow even faster now that she has one," I said without hesitation. Loki groaned in frustration.
"You're not helping," Loki snarled at me. Ais's eyes seemed to glaze over.
"Level 5… without Falna…" Ais muttered to herself. "…father." She muttered so softly that I barely heard it. Loki did too, and her grimace deepened.
"Hey, Ais-chan, do you want to go on a date-" I interrupted Loki's words as I stood up once again. I watched Bell Cranel run down the street from the window.
"I'm sorry, but something urgent requires my attention. I'll see you later." I said distractedly as I began to walk away quickly. I ignored Loki's shouts as I quickened my pace to keep up with Bell.
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Haa … I didn't expect Bell to be Hestia's child. But… that doesn't change my plans at all. I've never cared if someone or something belongs to someone else, and that won't change anything, especially regarding my ODR.
I easily found my way to the west entrance of the subway, where the monsters for the Fair were caged, waiting for their moment. I made my way through the guards with extreme ease.
" Stay still, okay? " I whispered seductively as I covered the eyes of the woman in front of me, who had just arrived. I let my charm flow into her, causing the woman to start moaning in pleasure. "Where are the keys to the cages?" I asked.
Just as I expected, the woman couldn't even resist when I pulled the keys from her hip and lifted her. I let go of the woman and grabbed the bunch of keys as she fell. So easy.
"Thanks." I said, amusedly as I started walking, surrounded by all the monsters. I finally took off the cloak covering my body and let my Charm subdue the monsters.
I looked around for the perfect monster to take on Bell Cranel, and my gaze finally fell upon a Silverfang, allowing me to smile widely. It was perfect.
"...I choose you." I said, stopping in front of the cage. "Go out-"
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" I froze when I heard the voice behind me. I used my charm to catch the stranger before turning around and saw it —the abomination.
Miach's child. In her very recognizable white winter outfit.
She was sitting lazily on top of one of the cages, as if she had always been there, just watching everything. It's possible that I couldn't even sense her until she spoke; she had hidden from my senses.
"You." I hissed almost venomously, the abomination's grin widening even further. I increased the strength of my charm and focused it in its direction. "Forget what you saw, return to the surface," I said immediately, frowning.
I snorted as I turned around to continue what I was doing without even waiting to see if it would have any effect, after all, no one could resist my charm-
"Is that all you got?" the abomination sneered, causing me to freeze in place, my eyes widening. My charm… didn't work? I immediately turned around and looked at the abomination, still in the same position, with an even wider, almost unnaturally wide grin distorting its face.
I gritted my teeth and let the full force of my Charm fall upon her. I could finally see the abomination's eyes glaze over slightly. I sighed in relief. I was about to open my mouth when a snort interrupted me.
"Wow, you almost had me there," the abomination said, blinking several times. "It was stronger than I expected, really something else… Freya." The abomination said, sounding almost excited. I took a step back as if I had been physically hit.
Impossible! Impossible, impossible, impossible! No mortal or god should be able to resist my charm! I was confident my charm would even work on virgin goddesses. How could that abomination possibly resist it so casually?
"What are you doing here? How are you doing that?! " I hissed murderously. The abomination laughed.
"I'm here for you," the abomination said amusedly, ignoring the second question. I looked at her with contempt.
"I have nothing to give you, turn around and walk away." I said contemptuously.
"Oh. On the contrary." The abomination laughed as it sank to the ground. "You know, I had no idea why Fortune made me leave the dungeon. Normally, I would just ignore it, but even after several attempts, Fortune kept pushing me to the surface and brought me here. But when I saw you, I understood." The abomination began.
"Fortune?" I muttered, frowning. Was there a god of fortune involved? A god of luck? Destination? A skill that gave her some sense of Fortune? There were too many options.
"Yes, Fortuna," the abomination said distractedly. "These past few days have been quite enjoyable, killing thousands of monsters, but you know… I've always wondered what it would be like to drink the blood of a god." The abomination's mouth opened wide, revealing a long row of sharp teeth.
I could feel the abomination's bloodlust gushing out as it tried to pressure me. I glared at it, giving me no privacy. How dare it! That mortal!
"Back off, abomination, or you'll regret it." I growled furiously as I glared at her. The abomination laughed mockingly.
"How so? You're alone, having escaped from your guards and your children; no one knows where you are, and you've even managed to defeat the guards inside this place. We're alone, and you, you have your Arcanum sealed. Thank you for placing yourself in such a defenseless position. Goddess. You'll make a fine meal." The abomination sneered as its tongue licked across its sharp teeth. I flinched slightly and took a step back.
I gritted my teeth, my Arcanum straining to be released. The abomination took a step forward as its presence grew ever stronger.
My ability, Discerning Eye, allowed me to see the emotions and mental state of souls as well as their color and brightness, and somehow, the abomination was taking advantage of that.
Just like the first time, I could feel it, hear them, the screams of the souls trapped inside her body, slowly crawling through the rot of her soul until they reached me.
I looked down, and I could see how dozens of decrepit hands were grabbing my legs and trying to pull me up I could see how skeletons and corpses began to emerge around me, how they were trying to make me become part of them, to make me become a soul trapped inside the body of the abomination.
I tried to take a step back and move away, but more souls seemed to emerge from the pool of rot and cling to my arm and torso, rooting me to the spot, unable to flee. I gulped audibly as my hair stood on end.
I tried to use my charm on them, but like the abomination, my charm did not affect them. Each soul I grasped seemed unique, each with its own brightness and color, but all were firmly under the abomination's control.
I glared at the abomination without flinching, but that only seemed to cause laughter.
"You are an abomination, your soul is a rotten thing, the most disgusting thing I've ever seen." I spat in its direction. That seemed to freeze the abomination, and I almost wanted to sigh in relief when I heard it cackle.
"I guess it takes one to know the other," the abomination said happily, and I froze slightly.
"What?" I asked stupidly. What did she mean? Is it necessary to recognize the other? One that? Look at the abomination that smiled broadly.
"A disgusting soul," the abomination said gleefully. All the air in my lungs escaped without permission, and I felt as if my body was reeling and the world was spinning out of control.
"I'm not disgusting!" I suddenly squealed as I began to breathe heavily.
"Oh… but you are. You're not the only one with the ability to see souls, Goddess, and yours… is just like mine." The Abomination laughed happily. No, no, no. Impossible!
"Don't lie!" I hissed violently as I shook violently under the grasp of the abomination's souls. The abomination smirked at me.
"I don't lie... I can't lie in front of a god. You're disgusting." The abomination said slowly, still with her maniacal smile plastered on her face, and I shuddered violently at her words.
"You are disgusting! An abomination! A demon! " I snapped.
"I am, I don't deny it!" the abomination chirped, stretching out both arms as if embracing its monstrous, abominable side. "But you're not far behind." The abomination mocked. No! She's lying, she's lying in some way!
"Now… let's see what the blood of a god tastes like… your soul will make a fine collection alongside the rest of them, all equally disgusting." The Abomination laughed as she took another step forward. I shuddered considerably as I tried to take a step back, but to no avail.
"Hey! The next event is- what the hell is going on here?! " said a third voice as the door was forcefully opened.
"Ah... such a pity." The abomination grumbled, laughing. It took two long strides in my direction, grabbing my wrist, the abomination's claw made a small cut on the inside of my wrist. I felt a stab of pain.
The abomination stepped away and licked my blood off her finger as she grinned widely.
"See you later, goddess. I hope the next time we meet, I can enjoy more of your blood," the abomination said before disappearing in a burst of mist. And along with them, the souls imprisoning me vanished as if they had never been there.
I could feel my heart beating fast before the adventurer's voice caught my attention. I gritted my teeth, grabbed the cloak I had taken from me minutes before, quickly put it on, pressed my wound, and promptly left the place.
I don't know how, but somehow I made it to the top of Babel and was finally able to breathe again. The wound on my wrist had stopped bleeding and had been cleaned with my cloak, hidden from view.
"Goddess?" Ottar asked as he saw me quickly approaching.
"Ottar." I said simply with a slight nod.
"I guess everything went well," Ottar said simply with the same apathy.
"Huh? What thing? " I asked distractedly as I approached the window.
"Your errands. It seems something cheered you up. You're smiling, my goddess." Ottar said neutrally, though there was a hint of gentleness in his voice. I froze and brought my fingers up to my face. Just as Ottar had said, I had a massive smile on my face.
Huh? Why was I smiling? I... shouldn't be smiling. No... I should be planning the death of that abomination. That abomination that... called me disgusting...
When... when was the last time someone called me disgusting? Was this the first time?
…
…
Ah… I forgot about Bell.
Author's Note: Nothing will happen to Freya! I just wanted to clarify that. Honestly, I don't even know how the last part of this chapter ended.
The idea was to show Bella joking around with the receptionists on staff in the previous chapter, and then this chapter shows Freya's vision of Bella, possibly causing her some trauma.
But only the first part was planned; the last, for some reason, wrote itself, so here I am.
A/N: If you liked the story, join my patreon, patreon.com/Camellya_Addams, there are up to 10 chapters in advance, thank you. Or you can also visit my Ko-Fi, ko-fi.com/camellya_addams.
Author's Notes: I almost forgot! I had such a busy day today that I forgot to add some special Author's Notes while I was editing the chapters!
Officially, all of Serena's old chapters are now fully edited and proofread! Hooray! A big shout-out to Scott Fellman for all his hard work and the time he dedicated to proofreading my writing!!