Somewhere around three years ago...
A twelve year old Judas could be seen flying through the sky above a certain forest, engaging a group of harpies in battle.
At that time, he had just reached the 4th tier and wanted to test out his new strength.
Knowing there was a harpy nesting ground in the area, Judas had set himself up to clear them out.
He glanced left and right. Several harpies flanked him on both sides, hissing.
They beat their wings and launched a volley of feathered projectiles in his direction.
Judas snapped his fingers.
A circular barrier materialized instantly, blocking the attack without so much as a scratch appearing on its surface.
Seeing this, he wasn't surprised. As a 4th tier mage, Judas already knew he had surpassed nearly every first-class adventurer in this world.
With his strength hovering around Level 7, it would be a disgrace if surface monsters could even pose a threat to him.
『Infernal Barrage』
Unsurprisingly, the harpies perished without much fanfare.
"There's still one more."
Judas sensed a harpy lurking nearby, peeking out from behind a tree.
The moment he turned his head and their eyes met, the harpy flinched and immediately bolted in the opposite direction.
"..."
Judas blinked once, then gave chase at a leisurely pace, even stifling a yawn along the way.
When the harpy glanced back and found no one behind it, it let out a visible sigh of relief.
"I'm up here, idiot."
A flat voice came from directly above.
The harpy looked up to find Judas floating right over its head.
One mana-reinforced punch was all it took.
The harpy was sent crashing down toward the ground... or rather, into water.
Instead of a heavy impact, a loud splash echoed out as its body plunged into a lake.
The water surged upward, splashing directly into Judas' face, though he made no effort to block it.
"A lake?"
Judas hovered just inches above the water when...
"Kyaaa!"
A chorus of girlish screams rang out nearby.
He turned instinctively and found a group of women bathing... none of them clothed.
Every head turned toward him at once, expressions ranging from confused to wary to embarrassment to outright hostile.
"Pervert!"
An arrow came flying at him.
He caught it without looking.
When he tracked it back to the source, his eyes widened slightly.
A blue-haired goddess.
"Isn't that... Artemis?"
He muttered absentmindedly, his gaze sweeping briefly across the scene before him.
'Which means... this is the Artemis Familia?'
Another arrow came flying...this time aimed straight at his groin.
He had no intention of becoming a eunuch that day.
He kicked the arrow away without question.
"How dare you peek at us and then have the nerve to stop my arrows... you will face punishment."
The goddess of the hunt said in a voice that left no room for negotiation.
'Ah shit... really? Doesn't this kind of thing only happen to harem protagonists?'
Judas thought, his expression completely deadpan.
That day, Judas found himself being hunted across the forest by a furious Artemis and her entire familia.
Back to the present...
Remembering his first encounter with the blue-haired goddess and her faction, Judas couldn't help but sigh.
'Still... it worked out alright, I think.'
He rubbed the back of his head as Artemis continued to stare at him.
"Goddess, is something the matter?"
The captain of the Artemis Familia, a woman named Rethusa, asked with a puzzled look, glancing between her goddess and wherever she was looking.
But Judas had already turned away, quickening his pace and covering part of his face with his hand.
Then he froze mid-step, remembering Artemis and her familia's disastrous fate...
Slaughtered and left powerless against a monster capable of killing a god. Antares.
'I can't leave them to die... can I?'
Judas let out a quiet sigh and turned back, walking toward them.
"I thought you were going to run."
Artemis said, watching him approach with calm, steady eyes.
"Lady Artemis. Good to see you."
He turned to the women gathered around her.
"Everyone... it's been roughly three years."
"Ah, it IS Judas Spade! I knew it! I kept telling everyone that the super rookie making waves in Orario had to be him!"
The half-elf named Lante exclaimed, jabbing her finger in his direction.
"Still the same as ever, Lante. Though you've grown a little since then."
Judas said, shifting his gaze to her.
"Heh! I could say the same about you... you're taller than the captain now!"
Lante stood on her tiptoes and suddenly got close enough to place her hand on top of his head.
Then she registered how close she was.
Felt his breath against her skin.
Her face went red immediately and she stepped back.
"Ahem... Lante, please refrain from unnecessary physical contact with men... even those we are acquainted with."
Rethusa said with a composed expression before turning her gaze to Judas, looking him over.
"Good to see you doing well… I hope you're not still going around peeking at naked women."
"Come on… I told you that was an accident."
Judas replied, rubbing the back of his head.
"Heh... lucky for you our Goddess can tell when someone is lying. Otherwise we'd have continued to hunt you down."
The rest of the Artemis Familia giggled softly at that.
"Saying something that scary with a completely straight face..."
Judas muttered, shaking his head.
"What brings you all to Orario?"
Artemis was the one to answer.
"Supplies and things that can only be found here. We usually make a trip to the city once a year or so."
Their conversation carried on for a few more minutes.
When Rethusa and the others eventually excused themselves, Artemis remained behind, turning her eyes back to Judas.
"Is there something you want to say? You've looked like you've had something urgent on your mind for a while now."
She said, studying him with quiet precision.
Judas blinked.
'As expected of a goddess... her intuition is sharp.'
He took a slow breath and opened his mouth.
"You are going to die."
...
The sound of iron gates opening rang out.
"Sir Judas, welcome back!"
The guard at the entrance snapped to attention with a salute.
Judas acknowledged him with a nod and walked through.
Hands in his pockets, his mind drifted back to the exchange with Artemis.
"You are going to die."
The words came out bluntly.
"Not just you. Your familia as well."
"I see."
Artemis had closed her eyes and answered softly, without so much as a tremor in her voice.
Judas had been caught off guard by how calm she was.
"Don't tell me... you already knew?"
She exhaled slowly.
"Not exactly knowing... more like a faint premonition. As if fate itself had already decided our end."
"But thanks to you… I can now confirm that feeling."
She had added, lifting her eyes to the moon hanging in the sky above them.
"I suppose I should tell you to avoid anything too dangerous."
Judas said. Artemis turned back to look at him.
"We are hunters. We spend most of our lives in forests filled with monsters."
"Everything we do carries risk… just like it is with adventurers whenever they go to the dungeon."
She stepped past him.
"But don't worry. I will heed your warning. I don't want my children to be eradicated… even if fate decrees it."
She had said before stepping past him.
"Judas Spade... I hope we can meet again."
She raised a hand in a quiet farewell as she walked away.
Judas watched her go, eyes closing briefly.
'Fate, huh.'
'I still have a bad feeling about this.'
He raised a finger and cast a spell quietly.
『Shadow Bird』
A small mass of darkness formed at his fingertip before taking the shape of a bird.
It spread its wings and lifted off in silence, trailing after Artemis' retreating figure.
...
The next day arrived and Judas found himself on top of the city walls, training against Alfia.
"Ark!"
"Urgh!"
"Tsk!"
It wasn't just him. Ais, Tiona, Tione and Bete had all joined in, along with Belle, who had just recently leveled up.
"Since you lot have an expedition coming up, I've taken it upon myself to put you through some last minute training. Be grateful."
Alfia said as she drove a punch straight into Judas' gut... a hit that would have sent him clean over the wall if Ais hadn't caught him in time.
Since he couldn't use strengthening magic, Judas relied purely on his raw stats.
'Even so... does Judas have EX-rank stats as well? At Level 3, he hits like a pseudo Level 5... somewhere between high-grade Level 4 and low-grade Level 5.'
Alfia thought as she assessed him.
It hadn't escaped her notice that almost every one of them had improved considerably since the last time she had put them through this.
Ais moved and struck faster than before, a marked step up even from her Level 5 self.
Bete was Bete... still charging in with more pride than patience, though with the added confidence of someone who had recently hit Level 6.
Though the Amazon Twins had not ranked up unlike the others, they moved with more desperation than anyone.
Their eagerness to grow stronger and not be left behind by their peers drove them forward.
And then there was Belle.
Fresh off a level up, the girl was practically vibrating with energy, fighting with the barely contained enthusiasm of someone who had just discovered exactly what their body was capable of and hadn't yet found the ceiling.
However, there was a problem....
'Was it a mistake to bring them all here at the same time?'
Alfia thought as a bead of sweat traced its way down her face... though she would throw herself off the wall than than admit it out loud.
She was starting to get pressured by them.
Four of them came at her at once.
She redirected Tiona's giant sword with her forearm, slipped inside Bete's kick and used his own momentum to send him stumbling into Tione, then pivoted just in time to catch Ais' blade between two fingers.
But the others quickly got back up and continued their relentless assault, determined to bring her down.
'Most of them have leveled up since I last saw them. They've all gotten considerably stronger.'
Soon, the numbers game began to catch up to her as small scratches appeared across her skin and clothes.
'I am actually getting pushed back.'
'If this keeps up, they might actually beat me.'
The corner of her mouth curved upward slightly.
'Before I knew it... these brats had reached a level where I can no longer take it easy.'
The air around her shifted.
'I guess I should start taking this seriously then.'
Everyone immediately felt it.
Tiona's grin faltered for half a second.
Bete's eyes sharpened.
Even Ais took an instinctive half-step back
"Finally, she's starting to get serious, huh?"
Judas muttered, his expression tightening.
"About time."
Tione said, driving her fist into her palm.
Instead of showing any signs of backing away, everyone braced themselves.
Even Belle looked more determined than ever.
Despite being the weakest one present, she didn't feel out of place among them.
"Good spirit."
Alfia said as she raised her hand and cracked her knuckles once.
For the next several minutes, the top of the city walls became something that anyone nearby would later describe as sounding very much like a natural disaster.
When the training finally ended, everyone was either knocked out or left sprawled across the ground, breathing heavily and covered in injuries.
"Damn it… she is so tough."
Tione cursed between ragged breaths.
She forced her head up and found Alfia still standing, the only one among them who hadn't gone down, her back to the rest of them.
'What a monster.'
Even with everything they had thrown at her combined, they hadn't been able to bring her down.
But that didn't mean she came out unscathed.
'I couldn't even knock all of them out.'
Alfia thought as she quietly nursed her aching ribs, doing her best not to let it show.
'I am never bringing them all together again.'
She pressed a handkerchief to her face and wiped the sweat away.
This was the first time in a long while that she had put in this much effort.
Though, if she were in her prime, it would be a different story.
---
+15 chapters at patreon.com/drdedot