Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Serena's POV - Day 26 since Bella joined Miach
"Have you gotten used to Balmung?" I asked Ais as I looked at her. I had decided to take Ais to the outskirts of Orario so we could train in the use of the Noble Phantasm. Ais just nodded as she moved Balmung quickly.
"...yes...it's a powerful weapon." Ais said, sounding almost excited, and I nodded.
"Did you try to activate it?" I asked curiously. Ais shuddered.
"Riveria wouldn't let me," Ais said with a slight tremor. I laughed softly and nodded.
"Alright, let's see what she's capable of." I said playfully, grabbing Aria and tearing her off my body, leaving me in just a bra and shorts, then throwing Aria into the air as she transformed into a cape.
" Baldaquin Arachne," I said aloud. Aria flew into the sky as it began to spin before growing enormously large, enough to cover an entire city. The sky darkened as Aria began to cover us like a great canopy, or a giant dome.
It was pitch dark before Aria turned invisible, and the sunlight finally reached us once more. I looked at Ais, who had a confused expression.
"Now we can make all the mess we want, we're completely invisible, no one in Orario or the surrounding area will see anything while we're inside the canopy, so don't worry about the destruction caused by Balmung." Ais blinked and nodded before her eyes glowed brightly.
Ais grabbed Balmung with both hands as the sword pointed towards the sky. Balmung began to emanate a large amount of magic as it partially activated.
"The evil dragon shall fall,
And the world will reach its sunset.
I will bring you down--
Balmung!
Ais pronounced Balmung's true name with determination. The magic multiplied, creating a massive pillar of light. She lifted Balmung above her head before bringing it down forcefully. Balmung seemed to split the air as she descended before crashing to the ground. The earth itself split, crumbled, and exploded as it began to melt due to Balmung's immense power.
I remained still as I felt Balmung's explosion hit nearby. Despite its force, it was definitely a much weaker explosion than I was capable of creating with Balmung itself; still, that amount of force was nothing to scoff at.
It was the force of several of Riveria's attacks at their maximum.
Aria didn't even flinch through all the destruction; she remained above us, covering us with her invisibility.
Once the explosion ended, I heard a thud and saw Ais hit the ground, collapsing completely exhausted. The sweat on her face, the fatigue, and the slight pallor were the normal symptoms of a Mind Down; she had run out of mana.
That… was strange. I was almost certain that her magic stats were quite high. She… yes, even if they were high, they were high for a normal adventurer. Definitely, it couldn't compare to the amount of magic I had available, or that a servant like Siegfried had available.
I approached Ais; she was still conscious, she hadn't let go of Balmung, even though she was completely exhausted, to the point of fainting. Her eyes shone with intensity as she looked at Balmung.
I knelt beside Ais, took out some mana potions, easily sat her down, and placed the potions in her mouth. Ais didn't even hesitate as she began to drink them. The color in her skin quickly returned as the tension dissipated from her body, and she began to recover as she drank several mana potions.
"Thank you." Ais murmured as she stood up shakily. Her mana reserves should be full once again. My potions were much more effective than normal, something Ais noticed if the look in the empty flasks was any indication. I simply discarded the flasks and looked at Ais.
"As you can see, even that explosion left you completely exhausted. It's not something you can use often, and it's definitely a last resort." I said simply. Ais nodded, frowning.
"Would using Twice Critical help?" Ais asked simply, and I hummed.
"It should be, if you don't push Balmung even further. That attack you just made isn't Balmung's full power by a long shot." I told her honestly, and Ais's eyes widened slightly in surprise. I chuckled. "Don't be surprised, it would show you what Balmung is capable of, but I'm afraid it would destroy far more than Aria can cover for us." I said playfully.
"More Twice Critical?" Ais finally asked. I snorted amusedly.
"Even if you keep doubling your power, you'll always have a limit." I shook my head playfully, humming softly. "There's... another way." I hummed. My eyes darted to the air, specifically the dense mana in the atmosphere. "Balmung has a way of absorbing and storing magic from the environment. It would take time, but it should prevent you from suffering a backlash. The jewel will carry most of the necessary energy." I said simply.
"How do I do it?" Ais asked immediately. I just pointed to Balmung, specifically to the jewel on its hilt.
"Just twist the hilt in opposite directions with both hands, and say '—O sword, let thee be filled '" I said simply. Ais got ready, placed both hands back on the hilt, with the sword pointing to the sky, took a deep breath, and twisted the hilt; the jewel in the center was released and began to glow brightly.
"—O sword, Let thee be filled," Ais said firmly. I could see how all the magic was quickly absorbed by the sword with extreme ease. My eyes shone with excitement.
Balmung was possibly the only Noble Phantasm capable of storing True Ether. Ether, the artificial magical energy that forms the basis of modern Nasuverse sorcery, was weak, of poor quality, amorphous, and much more. Still, it was nonetheless the energy upon which modern sorcery was based.
In contrast, True Ether, the magical energy that existed during the Age of the Gods, permeated the earth in ancient times. It was of a much higher quality; it was even inherently different, much better, after all, the gods, the planets, and even nature itself were formed from True Ether.
But like everything else from the Age of Gods in the Nasuverse, it vanished. But here? Here, the Age of Gods never ended. The gods hovered around humans; they were present, and with them, the equivalent of this world's True Ether was available for use, and Balmung took advantage of it.
"Balmung!!" The attack Ais launched was much stronger than the previous one, almost twice as strong. Even without the full Chant, it still wasn't at its full power, but she was on the right track. I looked at Ais, who still stood with a smile. She seemed exhausted as she caught her breath, but she was still able to move.
"Well done, you'll learn to control it, to control the magic output of the sword so you don't use the maximum every time. You just saw how powerful it is, so be careful with its use, and as I mentioned before, its effects will multiply when launched against a dragon or something with dragon blood." I said easily as I approached Ais, giving her a couple of recovery potions, which she immediately took while nodding.
"Thank you." Ais said, and I just nodded.
"Don't worry," I said simply. "Now let's continue. The medallions that store and enhance attributes won't help you improve Balmung. You'll have to use Twice Critical; it's the only way to increase your magic power, or be under Haruhime's Uchide no Kozuki." I started talking to Ais, and she just nodded, listening attentively.
It turns out that Haruhime and Aisha ended up joining the Loki Familia. However, at first, they insisted on joining the Miach Familia, especially Haruhime, when she found out about my relationship with Bella. Luckily, I was able to change her mind, with Riveria's help, or rather, my relationship with her.
I really hoped this was just a puppy crush that would pass quickly. Haruhime was cute and even adorable, but I already had enough with Freya suddenly joining this whole mess; I didn't need another person.
There was also a change in power within the city, with the dissolution of the Freya Familia and its members joining different families; several families suddenly grew in power.
And the main beneficiary was Freya; all the executives reluctantly joined the Loki Familia as affiliates. They did so to retain their falnas, but they weren't part of the main Familia; they had formed their own group, one that still resided in Folkvangr.
After a long talk with Freya, Loki understood and let them do as they pleased. They were part of the Loki Familia, but they definitely didn't worship her as their goddess; they still considered Freya their goddess, and Loki readily accepted this.
However, there was one problem. While all the changes and transfers of their children were successful, two refused to accept a Falna from another person: Ottar and Horn.
And I could understand them. All of Freya's executives had their own stories, stories where Freya welcomed them, cared for them, protected them, and gave them a home. They weren't just loyal and devoted to Freya because of her beauty; there were real reasons for it.
But for Ottar and Horn, it was much deeper. Ottar was abandoned as a child without even knowing his name; it was Freya who found him dying, who cared for him, who took him in, and who gave him a name. Freya was everything to Ottar.
Horn, the original Syr, was a dying orphan as a child, considering herself dirty and empty. Freya found her and granted her wish, 'to be like Freya,' thus bestowing upon her her magic. Vena Seith, Horn's magic, allowed her to transform into Freya in a way realistic enough to confuse other gods.
But most importantly, Horn experiences Freya's thoughts and emotions, so Horn's entire being is linked to Freya to some extent.
That they both refused to erase Freya's Falna, or even accept another one, was entirely expected. I hummed softly. I had brought Lucius and Narcissa simply because they were my friends, the only friends I truly had; they were my Familia, and I didn't regret it in the slightest.
It didn't bother me, and I wasn't against adding more people outside of the... the harem I was forming. I grimaced; I never really expected to have a harem, but it was the only word I could think of to describe my situation. Well, the current meaning of the word.
A harem was typically a domestic space reserved for the women of a Muslim Family, and not all of them had to be wives; it could also include unmarried daughters, domestic servants, other unmarried relatives, and more. The modern representation, however, often depicts a single person surrounded by romantic and sexual partners.
But putting aside my mental babble.
I didn't really object to it. Freya having a servant like Horn would be normal, and I almost expected it, even though Freya said she was willing to change and move on. I really couldn't see her preparing everyday things for herself.
They didn't even have to join or fully learn about The Company; taking them to the underworld and giving them vague ideas of different worlds would be more than enough.
Even Ottar could follow her without needing to join, but for some reason, I was sure that Ottar would do wonders with the template of someone like Kratos, or someone similar.
But those thoughts were for later, right now…
"Very well, Ais, that's enough," I told Ais after the next Balmung. She nodded, completely exhausted, as she collapsed to the ground. I chuckled, waved my hand, and let my magic flow. With a single thought, the entire area returned to its former state, without any craters, molten earth, or destruction. It was now a plain filled with green grass once more. "Rest, Ais. Now I have people to entertain," I said simply.
A circle appeared near us, and the next group I was waiting for appeared. Led by Riveria, who had mastered teleportation in just a few minutes, were Freya's executives and Freya herself.
"My Odr, thank you for accepting the request of my troublesome children." Freya said as she approached me, stopping to look at me without even trying to hide it, her gaze traveled down my body and back up before she smiled broadly. I rolled my eyes, but did nothing to stop her.
"No problem, you know my motivation for accepting," I said simply, nodding. Then I looked at the old Freya Familia: Ottar, Allen, Hogni, Hedin, the Gulliver brothers, and also Horn and Heith.
"So you're that devil, huh? You don't look much like one." Allen sneered as he stepped forward. I raised an eyebrow and just nodded. I gestured to Freya to back away, which she did without a word. I could see Riveria helping Ais move closer to Freya.
"Freya told me not to hold back too much." I said easily before staring at them, letting my demonic power explode as wings sprouted from my back. Ten pairs of demonic wings and an overwhelming amount of demonic power that pressured all the executives enough to make them stagger.
I left Heith and Horn aside, in fact, I magically pushed them behind Freya, leaving only the fighters in front of us.
"I haven't formally introduced myself to you. I am the high-class devil, the Succubus Serena Eilen Prince, Baroness of the Underworld, King of Pentagram City. It's a pleasure to meet you." I introduced myself with all my authority emanating from me, while staring intently at them.
I could see everyone in the Freya Familia trembling slightly, until Ottar was the first to straighten up and look at me with all the determination he could muster; his eyes did not waver as he stared at me.
" I am Ottar, the King! Captain of the Freya Familia! " Ottar shouted, introducing himself. This made the rest of the Freya Familia shudder, and they slowly straightened up with the same look on their faces.
"I am Allen Fromel, Vana Freya! Vice-captain of the Freya Familia! " Allen shouted, standing next to Ottar and glaring at me.
"I am Hedin Selland, Hildrsleif! Executive of the Freya Familia! "
"I am Hogni Ragnar, Dainsleif! Executive of the Freya Familia! "
"I am Alfrigg Gulliver, Bringar! Executive of the Freya Familia! "
"I am Dvalinn Gulliver, Bringar! Executive of the Freya Familia! "
"I am Berling Gulliver, Bringar! Executive of the Freya Familia! "
"I am Grer Gulliver, Bringar! Executive of the Freya Familia! "
They all roared as they straightened up and stared at me without hesitating or taking a single step back. I smiled broadly at the Freya Familia's obvious challenge. I could see Freya smiling proudly at her children.
"Very well, Freya Familia, let's see what you're capable of, make your goddess proud." I told them with a sadistic smile before the fight began.