After the new level 7s left the room, Ardee stood up from the bed with a slight stumble… She'd need to readjust to her suddenly lower body weight, along with the part of her heart in a perpetual state of sorrow. Hathor moved to catch her, clearly still worried about her.
"Careful Ardee."
"I'm fine now, mother. I'll stand…" She said, then began chanting her spell, casting it on herself. It doesn't just heal wounds, it grants the target a little extra strength. Until he gets here, I'll need this. "I'll be alright. I'm a level 5, I shouldn't be holed up like this."
Ardee took her sword filled sheath, reconnecting it to her waist, and forced a smile… The smile didn't last long…
"Ardee, no one would blame you for taking some more time to-"
"No, I want to help, now. I need this."
"No, I won't let you."
"I'm going anyway, there's already people without any power, standing up to help out." Ardee said, knowing full well her thoughts were written all over her face.
"You're determined then?"
"Yes."
"Then promise me this: Don't go looking for Vito, but if you do, carry out my will and kill him."
With a much brighter expression, as if a weight had been lifted off her slender, yet strong shoulders, she smiled her typical bright smile.
"I promise that I won't go looking-"
Alise entered the room, interrupting what Ardee was about to say. She had been waiting outside, wondering what to say when she came inside. Now that she was there, she froze for a moment. Her friend was standing, and wearing her signature smile, though it was bright, there was still a tinge of pain behind it. One only a close friend could ever notice.
"Lady Hathor, I'm going to kill Vito."
"And how do you plan on doing that right now?"
"I don't know, but I can't just leave things be. If we had arrived, or been there from the start, we could have managed a different result."
"Child, you are not the one to blame. I am not worried about your abilities, among level 5s, you're one of the best, nearly as good as any of my own children. You would thoroughly trounce Vito."
"Then why do you want to bar us from going?" Neze, also outside the door asked, with a particular fury in her tone. She wanted to hunt Vito down, with a burning rage boiling from deep within her soul.
"Because you are not strong enough to handle what's next to him. It will be difficult for my son to deal with. And you all know how strong he is."
"Why?!"
"Because Erebus is using his Arcanum."
"WHAT!?"
"It's enough to make any of our children rendered insignificant to it, at least that's what he thinks." Hathor said with a hopeful smile. "Shurry will come back, he'll become level 9, and with his new purpose… He may be the first to truly earn a title that'll have us gods bickering back and forth for days."
"Can he really defeat a god?"
"Pfft, definitely not." Hathor giggled. "That's a level of power I'm uncertain he'll achieve. Erebus is still nothing close to what he was capable of in Tenkai."
"So there's hope, even if only slim?" One of the two ladies who'd still not left asked, trying to put on a brave face.
"Slim!? No! It's certain! I can feel it from deep in my breast. Shurry will come back, and show all of us why the moon shines brightest on the darkest nights."
Ardee's words seemed to stir a response from the other women. Several even… as if there was a bond only a woman would ever understand. One so deep, it must be innately understood, to describe it, would only show one's lack of understanding. Gods, with an infinite life span still may never comprehend it.
"Alright, it's time now. I'm going out to help with the battles out there. I won't be stopped, nor dissuaded."
…
Astraea familia now had a temporary additional member, a level 5 healer/magical swordswoman. Wherever they went, the conditions of the lines would be substantially changed. Finn was extremely grateful such a powerful card to play was finally available again.
Even if they were to come across a level 6, or maybe even two of them… It wouldn't be a problem for them, and they're incredibly fast. It doesn't look like they'll be splitting up. Should I have them go down to the dungeon? Or should I send them to the west? The north is a no go, it would look like I can't protect my own territory. Damn are they actually useful? Should I… send them after Erebus? He could get rid of them for me.
"Hey Finn! There's something weird going on in the south east district!"
"What is it? Give me a clear report."
"There's a horde of cultists surrounding an adventurer, but he seems to be fighting them off all on his own."
"Does this person have wolf ears?"
"No, he's human, with white hair and red eyes!"
"How well was he fighting?"
"At least level 4!"
"Hmm, I don't think there are any level 4s in the city with a description like that."
"Something the matter, Finn?" Alise asked in her cheerful voice.
"I need your group to go to the south east and rescue an adventurer, they're surrounded, and you'll have to fight through-"
"Got it, have fun being the bossy lazy bones." She teased and ran off, she and her familia, plus Ardee all jumped to action. Their speed was eerily higher than their levels should allow them.
"Damn, so they also have the training that Hathor familia has. Ugh, enough of that, I need to focus. The lines need reinforcements, observers need resources, and we still need to keep sending high potions and elixirs to the east. That place must be… Nevermind. Just get it done." He grumbled, passing out orders to his people.
"Hey Finn, I'll be right back. I'm going to have goddess to goddess talk." Loki said, waving as she left the table to him to deal with. I doubt there's anything that'll convince them to give us that training method they've been using for so long. But in 8 years, so many more new potential heroes have risen from places I would never have expected. What we got from Zeus, and Hera didn't seem like it would work, even to me.
…