Same height, same face. The people standing behind the man all looked eerily like Toki. There were thirteen of them. No, if you include the one who just fought Asfi, that makes fourteen.
When Asfi said the person she was fighting wasn't Toki, I quietly wondered if they might be twins. But this was way too similar...!
Even Tione and Tiona, who are twins, have slight differences if you look closely, differences in the positioning and size of their facial features.
But these fourteen in front of us? Not even close to that level. Their hair color, eye size, nose placement, and every other detail matched perfectly.
This wasn't a case of twins or mere resemblance.
Asfi seemed to think the same thing, her eyes wide open. Everyone else was so stunned no one could make a sound.
"...Artificial lifeforms. Homunculi."
The silence was broken by Riveria-sama.
"You know about them!?"
"...They're humans artificially created through a combination of various materials and magic. I've seen a few when I was still in the village."
Riveria's expression was grave. She seemed unwilling to accept what she was seeing.
"And due to an incident caused by a certain elf, their creation was forbidden."
"What incident?"
"...Regicide."
Regicide. An elf would hardly consider such an act. They are taught never to forget respect for noble beings. Even without that, the aura that surrounds royalty commands reverence.
"Luckily, the incident was thwarted before it happened, and the mastermind is said to have committed suicide before execution."
"Do you really believe they were so easily fooled by such a poor disguise? Or did they look the other way, not wanting to leave the village?"
The figure at the center of the fake Tokis, still hooded, spoke in agreement with Riveria-sama.
"Calling them artificial homunculi is half right. These children are creations made by applying that technology. I call them clones."
Clones. So that was what those Tokis really were. I felt a bit relieved knowing they weren't the real thing.
"That voice... I thought I recognized it somewhere. You're still alive, Svartá Deck Alfe!!"
I gasped.
The man pulled back his hood slowly, revealing his face.
Golden hair, well-defined features, and above all, the instinct of an elf screamed 'royal high elf'.
"Long time no see, Rive."
"Don't call me that!!"
Riveria-sama glared at Svartá, who spoke to her so familiarly. The contrast to her usual demeanor confused me.
"So cold~ We were even engaged at one point."
"Shut up!! That was a contract you forced on me to kill me, wasn't it!?"
"So the 'royal elf who nearly got killed' is, "
"Riveria, you mean?"
At the whispered question from Tiona and Ais, Riveria-sama fell silent.
"Heh heh heh, we'll talk about that some other time. Today, I'm here for your young ladies."
Svartá shifted his gaze from Riveria to Asfi and me. We instinctively braced ourselves.
"Don't be afraid. I'm only here to talk."
"Talk?"
"About what kind of existence that child, Toki, is."
What kind of existence is Toki?
"Do you know about the 'Rebel Spirits'?"
By 'spirits', they probably meant those spirits, divine avatars and magical beings above even elves, a sacred race commanding 'magic' and 'miracles'.
"The 'Rebel Spirits' are the spirits who killed the gods before the age known as 'Ancient'."
Svartá twisted his face into a pleased grin.
"The exact circumstances are still debated, but it seems true that the spirits killed their divine masters."
Before the 'Ancient' age means before the gods descended to the mortal realm. So these spirits somehow reached the heavens and killed at least one god?
"You're saying that 'Rebel Spirit' is Toki?"
"No, no, that child is fully human... but he inherited the power of those spirits."
...I wasn't surprised.
"There is a theory that after killing the gods, the 'Rebel Spirits' bestowed their power on certain humans. That child likely inherited a strong portion of that power."
Svartá's smile grew deeper.
"When I found him, I was truly overjoyed! An existence I thought was just a fairy tale was right before me!"
He was intoxicated with delight.
"I raised him as an assassin. He grew into a truly excellent child. Starting from age five, in the three years before he left my care, he killed 73 people."
He chuckled darkly.
"That's all for my story. What do you think? If you want, I can tell you exactly what kind of people he assassinated."
"No, thank you."
Finally, the story was over.
"I see... so that's what he was doing before meeting us. He was always stubborn about talking about it, so I'm glad we learned the truth."
Asfi said, glaring at Svartá.
"So? What exactly did you want to say? You're not suggesting we cast Toki out after hearing this?"
"Huh!?"
Svartá sounded surprised. Apparently, he really thought that was the plan.
"If that were the case, what a joke. 'Rebel Spirit'? Former assassin? Do you know where this is? The 'Heart of the World, Orario'. Don't treat it like anywhere else."
Orario hosts all kinds of people. A former assassin who inherited the power of a 'Rebel Spirit' might be rare, but that's no reason to reject him.
"But what about your patron god...?"
"That's a foolish question. The chief god Hermes wouldn't expel him for something like that. On the contrary, he'd be delighted to raise him in his own way."
Asfi answered calmly, showing no sign of panic despite Svartá's increasingly desperate expression. It seemed Svartá had tried to use this story to get Toki kicked out of the Familia… but clearly, he didn't understand the gods' personalities at all.
"So then, what about you?"
Svartá turned to look at me.
"I agree with Asfi. Yes, he may have been an assassin in the past, but that's not who he is now. It's so long ago that I don't hate him for it."
I said this with a smile laced with sarcasm. Sure, he was probably a royal high elf, but I wasn't humble enough to respect someone who would try to betray Toki or Riveria-sama.
Svartá's face twisted further in frustration before he let out a deep breath and forced a smile once more.
"Looks like I've failed… …In that case, a change of plans."
With a snap of his fingers, all the fake Tokis immediately drew their daggers and extended shadowy tentacles.
"Clones are made using human blood during their creation process. These children were made with Toki's blood, born with his power, and can therefore use his abilities."
Each tentacle numbered only one or two, some had up to four, but fourteen of them made for a serious threat. And here inside, magic attacks were restricted.
"Nine Demon Princess Nine Hell, how many can you hold off?"
"Four at best. Ais, Tiona, what about you?"
"With swords, I can handle five."
"I don't care how many."
"No, if what he says is true, Great Severing Amazon is the worst match. Maybe two or three at most."
From the earlier battle, it was clear the opponents were on par with Asfi in combat skill. Taking that into account,
"There just aren't enough of us to cover everyone."
"Besides, you Loki Familia don't have weapons. If we try to face those things now, we're at a severe disadvantage."
'What level was Perseus again?'
'Wasn't he level 2?'
"No, level 4."
Asfi interrupted the hushed conversation behind us. She must have thought that hiding this fact would only make things worse later.
'Level 4!?'
'But officially...'
'Idiot, of course it was hidden. Figure it out from what's going on now.'
"Is it about time?"
Svartá, who had been silently watching us, announced the end of the planning phase.
"Lulune, once combat starts, hurry and gather people and weapons."
"B-But, "
"You won't be able to hold even one of those. Use your legs instead."
Tension rose like a drawn bowstring. And then,
CRASH!
The window shattered, and something was thrown into the room from outside.
Everyone's eyes snapped toward it. It was... Toki. His clothes were torn to shreds, blood staining him in several places.
I forgot about the enemies in front of me and rushed to him. Along the way, something brushed past me. Four times.
"Huh?"
Someone muttered, whether it was me or someone else, I couldn't tell. Because,
Several of the fake Tokis were blown away simultaneously.
"Wha–!?"
Svartá shouted in surprise. Turning around, he saw four adventurers attacking the fake Tokis.
The fake Tokis tried to work together, swinging their daggers to take down the adventurers, but their opponents were even more skilled. Looking closer, they were all members of the diminutive Pallum race.
"The Four Warriors of Burning Gold Bringar...!? Why!?"
Asfi shouted in shock.
The Four Warriors of Burning Gold Bringar belonged to the Freya Familia and were first-class adventurers. They were rare in that four of them shared one title.
One by one, they defeated the fake Tokis. Seeing this, Svartá reached into his cloak and slammed something onto the floor.
Immediately, thick smoke engulfed the room.
By the time smoke began to billow out the window, Svartá and his group had already vanished.
The Four Warriors of Burning Gold Bringar confirmed this and silently prepared to leave through the window.
"Wait!"
Asfi called after their backs. Before she could say anything, they spoke in unison.
"We brought this one here under the guidance of that god's will."
"But we owe him no further allegiance."
"Indeed, we delivered him."
"We are pursuing him."
With that, they left for good.
"...For now, let's carry Toki to a room. Ludger, please help."
Asfi, having regained her composure, began issuing orders one after another.
"Lulune, just in case, bring the 'Status Thief Unlocking Potion'... Oh, and also prepare the Meryl chains."
The 'Status Thief Unlocking Potion' was an item used to reveal someone's stats. They would probably use it to confirm if he was really Toki.
"Okay... but why the Meryl chains?"
"Obviously, to restrain the bad kid who acts out."
𓂀═════════════𓂀
Note: In Norse mythology, Svartálfar means Black Elf, and Dökkálfar means Dark Elf. But since it's unclear what kind of species Dark Elves are in DanMachi, to connect with Riveria, I had no choice but to depict the teacher as a normal elf.
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