'Tione and Tiona ran along with Lefiya as they tried to catch up to the two suspicious guys that suddenly kidnaped the unconscious Silver.'

/Tremble!/

'As they ran, the street suddenly trembled, likely from whatever was happening between Ais and whoever Silver fought before they arrived.'

'But to their surprise, after a minute of running, they found the two of them kneeling on the ground inside an alley.'

'The two hooded men were now taking a look at Silver, trying to identify his injuries and one of them had even fed him a potion.'

'Just by looking at it, Tione and Tiona realized it was a health potion, Lefiya, on the other hand, could not identify it from the distance she was, her sight was not yet at their level, and perhaps, it never will…'

'In fact, her face was relatively sweaty, not only did she run after Ais together with the others, but she once again ran after Silver, trying to keep up with Tione and Tiona.'

'She couldn't feel her legs anymore…'

"Oi! Stop right there!" Said Tione out loud

'She wasn't as aggressive as before, but she was still suspicious of the two.'

"..."

"..."

'The two hooded men said nothing, but one of them, the one with a sword on his waist, got up and turned his body to face them as he got up.'

"Who are you two?" He asked, one hand on the sheet of his sword

'But Tione didn't give in.'

"Can't I ask the same? Why did you capture him and what is your relation to all of this?" Asked Tione as she grabbed her Kukri knives

"Oh? You know him?" Asked the hooded man

"Does it matter? Answer me first."

'Tione held her knives tightly, normally, she would stay more composed, but since her captain is most likely fighting, she felt the need to return to his side as soon as possible.'

"If it matters? Of course, it does, because…"

'The man removed his hood, revealing his age face.'

"I am his grandfather." Said Saphos

"?!"

"!"

"???"

'Each of the three girls had different reactions to all of this. But they were all stunned.'

"Is it so surprising? Did the kid never share anything about us?" Asked Saphos

'Tiona was about to say something, but her sister interrupted her.'

'She still held her weapons tightly, her suspicion was still up.'

"... Even if you say so, there is no way for us to confirm that, so I ask that you two follow us."

'Saphos smiled…'

"I understand, just give me some time to administer first aid to him."

'Tione and Tiona smiled, but the latter seemed a bit embarrassed.'

"..."

'Lefiya looked at Saphos, and couldn't help but ask:'

"Are you two adventurers?"

"..."

"..."

'Saphos looked at the other hooded man before the two started to laugh, this made Lefiya embarrassed and made her regret her question, wasn't it obvious? They were too old for that!'

(N1)

"Do I look like an adventurer to you? I have long retired, the same thing with that guy over there…"

"I don't know if I can be considered an adventurer since I never went that deep in the Dungeon, I trained mostly on the surface." Said Lington as he removed his hood

'Silver was still unconscious on the ground, most of his superficial wounds were now healed, he looked alright from the perspective of the girls.'

"Can I ask why are you two here?" Said Tione

'Lington grabbed Silver from the ground and said:'

"... It's a long story, but first, I bet you are really concerned about the others right? I noticed in your tone and eyes, we can talk about this later okay?"

"... Okay." She replied

'Tione nodded her head while Lefiya closed her eyes in pain as she would be forced to run again.'

"KYA!" Exclaimed Lefiya as Saphos grabbed her

"I can see you are barely able to move, so let this old man help you a bit…"

/SMACK!/

"Don't be rude you freaking bag of old bones, did you forget Elves don't like that?!" Asked Lington as he slapped Saphos head

"..."

'Saphos averted his eyes, while Lefiya had already lost consciousness due to embarrassment.'

'This made Saphos feel even worse, but Tione came to save the day.'

"Let's just roll with it, she will be fine when she eats something sweet later."

'The group started to run back, unaware of the intense events that were happening back at Ais and the other location…'

…

/A few minutes earlier, when Tione and the others had just left…/

"What a mess, it will be a pain to fix this later." Said Gareth as he noticed the destruction around him

'A few houses had been destroyed during Silver's fight, and not only that, there was now a small ravine that led from the alley to the other side of the street.'

'It was the proof of Silver's strongest combined move against whatever he was fighting.'

"I wonder who the kid was fighting to make him use such a destructive move in the middle of the city."

"That's right, we will have to give him a heads up next time we see him." Said Finn to Gareth

It was indeed a bit much. He was lucky that this time the civilians were evacuated early… Most likely by the Freya Familia… Which is also another problem.

Why is the Freya Familia here in the first place?

'But Finn's thoughts were cut short when the rubble of the shop started to tremble.'

/BANG!/

'Suddenly, a large piece of rock was sent flying, and a man rose from the dust.'

'His clothes were a bit ragged, but there were no visible injuries on his body.'

'It was the first time Finn and the others saw Aetos, and immediately, Finn's thumb started to ache once more.'

"He's strong." Said Gareth with a smile as he raised his battleax, putting it on the ground with a BANG!

"I know." Replied Finn

If Riveria was here, she would definitely be super pissed to see that it was an Elf…

Now… What is the deal with this guy?

/Bang!/

'The rock fell back onto the earth, causing the street to tremble.'

'But despite all odds, the Elf had a carefree expression.'

"Sigh, he got me. I raised my guard but I still undervalued him, I did not expect him to be able to just erase the ground like that…"

He even forced me to use my second spell… But this is the end, he won't be getting up anytime soon.

That's just how it is for my second magic, the Hex of /Sleep/.

'It wasn't normal magic, but a rare hex!'

'His curse placed the target under a deep sleep, so deep that no matter what happened, the target would not get up for 5 minutes. The effect and duration changes depending on the level difference.'

'If the difference was small, or the target had a considerable amount of magic resistance, he would only feel heavy drowsiness, but that is already a lot considering the level of focus you need to have during a fight.'

'But since Silver was just Level 2…'

He did surprise me though... It's a shame he was put to sleep before he did his best.

I'll make up for it one day in the future...

"Hm?... Now, this is what I didn't wish to happen." Whispered Aetos to himself as he noticed Finn, Gareth, and Ais

'He immediately recognized who they were, who wouldn't? A golden-haired Pallum with a spear, a Dwarf with a large ax, and a golden-haired swordswoman, it was clear to him they were from the Loki Familia.'

'He looked around, but did not find Silver nor the item…'

'So he started to lose his patience. He knew the boy couldn't have escaped on his own, so he immediately related this to whoever was watching their fight in secret, they must've brought the boy away.'

"..."

DAMMIT!

I was so close! The item had been completed, and only one step remained!

To break this cursed limit that held me back for so long…

'Noticing the situation had already gone out of his calculations, he decided to leave and tail the boy for the item. It was better than dealing with the Loki Familia.'

'If they were to find out he was the one behind the events of the past, they wouldn't let him go.'

'But Gareth interrupted him, saying:'

"Where do you think you are going? We have some questions."

'Aetos stopped, turning his gaze to the trio.'

"... Sure, ask away, but I am a bit pressed for time."

'Finn immediately noticed the man wanted to leave, but not because he was afraid, so he connected the dots and came to the conclusion he wanted to go after Silver, something was definitely going on between the two.'

"What's your connection to the boy?"

"Him?... He is the son of a very old friend, I will predict your question and answer it, I was testing the boy and it got a bit out of hand, I will pay for the fees, you can collect everything from this bank account."

'When Aetos finished, he took out a golden card and threw it at Finn, who easily caught it. It seemed Aetos had expected some level of destruction as he even had a bank account ready.'

'Finn recognized the bank, it was a famous bank outside of Orario that spread its roots across several nations, including Orario.'

"..."

It's suspicious, even if he wanted to test the boy, why would he do it in the middle of the city? It's as if he couldn't control the place and had to do it here… Right when he was leaving our Manor.

This means he was stalking him, he knew his position beforehand and acted based on the situation, it's the most likely scenario.

And why did the Freya Familia assist him in doing so?... No, I am looking at this wrong.

They did not assist him, but from what Ais told me, it seems they were trying to prevent others from interfering with their fight…

Is this related to Freya's hobby? That is only a rumor...

'Many questions surfaced in Finn's head, but one thing he knew was that he couldn't allow this guy to leave just like this, he wanted answers, even if this was truly a result of a misunderstanding, he would dig this story down.'

'And anyway, all of it would be revealed as long as he captured that guy, and Finn was ready to face risks since the Elf and Silver did commit a crime by fighting in such a violent way in the middle of the city… So he had to know who started and what were the conditions behind it.'

"I am sorry but, we need you to come with us."

'Aetos smiled and whispered:'

"I knew it would come down to this in the end…"

They aren't simple opponents, this would be much better and worthwhile if I had finished the last step, but I can't complain now.

"!!"

'The moment it seemed as if something was about to happen, Tione and the others returned.'

'This didn't escape Aetos' vision who smiled, but his expression soon changed when he saw who was beside the girls.'

"..."

'The two looked at each other, but no words left their lips,... There was no need for any in the first place.'

/Fwush!/

'With an incredible speed, Aetos suddenly disappeared from the rubble, shocking both Finn and Gareth who weren't prepared for this, and appeared behind Tione and Tiona, who immediately attacked him with their insane reaction speeds.'

'But they weren't his targets, he easily evaded them while he made his move to get what he wanted, the red piece of fabric of Silver's neck.'

"Stop it, you madman!"

'Saphos tried to block his hand, but he couldn't, it was too fast. By the time his hand had reached the handle of his sword, Aetos had already moved away with the scarf.'

He's much stronger than I thought!

In the end he…

'Saphos shook his head, happy his grandson was safe.'

'The Elf on the other hand had a serious expression devoid of emotions.'

I have it in my hand but… I don't feel happy…

'How could he? Even if he got it, many lives were sacrificed for this day, friends and comrades he left behind all for the sake of ambition… A world he may not be able to see nor enjoy.'

'He closed his eyes and many decades of memories flashed in his mind as he took out another item.'

'It was a small box with a strange and complex print on it.'

'Finn, with his precise eyes, managed to see all of the symbols on the box, and his expression changed completely as he grasped his spear tightly…'

'When Aetos reopened his eyes, he looked at the box and this made his expression twist… But he still applied force onto the box, shattering it!'

/FIUM!/

'Golden light shone from the skies, illuminating Aetos.'

"The first step… Towards a brighter future." Said Aetos in a deep and emotional tone

"May I achieve Level 8 soon after…"

Bless me one last time Prometheus...

'The golden light completely shrouded him, it was clear something was happening.'

'Finn bit his thumb as he realized he let his enemy achieve his goal, blaming himself for not realizing his goal.'

'Gareth prepared himself for a fight, he wouldn't let his enemy surprise him again.'

'Tione and Tiona protected their eyes from the strong wind while Lefiya grabbed onto a wooden pole to stabilize.'

'Ais looked at the situation with a strange expression, this felt so familiar yet so distant, what was going on?!'

/Shush…/

'The Golden light started to recede, revealing Aetos' body once again.'

'He looked the same as before, but different in a way… However, to some of the more experienced adventurers, it was clear he had Leveled up.'

'Saphos looked at the light and a familiar feeling passed through his body…'

"This feeling… ! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER AETOS?!" He screamed as he realized the repercussions of this

How… How did he update his status?! What did he do to her… To his own Goddess?!

"Prometheus…" Said Aetos

'Aetos heard his old friend… Now his enemy, and looked at him with determined eyes.'

"... I am sorry."

But it had to be done.

'This only made Saphos even angrier…'

'Lington grabbed his shoulder trying to stop Saphos from making a dumb move.'

'This made him breathe deeply as he calmed down.'

"It seems things aren't that safe around here, Lington, bring Silver somewhere safe."

"What about you?"

"I need to find out what he did to her…"

'As he said that he took a step forward…'

"Stop, you are old, leave this to…"

'But Lington was interrupted.'

"Leave this to us, however, I would like to talk later if you don't mind." Said Finn

"... I am sorry, for dragging you into a Family problem." Replied Saphos

"Don't worry about it because… This isn't solely about your family, not anymore."

'He turned his face to the side and said:'

"As the Captain of the Loki Familia, I declare! We move to capture the one behind the assault a month ago!"

'The moment he said that the atmosphere changed, everyone was confused but they still complied, even more so when they heard the words 'the one behind the assault'.'

'Tione didn't even doubt Finn as she immediately got into her battle-ready mode.'

'Even Lefiya got up from the ground, and despite her dizziness, she got behind Gareth to cast her spells.'

'But suddenly...'

"Things got quite heated up as I slept huh?"

My body's aching... Damn.

'Silence, everyone looked to the side to see Silver slowly walking towards the Elf.'

"I am not done yet, putting me to sleep, aren't you ashamed? I still didn't do my best!"

'He still wanted to fight!'

…

'Back at the tower, Freya and Ottar gazed at the golden light shining down from the heavens.'

"..."

'Freya's expression was one of disgust, a rather rare expression since even on her worst days, Freya would only have an emotionless expression, keeping her poker face during all times.'

'But immediately after she looked at the golden light, she instantly realized what was happening.'

What a disgusting thing…

Humans never cease to amaze me… In multiple ways.

Even the Divine can be profaned…

(Humans as in a general species way, she is well away he is an Elf)

"Noticing her Goddess gaze, Ottar immediately put his right hand on his sword, ready to draw it. Whatever caused her to feel like this, he would purge it from the face of this earth.'

"No… Not yet." She said as she interrupted Ottar

That boy, his soul is still shining... Burning...

He is determined, very, determined.

Do you still wish to challenge yourself?

I thought your previous display was your limit, will you surpass yourself again?

'Freya's eyes flickered with purple light.'

"Ottar…" Said Freya

"Please, be careful." Replied Ottar as he bowed

'He immediately understood his goddess orders, so he jumped from the clocktower and got closer to the fight, waiting for the right time.'

"Will you show me another miracle today?" Said Freya with a thin smile

…

.

.

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