Celestial Swordsman – Danmachi OC

A month had passed since arriving at Dragon Valley, marking nearly two months since leaving Orario.

The pace of our monster extermination had been slow, methodical, and consistent, and due to this, there had yet to be a single casualty in the entire operation.

So even if it was taking quite a while, it was a decent trade-off.

No need for unnecessary sacrifices, after all.

But today, we would finally complete the quest, and start our journey back home soon after.

We had already defeated the last monster that had infected the valley a few days ago, four to be exact.

The day after was spent picking up all the magic stones and drop items... but we had still yet to leave.

The reason?

Well, that was due to a meeting with a certain Goddess.

----- 3 Days Earlier -----

"Hm?"

Seeing Mother Astraea perk her head up, I notice her eyes quickly turn from confusion to shock.

"What's wrong, Mother Astraea?" I ask.

"T-That... Follow me, please." She says before standing up and making her way out of the room.

Although I was confused, I complied with her request.

With our stay at the School District being a little longer than we'd thought, they had been nice enough to build us a mansion, a near replica of the Stardust Garden, with it being the final exam for a couple of architecture classes.

Always looking for a lesson, eh?

I guess I should expect that out of a school.

Making our way out the door, with Alise and Lyra joining up, we hastily made our way down the street towards the exit of the ship.

I was quite curious as to where Mother Astraea was taking us and why, and judging by Alise and Lyra's frowns, they were too, but we held our tongues for now.

Maybe she just wanted to take a long walk?

"Ah..." Alise says.

Following her gaze, I see Baldr, the leading God of the School District, and Leon making their way toward us.

Baldr was a tall, handsome God with wavy blonde hair that reached his shoulders, and he was also smart and perceptive from what I could pick up in our few meetings together.

Though I guess those traits would be natural for a Headmaster to have.

Our paths collide and our group merges into one as we continue down the street.

"Did you feel it?" Mother Astraea asks.

"Indeed... to think she was so close... But I suppose your average God wouldn't be able to hold that monstrosity back." Baldr replies.

"Umm... Mother? What exactly did you feel?" Lyra asks.

I was also curious.

Due to my level, my experience, and my skill, my sensing range and ability were pretty insane.

To think Mother Astraea would feel something I couldn't... the only logical explanation would be-

"I- or rather, We, felt a pulse of divinity. A strong one." Mother Astraea says.

"And a familiar divinity at that." Baldr adds.

"Familiar?" Alise asks, still confused.

"Indeed. You know her too, at least by name." Mother Astraea responds.

'Her'... so a Goddess, huh?

Ignoring Alise's still visible confusion, we then began walking down the gangway, receiving more than a few surprised glances as we did so.

The sounds of monsters now absent, I found a new appreciation for this mountainside.

It was already getting a bit colder, enough that a frost covered the ground in the night, but we had yet to endure a snowstorm this whole time, even being this far up north.

I considered us lucky, as I really didn't want to fight in the cold and snow, but I suppose I would be doing that sooner or later on the 59th floor anyway.

Wait.

This would be the kids' first winter, right?

On the way back, that is.

Well, they had already lived a full year, but I wouldn't consider Orario's 'winter' an actual winter.

It was more like a chilly autumn.

I had yet to see snow even once on the surface of this world, after all, but that will probably change on our way back.

Hmm... I should see if I can get some hot chocolate somehow.

Following the two deities, we make our way past a few rocks before finding ourselves in front of a door leading right into the hillside.

I... guess this is where the Goddess is, huh?

I mean, they had to be pretty close to the barrier holding the monsters back, so it was somewhat expected.

"Come in." A voice echoes from inside.

It was clear... even though there was a door between us, it sounded like she was talking right in front of us.

Weird.

Opening the door, it reveals a large room, with a bunch of wooden shelves filled with books, a comfy-looking chair, and a bed obviously meant for one.

And sitting on said chair, was a woman clad in grey robes from head to toe.

"Good to see you got my message."

The voice, somehow even clearer, enters my ears once more.

"Releasing such a burst of divinity... of course we would notice." Baldr says.

"Well, it's better to say that I'm glad you came."

The Goddess then lowers her hood, revealing a beautiful face, a mixture of maturity and youth that would capture the heart of any man.

Except for me, that is.

I already had two beauties for the rest of my life, after all.

Black hair that reached her chest, shining red eyes, and that feeling of incomprehensible power and slight uncomfortableness that emanated from her very being...

Yep, definitely a Goddess.

"It's only natural... Hera." Mother Astraea says.

So it was Hera, huh?

Just as I had guessed.

After the Zeus and Hera Familias fell to the Black Dragon, I found it very perplexing how there hadn't been an attack from the big bad monster since.

I mean, without the two strongest Familias around, what was stopping the Black Dragon from completely destroying humanity?

And then, I learned that it was sealed within Dragon Valley.

As there were no witnesses to the battle, theories were thrown about here and there, most of them thinking that the Dragon had to recover its strength or something along those lines and that someone cast a barrier on it while it was hunkering down.

But that shouldn't be the case.

After all, from the original story I remembered, the battle had been quite one-sided, with the Black Dragon hardly being harmed.

Thus, I made my own personal theory.

Sometime during the battle, likely during the first few attacks, the Zeus and Hera Familias knew that they wouldn't win.

So, instead of aiming to kill, they aimed to contain, and hope that the future generations would be able to complete the final Great Quest in their stead.

So it had to be one of Zeus and Hera that stayed behind and kept the barrier up, much like Ouranos does with the dungeon in his throne room.

And for some reason, I knew that Zeus wasn't the one who stayed behind.

"I'll keep this short. The barrier is deteriorating, and it won't be long before it completely falls."

The air stills at her extremely ominous words as everyone's eyes shoot open in shock.

"T-That-!"

"Calm down, I have a plan to keep that thing sealed, but I would need some of your cooperation." She says, cutting Alise off.

"Understood, please continue." Leon replies.

And so, she told us the situation.

As she said, the barrier of arcanum she was holding was slowly failing due to the Black Dragon somehow getting stronger while also being able to somehow weaken her divinity.

Ignoring that extremely worrying detail, she continued.

Basically, she was going to call in another God to help maintain the barrier on the Black Dragon, but the problem was that during the time that God spent getting here, more monsters would be released.

While Hera wasn't that concerned about the damage these monsters would do to the surrounding population, she was worried about what they would do to her.

From what she could tell, a good number of Dragons had been trapped inside the barrier with the Black Dragon, just like all those other monsters.

But while the other monsters stayed away from the Black Dragon out of instinctual fear, these Dragons remained close to its side, thus absorbing much of its miasma to the point that she called these Dragons the 'Black Dragon's offspring'.

Black Dragon miasma... I wonder if it's just its magic power, or something else entirely.

Anyway, in the time it would take for the new God to arrive, these Dragons would be released.

Normal monsters would stay away from Hera due to the divinity she gave off, as well as the barriers she could place near her.

But the problem was that these Dragons, being the 'Black Dragon's offspring', were able to harm divinity, just like their 'Mother'.

So she was not convinced that she'd be safe if they got out, and if she wasn't safe here, holding the barrier...

I didn't even want to imagine what would happen.

"And that is the situation." Hera says.

"...So, basically, before we leave, you want to release these 'Black Dragon's offspring' Dragons so we can kill them so that the deteriorating barrier doesn't release them while we're gone." Lyra says.

"Precisely." Hera replies.

"...And when were you thinking of doing this?" Leon asks.

"Whenever your group was ready, but I was imagining in a few days' time. The situation isn't getting better, after all." Hera says with a smile.

And with that, the final part of the quest was decided.

----- Current Time -----

So yeah, today was the day.

A bunch of powered-up Dragons that were able to eat through arcanum barriers...

Easy peasy.

Plus, this could be considered practice for the real big guy, right?

Even without the Goddess of Earth's motivation... it seemed as if fate was pushing me to battle the Black Dragon in the future.

I couldn't get complacent with my strength.

But... that's another issue.

I was getting too strong.

I mean, nothing was really a challenge for me at this point, although the new dungeon floors might change that.

But then again, I didn't want to waste all that time travelling down there, and I didn't want to stay away from my family for so long.

Maybe I should start limiting myself?

Not when I had comrades around like now, but when I go dungeon diving when we get back.

Maybe just magic? Just swordsmanship? Limiting stats? Only martial arts?

I could even wear some weights, Rock Lee style!

However, I don't think there are any weights that could actually restrict me...

Well, even without the weight method, the possibilities for growth were near endless.

Yeah... that sounds like a good plan.

"You four be good for Mother Astraea, alright? No sneaking out to watch, okay?" Alise tells the children.

"Haa... fine." Alea huffs in annoyance.

"How about you guys take a walk around the ship? We'll be leaving soon, after all. Might as well take a look at everything while you have the chance." Ryuu tells them.

Unfortunately, this time was a little too dangerous for the kids to watch the fight.

After all, the enemies this time were likely able to fly, and might even target Mother Astraea, depending on how the Black Dragon's miasma affected them in regards to divinity.

But by staying here, they were completely safe, so we could fight down there without any worries.

Giving a kiss on each of the kids' foreheads, and receiving a big group hug from my daughters and Mother Astraea, I was off.

Landing at the bottom of the canyon, we made our way toward the location of our last battle, cutting down a few monsters on the way as I thought about this upcoming battle.

We wouldn't be fighting as a big collective group this time as the Dragons we were aiming for were on a different level.

Instead, there would be a group going forward, intercepting the Dragons before they could escape, while the rest would be staying at the back, both to support and to stop any other monsters that escape.

I would be part of the advanced group, as would Ryuu, Alise, Kaguya, Ais, Lyra, Neze, and Leon.

As it kind of fucked the whole team thing up, we decided to just forget that for this fight instead of any last-minute restructuring.

"And here we are..."

Leon's words break me out of my thoughts, as I look into the large cave we were currently standing in front of.

On the surface, there was nothing special about it, except maybe the fact there was a bit of warmth coming from the entrance.

But everyone could feel it.

An instinctual discomfort.

A not-so-pleasant mix of fear and disgust that seeped into your bones.

If this was what I felt with the barrier between us...

Yeah, I still needed to get a fair bit stronger before killing the fucker.

Speaking of people wanting to kill the fucker...

"Ais?" I ask with worry.

She had been quiet.

Quieter than normal, that is.

Normally when preparing for a fight with monsters, she was either slightly happy, extremely serious, or even a mix of both.

But right now, she was just... not that.

"...Yes?" She says, without even turning her head my way.

Hmm...

I'm not an idiot. I know this had to do with her mother.

She was probably feeling sad that she could sense her even closer, yet still not be able to save her.

...Though I would like to know how the hell the Black Dragon is keeping her alive, and also why the monster took a hostage.

And while we were at it, why the hell Ais could 'sense' her, but those questions could be saved for later.

"You can sense your mother, right?" I say after a moment.

She stops in her tracks and her head dips down.

Walking up next to her, I could see her bottom lip trembling ever so slightly.

"It's... painful. I'm so close, but..."

"Hey hey, remember what we talked about, right?" I say, cutting her off.

Resting my hand atop her head, I bend down in front of her so I can look into her eyes, the golden pupils hidden behind a wall of welling tears.

"We'll get stronger, okay? We still have a lot of floors in the dungeon to explore, right? And next time we're back, we'll kill the Black Dragon, and get your mom back, right?"

Hoping my words can convey my seriousness, I watch as she nods feebly before wiping away her tears.

"Mmm... I'll... get stronger. And we'll defeat it, together." 

Her eyes were sharpened and resolute, exactly how I like them.

"That's the spirit. Now, I'll leave you with the strongest one, okay? Defeat it on your own, and grow from the experience." I say.

She was more than ready for a level-up from her final status update, and the month of constant fighting had surely increased her stats even more.

Hopefully, with an adequate challenge in this coming fight, she would break through her limits.

And it'd be pretty cool to see Finn's face if she levelled up on her return.

Ais now walking forward with steady, measured steps, I feel a smile unconsciously spread across my face.

My student, while still an airhead with an extreme lack of social skills, was growing.

Both in strength and spirit.

"U-Umm, Sirius!"

Turning to my other student, I watch as Lefiya clenches her fists while her dark blue eyes narrow in determination.

But... why was there a blush on her cheeks?

Was it really that cold out?

"I-I'll do my best too!"

But seeing her like this, I couldn't help but smile even wider at how cute she was.

While she was my student, with how she acted around me, I couldn't help but think of her as my little sister, much like I do with Ais.

"I know you will, Lefiya. Just don't bite off more than you can chew, alright? Growing your base skills is more important right now, and you are definitely getting stronger." I say while patting her head.

Hoping my words can both motivate her, but not too much that she rushes into danger, I start walking towards the group that will intercept the Dragons.

"Wow... He's... amazing. In more ways than one. You two really have it rough, huh?" I hear Leon say to my wives as I approach.

"Yes... He's been somehow getting worse." Ryuu says through gritted teeth.

"Mhmm." Even Alise is wearing a troubled smirk.

Huh? What were they on about?

But before I can ask, I hear a loud collection of roars come from the depths as I detect our new enemies' presence.

"Alright, girls! It's time to end this thing once and for all!" Alise shouts while pulling out her sword.

It was time to end this.