NOVEL NEXT Chapter 230: Grand Archer
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Emiya was whipping fresh cream, preparing to make Ryuu's favorite forest cake.
From behind, came the creak of a door slowly opening.
"Goddess Hera, thank you for your efforts," Emiya said.
The task of controlling the [Spirit Soldiers] had previously been handled by the goddess, and was now handed over to Haruhime. For the girl, this was a rare opportunity to train her mental focus.
Riveria was maintaining the domain of [Oath of Time], recording the adventurers' status before they were accidentally killed.
The others were in various areas, fighting, or rather "playing with", the allied Familias of Orario. The only one with nothing to do, Alfia, had fallen asleep in Emiya's arms, and was now lying on a rocking chair, peacefully enjoying her nap.
Hera twirled the golden strand of hair hanging by her ear with her fingers, "It's nothing, just a casual gesture."
Emiya gently nodded. A few seconds later, he suddenly spoke up, "If I go now to kill this world's [One-Eyed Black Dragon], would that be possible?"
Hera, who had been sneakily tasting cake, paused. She nonchalantly wiped the cream from her lips, "Not quite."
"For you, killing it wouldn't be difficult. However, the [Black Dragon] is different from other ancient monsters. It's too deeply entangled with this world's fate. The moment you attack it, you'll be rejected by the world's corrective force."
"Besides, even though the [Black Dragon] is the monster that brings the apocalypse, it isn't the only thing that can cause the end. In the deepest part of the Dungeon, there might be… no, definitely is something even more dangerous."
Hera and Zeus Familia had stopped their dungeon exploration at the seventy-first floor. Even the goddess wasn't clear about what lay deeper. It was just her intuition.
"The Black Dragon is only a symptom. The Dungeon is the root."
"I understand," Emiya nodded.
"By now, you must already be feeling the effects of 'world deviation'. Have you noticed anything odd?", the goddess asked.
Emiya thought for a moment, "A little sleepy?"
"Sleepy?"
"Yes," Emiya said, "Though I haven't slept in two days, with my level and constitution, I shouldn't be feeling tired."
With a first-class adventurer's endurance, even going three days without sleep wouldn't be an issue. What's more, Emiya's endurance was far beyond a normal adventurer's, and he had the skill [Golden Physique].
Now, thanks to Hera's reminder, Emiya realized, his drowsiness wasn't from fatigue. There must be another reason.
Perhaps, the moment he couldn't resist sleep and fell asleep, he would be directly sent back to his original world.
Riveria, Ryuu, and Haruhime hadn't shown any such signs. They'd slept normally last night and woke up fine today.
Probably because Emiya was the one who crossed through time and space, while Riveria and the others followed due to various reasons.
"The adventurers of the city probably won't make it to this floor," Alfia had woken up at some point.
When she entered the kitchen, Emiya and Hera tacitly stopped talking, dropping the previous topic.
"There's no way they could reach this floor. Zald and the others aren't letting anyone through," Hera said.
After the seventh floor, Orario's adventurers had lost every battle.
The [White and Black Knights] couldn't defeat the Lv.6 Dis sisters; the [King] was completely crushed by [Gluttony]; and the Astraea Familia was trampled by [Achilles].
As for the other two areas, the difference in strength was even greater, the battle even more hopeless, [Sword Saint] and [Celestial Fox] were now both Lv.8.
Even with only a slight recovery, the Hera Familia's power was enough to crush the entire city.
"To open the Dungeon's 'lid,' take countless lives, and push humanity into the abyss, that was Zald's and my original plan," Alfia began, speaking softly.
"You two chat, I'm going to check how things are going over there," Hera took the freshly baked cookies from Emiya's hands and left the kitchen.
"We were far too powerless. Though we defeated the King of the Land and annihilated the Lord of the Sea, we lost. We lost to that damned 'Black Dragon'," Ignoring Hera's exit, Alfia continued.
Even though Emiya had already heard about Hera and Zeus Familia from Riveria, he still listened in silence as the firsthand account was spoken.
"The ones praised by the gods for their overwhelming strength, those proud of their own abilities were easily crushed, experienced a kind of 'rampage' they had never known."
"Ground to dust, torn apart, devoured… What I saw then, covered in wounds, was a sea of blood."
The [Ancient Era] had ended. The gods had descended, granting "blessings" to humans. It had been over a thousand years since that time.
Even so, despite that long preparation to fight ancient monsters, this was the result.
Such a miserable ending, and the complete destruction of the strongest Familias, left people speechless.
"After that, the survivors… the so-called strongest hero Familias, ran away."
Hera and Zeus Familias lost more than half their members in the battle against the [Black Dragon], yet they still retained considerable power.
The Lv.8 vice-captain died, and half the Lv.7 officers were lost, but the Lv.9 [The Empress] Hippolyta survived. As for the Zeus Familia, their Lv.8 [Hero] had also lost an arm like the [Empress], but at least was still alive.
[The Empress], [Silence], [Sword Saint], [Celestial Fox], [Stellar Bow]… these weren't the only survivors of Hera Familia.
Only these few Lv.7 and above members could barely stay spirited enough to continue following their goddess. Those Lv.6 and Lv.5 second-stringers and supporters, aside from [Stellar Bow] Luna, who stayed by Mashiro out of guilt, others had lost even the courage to face their goddess again.
It was the same with the Zeus Familia. Other than [Gluttony], who voluntarily went to the Dragon Valley to guard the seal, all others, including the [Hero], had completely lost their fighting spirit.
Yet in reality, even these decimated remnants of the two great Familias still had enough strength to dominate Orario.
Among Hera Familia's few remaining members, even the weakest, [Stellar Bow] Luna, had upper Lv.6 strength and had easily defeated [King] Ottar and [Braver] Finn.
Despite years of decline, even now, the Lv.6 [King] probably couldn't secure a win against Luna. Finn and the others, with their lower levels, had no chance.
As the greatest masterpieces of the divine age, Hera and Zeus Familia had been just that strong.
But these "heroes," whose spirits had already crumbled, chose to flee from the center of the world.
It's hard to say what's more shameful. This, or the claim that they were "expelled by Freya and Loki Familia."
"Adventurers unable to face true despair… powerless frauds flaunting the name of heroes, unable to realize the world's wish… This era woven by the gods can never stand against that 'Black Apocalypse,'" Alfia spoke softly.
"So, we plan to turn back time, to revive the old 'Heroic Myths.'"
An age without the Dungeon city, without adventurers, where even gods had not yet descended to the lower world.
All races included under the term "humanity" would face the brutal trials of the lower world.
Thus, people would bet their lives in the face of overwhelming despair, pushing past their own limits.
In the [Ancient Era], humans alone dared to battle monsters flooding from the [Great Hole]. Without [Falna], those humans repelled the monster invasion with their own strength.
They faced despair alone and laid the foundation of the modern age.
"We'll use our lives as testimony. If we see hope, we'll become stepping stones, nurturing the growth of heroes with our remaining bodies. But if we see no hope—"
"Then we'll seriously destroy this city."
Having told her story, Alfia looked at Emiya, "But now, this plan can no longer succeed, because of your existence."
"Mm, I'm honored," Emiya said, as he opened the oven and took out freshly baked bread, beginning to spread cream on it.
"…So, what do you plan to do next?", Alfia asked softly.
"You might think healing the wounds of the [The Empress] and others will change the course of the future, but it's meaningless. Those of us who have witnessed 'despair' no longer have the courage to stand before the 'Black Apocalypse.' And in this Dungeon city, I haven't seen any true 'seed of salvation' that can be entrusted with the future."
"What we need is a 'hero.' A true 'hero.'"
Alfia walked up behind Emiya, gently pressing her forehead against his back.
"So, please, I beg you, stay," she whispered.
Emiya's eyes suddenly grew heavy. He gently pressed his temples, trying to dispel the drowsiness.
"Alfia, you said you who have seen 'despair' have lost 'courage'; and those who haven't seen 'despair' lack 'resolve.' Is that right?", Emiya asked.
"Yes," Alfia lightly nodded.
"I understand… Then let me show you. Let me show you true 'despair', so intense that you'll think the 'Black Apocalypse' is nothing in comparison."
[Development Ability [Fate] Activated.]
[World Disaster Confirmed, True Spirit Summoning Ceremony Initiated, Heroic Spirit Throne Record Confirmed.]
[Unlocking Spirit Foundation Access: Heracles Grand Archer.]
'Plans have changed. Before "trampling" the children of the Dungeon city, let's wake up these lost girls first.'
[T/N: 🔥A new book is up— "Emiya in Honkai: Star Rail". I am releasing it from my second account(Ambitious_Guy) as I can't publish more books from this account(Max is 20). Make sure to check it out and support. Have a great read~🙇]
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