[DanMachi/Percy Jackson] Prytaneum

Chapter 42: Convergence Part 2

Mrs. O'Leary's shadow pooled in my hand, curling around my right arm like a glove. Gesturing with my left hand, I drew the enormous magic stone closer, carrying it within a case of water and then reaching out to spread my right hand over it. Immediately, the shadow on my hand withdrew into the water and at the same time, something dark began to spread through the magic stone, appearing in splotches and spots like a disease progressing in fast-forward.

After several seconds passed, the red magic stone turned purple, but there was a dark shape held within, like something frozen in ice. More than that, a black aura seemed to rise around it, casting long shadows without casting light, and the surface of the magic stones seemed to chip and crack, eroding unnaturally. Black dust began to slide from the surface of the stone, both dissolving more of the crystal and somehow producing more of itself, falling into a wide circle around the withering crystal that began to melt into liquid shadow and then separated. It pooled into four separate circles and then began to rise into massive legs, pooling again in midair to outline a body, slipping up to shape a head and tail and give shape to a dog.

"Hm," I hummed to myself, pursing my lips as I looked up at her. "Have you grown, girl?"

Mrs. O'Leary barked, the sound like an artillery gun firing even as she shook herself as if to shake off some imaginary rain. Then, she sat down quickly and began to scratch something behind her ear with a back leg.

I continued to watch her as she did. It was a bit hard to tell, judging someone that had always been enormous compared to me solely by eye, but she certainly seemed larger. Taller, wider, maybe more heavily muscled. A result of the magic stone, probably. I wasn't certain on the specifics of how that stuff worked, but even if the Goliath had probably drained itself almost dry just trying to heal itself, it was by far the strongest monster I'd encountered so far, much less fed to Mrs. O'Leary.

"Well, at least you're feeling better," I said as Mrs. O'Leary finished scratching her ear and settled down, panting happily. "Let's get out of here before anything else happens, though. You up to taking a shortcut or do you need to take us the long way?"

She stood and stretched before lying down, yawning and then snorting.

"You sure?" I asked. "You really worried me. When I saw you in that state, I thought you might fall apart."

Her ear twitched and she cocked her head, but otherwise remained as she was, so I sighed and nodded, looking over my shoulder. Hestia and Welf were standing by one of the buildings in Rivira—or rather, they were leaning against it so they didn't collapse. To be honest, I wasn't in much of a position to argue with Mrs. O'Leary; even as strong as I now felt, I didn't want to put either of them in danger. Welf had hurt himself in the fall and I wanted to make sure he received treatment as quickly as possible, just in case, but Hestia was perhaps the bigger concern. Beyond the potential danger of a god being in the Dungeon, the fact of the matter was that with her powers sealed, both her physical abilities and her senses were below that of even the weakest adventurer. While I thought of the Dungeon as 'dimly lit' past the twelfth floor, for Hestia it was probably pitch black. I'd need to protect them both from any threats and the Dungeon had already done a pretty good job at giving me hell today.

Besides, I didn't know the way. Unlike Lili, I hadn't memorized the maps of the Guild—I just remembered the paths I'd already taken. But I hadn't exactly come down to the eighteenth the conventional way and if I wanted to get back to the surface, I'd need to figure out the correct route the hard way, wandering around until I found a staircase leading up. And starting from the eighteenth and headed for the surface...well, it was a long way home.

So I had no choice but to sigh and accept Mrs. O'Leary at her word.

"Okay guys, we're heading home," I told them both, waving them over. "Mrs. O'Leary's driving."

"You sure?" Welf asked, though his clenched jaw gave away the pain he was in. Still, he seemed lively compared to Hestia, who looked dead on her feet.

"More or less," I said, reaching over to scoop Hestia up and hopping onto Mrs. O'Leary's back. Welf took a breath and followed and I grabbed his hand to steady him, just to make sure he was situated—and then patted Mrs. O'Leary.

The giant Hellhound rose and ran for the shadow of a nearby building, plunging into it with a rush of cold air and darkness. Welf was used to it by now, but I held onto Hestia to make sure that she was okay, but it seemed like only moments until we emerged into the light, rising from the shadows within the abandoned church.

"Home sweet home," I said, frowning and looking around for a moment, feeling like something was wrong. When I didn't sense anything at first, I shook it off but remained on guard, slipping off Mrs. O'Leary's back with Hestia. "Come on, Welf—let's settle in and then I'll call Miach again and buy some potions."

"We sure give that guy a lot of business," Welf said, following with a slight grunt of pain. "Maybe we should get hurt less."

"Always an idea," I said, still feeling unsure about something. "I'll leave Mrs. O'Leary to guard the door this time. After Zanis..."

"Appreciate it," He said, shuffling after me slowly, only to pause as I raised a hand, eyes narrowing as I touched the door. Mrs. O'Leary sniffed at the door before making a sound I didn't so much hear as felt through the trembling of the floor. Welf stepped to the side and I set Hestia down, shifting her towards him before opening the door slowly, shield at my side but ready.

"Welcome back."

I frowned at the voice that came from inside, reflexively displeased by the thought of someone entering my house uninvited—but after a moment I recognized it.

"Hephaestus?" Welf said, beating me to the punch. I walked inside, having had a bad enough day to feel the caution was warranted, and looked around before relaxing.

"Lili," I said, looking at the girl on the couch beside Hephaestus, curled up with her arms around her knees. "I must have made you worry."

"Mr. Percy," She said, voice carrying a wealth of relief—but also anxiety. A quick glance to the goddess beside her told me not to let my guard down, but towards what I wasn't sure. Hephaestus didn't seem like a threat, nor did she herself seem to be what Lili was afraid of, but...what then? "Mr. Welf. You're okay."

"Things got a bit crazy here and there, but it all worked out in the end," Welf said, coming up behind me and continuing to pant. He furrowed his eyebrows at the people in the room. "Lady Hephaestus? Why are you here?"

My friend's goddess took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, her eye tracking to Hestia, who'd been silent since we defeated the Goliath, moving like she was in a haze.

"Hestia, you should sleep," Hephaestus said. "It's been four days."

"No, I'm okay," Hestia replied after an odd pause and while I cast her a concerned glance, I didn't say anything. That explained why she'd looked so out of it since we finished up down below, but at the same time, I knew a dismissal when I heard one—and I knew when it meant something was wrong. "What's wrong, Hephaestus? Did something happen?"

Hephaestus didn't answer at first, instead looking towards Welf.

"You're hurt," She said, more statement than question. "I'm sorry; I didn't think to ask Tsubaki to leave any potions behind. Come here, though—I'll update your Status. If nothing else, it should help take the edge off. How bad is it?"

"Nothing too bad," He said, though he seemed to be frowning at her attempts at evasion as well. "We'll get Miach in a minute. Hephaestus, what's going on?"

She sighed again, the sound heavy.

"You fought well," She said, looking at the two of us. "I saw most of it. We all did."

I frowned even more deeply at that and almost asked her who 'we' was when Hestia made a small, distressed noise beside me, her eyes wide. At the same time, Lilie was looking at us with worried eyes, nodding slightly.

And all at once, the implications began to sink in.

"Oh," I said. "Oh, damn."