A Survivor's life in the dungeon (A Danmachi Fanfic.)

Chapter 100

There was a jovial ambiance at the Heracles manor as the members of the familia stared in awe at the now awakened August.

In the months following the amphitheater incident, August had become a legend in Orario - the hero who had faced the creature alongside his god. The new members couldn't be prouder to be part of this familia.

"So... I missed quite a lot, huh?" August chuckled, scratching his head and looking awkwardly at the eight new members he knew nothing about. - Kiez and Jugo are out doing an errand on Denki's order. -

"Yeah, all because you were sleeping like an idiot," Heracles smirked, looking mischievously at August. This surprised the eight new members; for them, Heracles was a stoic figure, always serious and rarely ever smiling.

"Give me a break, old man! I didn't exactly plan for that to happen!" August retorted, earning him a punch at the head from Heracles. But before it could land, his body moved out of the way, smooth and fast, as if he was never there to begin with.

Heracles had a look of shock momentarily plastered on his face, but he quickly hid it. His mind, however, was processing the movement August had just shown him. 'Like in our spar earlier, it felt like he knew exactly where my hits would be coming from,' he thought. 'What the hell did he do inside the spear's dimension?'

August, oblivious to his god's thoughts, smirked at Heracles, a mocking expression that made a vein pop in the god's forehead.

That smile made the god snap. He relentlessly tried - and failed - to smack August's head. As this happened, Denki had a nostalgic look on his face; this was something he was used to from the past, his captain and god bickering. But the others had looks of disbelief.

They couldn't believe someone had the audacity to tease Heracles face to face. And they couldn't believe Heracles, someone they thought of as a god who never smiled, was actually grinning from ear to ear.

Helga's illusion of August being this hardened warrior and unparalleled adventurer shattered. The more she looked at him, the more she realized that at the end of the day, August Kaiser was still just a child. 'This is the hero of Orario? The spear of mortal death?' she questioned herself as her eyes twitched, watching the god and the boy exchange insults and banter like children. 'And Lord Heracles... Was he always this childish?'

The others felt the same way. There was a rumor that August Kaiser was the embodiment of death, someone who showed no mercy, whose spear was feared by everyone. Yet what they were seeing now was undoubtedly a child.

"Oh, by the way, has Denki ever mentioned the familia tradition to you guys?" August asked, effortlessly dodging another punch without even looking at Heracles.

"Tradition?" Oswald asked, confused. "D-Denki never mentioned any tradition, sir." Oswald gulped as a sinister smile slowly formed on August's face.

Denki was just as confused as Oswald was; he never remembered any tradition of the familia. Then it hit him - the very first day he met August as his captain. His face turned pale at the realization. "T-t-t... THAT WAS A TRADITION?!!" he yelled, looking at August as if he was looking at a demon.

"Well, it was how I welcomed you," August shrugged. "And since I missed welcoming these guys... I reckon this time is a good time to do it." Again, he released that vicious smile. "You'll be joining them as well, of course. I want to see how much you've really grown."

"You know, I'm really tired right now... All of us are. We just exited the dungeon and aren't at a hundred percent," Denki said with a strained smile.

But August just returned the favor with a polite smile. "Well, I just woke up from a coma," he said, then turned towards Heracles. "Old man, can we use the back?"