Chapter 4: The end is the beginning is the end
"Supporter! Supporter! Open up!"
The Supporter heard a loud banging on the door of his small house. It was already the afternoon as he had slept in due to the rowdy nature of the previous night. Sensing urgency, the shirtless supporter ran to the door with a look of discomfort on his face - he was hungover more than usual.
There in the doorway stood Hestia in a panicked state, short of breath.
"Have you seen Aiz? She didn't come home last night and I've asked everyone who was at the tavern last night but no one knows where she is. I'm worried."
"No she's not with me. That's not like her at all. Do you have any idea where else she might be?"
"There were townsfolk saying that they saw a boaz man carrying a girl last night, but it was dark so no one is certain of anything."
"A boaz man? The only one I can think of that would even put up a fight against The Sword Princess would be Ottar of the Freya Familia."
"Ottar..."
"Leave it with me goddess. I'll investigate and see what's going on."
"Thank you Supporter. And be careful."
With no time to get dressed properly, The Supporter put on his usual cloak on without an undershirt and dashed off away from the goddess. Hestia clasped her hands together and closed her eyes to say a silent prayer for his success.
The goddess Freya sat atop of a chair that resembled a throne of sorts with its red velvet cushioning. Her long silver hair draped back to her sides as her pale pink lips sipped upon a luxurious burgundy coloured wine. Standing beside the pale beauty was her most-trusted soldier and personal protector, the Level 7 Adventurer Ottar.
"You've done well. I'm pleased by this."
"Thank you Lady Freya."
While Freya lost herself in the view from her window which overlooked the city, Ottar glanced over to the captive they currently held in their room. Aiz battered from battle and clothes torn, lay unconscious with her arms chained up against the wall.
On her way home the previous night, Ottar ambushed and kidnapped Aiz to take her back to his Familia's lair. Aiz might have put up more of a fight completely sober and injury-free, but she still would have been no match for an adventurer a whole level above her.
The door to Freya's chambers opened and closed as if they had a mind of their own. Ottar turned to see who had entered but none stood before him. A man in a cloak appeared before them almost in an instant. Ottar readied his weapon in a fighting stance ready to battle against the intruder.
"Well that was a pretty handy ability wasn't it? I was able to get all the way up here without alerting anyone. Not that it really would have made any difference. Oh sorry, knock knock!"
Freya looked over at The Supporter, unimpressed by his stealthy efforts and turned back to viewing the city as was her usual way to relax in the afternoon. The Supporter's expression however, changed when he noticed Aiz's condition to the side of the room.
"May I ask why you have treated my partner in such a manner and taken her captive like this?" enquired The Supporter, not entirely sure his question would be met with a response.
After a brief silence, Ottar explained the one 'fact' that all Freya Familia must abide by: Freya's beauty is absolute.
It was a common compliment in Orario to compare the attractiveness of a female to that of the goddess. Although it annoyed her followers, Freya took it in her stride as it still meant that none matched her level of exquisiteness. Any Freya Familia member caught saying that any being was more beautiful than the Goddess of Beauty herself would not be tolerated. An elven member had been overheard during Aiz's latest adventure saying this much, and he had not been seen since. Ottar decided to once again remind people who their adoration of ultimate beauty should be directed to by humiliating and destroying the source of this recent blasphemy - by taking Aiz so that none would dare utter both their names in the same sentence again.
The Supporter had heard enough. He reached into his satchel and pulled out a sword. The sword's edges were blunt and chipped, but its craftsmanship was undeniable. One more savvy in the value of such artifacts of weaponry may have even argued that the sword would have been highly valuable in days past, but in its current state an adventurer would be hard-pressed to cut into an apple with it. Despite its worn condition, The Supporter pointed the dulled blade at Ottar
"Ridiculous. You are a ridiculous captain. And that ugly, disgusting wench of a goddess will finally get what she deserves."
No sooner had Freya turned to direct a loathsome glare at the unwelcome guest, Ottar rushed forward with murderous intent in his eyes, and a look of pure hatred on his face.
How dare this filthy commoner insult his goddess? Killing him would not be enough of a revenge against his impertinence, the boaz adventurer thought.
Much to the goddess' and boaz's surprise, The Supporter put up much more of a fight than either of them had expected.
Although clearly outmatched in their sword fight, The Supporter was able to defend against the majority of strikes against him, and even came close to landing a dull-edged blow himself. An elite A First Class Adventurer would have a hard enough time against the only known Level 7, let alone a Level 1 supporter.
The obvious gap in their power came to a culmination as Ottar knocked the damaged sword away from the hands of the supposedly low-level supporter. Clearly worn out and bleeding from their fight, The Supporter dropped to one knee and slouched over. He could not help but chuckle at the situation he had found himself in.
"It's been a while since I've had to go all out like this. I can see why they consider you the strongest in Orario."
The Supporter's genuine compliment fell on deaf ears as the boaz raised his large blade for the final blow.
"Die."
Ottar struck with all of his might in his right-arm to pulverise the intruder that had found his way into his goddess' chambers. Both he and his goddess awaited the inevitable fountain of blood to erupt out of the soon to be dead man, but no such thing happened. Ottar's face changed from anger to confusion as he grabbed his weapon now with both hands to push it down further, but it would not move. He noticed fingers clutched around the blade. The Supporter had caught the weapon with his bare hand and was pushing it back up. There were no signs of any wounds on a hand that should have been sliced clean in two.
"But how?!"
"You're certainly strong. But I've trained with stronger."
And with an upward thrust of his palm, The Supporter launched the weapon and the boaz who was still holding it both up in the air. Time stood still for Ottar. He could see everything happening, but could not move fast enough to do anything about it.
The Supporter's right-hand punch landed directly in the middle of his opponent. The blow was so powerful it created a shockwave that shattered the glass windows, and cracked the sides of the walls. Ottar was catapulted through the side of the building and passed out as he fell down to the ground outside. He gagged upon impact with the pavement. A deep imprint was formed with the weight of his body.
"How interesting! You have certainly cured me of my boredom today mortal," giggled Freya in an almost childlike fashion. She showed absolutely no concern of the state of her most loyal follower nor any semblance of fear for her safety.
She slowly walked towards The Supporter with her charm powers out in full-force. This ability worked equally as effective on both mortal and god alike. Even Hermes himself had fallen prey to its effects in the past. Those affected turned into a state akin to a lovestruck slave, unable to think or act against the wishes of Freya.
"Now what should I do with you my child?" mused Freya who was now face-to-face with her prey. The Supporter remained motionless as was expected.
"Should I give you the ultimate pleasure before releasing you from your forsaken life, or should I just ki-"
Freya's sneer turned into a look of shock and puzzlement. Stepping back she saw the sight of a small dagger lodged into her stomach. Blood poured out like drink spilt from a cup - a completely foreign experience to her. The Supporter had slowly reached into his bag and pulled out the weapon right from under her nose. Knowing that her time left in her current state was limited, she stumbled back into her chair - her breathing now laboured.
"How were you able to resist my charm?"
The dying goddess' query was completely ignored by The Supporter who took off his cloak and walked towards his princess. His back fully exposed, Freya gasped at the level and stats that she saw: Level 1, with all stats mediocre at best. Still with his back towards the goddess, The Supporter tore off Aiz's chains and covered her with his cloak to provide some warmth and comfort.
"I supposed I look a little different to the last time you saw me. It has been many years after all. Although, in hindsight it's possible that you thought so little of me that you never noticed what I even looked like to begin with."
Freya's strained expression turned into one of acceptance as she finally recognised the man before her: the former captain of the Zeus Familia.
"I can't believe that bitch and her wimpy Familia ditched us at Level 80. After we basically carried them the whole way through. What a bunch of ingrates! And don't get me started again on those little punks that run away scared before we even began."
Lors, a Level 8 brawler-type supporter cursed and spat at the betrayal that they had only recently experienced. In an unprecedented event, the top three Familias in Orario agreed to team up to get as far as they could in the dungeon: Loki, Freya and Zeus. Unbeknownst to Zeus or any of his Familia, Loki and Freya had made a deal to get deep within the dungeon and leave the Zeus party members to fend for themselves knowing that they would have little chance of getting back to the surface on their own.
Loki ended up not feeling comfortable with the final arrangement and ordered her children to cancel their expedition altogether in the hopes that the other two groups would follow. Freya had other plans. Adapting to her new situation, Freya pandered to the arrogance of Zeus and his members, convincing them that the loss of Loki's children would be of little consequence. The expedition went ahead as planned, with the Freya members disappearing during the night when everyone was meant to rest at Level 80 of the dungeon.
"I bet they all die on the way back up. They think they're so tough with that boaz kid, and those prums. So they have a Level 6. Big deal! When I was his age I was already Level 7. And I'm a supporter!" Lors yelled out in frustration.
"Well not everyone can be geniuses like you guys. We should just be glad that we had some company for the trip down."
Sitting next to Lors, was a blonde-haired female who resembled an attractive woman, but was not exactly human. Her smile was radiant and pure, almost in direct contrast to the frustrated male animal-person who shared the grass area under the shade of a tree with her.
"Oh hush Aria. You just get to sit back and cast your wind magic. I have to be up close and punch things. And besides I'm still technically a supporter, so I have to carry a bunch of junk for people all the time. I swear people take advantage of the fact that I have this magic satchel. What's your take on this captain? You agree with me right?"
"Can't you keep your squabbling to yourself for a second. I'm a little busy here!"
The captain of the Zeus Familia was engaged in a training match with his best friend and second-in-command: a man with scruffy black hair by the name of Albert.
"Do you really think you have time to be chatting to spectators captain?" taunted Albert as he continued his slashes towards his sparring partner.
"Gah! Every time you call me that, I feel like you're mocking me. And besides, I'm Level 10, and you're Level 9. How are you this strong?"
"Because I taught you everything you know!"
Albert, Aria and The Captain had met years earlier. Zeus had scouted all the lands for the strongest of warriors to lead his mighty Familia and being the highest level adventurer known to anyone, he appointed the young man as his captain. This earned teasing from Albert who only referred to him as 'Captain' from then on, a tradition that was continued by all that had encountered him. Zeus also never questioned Aria or her willingness to assist Albert and their teammates, despite never formally joining the Familia. She and Albert made a formidable team, and that is all he cared about, so she was made to be an honorary member.
The Captain's raw power was further refined by Albert's impeccable swordsmanship. It was Albert's gift with blade techniques that had earned the nickname: King of Swords.
"Well then Mr. King of Swords, shall we call it a tie then? We have a large battle ahead of us."
Albert agreed to his captain's proposition and the two bowed their heads in mutual respect before joining their comrades in the shade. Albert rested his head on Aria's lap, who in turn ran her fingers through his messy hair. They were at peace in spite of their environment.
"I wish I could take a nap when a huge black dragon could appear and attack us at any time." scoffed Lors sarcastically at the couple's public display of affection.
"Oh leave them be Lors. I bet they're really missing their daughter. Little Aiz must be lonely without them. And we have no right to complain about the situation we're in. We could have easily turned back when the Freya Familia decided to leave us, but we deemed them unnecessary and soldiered on. And as predicted, we have made it to Floor 100, albeit with heavy casualties."
"Heavy casualties? That's one way of putting it. Another way would be saying that out of all the Zeus Familia members, only four remain alive. But I guess you're right. This is what we'd signed up for. As long as we slay that bastard dragon and imprint ourselves in history as the greatests warriors of all time, everything will have been worth it. I want a monument built in my image. Made of gold!"
"Of course you do Lors. Of course you do," laughed The Captain, with Albert and Aria joining in on the affectionate teasing.
Aria started to hum her favourite tune, a song she would often sing for her daughter. The other members silenced themselves to bask in its tranquil sounds.
It was the last happy memory that they had together.
Lors was the first to go in their epic battle against the One-Eyed Black Dragon. There was only so much a supporter-brawler type could do in a fight against a mythical beast, but he had fulfilled his job by reaching into his magic satchel and arming his teammates with the finest weapons that money could buy. Despite the sharpness and sturdiness of their blades, the One-Eyed Black Dragon's scales proved excruciatingly difficult to penetrate.
Aria provided support and offensive capabilities, by enchanting both Albert and her captain with Ariel as well as casting high-level wind magic against the beast. Weakened and sensing the threat she imposed by her unending magic attacks, the black dragon rushed at her with velocity that betrayed its size. Albert had attempted to shield his beloved, but the dragon's claws had pierced through both their bodies. Albert managed to stab at the monster's only remaining eye, before collapsing on top of Aria, both of whom were drawing their last breaths.
Writhing in agony at the pain and loss of its vision, the dragon thrashed away from the dying lovers. It roared loud enough to shatter a person's eardrums.
"No!" shrieked The Captain as he made his way to his comrades.
Bearing the brunt of the attack, Albert's vocal chords had been shredded so it was up to Aria to convey their last wishes.
"Captain. Please take care of Aiz." pleaded Aria with tears in her eyes.
"I promise I will."
The Captain nodded through his weeping. Aria and Albert closed their eyes for the very last time in each other's embrace.
It had taken him in immense amount of time by himself, but he had finally managed to slay the legendary beast. The Captain had systematically worn down and struck at the beast until a small open wound had appeared. Using his blade that had blunted from hitting the dragon's scales over and over again, The Captain lodged the weapon in the wound and cast his most powerful lightning magic 'Raidayre' on it repeatedly until the creature stopped moving. The hunk of metal was used as a lightning rod and amplified its already explosive power.
The Captain stood in silence, hesitant to enter the strange black portal that had appeared before him. He had just buried his best friends and comrades in the small patch of grass next to the tree that they all had rested under peacefully. Knowing that Lors would have wanted him to have it, The Captain carried the magic satchel as he stepped into the unknown passageway.
The Captain found himself in an area that resembled the stars in the night sky. It was hard to determine whether or not which way was up and which way was down. Looking behind him, he saw no trace of the area that he and his late allies had fought in.
"Congratulations my child. You have cleared the dungeon."
A lone figure stepped forward to meet The Captain. It was Zeus himself. A heavenly light surrounded him. He looked pleased at this significant achievement for the adventurer.
"Lord Zeus? What is this?"
"This is your final test."
"I don't underst-"
Zeus suddenly gathered all of his godly power. His aura so strong and fierce it took all of The Captain's concentration to just stand upright.
Still distraught over the loss of his friends, the Level 10 Adventurer's emotions swelled up inside. In his bewildered state, he decided that this was not his time to die. He decided that he would not let his deceased friends and teammates deaths be in vain. He decided to act. He reached into his satchel and armed himself with a dagger. The dagger was nicknamed 'The Godslayer' though none knew the true origins of the name.
Using all of his remaining energy, The Captain dove knife-first towards the god, not knowing whether he would even be able to survive Zeus' initial attack against him, much less inflict a wound on him. He closed his eyes and yelled at the top of his lungs. But there was no resistance to be felt.
When he opened his eyes, he saw that he had thrusted the dagger directly into the heart of the god. Looking up to face him, Zeus warmly smiled at him.
"Well done my child. And I'm sorry."
The Captain caught his god as he collapsed.
"Lord Zeus! What is this? What's happening?"
"This is the ultimate fate of the Familia that clears the dungeon: to kill the god that they have so faithfully served for so long. It is also my divine punishment for leading countless mortals to their deaths. As my last act, I shall give you my blessing."
The farna on the The Captain's back lit up and illuminated through his clothes. Zeus transformed into a beam of light and returned to the heavens leaving behind his broken-hearted follower.
Freya's eyes widened as the markings on The Supporter's back started glowing and changing shape. The number one appeared next to his level and it shone brightly for all to see: he was now Level 11. His stats transformed similarly to all read 'SSS' and an ability appeared at the bottom that read 'Deus Ex Machina'.
"So that was it. Captain of the Zeus Familia who was thought to have perished in the dungeon along with his fellow members. You managed to clear the last floor and obtain the ultimate power by killing your own god - the ability to rewrite yourself as you see fit. And you used this power to seek revenge on me."
Freya laughed and gurgled on the blood that had made its way into her mouth. What delicious irony, she thought. Her plan to destroy the Zeus Familia had ended in her own destruction.
The Supporter started to cast a healing spell on Aiz and on a whim decided to respond to the dying goddess.
"Let me be clear. I never blamed you or Loki for what happened to us. It was our own hubris that resulted in our downfall. We achieved our goal and finished what we set out to do. And that's all that matters. My only regret is that it had taken me this long to come back to Orario and face the child who was orphaned as a result of my weakness to protect her parents."
Freya pondered this. It was true that with the power that he gained, The Supporter could have easily killed her and Loki in the mortal realm at any time. It was only the threat that she had imposed on The Sword Princess, did he finally deem it worth slaying a deity for. And with this last insight that only heightened Freya's amusement , the goddess burst into a beam of light and returned to the heavens.
Aiz slowly opened her eyes to see her partner staring down at her. The shape of his mouth resembled a smile, but it could not hide the sorrow in his eyes.
"Where am I?" asked Aiz quietly, as she had difficulty remembering the events leading up to her being awoken in a room unknown to her.
The Supporter helped her up and put back on his cloak that Aiz had handed back to him.
"Let's get out of here princess. I will tell you the truth about your parents, the truth about me. I'll tell you everything."
Aiz looked at her supporter. He had never looked as pained as this before. She trusted that all would be revealed to her soon and so without pressing anything further, the two left the room in silence.
Epilogue
Months had passed after the death of Freya and the disbanding of her Familia. The Supporter had revealed the past to Aiz and repeatedly apologised to her for not only letting her parents die in front of him, but also for leaving her to fend for herself all these years by her lonesome. The burden of grief had broken The Supporter and sent him on a path of depression and self-destruction. He tried drowning his sorrows in wine. What good was a man with the power of a demigod if everyone he had cared about was no longer of the world, he foolishly thought.
Aiz reasoned with him and explained that there was nothing to be sorry for, and if anything she was glad that her parents deaths had already been avenged. There was comfort in knowing more about her mother and father, as only glimpses of them remained in her memories.
Aiz showed renewed vigor in her dedication to become stronger. She was no longer driven by revenge. She would become strong enough to make her parents proud and do honour to their memory. Her goal now was no longer to seek out the monster that slayed Albert and Aria, but to become strong enough to visit their graves on Floor 100 and pay her respects in person.
She continued to evolve as a warrior, battling waves of creatures and encountering situations no solo adventurer had any business surviving by themselves. But she was not alone. The Supporter would watch over Aiz from a distance. He continued his role in her service. He would allow Aiz to push herself to her absolute limits, and only intervene when completely necessary. To any onlookers, Aiz may have looked to be overwhelmed at every instance, but Aiz never felt truly in danger. She had complete faith in her partner..
He would be her healer, her bodyguard, her bard, her muse, her blacksmith, her companion, anything she needed him to be - he would be the ultimate supporter. He was able to fulfil his promise to his companions, and fill the hole that had formed in his heart. The Supporter was now all that he ever wanted to be: content.
Author's Notes: Ever since being introduced to this series when the anime first came out, I started imagining the different things that could be possible in the world where Danmachi is set. The rules were the same as an MMORPG, but the characters in it treated it like real-life. If it's just like a game, what would be the last level in the dungeon, and what would happen when it was cleared? I thought having a character start a 'New Game+' in Orario might be cool, but I also didn't want the character to just go trouncing everyone for the sake of it - there needed to be a grounded reason for it all.
This was my very first FanFic, and I'm not sure if I'll do another one but it was fun to finish something that I had been wanting to do for years even if I wasn't 100% happy with the result. I'm happy with the 'twists and turns' and how I tried to tie all the elements together, so hopefully there should be little in the way of plot holes or lack of closure because those are things I don't like when experiencing a story for myself. I also tried to keep the characters as in line with the source material as possible to keep the immersion up. I really wanted this story to be an alternative reality where a few things have changed but everyone else is still just doing their usual thing. I just wish I had more creativity to breathe more life into the Zeus Familia members.
I'm sincerely grateful to everyone that took the time out of their busy lives to read this, and if you've gotten this far I hope that you've enjoyed reading my little story as much as I had fun coming up with it!