Danmachi: Fated Hero or Foolish Demise?

Chapter 7: Trials of Fate (Day 1)

At Hearth Mansion

With the sun beginning its descent behind some buildings, it marked not only the end of the day but also the time for Hestia and Loki Familias to regroup to discuss their findings in their search for Bell. A search that was prompted by his failure to return home to his familia the previous night, especially after Ais laid out the potential fate that awaited him to them. This set into motion his familia to look for him.

For Loki Familia's involvement, Ais managed to convince Finn, thanks to the help of Riveria and Gareth. Thus a few other members were brought along to help, with all the executives and Aki lending their aid. They arrived in waves at the mansion, with the first to show being Riveria. The second wave to follow was Finn's group, which consisted of himself, Bete, and Aki. Once the short-standing captain arrived and saw the elven vice-captain waiting by the fountain in the middle of the path, he approached her.

"What was Shakti's answer to our request?"

"To place it in her words: 'Fine, I'll see about it. But, no promises. We have our own problems we have to deal with. Less Royman gets upset at us.' Truthfully, things aren't looking great, Finn."

"I'm aware... let's hope that Gareth's group found something."

Around thirty seconds passed after that phrase was muttered, and Gareth's group of himself and the amazon sisters showed up. Finn went over to speak with them once they walked through the open gate and down the path.

"Even if one of you so much as felt like something was odd in or about the dungeon, say it."

The dwarf standing between the two amazoness shook his head.

"Notta thing. It didn't matter where we looked; nothing was suspicious."

Tione joined in and furthered the point.

"Yeah, even when we asked around Rivira, nobody claimed to have seen anything... sorry, captain."

The brief conversation brought them to the fountain, where the present Loki members gathered. Finn used his left hand to rub his head as his spear was in his right before letting out a winded sigh. He proceeded to talk under his breath.

"Let's see what Ais can tell us when she arrives."

Unlike the group of the dwarven executive, she did not show up shortly after the remark was made. The Loki Trio expected it as she had the most emotional stake in finding Bell out of their familia, so it was logical for her to be the last one to show. But as the minutes ticked by, with the sun getting further in its set, the patience, but more so the worry, of Finn reached its limit once five minutes passed.

"Where is Ais? She should've been here by now."

Tiona was the one to answer and did so while awkwardly rubbing the back of her head.

"Oh, umm... she said she needed to check one more spot that was a little far from here. Saying that she might be late."

Unknown to anyone present, the last spot Ais desired to check so much that she deemed it a necessity was none other than the wall where she first trained Bell. This place was the one place she associated with Bell like no other. It was the place she would knock him out to give him lap pillows. It was the place where she and Tiona helped train him for the Apollo war game. It was the place where she reconciled with him following the Xenos incident. It was the place where, even under Freya's charm, she was still drawn to it.

Finn facepalmed, and as he was about to think about how she should know better, one golden-hair girl came running up the path.

"Glad to see you remembered the meeting. Find anything at your last spot?"