Danmachi: The Multiverse Portal

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Artemis quickly realized she'd gotten it wrong. There was no secret plot after all. Instead, she saw that Hestia had totally tricked Demeter.

"An entire Familia's worth of magic?" Artemis stared at her divine friend. "You've got a lot of nerve."

She never thought Hestia would try something like this. If August's [Spatial Backpack] really could hold live spells, letting them all loose at once would be as powerful as a huge subjugation raid.

"Hmph, I call it being smart," Hestia boasted. She walked over to August and hopped onto his back. "Let's go! Time to gather our magic."

She pointed at the Demeter Familia's compound, determined to pack every spell into August's inventory. August shifted his grip on the Goddess and started walking with Liliruca Arde down the street.

Artemis and Hephaestus watched the Hestia Familia head out, then followed after them. They knew Demeter would be furious once she realized what happened, so they wanted to be there to keep her in check.

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The group made their way to the Wheat Pavilion on North Main Street, the Demeter Familia's main base. Unlike Hephaestus's secret workshop or Tsubaki's forge, this place was always busy with people.

When they arrived, Demeter had already assembled her children.

"Hestia, you made it." Demeter had gathered every magic-casting member of her Familia.

Persephone, the captain of the Demeter Familia and manager of the Wheat Pavilion, stood beside her Goddess. She greeted the visiting Gods with deep respect.

"Lady Hestia, Lady Hephaestus, Lady Artemis." Having three major Gods visit their turf demanded absolute courtesy.

Even so, Persephone kept sneaking curious looks at the man carrying Hestia. She'd heard wild stories about the so-called monster rookie and wanted to see him up close. She had to admit, he was pretty handsome and stood out in the crowd.

"Persephone. It's been a while," Hephaestus and Artemis nodded.

"Yo," Hestia said. She looked over Demeter's children. Unlike August, who had a modern vibe, these Adventurers seemed grounded and connected to nature. They were fighters, but you could tell they cared about the earth.

After saying hello, everyone went to the Pavilion's back courtyard. Dozens of Demeter Familia members were waiting there. Some looked experienced, others seemed new, but with Demeter in charge, all of them could use magic.

"Demeter, is this everyone?" Hestia asked, counting the heads. It looked a little light. Out of a massive thousand-member Familia, there were only about seventy or eighty people here.

"Aside from a few out on errands, every spellcaster I have is right here," Demeter replied. "Spill it. What exactly are we testing?"

Hestia had told her kids to use as much magic as they could. It was a strange request, so Demeter guessed it must be some kind of magic tool test.

"Perfect." Hestia hopped off August's back. "Since we have a deal... August, you're up."

August nodded and stepped forward.

"Your Goddess already briefed you. Five full-power spell volleys," August addressed the crowd, meeting Persephone's gaze. "Start casting. I want you to fire everything directly at me. Don't hesitate."

"Huh?" The Demeter Familia members froze.

What the hell? They thought this was a magic experiment. Why were they suddenly told to attack an ally? Was this guy crazy? They all looked toward their Patron Goddess for confirmation. They hadn't signed up for friendly fire.

"Hold up." Demeter stepped in. "Hestia, I thought you were testing an item. Why is he telling my kids to attack him?"

This was nothing like what she expected. Everything had changed so quickly.

Then, it hit her. She stared at August, piecing the puzzle together.

"Y-YOU'RE TRYING TO HOARD THEIR SPELLS!"

Demeter quickly caught on. Hestia wanted her children to use all their magic so August could store it up. The only way to do that was to put it into a spatial inventory.

Demeter instantly realized she'd been hustled.

"Hestia, no way. You can't just harvest our magic like this!" Demeter tried to back out. That kid was already a walking apocalypse. If he stockpiled a literal army's worth of magic, who the hell could stop him?

"A deal is a deal," Hestia smirked, flashing a shameless grin.

"I SAID NO!" Demeter reached out, ready to strangle the smug little Goddess.

Hestia had completely played her.

Artemis and Hephaestus both sighed. They had seen this coming. No sensible God would just give away so much power to a rival. They stepped up and held Demeter back.

"Hey! Let go!" Demeter glared at them. They didn't come to watch—they came to act as Hestia's bodyguards.

"Save it, Demeter. You already gave your word. Just see it through," Hephaestus warned. The ink was dry on this deal. She had to pay up.

"Lili, hand me the whip," Hestia demanded, holding her hand out.

"Yes, ma'am." Lili pulled a heavy monster-taming bullwhip from her pack and handed it over.

Hestia cracked the leather against the cobblestones.

CRACK!

The sound resounded like a gunshot.

"Listen up! Get to work! Anyone who holds back gets the whip!" Hestia barked, glaring at the crowd with fiery eyes. "Your Goddess signed the contract! If any of you try to slack off, I'm taking it out on your hides!"

The Demeter Familia, intimidated by the fierce little Goddess, realized this was serious. Hestia cracked the whip again, making it clear she meant business. Since their Patron had agreed, the Adventurers had no choice but to go along.

The chanting started. Dozens of magic circles lit up the courtyard. Pouring their maximum mana into the spells, they launched a massive, coordinated magical bombardment straight at August.

Fire, ice, water, wind, and lightning all flew through the air in a wild storm of magic. This much power could easily wipe out a [Level 3]. No one sane would try to take it head-on.

August just raised his hands.

The space in front of him twisted sharply. The void pulled in all the incoming magic, wave after wave, and stored it in his [Spatial Backpack].

August felt the shifting energy lock into his grid. He could redeploy every single one of these spells like remote artillery strikes.

"Turn up the heat!" Hestia screamed, completely hyped as she watched August absorb the barrage.

This was exactly what Hestia wanted. Her Familia didn't have to depend only on weapons and explosives now. They had a huge supply of magic ready to use. The new tactics they could try were exciting.

Hestia cracked the whip harder. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?? DID YOU SKIP BREAKFAST?? GIVE ME EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!"

Demeter watched Hestia whip her precious children into exhaustion. It broke her heart. Her kids weren't used to this kind of sweatshop labor.

But underneath her sympathy, Demeter was shocked by how much magic August could handle.

"How big is that kid's inventory?" she uttered. "He just swallowed an entire barrage without breaking a sweat."

For the first time, she was truly curious about a mortal's power. Most spells came from [Level 1] casters, but there were also many [Level 2] and [Level 3], plus Persephone and her vice-captain, who were both [Level 4]. Storing all that magic needed a huge spatial void.

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

"Good thing I said no," Hephaestus breathed a sigh of relief.

Turning down Hestia's offer was the smartest thing Hephaestus ever did. If she had to watch her own blacksmiths get drained by Hestia, she would have been furious. Gods cared deeply for their children, and seeing them used like magic batteries was harsh.

"Wait, what? You said no??" Demeter snapped her head toward Hephaestus. She glared at the forging Goddess. 'Are you kidding me? You're just going to rub salt in the wound??'

"No way, Hephaestus! You have to do this too!" Demeter demanded, her pettiness flaring up. "If my kids are suffering, your kids are suffering! We go down together!"

If her Familia was being milked dry, she was dragging Hephaestus down with her. Misery demanded company!

Hephaestus looked at Demeter as if she were insane. Did she seriously expect her to voluntarily self-destruct?

"NO," Hephaestus rejected her instantly.

But Demeter suddenly became sharp and started connecting the dots. Rumor had it that August went to Hephaestus first, and she was the one who sent him to Hestia.

"Hmph. Can you really refuse?" Demeter challenged. "You know a lot of his secrets, don't you? You were the first Goddess he made contact with."

Demeter leaned in. "You'll help him. You're his original sponsor. You understand him better than any of us."

Putting Familia politics aside, Demeter could see that August had no hard feelings toward Hephaestus. That alone showed she was important to him.

"No. I don't," Hephaestus immediately denied it.

But deep down, she knew the truth. She did care about the boy. In fact, she liked August a lot!

Why? Because of a single sentence he had spoken to her on the day they met.

'Hephaestus has a unique kind of beauty.'

She never forgot those words. It was the first time in her long life that someone outside her close friends had truly called her beautiful... She knew she didn't fit the usual standards, with her eyepatch and scars. But August looked at her and called her uniquely beautiful.

No one had ever shown her that kind of honest appreciation before.

'She is lying.'

'Totally lying.'

Demeter and Artemis noticed the change right away. Even though Hephaestus denied it, her eyes shifted nervously, and she glanced quickly at August. It was the same look a schoolgirl gives her crush.

"..." Artemis, the virgin goddess with an unerring instinct for romance, understood the situation instantly.

"You like August," Artemis whispered. The affection Hephaestus radiated was unmistakable.

"Oho..." Demeter's eyes went wide with surprise. Her urge to drag Hephaestus down disappeared, replaced by excitement for gossip. She never thought the serious Goddess of the Forge would fall for a mortal.

"I don't," Hephaestus tried to deny it again.

But without realizing it, she gave a small, almost hidden nod. Meeting someone who wasn't afraid of her scars and praised her openly touched her deeply.

"Are you serious?" Demeter and Artemis stared at the flustered Goddess. They couldn't believe the iron-willed, emotionally guarded Goddess of Forging had actually fallen for the kid.

Gods falling for mortals wasn't unusual in Orario. But this was Hephaestus!

"What exactly is the appeal?" Demeter and Artemis finally took a hard, critical look at August.

Sure, he was good-looking and had a tough, serious vibe. But he was older than most men the Goddesses liked. Most Gods preferred young teenagers. So how did Hephaestus end up liking a grown man close to thirty?

Even Artemis, who usually avoided romance but enjoyed gossip, thought Hephaestus's taste was strange. August didn't seem like the type to attract Goddesses.

"Yeah, honestly, I don't see the charm," Artemis agreed. Did a guy like August really have the charisma to woo a Goddess?

To be honest, she thought he was arrogant. He was bossy, got involved in things that weren't his business, and talked down to Gods. Even worse, he took advantage of Hestia's love for his own gain. He was practically a walking red flag.

Artemis couldn't help but scoff to herself. Compared to the usual pure-hearted heroes in Orario, August seemed like a real jerk. Plus, he was older and more cynical—not exactly a Prince Charming.

Hephaestus heard Demeter and Artemis criticize August. She knew he wasn't the usual type of naive, lovable hero. Even Artemis, the Virgin Goddess, found him unappealing.

But Hephaestus didn't care.

She remembered that day clearly. He spoke to her in a relaxed, almost joking way, but he was completely honest when he said she wasn't ugly. He saw beauty where others only saw a curse.

For centuries, she'd heard other Gods whisper about her with pity. She'd seen her own Familia children flinch when they first saw her real face. No one had ever complimented her looks.

A Goddess's feelings were always strong and intense. For someone as guarded as Hephaestus, even a small spark could turn into a powerful emotion.

"He's... different," Hephaestus said quietly, but with certainty.

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