Danmachi: The Multiverse Portal

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Artemis sat outside at the open-air cafe, watching anime episodes play on August's smartphone. She tapped her fingers on the table and took a leisurely sip of her drink.

"Oho. No wonder you guard your plate so fiercely."

"Now it makes sense."

Now, Artemis finally understood everything.

She had only seen the first season, the movie, and the second episode of season two. She knew her own fate in the story and about Bell Cranel, but hadn't reached the Xenos arc yet. After seeing the bigger picture, she finally understood why Hestia acted so territorial around Goddesses like Hephaestus and Demeter.

Freya could see souls, but there was nothing unusual about August's. It lacked the dazzling glow she was drawn to, so Hestia doubted the Goddess of Beauty would spare him much attention.

But once bitten, twice shy.

With predators like Ishtar and even Hephaestus circling, Hestia had been locked in a hyper-defensive state ever since she learned the canon truth. She wasn't taking any chances of August getting snatched away.

"So, how does it feel?" Hestia asked, taking a sip of her juice. She wanted to know what her friend was thinking.

"Complicated," Artemis said. She really didn't know what else to say.

Bell Cranel's soul was completely innocent, untouched by good or evil. That's what drew Freya to him.

It wasn't entirely strange that she'd fall for someone like him. In the movie, Bell Cranel, who was raised by Zeus, treated her like any other girl. That explained why her character developed feelings. Plus, Hestia was also a Virgin Goddess who fell for a mortal, so stealing her best friend's man didn't seem out of place in the story.

Artemis pulled out the actual Arrow of Orion, tracing the Divine energy lingering on the surface.

The arrow carried a piece of her own Will. She took her role as a Virgin Goddess seriously and always rejected romance. But seeing another version of herself fall in love made her realize that even gods can't always escape fate. She felt conflicted.

Artemis stretched her arms.

As the Goddess of the Hunt, she wasn't going to show her vulnerable side over a cartoon.

"But August. You knew exactly what kind of romantic weak spot I had. Why didn't you try to woo me?" Artemis was honestly curious.

August was just a regular human who knew the story and had saved her life. Why didn't he try to win her over? The thought had crossed her mind. He had already won over Hestia, and Hephaestus apparently had a crush on him.

Why not add her to the list?

As a Goddess, she understood how mortal men operated. She wasn't teasing him—she just wanted to know his reasoning.

"As if!"

"My August would never do something that predictable," Hestia stated proudly.

Her August wasn't a creep. Had he shown even the slightest intention of building a harem, Hestia would have put a stop to it on their very first day together.

"Fair enough."

Artemis understood her friend's thought process. It wasn't the right time for that sort of thing anyway. Hestia obviously claimed the first spot.

"But moving on to this world's problems..." Artemis put August's phone away and looked around.

Even though the two Goddesses had set up a barrier to hide themselves, they knew this universe was full of threats. There were Heroic Spirits, ruthless magi, governments, and even astral nightmares lurking out in the stars.

These were huge problems. The real question was what to do next.

"We pick a fight, obviously!" Hestia cheered, buzzing with excitement. "We're talking about actual heroes! In August's world, they're just myths and legends."

"But in this world, those heroes are manifested in the flesh."

"If my August throws down with them and wins, that could count as a feat worthy of a level-up!" Hestia pumped her fists in the air, full of joy.

"..." Artemis saw right through her.

"You just want an excuse to beat up this world's Ishtar, don't you?" Artemis deadpanned.

Based on the intel August provided, Snowfield was currently hosting heavy hitters like Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes from Babylonian myth, his closest friend Enkidu, and the monster Huwawa.

From Greek myth, there was Alcides and the Amazon Queen Hippolyta—figures Artemis had personal ties to.

But most importantly?

There was Ishtar. The Babylonian Goddess of Beauty.

Hestia clearly wanted to use this as an excuse to pummel Ishtar all over again. It proved she was still holding a massive grudge over the charm incident back in Orario.

"DAMN RIGHT."

"IF I SEE HER, I'M SWINGING." Hestia didn't fear her in the slightest.

She wasn't restricted by any Divine seals in this universe. If this world's Ishtar had descended through a vessel, Hestia intended to string her up and spin her like a top. Why hold back?

"Besides, this is the perfect training ground for our Familia."

"If this world gets destroyed in the crossfire, who cares? It's not our problem."

For a brief second, Hestia displayed the chilling apathy of a real Goddess.

Saving the world? Yeah, right.

If this timeline was fun, she didn't mind making an impact with August. But she had no plans to get stuck here. August's portal let him travel the multiverse, and staying in this doomed universe would only hold him back.

"Still, I didn't expect our first real crossover battle to involve these kinds of heavyweights," August noted, sounding a tad exasperated. "With my current loadout, going head-to-head against Noble Phantasms is going to be tough."

If he were only up against normal human armies, his weapons could defeat the entire military of a superpower. But against Heroic Spirits with magical weapons and powers, regular guns weren't enough.

Unless he used Tactical nukes—he was at a disadvantage.

"Don't worry about it. We'll just order a huge batch of custom weapons tonight," Hestia said with a grin. "And with the power of your world's technology, I'm sure you can break through their defenses."

Artemis nodded in agreement.

"She's right. With your weapons, fighting those so-called Heroic Spirits is possible. Especially with your physical strength." Artemis crossed her arms and looked August over.

Compared to the weaker humans in this world, August was much stronger. It wasn't just because of his Falna stats but also due to Evolution.

His basic strength and endurance were far above the average humans Artemis saw in Snowfield. The difference was huge. Even without magic or special powers—August could easily defeat hundreds of regular people in a fight.

"Since we have the intel..."

"Let's figure out what to do next." Hestia bounced in her seat, clearly excited. They were finally in a real battleground.

August's world was full of resources, and Yui Hirasawa's world was calm and peaceful. But this place was a battlefield. If she didn't let loose and enjoy herself here, it would be a wasted trip.

As for forming new contracts? She didn't care. Hestia had zero interest in recruiting this world's magi. Right now, she only had one thing on her mind.

Combat.

"It's a shame Apollo's Bow won't be of much use here," Hestia noted.

That was the only letdown. The Divine bow they took from the War Game was just sitting unused in their inventory. It could be used only once, and after that it had to return to Heaven in their world.

"In a pinch, we can always just detonate it like a bomb," Artemis said, taking a sip of her tea.

"I wonder if my children could handle this world..." Artemis suddenly thought of her own Familia.

If they were already traveling between worlds, bringing them here wasn't such a stretch. This universe was full of mana, so her kids would have no trouble fitting in.

Taking part in a Holy Grail War could even help them gain the Excelia they needed to level up fast.

August was busy setting up drones and cameras in the city's alleys, but he stopped when he noticed Artemis watching him with hopeful eyes.

She wanted to bring her Familia here to fight.

"Bringing just you along already pissed off Hephaestus and Demeter," Hestia warned.

"If you bring your entire Familia over..."

"They'll probably riot and tear my church down." Hestia could see that August didn't care about having more firepower, but she did.

Hephaestus and Demeter had their own plans. Sneaking Artemis out was risky enough—bringing her whole group into a secret war in another world would cause chaos among the gods back home.

"I don't care about them." Artemis crossed her arms, her natural arrogance flaring up.

She wasn't the doomed maiden from the movie. She had her own style and always did things her way.

"Well, I do!" Hestia shot back, ready to sink their friendship boat on the spot.

If Artemis brought a whole army over, Hestia would have no way to cover it up. You couldn't hide a big battle or huge shipments of healing potions.

"Actually, it's not a bad idea," August interjected, unfazed. "When the time comes, we can summon our own Heroic Spirits to test our mettle."

"The Grail rules here are already shattered with multiple irregular summons. Adding one more rogue faction won't hurt."

To be honest, August liked the idea. Fighting legendary Servants in real combat was exactly the kind of excitement he enjoyed.

"This world's mages and authorities will probably target us anyway."

"Though, going up against modern mages and modern weapons, the Artemis Familia will be at a heavy disadvantage."

August understood what Artemis was after.

She wanted her kids to fight modern mages to force rapid adaptability and growth.

"August, are you seriously indulging her?" Hestia glared at him, feeling completely undermined.

Didn't that make her seem like the bad guy? She wasn't trying to ruin the fun—she just didn't want to deal with a huge mess.

"Lady Artemis went out of her way to help us. It'd be rude not to return the favor."

"Accommodating a small request like this is the least we can do."

Artemis had literally dropped everything to protect them, even risking her life in another universe. Even if part of her reason was the Antares problem, August still felt he owed her for stepping up to help.

"Well, yeah. I guess."

Hestia gave in. She couldn't ignore that Artemis had bravely followed them into the unknown, where dying meant it was for real. Letting her bring her Familia for some training didn't seem like too much to ask.

"Fine. But no reckless stunts."

"This world is seriously dangerous." Hestia looked straight at Artemis, wanting a real promise. No doing anything unexpected, and if she said to retreat, they had to listen right away.

"Relax. You know me. I'm not Hermes," Artemis said, straightening her posture.

She wasn't a troublemaker who just wanted chaos. Having her around was way safer than letting Hermes run wild in Snowfield.

"I hope so..."

"...Because judging by the anime—you're a massive hopeless romantic," August jabbed.

Even though she looked calm and proper, she was intensely stubborn when she set her mind on something. August wasn't worried about her starting a fight—he was more afraid she'd suddenly fall in love and go completely off script.

Romance in a death game was a lethal liability, especially since this universe had its own Machine God Artemis...

Hearing August's deadpan insult, Hestia snickered. She tried to hide it, but a massive grin broke across her face.

"Me? A hopeless romantic?" Artemis pointed at herself, deeply offended.

What a joke. She'd rather die than act like a lovesick maiden on a battlefield.

"Who—" She was about to vehemently deny it, but then she remembered the smartphone sitting in her pocket. It contained concrete video evidence of her canonical love-struck self.

'Damn it!!' That was a mark on her record she could never erase. Artemis took out her phone, feeling all sorts of mixed emotions.

Should she just silence the witnesses? Or better yet, march into August's world and slaughter every single writer and animator who conceptualized that movie? Wiping out the creators would erase her embarrassing past for good.

"Hmph. I'd rather jump off a tower than fall for Bell Cranel," she huffed.

"That kid is a walking harem protagonist. And his heart is entirely fixated on Loki's little feral swordswoman, Ais Wallenstein."

"That's all that matters."

Now that she knew the truth and her future was actively branching away from canon, Artemis refused to play the role of the tragic love interest. She couldn't stop Gods from falling in love, and she admitted Bell had a pure soul, but she wasn't about to degrade herself by joining a harem.

"Uh..."

"I never actually said you liked Bell Cranel," August pointed out dryly.

"Speaking of that kid, he's still running around Orario getting toyed with by Freya. He hasn't even found a Familia yet," Hestia added.

Hestia recalled the recent intel Lili had gathered on Bell. She wiped a drop of sweat from her forehead. That nymphomaniac Freya was messing with the poor kid.

"Freya really is obsessed with him," Hestia sighed. She couldn't tell if the Goddess of Beauty wanted to break the kid or make him stronger through tough times. Freya's weird games were just tiring.

"Whatever. Let's not loiter here too long. We're heading back," August interrupted.

He opened the dimensional portal, dragging the two Goddesses back to the Danmachi universe.

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