Danmachi: The Multiverse Portal

Thank you all so much for your incredible support this week!

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

After watching everything unfold, Orlando Reeve turned toward Francesca Prelati, who sat across from him. His expression was cold.

Who was that man?

August wasn't a Dead Apostle or some other supernatural creature. He was human—yet he had fought Assassin head-on and overwhelmed her through brute force.

He did not use Magecraft to make himself stronger. That was just his own physical strength.

"What exactly is that man?" Orlando knew Francesca kept track of nearly everything in Snowfield. If anyone knew anything about August, it would be her.

For once, Francesca fell silent.

"I don't know."

That was the simplest answer she could give.

Did she know who August was? Not a damn clue.

Nothing in her memory or in the records about Snowfield's Command Spells mentioned anyone like him. He had shown up out of nowhere.

"..." Orlando stared at her.

This was the first time he had seen Francesca without that irritating hunger for entertainment. She looked cautious—and had admitted outright that she knew nothing.

Were there really things this old monster did not know?

"Stop looking at me like that. I really don't know. All I know is that he has a Goddess protecting him." Francesca shrugged.

"If you want to investigate, his base is the Barrow Cannery."

She gave them August's location right away.

Her plan was straightforward. She would let the younger people working with her test the outsiders and see what they were hiding in the factory.

Orlando was much more careful.

"You'd better not be lying." After considering it, he took out his phone and told a small team to check the cannery.

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

Somewhere else in Snowfield was a private institution called the Colesman Special Correctional Center.

Faldeus Dioland had just come back to the hidden facility below when his secretary walked up to him.

"Director Faldeus, welcome back."

"What's the situation?"

Faldeus entered the surveillance room and checked the camera feeds showing Snowfield.

"We've received several new reports," the secretary said, pulling up the latest footage. "Near Darrow Street, Assassin attacked a group that likely included at least one magus."

"The group did not seem to have a Servant. Still, one of the men fought Assassin with only a greatsword made from ribbed steel and kept the upper hand the whole time."

The recording began to play.

Faldeus watched as August forced the No Name Assassin back with a rough rebar greatsword. He stared at the screen for several seconds.

"Have we identified him?"

"No. We searched every available government database and found nothing related to him."

The secretary changed the screen.

"However, we think their base is the Barrow Cannery on Grand West Street."

The final piece of footage showed August's car entering the factory.

"They bought the property for a large amount of money. Since then, every camera and street monitor near the factory has stopped working."

Faldeus frowned.

"Did you send anyone to inspect it?"

"Yes. Nothing outside the cannery has changed, and only a few people have been seen going in or out. Most of the original workers were let go, and the new owners seem to have hired many undocumented immigrants."

"The factory itself is currently inactive."

Orlando's police kept their information secret, but Faldeus's group had already found almost everything they could from public sources.

"What about the tax authorities?"

"The owners hired a professional legal and accounting team. Every tax and fee was paid in full, in advance."

The secretary shook her head.

"We have no legal reason to investigate without a warrant. They followed all the official steps, Director, and you know what their lawyers would do if we tried to force our way in."

In other words, whoever ran the cannery had put everything out in the open but still left them with nothing they could act on.

Faldeus could go after the undocumented workers using immigration laws, but raiding the property of someone rich enough to hire many lawyers and pay all expenses ahead of time would cause more problems than it would solve.

"Shit..."

This was the first time Faldeus had faced an enemy who hid behind flawless legal paperwork instead of magical barriers and old traditions.

"What does Orlando plan to do?"

"His exact order was: 'If you can't beat him, don't chase him.'"

Sending regular police officers after someone who could defeat a Servant would only put them in danger.

"Fine. Set it aside for now."

The only way to find out what was inside the cannery was to go in themselves, and every magus knew how risky it was to enter another magus's workshop without knowing what to expect.

It made more sense to start with easier targets.

Faldeus looked over the information the facility had gathered. They had already found the locations of six Masters. Rider's Master was still unknown, but the others were mostly accounted for.

That left the girl with the Command Spells, the one calling herself Ayaka Sajyou.

She would be a much easier target.

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

By the time August returned to the cannery, the factory had changed completely.

Several disguised tanks were getting new tracks and being loaded with ammunition. Technical crews worked among rows of drones, and soldiers changed weapons to use against Snowfield's supernatural residents.

The teams sent after Jester Karture had come back as well.

"Oh, August is back." Commander James stood at the front of a briefing and waved him over. "Everything went well, but that vampire got away through the sewers."

"How did it feel?" August asked the soldiers responsible for the operation.

One of them saluted.

"REPORTING. THIS WAS OUR FIRST TIME ACTING LIKE ALIEN OVERLORDS, SIR. IT WAS... NOT WHAT WE EXPECTED!!"

They had assumed ordinary steel bullets would struggle to harm a Dead Apostle.

Instead, the first clean shot had erased one of Jester's lives.

For people like them, most of the Type-Moon world's protections and rules didn't work as well. The soldiers now understood how strange it felt to show up as a more advanced civilization.

"Alien overlords, huh." Commander James rolled his eyes and cut them off.

Based on their latest analysis, the soldiers who crossed worlds had bodies similar to humans from the Age of Gods, maybe even close to powerful spiritual beings approaching enhanced Servants.

Compared to the people living in this world now, they were on a different level.

"We've also detected movement from Orlando Reeve," Commander James continued. "He's sending people to scout the factory, and the local magical intelligence agency is preparing its own investigation."

Every conversation had already been intercepted.

In just a short time, the military had taken over Snowfield's communication network. They even had access to the city's satellites. With this era's technology, it felt like they could see everything.

They had not relied on hacking alone.

There were plenty of security contractors, technicians, and officials who would sell access if the price was right. With endless fake bills from their printing presses, the military just bought half the systems it needed and took the rest later.

"What do you think we should do?" Commander James asked.

August spread his hands.

"Whatever you think is best. Worst-case scenario, we fight them and leave."

There was no reason to make things more complicated. If Snowfield became too troublesome, they could return to their own world.

Commander James laughed.

"That's true!"

They weren't here to stay for good. This trip was for research, weapons testing, and live training for their soldiers.

Before the briefing could continue, alarms rang throughout the factory.

WOOO—WOOO—

Everyone looked toward the entrance.

"Good evening, everyone." Olga Marie Animusphere appeared inside the meeting room wearing ordinary clothes.

Five women stood beside her.

They had teleported straight through the factory's defenses.

"..." The entire room went silent. One by one, everyone turned toward August.

"You people really don't know when to give up!" Hestia jumped forward and pointed at them. "You already escaped the Throne of Heroes! Go wherever you want! Why did you follow us back here??"

"Hah! I should be saying that to you!" Jeanne Alter glared at her. "You're the one who ran away!"

"You really think I'll just stand by while six women chase after August?" Hestia lifted her chin. "He's my Familia child. I have to protect his chastity!"

She placed one hand against her chest. "I am Hestia, the virgin Goddess of the Hearth. Protecting the purity and safety of my Familia is part of my Divine Authority!"

Hestia felt fortunate that her Authority gave her the perfect excuse.

"..." Jeanne Alter blinked. Her hostility vanished.

"Greetings, revered Goddess." Her arrogant attitude disappeared. She looked at Hestia like she had just found a long-lost sister.

'YOU BETRAYED US TOO QUICKLY!' Olga Marie, Larva/Tiamat, Marie Alter, Space Ishtar, and Space Ereshkigal all stared at her.

Wasn't Jeanne Alter the loudest one just a moment ago?

How did she switch sides so quickly?

"Hmph! What are those looks supposed to mean?" Jeanne Alter crossed her arms. "How rude."

"This is pure love!"

If Hestia was protecting August's innocence, then her relationship with him was pure love.

And if Jeanne Alter pursued August honestly and became his lover, then that would also be pure love.

The astonishing logic struck the others like lightning.

Pure love.

Yes. That was exactly what they wanted.

Aside from Marie Alter—who was already considering how severely she should punish August as his self-appointed mother—the others felt as though a new door had opened before them.

"Then—" Jeanne Alter turned to carry on the argument.

No one was there.

August, Hestia, Lili, and Commander James had all vanished.

Several researchers nearby quietly began packing up equipment, pretending they hadn't seen anything.

"They ran away again??" Jeanne Alter ground her teeth. "How?"

"They didn't run." Space Ishtar flew toward the place where August had disappeared and examined the remaining traces.

"They left this universe..."

She could tell the soldiers recognized her, but that was not the important part.

August and the others disappeared without a sound. There was no mana, no spatial distortion, and no spiritual dispersal. They vanished so completely that even the six women couldn't sense them anymore.

They had gone beyond the boundaries of the Universe itself.

Olga Marie looked at the soldiers, who were making a great effort to appear busy.

They were military personnel following orders. She couldn't bring herself to interrogate them over August's escape.

"We'll stay here for now," Space Ishtar declared, dropping into the nearest chair. "He can hide for a day, but he can't hide forever."

She had worked too hard to escape the Throne of Heroes. There was no way she would leave just because August got away again.

The nearby soldiers stared at her shameless display. Her total lack of restraint was exactly what they expected from her.

"Chief, is this really alright?" Several researchers turned toward the Logistics Chief, who stood to the side smoking.

With Commander James gone—the Logistics Chief was now the highest-ranking officer in the factory.

"Why are you all looking at me? If you want them gone, go throw them out yourselves!" the Logistics Chief snapped.

He didn't care about getting involved in August's romantic problems. He had military operations to plan and equipment to get ready.

The soldiers, however, had already recognized Space Ishtar and Space Ereshkigal.

Both wore Rin Tohsaka's face.

Rin was one of the franchise's most famous heroines—the legendary queen of thighs herself.

The younger male researchers could hardly hide their excitement. They were seeing Rin Tohsaka in person, along with Tiamat—the woman who always called herself Mother even though she had barely ten percent of the maternal presence anyone expected.

For fans of the series, it felt like the characters had stepped right out of the screen.

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

BULK UPLOAD OF 5 CHAPTERS IF WE HIT 900 POWERSTONES THIS WEEK!!

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

~ Every 300 Power Stones = Bonus chapter!

~ 40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!

https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx

(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)