Danmachi: The Multiverse Portal

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After Commander James and his group left for the Type-Moon world, August made his way back to Hearth Mansion in Orario.

As soon as he left his room and walked into the living room, Hestia greeted him with a joyful shout.

"You're back!"

Once again, a large group had gathered, and everyone turned to look at him.

Suddenly, the Gods all screamed.

"MY EYES! MY EYES!" Hestia barely had time to look up before a flood of light hit her divine senses. She covered her eyes and rolled on the floor in pain.

Artemis, Hephaestus, and the other gods reacted the same way, grabbing their faces and crying out as if August had brought the sun into the room.

"What happened?"

The mortal members of the different Familias didn't see anything so dramatic. August seemed warmer and more approachable now, but he still looked the same.

"Lady Hestia, what's wrong?" Daphne Lauros asked, confused. Was it possible her Goddess didn't recognize their captain? She looked at August again. "The Captain does feel different now."

The other Adventurers nodded in agreement.

"Cassandra?"

Daphne turned to her friend and saw Cassandra Ilion staring at August, hands clasped in prayer, as if a living god stood before her.

"The light that will save the world..."

Cassandra's usual haunted look was gone. Her face was peaceful, as if the light had taken away all her fears. She looked ready to kneel and follow August anywhere.

Everyone stared at her in disbelief.

Hestia forced her eyes open through the pain.

"August, what happened to you? Why do you look like this?"

She couldn't shake the terrible feeling that she had missed something important.

"Well..." August scratched his head. "I was testing one of my abilities."

He sounded a bit embarrassed as he pulled out the toy-like Esplender. As soon as it appeared, a powerful light filled the room, carrying the presence of the earth.

"AAAAAH!"

Hestia's scream shook the entire residential district.

"Why wasn't I there with you?? Why didn't I get to see it??"

She knew what Gaia's light meant. It was from a tokusatsu series, but August had made that fictional power real.

Hestia had hoped that showing August's battles all over Orario would let everyone see her child's best moments. Now she realized she might have missed his greatest one.

"August, listen to me! From now on, you are not allowed to test any new abilities without my permission. I have to be there!"

Hestia rushed to him, wrapped herself around him, and started crying into his chest.

Artemis, Hephaestus, Demeter, and Miach tried to ignore their discomfort and kept staring at the human-shaped mass of light.

"Suppress that light first," Miach advised.

"If you walk outside like this, the other Gods will be jealous enough to chew Hestia alive."

As Hestia's friend, Miach knew exactly what would happen. If August left the mansion, every God in Orario would show up by morning, overwhelming Hestia with demands and complaints.

"You're right!"

Hestia jumped up and called out loudly.

"Ouranos, I request permission to use divine power!"

Deep below the city, Ouranos heard her voice from his altar. He focused on Hearth Mansion, saw the shining mass of light, and even he had to squint. It was the earth's light, so pure it couldn't be mistaken for anything else.

"Permission granted."

He gave his answer without hesitation.

'What has that boy done this time?'

August had changed again in such a short time. Even Ouranos was tempted to leave his altar and recruit him himself, since the boy's growth was already beyond Orario's standards. Still, August and Hestia were basically husband and wife, and Ouranos managed not to separate them, though his envy was getting harder to hide.

With permission granted, Hestia released her divine power. The instant it flooded through Hearth Mansion, every God in Orario froze.

What was going on? Had Hestia decided she didn't want to stay in the Lower World anymore?

Before panic could spread, Ouranos's voice reached every deity in the city.

"Hestia requested permission to use divine power to suppress the power surrounding August. Her request meets the permitted conditions."

The Gods went quiet. Then their curiosity took over. What had happened to August? What kind of power made Hestia use her divinity just to keep it in check?

Only Freya understood what Ouranos's announcement meant...

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"LADY FREYA!"

Ottar watched as his Goddess screamed and fell to the floor. He stood frozen, unable to make sense of what he was seeing. Her reaction was even stronger than when she first saw Bell Cranel's pure soul.

"Ah... What is that?" Freya covered her eyes with both hands. "What in the world is that?"

She could barely believe what her eyes had shown her.

Freya used to think August was the dullest man she'd ever met. His soul seemed plain and unremarkable—with nothing worth chasing, so she barely paid him any attention. But now, as soon as August returned, his soul shone like a light over all of Orario, its brilliance filling her vision until she could see nothing else.

For the first time, Freya lost control of herself.

"I WANT HIM. I WANT THAT CHILD!!" Her fingers trembled.

There was no sign of lust on her face. What she felt went much deeper than physical desire. Seeing that soul shook her to her core and left her trembling.

How could anyone possess a soul like that?

No. August was unique. There would never be another...

Freya wanted him so much that regret started to tear at her.

"Why does Hestia have a child like this?"

For the first time, Freya felt real jealousy. It was bitter, humiliating, and impossible to ignore. She had thought Bell Cranel's clear soul was the treasure she wanted, and she had written off August's soul as plain and unworthy of her attention.

Now she understood.

That plainness was just a disguise. Everything she thought she knew about him was wrong.

The light around August was even brighter than the burning red soul she'd seen before. That earlier glow had come when he was with his people. This light came from deep inside him, pouring out from his very soul.

"This is your true soul." Freya's hands slowly fell from her face. "You've been deceiving me all this time, August!"

There could be no other explanation. Either some form of Magic had concealed his soul, or August's own instincts had been suppressing it.

Now that restraint was gone. His soul was finally revealed, and its message reached Freya without a single word.

"August, I won't let you get away." Her voice shook. "No. I'm going to win you over."

Jealousy took over what was left of Freya's composure. She wanted to take that hidden soul from Hestia and make it hers. She would take August away from Orario, and if she had to, she would steal his soul and run, even if it meant killing for the chance.

"August~"

Two dark crimson hearts shimmered in Freya's eyes.

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