For the Record

And without another word, the draconic hero drops low to the ground on her feet and one hand. Her wickedly curved shortsword flashes free from the bandolier, spinning in flight around her to snap into her outstretched left hand. The three of us hastily take our positions in formation, Ravona standing back and to the side with a conflicted look on her face as the still-unknown vanguard cowers behind her…

…

Am I forgetting something? I feel like I’m forgetting something.

I don’t have any more time to spend on the thought as the hero flashes towards us, almost too fast to follow. It would seem she’s mimicking a monster battle, considering she went straight for Frederick and his greatshield first. The blow sends him staggering, but only briefly as he finishes activating a stability Skill.

“Good!” our opponent shouts. “You have to turn it on faster though!”

She’s barely finished speaking before a ball of black flame leaves her mouth, setting the metal barrier ablaze.

The paladin barks in surprise, fumbling to drop his shield as the attack consumes it down to cinders. Meanwhile, our quarry redirects toward me, and it doesn’t take a veteran rogue to tell her build…

Very similar to my own. Why is a hero an assassin? Maybe it’s because that thing on the throne is her patron?

I desperately try to block her flurry of swings as several bite into my armor. I quickly backpedal, the blows still reaching me as she follows step for step, finally catching me by the ankle with a leg sweep and sending me flipping through the air with a sickening crunch of bone and sinew.

I’ve dealt with pain before though, and before I’ve even hit the ground Ravona is healing me from a distance.

But while I’m in the air, I have an opportunity to finally Identify the Hero Eleonor.

[Nox Draconis (Elder) – Eleonor (Assassin) – Level 4379]

…

Sure enough, an assassin bui… wait, what!? That is who we’re fighting!?

We don’t stand a chance! How is this even a test!?

My spinning trajectory straight up toward the ceiling hasn’t allowed me much line of sight to the ongoing battle, but from the corner of my eye I catch Rosalie’s shield spell shattering under an onslaught of black needles before several pierce her limbs, immobilizing her.

And then I’m on the ground after a sharp impact. The unnamed vanguard’s weapon arm is severed, while the shamaness is holding her arms up in surrender with the shadowy shortsword at her throat.

“Do you yield, then?”

Several sets of eyes stop on me.

“Y-yes! Yes we yield!” I stammer through a wheeze on the ground. The impact definitely hurt, and I’ve got more broken bones from it, although it’s a drop in the bucket compared to the attack that preceded it.

With a spinning flourish, the Hero Eleonor returns her weapon to the bandolier slung across her chest and turns to walk disinterestedly toward the dais.

“You’ve gotten so much stronger, little sister,” the goddess intones. “Much, much stronger. I’m proud of you.”

“I’m sure you are, demon lord,” the hero answers. “But that won’t stop me from-”

“Yes, yes, I know. You’re going to kill me for my sins. I’ve long since accepted that you’re at least going to attempt it, and you’re welcome to try. I’m not even going to revoke those hero powers if and when you do.”

Ravona continues rapidly healing our party while the exchange continues, clearly showing some amount of regret on one side and callous disregard on the other… although it’s absolutely clear that these two shared some kind of bond at some point.

I’m not sure I want to know what would have soured it.

“Well then, the next step I suppose?”

Without another word, we find ourselves in a lush garden, standing around a table in some kind of…

Gazebo? Where are we? Why are we here?”

“Why, for tea, of course. I’m not so uncivilized as to declare a verdict while you lay on the ground like a corpse. And besides, it’s been a long, long while since I’ve taken tea with my sister. You understand, of course…?”

“Oh, yes, yes, we understand, we definitely understand,” Rosalie frantically answers.

“Where is the healer?” Frederick unexpectedly asks.

The goddess’ eyes glide to him. “My followers will receive a different reward for their efforts. They always do.”

“I see.”

Well, nothing for it. It’d be pretty foolish to keep the goddess waiting, so I take a seat next to the fearsome hero and across from our host.

A monster radiating power and grace smoothly approaches with a complete silver tea set floating around her. Her immaculate maid uniform doesn’t so much as flutter from the motion, and once she’s finished serving she offers a small bow and withdraws in the same way to stand motionlessly at the edge of the ornate structure.

“Thank you, Nula,” the terrifying deity offers before taking a sip of the brew and sighing in satisfaction.

“At least you didn’t kill them,” the hero half snaps. “unlike all those defenseless mortals. Do your people get a special exemption from your rampages?”

“Of course they do. They’re mine, just like you are. I protect my own, you know this,” Nemesis half-shrugs. “And besides, the pantheons were at war. What was I supposed to do but kill? Ah ah, before you answer. I understand that tradition dictates that divines themselves don’t set foot on the battlefield except as commanders. Which is exactly what I did; all direct damage was done by my individually weak kin.”

“Who you were empowering. I know how you fight, ‘big sister’. You use your Skills through them.”

The goddess just shrugs back. “My peers empower their mortals with whatever Classes and Skills and whatnot anyway, right? I don’t see how it’s any different from simply giving my kin all a champion status. Anyway, I suppose we could argue, or we could continue what these mortals are here for. So how were they for their levels?”

Eleonor glances between us with a sheepish smile. “I’m not good at holding back. I usually fight calamities as warmups these days… but for their levels, their teamwork needs, uh, work. They’re alright enough by themselves I guess.”

“Enough to reward them, or not? They did make it through one of my dungeons, even with [-----]’s help.”

“Wait, what language was that?” Rosalie suddenly interjects.

…And Nemesis doesn’t dignify her with a response and instead continuing, “Either way they’re going to live, assuming they don’t do anything stupid here.”

She directs a pointed gaze and a half grin toward me. “And it’s usually the sneaky stabby ones like you who try it. Trust me, it won’t work.”

I hold my hands up placatingly. Gods, who’d be dumb enough to try to kill this thing like that? Even the best of the best might succeed in killing her Vessel, but… I’d assume that would probably cost them their life.

And I like living a little too much for that.

“So your teamwork needs work. If I’m not mistaken, however… their Skill timing was at least satisfactory, at least for their levels, yes?”

The hero lazily tilts her head and offers a brief nod. “Good enough anyway. They didn’t die.”

“And that’s that! Thank you, Eleonor. It’s been a pleasure to see you again. Feel free to visit anytime.”

“Sure. Whatever, big sister.”

…

There’s definitely a tension between them, but I can’t help but notice that it’s slowly dissipating as they keep talking…

Maybe they don’t really want to be enemies?

Well, whatever.

A split second later, a wraith appears from nowhere and wraps itself around Hero Eleonor. Space tears open nearby and the monster passes seamlessly through it before the rift closes behind them…

“Down to business, then,” the goddess says with a cruel smile.

***

“I guess that wasn’t too bad in the end… at least we didn’t die.”

Callien glances sideways at me while idly thumbing his shiny new dagger. I was surprised he had the guts to ask Nemesis to make him a custom weapon, but not as surprised as he was when she simply pulled glittering black dust from her own body and made it into that weird double-edged blade.

And then she’d asked me what magic I specialized in. The goddess seemed surprised to hear me say ‘infernal’, commenting that she’d been watching through her adherent and that I hadn’t actually used anything from the Domain…

Which, she’s right. I hadn’t. I don’t have the Domain.

Or, well. I didn’t.

Imagine being gifted a Domain for clearing a midlevel dungeon?

Weird. Way too weird. I don’t trust it.

But I guess I shouldn’t complain. My fire and corruption spells are already so much stronger…

And she just replaced Frederick’s shield without another word, her offering not too much unlike his old shield in shape aside from the razor-sharp edges and spikes inlaid across the front surface.

It also appears to have some kind of quick detach feature so he can drop it in a hurry… probably an observation from that test or challenge or whatever that was.

I’d be excited to show my family my shiny new Domain considering I’m the first in generations to have one, if they weren’t all dead at least.

But they are. It’s why I’m an adventurer.

Anyway. This level of reward from a literal demon lord is unusual or at least unexpected… and enough that we’ve decided to continue facing the dungeons here on the off chance that we can get stronger from it or receive even better gear. The others were worried that eventually we might fall under the goddess’ sway, Frederick moreso than Callien, but I can’t bring myself to care. I don’t serve any of the gods anyway, and I don’t intend to start now.

And so we’ve been meandering our way back to the Adventurer’s Guild branch of Dungeon Town.

We’ve barely passed the large double doors before I feel that familiar chilly gaze…

As Ravona glances toward us from a nearby corner, the unnamed vanguard still clinging to her back.

“Hello, adventurers. I trust my lady rewarded you appropriately?” she asks but doesn’t wait for an answer. “Excellent. Let us continue then. You require a healer, and I happen to be one. When do we depart?”

…

We’re going to die. I just know it.