“An incurable illness?”
In the war room of Guild HQ, Lyu repeated Riveria’s words with a sense of shock.
Finn took over the explanation. “Yes,” he said. “According to our sources, Alfia has had it since birth. Even receiving a Falna didn’t cure her of it—instead, it manifested as a negative Skill.”
The Skills and spells granted by Blessings were usually beneficial, but not always. They were a reflection of that person’s inner truths, and so sometimes they were all downside without any merit.
Alfia was one such example. Finn had learned as much, back in the glory days of Zeus and Hera.
“You could call it the price she pays for her exceptional abilities.”
“It is the one rule that even Alfia must follow,” said Riveria. “Something that no magic or item can overturn.”
Everyone in the room was shocked, save for Lyu. After scanning the surprised faces of the team, Gareth moved on to the next point.
“As for Zald,” he said. “While Alfia’s weakness is inborn, his is acquired. A pestilent rot slowly consumes him.”
“Acquired? Rot? What do you mean by that?” asked Kaguya.
The dwarf’s gaze became unfocused, as if he were looking far into the past.
“It happened when we slew the Behemoth,” he said. “In the battle, Zald was afflicted by the beast’s poison.”
““!!””
Alize and Lyu were both surprised to hear talk of that old battle come up.
“This is top-secret information, but Zald possesses a Rare Skill called Deus Ambrosia.”
Any records the Guild kept on its familias and the adventurers within them were considered strictly confidential. Some were so afraid of having information leaked that they secretly avoided reporting to the Guild at all. However, Zeus and Hera shared a special relationship with Ouranos, the founder of the city. They had delved deeper into the Dungeon than anyone else, mapped out each of its floors, discovered how to unlock Advanced Abilities, and studied the best way to develop Statuses. It was safe to say that, without them, Orario would not be what it was today. The city’s history was their history.
Hidden somewhere in those thousand years of recorded history were Zald’s and Alfia’s secrets. After their familias crumbled, Finn had gone to the Guild to request it.
The Guild, with Ouranos’s blessing, agreed, thus pinning their hopes on a new generation of hero.
Reading those reports for the first time blew Finn’s mind. The Abilities those adventurers possessed were off the charts.
And Zald’s was the most unbelievable of them all.
“Have you ever wondered why they call him Glutton? It’s because his Skill is activated by eating. Animals, people, even monsters. And when it does, it boosts his stats.”
“Wha—?!” exclaimed Lyra. “He gets stronger just by eatin’?! That’s basically cheating!”
“Of course, many things only offer a miniscule increase,” explained Gareth. “It depends on what he eats. The stronger it is, the greater the effect. I’ve heard he eats anything from materials gathered in the Dungeon to the bodies of his fallen allies. But what he ate most of all was monsters.”
“So you mean…” Lyu trembled, realizing where this was going.
Gareth closed his eyes. “Yes. Zald ate the Behemoth, too. In order to win, he bit straight into its flesh. That granted him the power to deal the killing blow, but Behemoth’s deadly poison struck back like a curse, devouring him slowly to this very day.”
Astrea Familia was at a loss for words, hearing for the first time how the Behemoth was really slain.
To bite into the flesh of any monster was a vile, repugnant act for most people. It was unthinkable to try that with an incarnation of death like the Behemoth. What must have passed through Zald’s mind when he did it? Was it a necessary step to take down a powerful foe? Or an act of bravery to protect those dear to him?
At last, the girls understood what Gareth had meant when he described Zald’s weakness as “acquired.”
“He, too, was fighting his own torment. One that we couldn’t possibly understand.”
“That’s awful…” muttered Lyu, imagining the price Zald paid for his heroic act. Though he was their foe, she couldn’t help but feel a little sympathetic.
Lyra grimaced. “In the end, the Behemoth had the last laugh… Ironic, ain’t it?”
“Both Glutton and Silence played important parts in the slaying of the Leviathan and the Behemoth,” explained Riveria. “But due to their actions, Zald was forced to retire from frontline combat, while Alfia’s condition dramatically worsened.”
“So then, the weakness you wanted to tell us about…” Alize ventured.
“Yes,” answered Finn. “They can only fight for so long. If the battle drags on, their curses take their toll. Perhaps Ottar can get away with ignoring this, but for anyone else, it’s the only way to even have a chance against them.”
After a short pause, Lyra piped up. “Even if they did have these tickin’ time bombs strapped to them back in the day—and I’m not sayin’ I totally believe it, either…” she said. “But who’s to say they still have those conditions? I mean, they weren’t shy about marching straight into the city, and they sure aren’t actin’ like their days are numbered. Maybe they found some way to cure themselves while they were away all those years doin’ gods know what.”
The coolheaded brain of the party was never one to indulge in optimistic thinking. Plan for the worst, hope for the best was her mantra. Sensing somewhat of an affinity with his own personality, Finn grinned and explained to her the basis of his theory.
“You’re right, Slyle,” he said, “but I have reason to suggest that’s not the case.”
“How’s that?”
“On the night of the Great Conflict, Zald and Alfia could have easily struck a decisive blow, but they chose not to. What if that wasn’t caution on their part, but simply necessity, imposed by their respective conditions?”
Alize’s face lit up with understanding.
“Oh! You mean, they wanted to finish us off but couldn’t? Like, they needed to rest after the battle?”
“That would explain why it took some time before we saw those two again…” added Kaguya.
Finn nodded. “But that’s not all. Even before the Great Conflict began, we realized the Evils were up to something.”
The way Finn spoke suggested that of his two points, what he was about to say was what had convinced him his hunch was right. With confidence in his voice, he spilled what he knew of the Evils’ plans.
This was what Astrea, Freya, and Loki had convened to discuss only two days before the Great Conflict began, and what Hermes Familia had discovered eight days before that.
It was Gareth who picked up the remainder of Finn’s tale. “We know they conducted raids on magic-stone factories in order to acquire the detonators for their suicide bombs. However, there were two other points of activity that didn’t make much sense at the time…”
“The first were the actions of unblessed followers in Dedyne,” Riveria explained. “And the second was the theft of holy tree branches.”
“Dedyne…home of the Black Desert, where the battle with the Behemoth was fought…”
The eighteenth floor still burned. Atop a cliff, Astrea was discussing with Erebus the very same topic her children were.
“The land lies barren as a result of the King of Beasts’ toxic flesh,” she said, “but it is said that somewhere in the desert, a single species of plant thrives.”
Astrea didn’t even need to say the rest for Erebus to admit it. “Quite perceptive,” he said. “Yes, we sent our followers there to harvest that plant and make from it a tonic to keep Zald’s illness in check.”
“And the elven tree branches…”
“A partial remedy for Alfia’s condition. The ample magic power those branches contain is perfect for easing her symptoms.”
All of it had been in pursuit of these two items, so the conquerors could fight at full power for as long as possible.
Meanwhile, aboveground, Hermes muttered to himself.
“That’s why we never saw the bigger picture,” he mused. “The detonators, the activity in Dedyne, and the holy tree branches—they were all for different purposes.”
It was Hermes Familia who first learned of the goings-on elsewhere on the continent, but they only realized their significance on the night of the Great Conflict, with the arrival of Zald and Alfia.
They had informed Finn at once—that the enemy’s trump cards were limited-use.
That information was what had allowed Finn to stay hopeful, even when the conquerors’ might seemed overwhelming.
“All along, the Evils were funneling resources into their three secret weapons: the suicide bombs, Zald, and Alfia,” said Hermes, grasping at the singular line that led to victory. “But now that we know that, it’s proof enough that Glutton and Silence still possess their weaknesses.”