In the seaside inn, Emiya met the remnants of the Hera Familia.
Once reigning supreme over the Labyrinth City, the strongest familia of the divine era spanning a thousand years, now, only four adventurers still remained by Goddess Hera's side.
The Lv.9 Amazon [The Empress], who had lost her right arm and left eye, whose internal wounds were countless, whose flame of life flickered so weakly that even a gentle breeze might extinguish it.
The Lv.7 human female [Sword Saint], who, due to excessive magic use, had permanently lost her vision and was tormented by severe post-war trauma.
The Lv.7 fox woman [Celestial Fox], who had lost both legs and could only move with the aid of a wheelchair.
The Lv.6 elf [Stellar Bow], who had fled midway through the battle against the Black Dragon and survived by sheer luck. Though physically unharmed, she suffered severe mental trauma, her arms covered in self-inflicted scars.
"How about it? This is the current Hera Familia, so pathetic it almost makes you want to laugh," Hera said. The goddess sighed in self-mockery, her gaze landing on Emiya.
She sat quietly by the window, golden hair cascading like a waterfall, the softly curled tips resting gently on her shoulders.
The goddess's beauty was dazzling, her figure voluptuous and graceful. Every gesture exuded an innate nobility and majesty, compelling others to hold their breath unconsciously, her presence surpassed even the most prominent heavenly deities Emiya had met.
"You need not blame yourself, Lady Hera," the wheelchair-bound [Celestial Fox] said softly, "This was our own choice."
"We were simply not strong enough. Since we lost, there's nothing to say," the [The Empress] leaned against the wall, her tone devoid of emotion.
Beside them, the [Sword Saint] and the [Stellar Bow] lowered their heads, saying nothing, as if they no longer had the strength to speak.
After a moment of silence, Hera suddenly waved her hand. "I'm not blaming myself! All of you, get out! You're not needed here."
The [The Empress] sneered, "Tch. The old hag wants to be alone with a pretty boy and won't even let us watch. So stingy... fine, we're going."
The [Sword Saint] still said nothing, silently following behind the others as they exited the room.
The fox woman in the wheelchair smiled, then turned to the elven girl with a gentle voice, "I'm counting on you~ Without you, I'd be in real trouble."
The elven girl lowered her head, tears glistening in her eyes. She seemed about to say "I'm sorry," but in the end said nothing, gently pushing the wheelchair out after the others.
The room's door slowly closed, leaving only Emiya, Ryuu, and Goddess Hera inside.
"You can't possibly be from Loki's people," Hera began slowly, "No need to keep wearing that mask in front of me."
After a brief hesitation, Emiya and Ryuu removed their masks.
As Emiya's face was fully revealed, Hera's gaze slightly narrowed. She stared at the boy, speaking slowly, "So many 'traces' of deities are inscribed upon you... Whose familia do you belong to? And I don't recall ever—"
Mid-sentence, she noticed Ryuu. A glimmer of realization flashed through her clear golden eyes, "That girl from Astraea's familia... I see. You're from a different world's future."
This queen's insight and comprehension were even sharper than Goddess Amaterasu's.
Hera tapped the table gently, murmuring, "A self-preservation measure by the world, huh... Are there others besides you?"
Emiya answered honestly, "Two more."
"You told me the truth directly... do you trust me that much?", the goddess asked.
"You, as a deity, were willing to meet us without any guards," Emiya replied, "It seems your trust in us is even greater."
"I trust myself. Even if it's another world's me," Hera said with a rare smile, "I never misjudge men."
Then she paused mid-sentence, "...Except that bastard Zeus."
"And besides, even if they were here, could they really stop you?", Hera added.
Four first-tier adventurers, including a Lv.9 and two Lv.7s, on paper, the remaining Hera Familia was still an unmatched force in the city at this time.
However, one knows their own house best. No one understood better than Hera just how frail these children truly were, especially against a man like Emiya.
The [The Empress] would likely last only a few rounds before burning out; the [Sword Saint], in her current mental state, might still draw her sword against ordinary foes, but against Emiya, a single punch would probably leave her curled on the ground, shivering.
The [Celestial Fox], being a mystic, had lost her ability to perform ritual dances required for her magic; as for the [Stellar Bow], she was no match for Emiya or Ryuu in raw power to begin with.
The Hera Familia had effectively perished, while Emiya and his companions were simply too strong.
"You've not been in this world long, and no one but the gods know your true identities," Hera said slowly, "So the world's rejection hasn't kicked in yet. You came here with the goal of reaching Orario and purging the Evilus, didn't you?"
Emiya nodded, "Correct."
"I advise you not to do that," Hera said bluntly.
———
"So the elf girl from Loki's familia was you," When Hera followed Emiya and Ryuu back to their base, her eyes immediately landed on Riveria.
Perhaps due to seeing an old acquaintance, the goddess showed a rare smile.
"Lady Hera," Riveria said softly.
She was the only one among them who had actually dealt with the Hera Familia. Seeing the once-ruling queen of Orario stirred ripples in her heart.
Riveria gently shook her head, brushing away irrelevant thoughts, and met Hera's eyes, "You said it's unwise to clear out the Evilus. Why?"
"You clearing the Evilus is simple," Hera replied.
Emiya now held the strongest forces of the Evilus, the Dis sisters, in his grasp and could extract intelligence from them.
From here on, he wouldn't even need Riveria or Ryuu's help. The power of [Uchide no Kozuchi] wouldn't even be required. Emiya alone could crush the Evilus, now devoid of information advantage.
The so-called [Killer Empress] probably couldn't even withstand one of his sword strikes. The homunculus elf soldiers crafted with alchemy were even more fragile.
As for [Faceless], [Brute], [White-Haired Demon], none of them had even reached Lv.5 and were hardly worth consideration.
But—
"If you clear the Evilus, great. The city might lose fewer lives. And then what?", Hera looked at Riveria and Ryuu, "Girls, since you reached the future, that means you surpassed the Evilus. I ask you, if that battle never happened, how much slower would your leveling have been?"
Riveria and Ryuu's expressions stiffened.
Without the war against the Evilus, Riveria might have needed years of grinding in the dungeon to reach Lv.6. Ryuu would have taken at least another year to reach Lv.4.
That war had indeed been brutal, but ultimately, it was a victory for the city. The trial of war became the foundation of the future Orario.
"That's how it is," Hera said, "You can easily remove this [Calamity] known as the Evilus and allow the city to pass safely through its turmoil. But once you're gone, the city's chances against the Black Dragon will drop from nearly zero, to even lower."
Riveria slightly lowered her head, "So, you're saying... we should do nothing?"
Hera's expression remained calm, "It's up to you."
"Even if we wanted to do nothing, it's already too late. We've captured the Dis sisters and interfered with the timeline. And besides...", Emiya added, "I can't accept doing nothing."
"Do whatever you like. After all, the future... can't get any worse," Hera said with a cold smile.
The goddess seemed deeply pessimistic about the world's future.
"You mean this world needs a 'trial' of calamity, right?", Emiya asked.
A ripple stirred in the goddess's golden eyes, "Yes."
After a moment of silence, Emiya spoke, "Then I'll become that 'trial.'"
He saw an expression of surprise flash across the goddess's face. After a long time, she gently smiled.
"What's your name?", Hera asked.
"Emiya Shirou, Hephaestus Familia."
"Hephaestus, huh... I'm jealous. If it were you, I'd even break my 'only women allowed' rule, too bad...", Hera said softly.
"To be honest, I'd already lost interest in Orario. But now... things are starting to get interesting," The goddess looked at Emiya and paused, "That mask is certainly useful for hiding your identity, but Loki will see through it. I can lend you some items to reinforce its effect."
Emiya: "Please also lend me the senior members."
Hera chuckled, "Greedy man... If you can persuade them, do as you wish."
The goddess paused briefly, "Your code name in this world is [Archer], isn't it?"
"Yes," Emiya replied.
"I don't like it," Hera said willfully, "Change it. That's the condition for borrowing them."
The goddess thought for a moment and said, "How about Heracles (Glory of Hera)?"
["Development Ability [Fate] Effect Activated"]
["Spirit Summoning Ritual · Heroic Spirit Call Initiated, Heroic Spirit Record Confirmed."]
["Spiritual Foundation Access: Heracles·Archer."]
———
Emiya, Heracles.
Ryuu, Achilles.
Riveria, Morgan.
Haruhime, Tamamo-no-Mae.
These were the aliases Goddess Hera assigned to Emiya and the others. Indeed, more pleasing to the ear than Saber or Archer.
Now, the first task before Emiya was how to deal with the Dis sisters.
In front of Emiya and company, the once-feared elven twin sisters had no dignity left, kneeling directly on the ground.
White elf Dina gently bowed her head, touching her forehead to the ground, her golden hair cascading over her shoulders. "Please spare our lives... we'll do anything..."
Dark elf Vena was even more direct. She pressed her head to the floor, her silver hair splayed out, hands folded before her. "Master... no, Lord! Slaves, pets, furniture, foot mats... no matter how lowly, we'll be anything, just please don't kill us!"
The elves present all showed disdainful expressions. The Dis sisters were completely mentally broken and had lost all sense of shame.
[Stella Bow] spoke softly, her voice tender, "I've heard of them... they're very, pitiful."
Riveria was silent for a while. She wasn't entirely ignorant of their past.
Dina and Vena's forest homeland was ravaged by an invading human nation. The elves were either slaughtered or enslaved.
Their mother, pregnant, was captured and sold at public auction as a slave. After the twins were born, one inheriting the high elf bloodline and the other dark elf, their stunning appearance and rarity shocked an entire kingdom.
A great noble adopted them, raised them as princesses, showered them in luxury and royal education, doted on by many.
Until their sixteenth birthday.
The girls were led by their adoptive father and stripped naked before all the kingdom's nobles, for auction.
Amid roaring bids and cheers, the sisters shattered completely.
Ten years later, that nation fell into civil war under the Evilus Alecto's schemes. The capital fell, and the Dis sisters vanished.
Twenty years later, the vanished twins reemerged as Lv.5 adventurers, leaving fields of corpses in their wake and turning entire nations into dead lands.
As Riveria recounted the story softly, Emiya fell silent.
As the [Sword Saint] once said, the sisters' past was indeed pitiful, they were victims of cruel fate.
But pitiful doesn't mean forgivable. Now, the Dis sisters were utterly deranged. The sins they had committed were countless.
They were victims once, but once they started harming innocents for revenge, they crossed a line that cannot be forgiven.
Kneeling, the Dis sisters spoke in trembling voices, "Our strength is not worthless. We can take care of targets inconvenient for Master to handle personally."
This line sparked a thought in Emiya's mind, 'Dionysus in this world should still be alive.'
Still, no matter how humble their posture, the sisters were ultimately untrustworthy.
Emiya pitied their past, so he would pray for their rebirth, but before that, they must be sent to it.
"I'll take care of it~"
The [Celestial Fox] spoke, her voice soft and airy, "I can't dance anymore, but besides [Mystic], I'm also a [Curse Caster] and alchemist."
Alchemical puppets, soul-sealed weapons, spiritual sealing tools... she knew a little of everything.
The Lv.7 fox woman in the wheelchair narrowed her long eyes, her tail swaying gently.
Like Emiya, she possessed the Development Ability [Mystery].
"They're still Lv.5, after all. Recyclable, I'll make sure they behave from now on~", Her gentle smile held a chilling edge.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.