Is It Wrong To Skitter In A Dungeon? Chapter 37: The Queen of Heaven's Plot

Chapter 37: The Queen of Heaven’s Plot

“Taylor-sama… are you sure?” Mikoto asked, voice wavering with concern. “Are you absolutely certain that is what she said?”

“She said ‘Killing Stone,’” Taylor confirmed.

“Oh.” The dread in the Far Eastern woman’s voice was worrying.

“Mikoto… what is a Killing Stone?” Hestia asked.

“Yes, I’ve never heard of them before,” Miach said.

“Not many outside of the Far East do,” Mikoto admitted. “They are considered a shameful part of our past, and a disgusting practice that was made illegal by Lady Amaterasu upon descending a thousand years ago.”

Taylor made a ‘go on’ gesture with her hand, and Mikoto took a deep breath to steady herself.

“Killing Stones are a product of forbidden magic,” Mikoto said darkly. “They are created by combining a Tobi Stone and a Tamamo Stone together in a foul ritual. Tobi Stones are carved from a rare crystalline material called Lunatic Light Stone after absorbing moonlight, and the Tamamo Stone… it is said to be made by… by…”

“By what?” Taylor pressed.

“By murdering a renard child and using alchemy to turn their bones into a stone-like substance,” Mikoto whispered, and everyone recoiled in disgust and horror.

“Why?” Hestia asked tearfully.

“Because a Killing Stone is capable of trapping the soul of a renard within it,” Mikoto revealed. “And whomever has possession of the Killing Stone can then use the magical power of the renard in question.”

“Renard… those are the fox-tailed people, right?” Bell asked.

“Yes. Aside from elves, they are the race with the most magical power,” Mikoto nodded. “So a Killing Stone can boost the strength of Spells from others, or be used to fuel rituals and wards.”

“That cannot be the only reason,” Taylor said. “Is there nothing else they can do?”

“I, well, there are rumors that because a Killing Stone captures a renard’s soul, it can also record their Falna,” the samurai said. “If a renard had a Spell, then the Killing Stone allows for anyone who wields it to cast that Spell as well. Sort of like a Grimoire, but that can be used repeatedly.”

“That would do it,” Taylor sighed.

“Is there any way to undo this?” Bell asked anxiously, and Mikoto frowned.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I’ve heard that if you could return the Killing Stone to the renard’s body, then there might be a chance they could be restored to life. But, as this is a forbidden practice, I’ve never heard of anything like that happening outside of stories.”

“But it looks like the Killing Stone Miss Taylor has is broken. What would happen to it then?” Welf asked.

“I’m unsure,” the samurai hummed. “I suppose, in theory, a piece of a broken Killing Stone of sufficient size could still be used. Breaking it apart might allow anyone who had a piece to use whatever spell was ensnared within it. But such an act would definitely harm the soul of the renard, possibly beyond the point of salvation even if all the pieces were brought back together.”

“Who would do something like that?” Emma whispered sorrowfully.

“Ishtar,” the Amazon on the couch suddenly said, and everyone – except Taylor – jerked in surprise when they realized she was awake and listening. She tried to sit up but was pushed back down by Miach.

“Stay still,” he ordered. “We need to set your bones so you can heal properly.”

“I… I need to save her,” the woman said,

“You won’t be able to do anything like this,” Miach warned. “Even with a Falna, potions, and magic your body will need several days to recover properly.”

“You can still tell us what happened,” Taylor assured her. “First, though, tell us your name.”

“Aisha Belka,” the adventurer said, looking at the parahuman. “It was you, wasn’t it? You found me.”

“I did,” Taylor confirmed.

“You are the commander of the Berbera,” Ryuu revealed, surprised.

“Huh, didn’t know I was famous,” the Amazon chuckled weakly.

“Berbera?” Leo asked.

“The elite of the elite within the Ishtar Familia. Only Level 3 and higher are allowed to join their ranks,” Ryuu explained. “I am unsure of their numbers, but their combat prowess is well-known. As is their cruelty.”

“You said a name. Ishtar. Is she responsible?” Taylor inquired, putting the conversation back on track.

“Yes, she is,” Aisha said, clenching her fists.

“A goddess did this?” Mikoto asked in horror.

“Yeah. My goddess,” Aisha nodded.

“Why?” Bell asked, clenching his fists. “What was the point?”

“Ishtar wants to overthrow the Freya Familia,” Aisha revealed. “She hates Freya. Truly and utterly. Thinks Freya is an upstart who looks down on her by being a Goddess of Love but having nothing to do with the Entertainment District. All the other gods with a domain involving love have some connection to the district, and by extension, Ishtar herself. This is an insult in her mind.”

“And she’d be willing to go to war over this?” Taylor demanded. “And not just a War Game, but actual violence?”

“Absolutely,” Aisha claimed. “She was making a deal with the Kali Familia to join her, and you don’t make deals with psychopaths like them unless you want to start a war.”

“Kali?!” Miach gasped.

“Is she important?” Silva wondered. “I’ve never heard of her before, though.”

“I have,” Taylor spoke up. “She was in Melen for a while, apparently. The Njord Familia didn’t know why, but they had seen meet-ups between them and Ishtar Familia. Oh, and they had a bit of a fight with the Loki Familia.”

“Kali rules the Amazon nation of Telskyura,” Miach explained for everyone.

“Sorta like Ares and Rakia?” Welf wondered.

“No. They may call it a nation, but there are no ordinary people in Telskyura,” Aisha revealed. “Everyone has a Falna, not just the warriors.”

“Everyone?!” the Blacksmith gasped.

“The moment a baby is born, they are branded with a Falna,” Miach confirmed. “Their numbers are generally low, it's more of a city-state than anything else, but when everyone is an adventurer who has managed to survive the most dangerous place in the world besides the Dungeon… well, even the Empire would hesitate to challenge them.”

“If the Kali Familia were to join the Ishtar Familia, then they might just be able to take down Freya,” Hestia admitted with a frown.

“Thankfully, Kali backed out of the alliance,” Aisha said, causing everyone to sigh in relief. “I think something in Orario spooked her, and it wasn’t just due to the beating her Familia was handed by Finn and the others. Whatever it was, though, she left and won’t be helping Ishtar anytime soon.”

“Alright, that’s one good thing,” Taylor grunted. “But this Killing Stone… what can it do? What makes Ishtar so confident to fight the Freya Familia with it?”

“The renard girl stuck inside the stone had a truly insane Spell that can change the tides of battle,” Aisha claimed. “It’s… I can’t remember the name, but it allows her to boost the Level of an adventurer.”

“What?!” several people exclaimed in shock.

“Yup. Imagine a Level 3 adventurer with a B rank in their Power stat. With Haruhime’s spell they suddenly count as a Level 4 with a B rank in Power,” Aisha said with a grim expression. “It only lasts around fifteen minutes and can only affect a single person at a time, but it does not end if she’s unconscious – or worse. However, when the Killing Stone is broken up, anyone with a shard can use this Level Up spell.”

“Ishtar can have a Familia full of adventurers punching well above their weight class,” Taylor realized.

“You see how dangerous it is, then?” the Amazon asked, earning a curt nod from Weaver.

“I’m sorry, did you say Haruhime?” Mikoto demanded, cutting in, and Aisha blinked before nodding.

“Uh, yeah. That was her name. Sanjouno Haruhime. Or I suppose Haruhime Sanjouno, using western naming conventions.”

“No!” Mikoto breathed out in horror. “That’s… that cannot be! She can’t be here!”

“I don’t know how it happened, but Haruhime told me that she’d been sold to a slaver and ended up in Orario about a year ago,” Aisha said.

“That’s impossible…” Mikoto whispered, despair covering her face. “I’d heard a rumor that somebody matching Haruhime’s appearance had been seen in the Entertainment District, but I never found any evidence, so I assumed…”

“Aisha, why did I find you on death’s door in an alleyway?” Taylor inquired, once more getting things back on track.

“Because I opposed Ishtar and tried to protect Haruhime from her,” Aisha replied. “I got to know Haruhime while she was working as a courtesan, and when I learned what Ishtar had planned for her? I knew I couldn’t allow it to happen.”

Aisha stared back at Taylor. “I’m not a good person, but even I draw the line at using something as foul as a Killing Stone and shattering it just to try and get one over on Freya. So I tried to disrupt her scheme. I misdirected funds, kept Haruhime away from the captain and other pieces of shit in the Familia, and I even destroyed the first Killing Stone Ishtar acquired, forcing her to wait for a new one.”

“But it wasn’t enough,” Taylor guessed, and Aisha looked down in shame.

“No. It wasn’t,” she agreed. “After your War Game, Ishtar sent me and the Berbera into the Dungeon to gain Excelia and obtain materials to prepare for her war against Freya. While I was away… she performed the sacrificial ritual that transferred Haruhime’s soul into the Killing Stone and then broke it into several pieces. I only found out when I returned a few days ago.”

Aisha scowled. “I was pissed, and tried to steal the Killing Stone shards to save Haruhime, but I only managed to get one before Phryne caught me. It was all I could do to swallow the shard to keep it away. They tried to torture me to find it’s location but I resisted long enough for them to give up.”

“Why didn’t they kill you or remove your Falna?” Ryuu asked.

“They knew that if Ishtar was near me, I’d try and murder her without any hesitation,” Aisha said with a vicious smile. “As for the first thing, I think they expected me to die from the beating that a Level 5, a Level 4, and a whole bunch of Level 3s gave me. Honestly, I should have, if not for Haruhime’s Spell secretly raising my Level. Even so, it was a near thing, and it took all my power to drag myself away from where they dumped me.”

“That still seems shorted-sighted and risky,” Taylor commented. “What exactly is going to stop somebody from trying to get revenge on them if they just let anyone who challenges them live?”

“Ishtar rules the Entertainment District with an iron fist,” Aisha said with a grimace. "Aphrodite and Tyche might have control of a few establishments within and reject her authority, but they are isolated enclaves within Ishtar’s domain. If she wanted, she could crush them in an instant. That’s probably why they didn’t care to just outright murder me. Even if I survived, what could I do alone?”

“Even if the Ishtar Familia is an A-ranked Familia, the Aphrodite and Tyche Familia are both B-rank. It wouldn’t be easy for Lady Ishtar to defeat them in a straight fight,” Lili piped up.

“Alone, sure, but Ishtar has a bunch of other gods under her thumb, and can draw upon them for aide,” Aisha spat out. “The Serket Familia provide the Ishtar Familia with aphrodisiacs and poisons. Ereshkigal is a coward and unable to say no to her. And the Ikelos Familia provide her with all sorts of illegal goods.”

“Like the Killing Stone,” Taylor guessed.

“Exactly. There are also other Familias she can extort and blackmail. She knows a lot of dirty secrets that, if they got out, could ruin a lot of people,” Aisha revealed. “Ishtar sucks at long-term planning but she’s not an idiot, and had spent centuries gathering power within the city. Even the Guild has to walk carefully around her.”

“But what about Haruhime?” Mikoto demanded. “We have to save her!”

“We can’t rush in there without a plan,” Taylor retorted.

“And from the sounds of it, we won’t be able to do anything ourselves,” Welf pointed out. “We need allies if we want to save your friend.”

“True,” Taylor agreed. “A coalition of Familias should be able to force Ishtar to capitulate if we apply the right kind of pressure. Aisha, could you give us the information you have on the people you know for a fact Ishtar has dirt on?”

“Absolutely,” the Level 3 nodded. “I know a lot. I was more of a vice-captain than Ishtar’s boy-toy Tammuz ever was.”

“Tell us everything,” Taylor instructed. “But first, how long ago was it that this ritual happened?”

“It’s been a couple days since Ishtar put Haruhime’s soul into the Killing Stone and then broke it,” Aisha informed them. “A week at most. I only found out yesterday when I returned from the deep expedition. I don’t know if time matters or not, but the sooner we can put Haruhime’s soul back, the better!”

“Indeed, the sooner the better,” Miach spoke up. “The soul is delicate, and the mind is tied to it, along with the body. The longer they are separated, the worse they’ll degrade.”

“You said Ishtar planned to attack Freya, correct?” Bell asked. “What if we go to her and tell her what we know? Surely that information would convince her to help!”

“Maybe,” Hestia said, clearly not liking the idea of Bell being near the other goddess. Though for once, Taylor was able to tell that this was not due to jealousy, but for some other reason.

“I’ll go,” Taylor spoke up. “It would be more socially acceptable for a Familia’s captain to speak to the head of another Familia, regardless of the difference in rank.”

“Alright,” Hestia said with a nod. “I don’t like it, but… fine. Go fill her in and see what Freya has to say about working together to attack the Ishtar Familia.”

Taylor nodded and strode out of the room, stopping only to grab some silk from her room and Chris from his stable, and then the two of them were off.

Folkvangr was an impressive structure, resembling a palace with pristine marble pillars and decorative statuary throughout the yard with a lush and well-kept garden filled with all sorts of flowers, mainly roses. There was no wall surrounding the place, just a fence, as who would be stupid enough to try and break into a building with the largest number of high-class adventurers, second only to the Loki Familia? Even the Ganesha Familia did not have as many powerhouses, despite having more members overall.

As such, when Taylor approached the entrance to the Freya Familia’s home, she knew that many eyes were on her, from both within and without.

‘So, they have people stationed in the other houses and buildings around Folkvangr that keep an eye on the place,’ Taylor noted. ‘Interesting. It’s an extra layer of protection. If any suspicious people linger around then the spies in the nearby dwellings can report it, and there’s also the added threat of using gossip to control the narrative. Not everyone in the houses here will be a spy for Freya, some will be regular people just live here but can be influenced alongside individuals who’re working for other Familias. Freya is quite intelligent to have come up with this multi-layered security system.’

The effectiveness of this network soon proved itself when a white-haired woman in a black uniform, her bangs covering the right side of her face, opened the doors as soon as Taylor reached them.

“My name is Horn, the goddess Freya’s assistant,” the Level 2 adventurer said, expression neutral as she looked at Taylor. “How may I help you today, Lady Weaver?”

“I wish to speak with Lady Freya about a certain matter,” Taylor said. “It has to do with a certain someone in the Entertainment District.”

She removed the fragment of Killing Stone she’d held onto, flashing it for Horn to see, and the secretary’s expression hardened before she nodded.

“Very well. Lady Freya has a bit of free time right now. I shall take you to her.” She then glanced at Chris. “Leave it here.”

With that said Horn turned and led her into foyer and through the halls of the sprawling estate that put Apollo’s to shame in terms of, well, everything. Size, taste, quality… Folkvangr had it all.

Some adventurers were in the halls as they passed, no real expressions of their own save the occasional look of curiosity and, oddly enough, jealousy.

‘Are they jealous of me having a face-to-face meeting with Freya?’ Taylor couldn’t help but wonder. She’d heard that the Familia members under Freya were unusually devoted to her, but this felt almost cultish.

Keeping any signs of discomfort off her face as she was led into an impressive lounge area, Taylor watched as Horn bowed to the enchanting woman on a pure white couch before making her exit.

“I must say, I did not expect to have a guest from the Hestia Familia today,” Freya said after taking a sip of wine. She’d been reclining when Horn entered, and only when she’d left had the goddess sat up.

Of course, Freya wasn’t alone with her. Even if she hadn’t noticed the Level 7 standing in the corner of the room, her swarm would have been able to sense him a mile away.

The rust-haired Boaz’s aura was the sound of roaring water and clashing steel, and it was loud. Louder than Finn’s by a significant amount despite both being Level 7s.

“I apologize for not making an appointment before coming here,” Taylor said, reaching into a pocket slowly. She removed a pair of pure white silk gloves that she handed over to the goddess. “Please consider this a token of our remorse and respect.”

Freya looked at them before nodding, and Ottar stepped forward to accept them from Taylor. He inspected the offering before delivering the gift to the Goddess of Love and Beauty who put them on.

“My, my, they fit me perfectly,” Freya said softly. “Did you use your swarm to figure out my measurements?”

There was a hint of sensual teasing in her tone, but Taylor stoically nodded.

“That is correct. My swarm is very good at discretely uncovering information.”

“Good to know,” Freya replied. “Very well, I accept the gift and the apology. Now, how can I help the Hestia Familia?”

“We recently uncovered a gruesome plot within the bowels of Orario’s seedy Entertainment District,” Taylor explained. “Ishtar plans to make war against you, and likely very soon.”

“I am aware of her machinations.” Freya revealed. “I am working on putting her in her place very soon.”

“I, we, would like to be included in this,” Taylor said. “And we also want to warn you that Ishtar likely won’t be as easy to vanquish as you may think.”

“With her alliance with Kali falling apart, I do not see how Ishtar could possibly threaten me,” Freya replied. “Her Familia is strong, but I have Ottar and my executives surpass her own captain and elites by a fair margin.”

“Ishtar has come into possession of something truly despicable, though, that could change the tides if you aren’t careful,” Taylor warned, and she revealed the Killing Stone shard once more.

This time a flicker of emotion ran through the goddess’s eyes, and she sat up fully. “That… she has already performed the ritual?”

“Yes,” Taylor nodded. “The soul trapped within possessed a Spell that let her boost the Level of an adventurer. And with multiple shards, that means multiple adventurers being a level higher than normal. A single artificial Level 6 is still likely no threat to you or Ottar, but with all of the Ishtar Familia’s elite fighters boosted to a higher level, as well as who knows how many other underhanded tricks she likely has ready? It would be foolish to treat her as a non-entity.”

“I thought I had more time,” Freya muttered, before giving a nod to Taylor. “Thank you for bringing me this information. I will accelerate preparations to confront Ishtar soon. And as you wished, I shall bring your Familia into my plans.”

“How soon can we expect you to start?” Taylor wondered.

“A few days. No more than a week,” Freya promised.

“Thank you,” Taylor said, bowing her head politely. It wasn’t ideal, she’d been hoping for a sooner date, but with Freya doing anything… well, it was better than what she’d been used to with the PRT.

She prepared to leave, but Freya called out to her just as she turned around.

“Young Weaver, would you be willing to join my Familia?” Freya called out, and Taylor paused, glancing back.

“No,” she said simply, and walked out of the lounge without an explanation. She heard a snort of amusement from Ottar as she left, and Freya sighed theatrically.

“Ah, well, I wasn’t expecting anything else,” the goddess said as Taylor left. “Hestia is truly lucky to have a child like you at her side.”

Taylor nodded, but didn’t stop walking. She did not speed up, no matter how much she wanted to escape the place.

After seeing the way Freya’s Familia acted, Taylor wanted as little to do with them as possible. Working together to bring Ishtar’s plans to ruin were the extent of it.

“Home, Chris,” she said to her monster companion who simply nodded.

Taylor then headed back to the Hestia Familia’s new base of operations. But when her swarm got within range of the Hearth Manor, they immediately noticed several things. Namely, the building now reeked of blood, and there was damage to it.

Suddenly worried she began to run back to the mansion, and when she came to the front gate – which had been broken apart – she found a horrible sight.

“What happened here?” Taylor demanded, staring in horror at the sight of the front doors to the Hearth Manor. They had been shattered and signs of battle damage littered the front of the yard, as well as further inside.

She rushed into her home, trying to find her Familia. Her swarm found them – as well as Miach and his Familia – lying around in various states of pain throughout the room she’d last seen them in, as well as scattered about the backyard.

Nobody was dead, but they were all hurt badly. Even Miach had been struck in the face! Considering the taboo against harming gods in Orario, whoever had done this had to be foolish, reckless, or overly confident in their own power.

“Ryuu!” Taylor called out, rushing over to the side of elf. She was the only one who was still conscious, and even then, just barely.

“It was Phryne,” Ryuu coughed out, clutching her stomach.

“Ishtar’s captain?!” Taylor exclaimed.

“Yes. She, Tammuz, and several of the Berbera broke in,” the elf revealed.

“Were they after Aisha?” Taylor demanded, noting that the Amazon was missing.

“No, they were actually after Bell,” Ryuu stated, and it was only then that Taylor realized that her brother and vice-captain had been kidnapped. She also couldn’t sense Hestia anywhere within the manor.

“Why? And did they take Hestia, too?” Taylor asked.

“Yes. They took her, too, when she tried to stop them from taking Aisha and Bell. I don’t know why they wanted him, though. And Taylor! Phryne and the others had shards of the Killing Stone! They overpowered us. It was all I could do to keep us alive,” Ryuu revealed, looking down in shame. “But even then… I failed.”

“Why did they let you live?” Taylor wanted to know.

“I have no idea,” she admitted. “Maybe as a message not to come after them? Or maybe they didn’t think we were worth killing.”

“Their arrogance will be their undoing,” Taylor vowed, clenching her fists.

It seemed that tonight, she would be fighting a one-woman war against the Ishtar Familia.

“Taylor, don’t be reckless,” Ryuu pleaded. “You won’t be able to attack the Entertainment District alone! There are too many powerful adventurers who frequent it, not to mention Ishtar and her Familia will have it locked down. Wait for the Freya Familia to make a move first!”

“No, we can’t wait,” Taylor shook her head. “Who knows what they’re doing to them?! I only just found out I have a brother, I’m not going to lose any more of my family!”

“A brother… wait… Bell?” Ryuu gasped in disbelief. The captain of the Hestia Familia just nodded before turning away.

“Ryuu, heal everyone as best you can,” Taylor ordered as she hurried to her room to grab her adventurer’s equipment.

When she was done, most of the injured people were able to get back on their feet thanks to Ryuu’s Noah Heal spell, but they were far from fully recovered.

“Are you really going to attack the Ishtar Familia alone?” Mikoto asked when the captain presented herself before them.

“Yes,” she replied simply.

“Please, bring Bell and Lady Hestia back safely!” Lili begged, hugging Taylor around the waist, and the parahuman patted the pallum on the head.

“The Queen of Heaven’s star has fallen and shall be devoured by the Beetle of Dawn,” Cassandra announced, her eyes glowing in a rainbow light. “The Child of Inari will live or die depending on the choices made tonight.”

Taylor gave her a look before nodding in understanding.

“I will be back,” she told everyone, before walking out, her mask affixed to her face. It was time for Orario to fear the swarm. It was time for Khepri to rise once more.