Raising Hel, in Danmachi.

[Common]

Yang gotta yang, thx for the update!

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Yeah I wish I had more than this for today but i spent all weekend at a pokemon go fest event and didnt have time to write too much

 

[bambache]

Yang froze. "…I mean, Ruby should probably join me too, right?"


Ruby's eyes went wide, then she shook her head violently. "No! Absolutely not! I do not want tutoring!"

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"Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!"

 

[jaimyahoo]

"So she can level up, you lovable dolt!" Weiss shouted, arms crossed and voice sharp enough to echo off the stone walls.

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Yup, that dolt is indeed lovable! Nice to see more of Weiss's dere side!

Btw, workaholic Taylor is workaholic Taylor

 

[Common]

Ishtar was furious.


Not the theatrical irritation she sometimes displayed in public. Not the simmering annoyance of a rival slighting her.


This was deeper.


Colder.


She had lost Haruime.


The fox girl had slipped through her grasp and into the hands of that insufferable flat-chested schemer—Loki.


Ishtar's nails dug lightly into the arm of her couch as the memory replayed in her mind.


The War Game—if it could even be called that. Captain-on-captain combat. What a miserable straw to draw.


Finn was terrifying.


She hadn't seen it coming. None of them had. What looked like a petty rivalry between familias had unfolded into something far more calculated.


An elaborate distraction.


While the city watched Loki and the Guild maneuver against the Dark Familias, the Guild—alongside several major familias—had quietly purged most of the Dark Familias operating inside Orario. Safehouses had been raided. Smuggling routes collapsed. Entire networks had simply… vanished overnight.


Power had shifted across the city like a board being reset.


And Ishtar had been forced to watch it happen.


To watch as Loki took her fox.


Her gaze hardened.


Loki had gained prestige. The Guild had gained stability. Several rival gods had gained territory and influence.


And Ishtar had lost one of her most valuable assets.


Haruime's magic alone had been worth a small army.


The courtesans lounging around the chamber shifted nervously as their goddess's anger thickened the air.


Ishtar slowly exhaled.


Fine.


If Loki wished to play games…


She could play as well.


Loki's daughter had only just arrived in Orario. Her familia would still be weak—barely established.


Easy pickings.


"Send a few girls," Ishtar said lazily, waving a hand.


Several of the prostitutes straightened immediately.


"To Hel's establishment," she continued, voice smooth and poisonous. "Cause a disturbance. Nothing overt. Just enough to make business… inconvenient."


One of the women hesitated. "Lady Ishtar… Hel's followers—"


Ishtar's eyes snapped toward her.


The woman went pale.


"They are just Level Ones," Ishtar said dismissively. "Don't worry about them."


The group of Level 1s and 2s nodded frantically, eager to show they understood.


Ishtar leaned back against the cushions, a smug smile slowly spreading across her lips.


Hel's little familia would fold under pressure soon enough.


A new shop.


Unproven adventurers.


Children playing at being a familia.


Her gaze shifted lazily across the chamber.


"Phryne," Ishtar called.


The massive toad-woman lounging nearby lifted her head with a wet chuckle, thick arms resting on her knees.


"Yes, Lady Ishtar?" Phryne croaked.


Ishtar tapped a finger lightly against the arm of her couch.


"How goes the search for my wayward sister?"


Phryne grinned, revealing rows of unpleasant teeth.


"We've got girls watching the district," she said. "But Lady Eresh is slippery, we havent had any sightings in weeks."


====

Inside, the atmosphere was calm.


Weapons lined the walls in careful rows—spears, swords, axes, and shields polished to a mirror sheen. Racks of reinforced travel clothing and light armor stood neatly arranged beside them.


Behind the counter stood Ereshkigal.


The goddess looked completely at ease, one elbow resting on the polished wood while she flipped idly through a ledger. Dark hair spilled over her shoulders as she calmly tracked inventory with the patience of someone who had managed the dead for millennia.


A bell chimed as the door opened.


Several women stepped inside.


They were beautiful—graceful, poised, and dressed like hookers.

And clearly not just adventurers.


Ereshkigal looked up slowly.


Her crimson eyes swept over them once.


Then she smiled faintly.


"Welcome."


Her voice was warm, polite… and somehow heavy.


"What can I help you with today?"


The girls froze.


One of them swallowed hard.


"…Lady Ereshkigal?"


The name slipped out before she could stop herself.


Silence fell over the shop.


The goddess behind the counter tilted her head slightly, as if considering them again.


"Oh," Ereshkigal said mildly. "You recognize me."


The women immediately bowed their heads, panic flickering across their faces, then they ran.

 

[Zetakille]

Oh dear. Ishtar's going to develop a phobia of bugs in the near future, isn't she? Her "Haruime" was in fact Lisa.

 

[Common]

The Guild rarely panicked.


Concern? Yes. Urgency? Often.


But panic meant something had gone deeply wrong in the Dungeon.


The report on the table suggested exactly that.


The elf clerk adjusted her glasses as several pages of field notes were spread across the long conference table.


"Multiple adventurer parties have reported irregular monster behavior between Floors Seven and Twelve," she said carefully.


Across from her, a senior Guild investigator frowned.


"Irregular how?"


The elf flipped to the next page.


"Ants."


Silence filled the room.


"…Ants," the investigator repeated flatly.


"Yes."


She tapped the report.


"Large colonies of predatory ants appearing on floors where they are not normally present."


Another page slid across the table.


"Numbers are also… unusual."


"How unusual?"


The elf hesitated.


"…Thousands."


The room went very still.


One of the analysts leaned forward.


"That's impossible. Dungeon spawn rates for that species are limited."


"That's what we believed," she replied.


Another report slid into view.


"And yet they are appearing on higher floors in organized swarms."


"Organized?"


"Yes."


She tapped a line in the report.


"Adventurers claim the ants retreat strategically and prioritize monsters carrying larger magic stones."


The investigator slowly leaned back.


"…They're hunting."


"Correct."


"And collecting stones?"


"Yes."


A quiet voice spoke from the end of the table.


"That is not natural."


Everyone turned.


A representative from Freya Familia stood there, marine blue eyes sharp.


"We would like access to these reports."

========

High above Orario, within the towering manor of Freya Familia, the goddess herself lounged lazily across a velvet seat.


Silver hair spilled over the armrest like moonlight.


Freya listened as the report finished.


"Irregular ant colonies appearing across multiple Dungeon floors," the adventurer said.


Van, the half-Pallum, stood calmly at the base of the steps, arms folded behind his back.


Freya hummed softly.


"Ants…"


Her beautiful eyes glowed faintly.


The world shifted for her.


Where others saw people, Freya saw souls.


Light.


Color.


Potential.


Although all of that had briefly been overshadowed the moment she spotted a very familiar soul again.


Odin.


Freya's lips curled faintly.


That lovable man was already flirting with Hestia.


It was just like him.


Some things never changed.


Freya shook her head lightly, amusement fading as she returned to the present.


Right.


Ants.


She had already noticed something strange in the city recently involving its bugs… and the trail kept circling back to that girl.


Taylor.


A full minute passed as she considered the situation.


Ants gathering magic stones.


Freya smiled faintly.


"I believe," she said slowly, "that I should speak with my granddaughter."


Van blinked.


That… was not the answer he had expected.


"Your granddaughter?" he repeated carefully.


Freya rose gracefully from her seat, silver hair cascading down her back.


"Yes."


Her eyes gleamed with quiet amusement.


"It has been some time since we last spoke."


Van lowered his head slightly, though confusion still lingered.


"Shall I prepare an escort?"


Freya chuckled softly.


"No."


Her smile widened just a little.


"I think I shall visit Hel personally."

===

Across the city, inside Hel Familia's shop…


Hel was sitting at her desk.


Crying.


Not dramatic sobbing. Not the tears of heartbreak or tragedy.


Just the quiet, exhausted tears of someone buried under a mountain of paperwork.


Forms.


Invoices.


Guild reports.


Inventory manifests.


Tax documents.


Requests for equipment permits.


Dungeon activity notices.


And—somehow—three different warnings from the guild regarding irregular ant activity, oh dear lord if they ever figured out that was Taylor, she does not want to know the amount of paperwork that would create for her.

Hel slowly lifted another sheet of parchment.


Her eye twitched.


"How," she whispered to herself, voice thin with disbelief, "did my familia generate this much paperwork in three days?"


Another page slid off the pile and fluttered to the floor.


Hel stared at it.


Then at the rest of the stack.


Then back at the fallen page.


"…I was a goddess of death," she muttered faintly.

Just outside the room Ereshkigal glanced over from behind the counter.


"You still are."


"Yes," Hel said weakly. "But managing the dead was somehow less administratively demanding than this."


Lisa sat nearby, calmly reviewing another ledger, her tail swaying lazily.


"That would be because the dead rarely file complaints."


Hel buried her face in her hands.


"Taylor has produced twelve separate Guild inquiries."


Lisa nodded.


"Yes."


"Yang broke two practice weapons."


"Yes."


"Ruby submitted a Dungeon incident report that was forty percent sound effects."


"…Yes."


Hel slowly lowered her hands, staring into the middle distance.


"Lisa, do you want to be captain instead of Ruby?" Hel asked, gesturing weakly to the stack of forms the Guild had demanded corrections on.


Lisa didn't even look up.


"Nope!" she said cheerfully, sliding another page into a neatly organized pile.


Hel blinked.


Lisa continued sorting the documents with alarming efficiency.


"I enjoy being alive," she added brightly. "Removing Ruby from captaincy would require explaining that decision to Ruby."


Hel slowly nodded.


"…Fair. Wait Ruby wouldnt hurt anyone?"


Lisa held up Ruby's Dungeon report.


Across the page were enthusiastic notes like:


"AND THEN YANG PUNCHED A KOBOLD THROUGH A WALL!!!"


Followed by:


"ANTS EVERYWHERE!!! (probably Taylor)"


And:


"CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH (monster noises)"


Lisa tapped the page.


"The Guild is requesting clarification on this section."


Hel rubbed her temples.


"…Which section?"


Lisa pointed.


Hel read the line.


"AND THEN TAYLOR DID THE BUG THING AGAIN."


Lisa's ears flicked, tail swaying lazily.


"Ya know… the Guild is probably going to figure out that the ants are Taylor."


"FUUUCCCKKK!" Hel whined, burying her face in her hands again.


"Yep," Lisa said cheerily, sliding another sheet into the needs correction pile. "Better start bracing yourself."


Hel groaned so loudly it echoed off the walls.


"…I did not sign up for this level of paperwork chaos," she muttered.


Lisa tilted her head, eyes glinting with amusement.


"Technically, you did when you adopted us."


Hel whines.


Paperwork is how we survive gods.


Ereshkigal's eyes flicked to the counter, a faint memory surfacing.

"Oh, Hel… some people who looked like they were from my sister's familia came by earlier," Ereshkigal said slowly, recalling the incident. "Only she would induct those… floozies. They left when they saw me, but it looked like they wanted to cause trouble."


Hel's head thudded lightly against the desk.


"…Of course they did…" she muttered, voice muffled against her hands.


She lifted her gaze and spoke more firmly. "Lisa, close the door to the office."


Lisa nodded, tail flicking lazily, and moved to obey.


Hel took a deep breath and looked up toward the ceiling. Then she addressed the air as if speaking to a very naughty child.


"Taylor… if you are paying attention, can you please come to my office?"

 

[bambache]

How much amusement is Loki having over their kid suffering from the antics that they signed up for?

 

[DavidMswdlvr2]

How much amusement is Loki having over their kid suffering from the antics that they signed up for?

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Smugger than Tattletale at her worst.