Chapter 335
"Of course. For anyone who wants to become stronger, Falna is an incredibly effective catalyst."
Kiriya nodded.
"It doesn’t just improve your physical abilities and mental strength across the board. More importantly, it helps uncover the limitless possibilities hidden within your body and soul. Skills and Magic are the most obvious examples."
"Like I told you before, Jeanne’s Flame of Salvation and Oathbound Holy Banner, along with my Yang Power: Everflowing Vitality and Blade Storm—all of those were brought out through Falna."
"Without Falna guiding those possibilities to the surface, they might have remained buried in the depths of our souls for our entire lives, only to disappear when our bodies eventually returned to the earth."
"Skills and Magic, huh?"
Esdeath snapped her fingers.
"That sounds interesting."
Her decision came almost immediately.
"All right. I’ll try it too."
"You sure?"
Kiriya gave her a suspicious look.
"In a sense, accepting Falna means placing yourself under someone else’s banner."
"I’m not as stubborn as you seem to think."
Esdeath rolled her eyes.
"If I’m not strong enough, then I admit I’m not strong enough and use every method available to become stronger."
"If all that requires is acknowledging some ’goddess’ as my patron, why would I care?"
Esdeath was certainly a sadist, and there was no denying that she preferred being the one in control.
But she was also an extreme pragmatist.
If calling someone her patron goddess would make her stronger, then she saw no reason to reject the idea out of pride.
Besides, Hestia was straightforward and kindhearted, without any malicious schemes hidden beneath the surface.
Joining her Familia hardly seemed objectionable.
Having made her decision, Esdeath began undoing the buttons of her shirt as she walked toward the bedroom.
She had not even reached the doorway before the garment slipped from her shoulders, revealing smooth, sharply defined shoulders and an elegant back.
Her pale skin seemed almost dazzling beneath the room’s light.
The door opened.
Jeanne’s flustered voice immediately came from inside.
"Esdeath! Why are you coming in here without any clothes on?"
"So big—"
Hestia abruptly stopped herself.
"No, wait. So white—no, that’s not the point either!"
Her voice suddenly climbed several octaves.
"Why are you walking in here half-naked?! Tell me! What exactly were you doing outside just now?!"
BANG!
Kiriya could even hear the dull sound of Hestia slamming the table.
He could easily imagine how worked up she was.
"That goddess only becomes sharp when it comes to things like this."
Kiriya covered his face.
"Hestia, give me Falna."
Esdeath ignored all the nonsense and went straight to the point.
"Huh? You’re in that much of a hurry?"
Hestia blinked.
"Of course."
Esdeath smiled confidently.
"I can’t wait to awaken some new Skill, defeat Kiriya, and finally put him under my control."
Her smile became increasingly pleased.
"I’m the woman who intends to dominate Kiriya, after all."
"Kiriya is mine!"
Hestia immediately objected.
"You latecomer sure talk big!"
Then she quickly added—
"And Skills and Magic aren’t something you can awaken just because you want them. They depend on talent, aptitude, and luck."
"Well, I happen to have plenty of confidence in all three."
Esdeath smiled.
"Hmph. Don’t blame me if you lose that gamble."
"If I lose, then it simply proves I wasn’t as exceptional as I thought."
Esdeath answered without hesitation.
It was less carefree acceptance than absolute confidence in herself.
"Fine."
Hestia picked up her silver needle and sterilized it again.
"Let’s find out."
She began engraving Falna onto Esdeath’s back.
It did not take long before another startled cry came from the bedroom.
"Whoa! You actually got a Skill!"
"What Skill? What Skill?"
Kiriya’s curiosity immediately got the better of him.
He opened the door and poked his head inside.
BAM!
Hestia instinctively hurled a pillow straight at him.
It struck Kiriya directly in the face.
He wasn’t particularly bothered.
In fact, his mind was still lingering on the brief glimpse he had gotten before the pillow arrived.
’Damn. That really is pale... and round.’
A short while later, Hestia, Jeanne, and Esdeath filed out of the bedroom.
Kiriya immediately crowded up beside Esdeath like an overly curious child.
"So? What did you get?"
"Here."
Esdeath handed him a sheet of parchment.
"Read it yourself."
Kiriya lowered his eyes.
Battle Intent Furnace — Activates when the user’s fighting spirit rises to a sufficiently high level, greatly enhancing Strength, Speed, Agility, Magic, and other physical attributes. The price is accelerated consumption of mental energy.
"Uh..."
Kiriya looked up at Esdeath.
"That Skill really couldn’t suit you any better."
For a battle maniac who practically lived for strong opponents, an enhancement Skill like this was absurdly compatible.
With Battle Intent Furnace reinforcing her body, Esdeath could potentially even begin learning Afterglow, the advanced sword technique she had coveted for so long.
"Hahahaha!"
Esdeath threw her head back and laughed, clearly delighted.
"I was thinking the exact same thing."
She grabbed Kiriya by the arm.
"Come outside. Let’s test it."
She had wanted to learn Afterglow for ages, but because she lacked a suitable enhancement Magic or Skill, her body had never been able to support the technique properly.
Now that she finally possessed one, she naturally wanted to get that trump card into her arsenal as quickly as possible.
"Wait, wait. Calm down."
Kiriya patted her shoulder.
"We have plenty of time."
"The most urgent task right now is obviously having a huge celebratory meal."
"Exactly!"
Hestia planted both hands on her hips and puffed out her chest proudly.
"Now that Esdeath has joined us, the Hestia Familia has gotten even stronger."
"And with the Freya Familia serving as our vassals on top of that..."
Her nose practically rose toward the ceiling.
"There’s no question anymore. We’re already the strongest Familia in all of Orario—no, probably the strongest Familia on the entire continent!"
"Oh?"
Esdeath immediately became interested.
"The Freya Familia?"
"What’s that about?"
She still retained a considerable amount of her old desire to command armies.
So the moment she heard that her side apparently had an entire group of powerful subordinates, her inner general immediately awakened.
"A pack of fanatical simps obsessed with their goddess."
Kiriya summarized the situation with brutal efficiency.
Jeanne shook her head and provided a more useful explanation.
"They were originally considered the strongest Familia in Orario."
"Their captain, Ottar, is a Level 7 adventurer and extremely powerful."
"Later, their goddess became interested in Kiriya and tried to take him by force."
Jeanne paused.
"So Kiriya defeated their entire Familia by himself."
Hestia became visibly smug at the memory.
She had absolutely stolen the spotlight at the Gathering of the Gods that day.
"As part of the wager, the Freya Familia became subordinate to us."
Hestia grinned.
"They have to follow our orders."
"Oh?"
Esdeath immediately seized on the most important part.
"They’re strong?"
"Very."
Hestia nodded.
"They’re always gathering in a place called Folkvangr and beating the hell out of each other."
"Even when they’re fighting members of their own Familia, they barely hold back."
"It’s a good thing they have one of the best healers in Orario, or who knows how many of those lunatics would’ve killed each other by now."
"Oh."
Esdeath’s lips slowly curled upward.
"That sounds interesting."
She had already made her decision.
Tomorrow, she was going to inspect these new subordinates personally.
She needed to make sure they were training hard enough.
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