Danmachi: Westward Cloud [Complete]

[Vol.3] Quest 262- Knossos, Part 6- Line In The Sand

With each step, Cirrus takes his cold anger, slips out into bloodlust, and he has stopped his mental link with Nox and Circe. His thoughts were being muddled with more and more thoughts that only made his veins burn and his fingers dig themselves into his palm.

“…”

‘…’

Cirrus has never felt this level of anger before since he was reincarnated. The day he let loose on Evilus pales in comparison to this level of offense.

“Sir,” Hecton said, with one of his heads popping out.

“Your anger has even affected the world we live in.” Said Fafnir, whose eyes pierce the darkness of the corridor.

She steps out from the darkness and walks beside Cirrus.

“Sorry, but if what she says is true…”

Hecton and Fafnir could see the swirl of emotion on Cirrus' face. His eyes were already swirling, even with Circe equipped.

“Our apologies, sir. This is unacceptable.”

“Yes, we will be ready at your command master.” Fafnir then disappeared and emerged under Cirrus in a smaller and more refined version of her dragon form. Her eyes were also split into singular eyes with the seventh eye on her forehead. “At least let me take you to her. Sit and try to calm yourself, master.”

“Thank you.” His armor turns into smoke and Circe reforms.

'Huff! huff! huff! that… that was utter ecstasy but… I’m so tired and now…’

“Sleep Circe… I can handle it from here.”

She nods, and Hecton reaches and takes her back into his shadow.

With the flap of Fafnir’s wings, they quickly cover the ground.

Flap!! Flap!! Flap!!

Flap!! Flap!! Flap!!

“Tell me Fafnir. Do you have some regret not fighting these Spirits?” Cirrus says, trying to put his thoughts elsewhere.

“I have no recollection of them. The only one that I would regret not facing would be Wu. Besides, it is not like you use Hecton very much in fights.”

“Fafnir,” Cirrus said, calmer, then he slowly turns his boiling anger into a cold fury he can work with. “Should I use you in battle, then you know that they will not be coming out of the fight with their head.”

“I feel privileged having seen Hecton in battle then.”

“And here you are. Xuanlong died, so you may be my shadow.”

“How very true. Still, I wished to try my metal again, a spirit around my caliber.”

“Nox is always ready for a fight,” Hecton said, speaking from her ink-like scales.

“I tried once. She was busy doing anything that didn’t require her to be physically demanding.”

“How very her,” Cirrus said, funneling his cold fury into a deep focus. “Fuu~” He lets out a deep breath.

Cirrus closes his eyes and clasps his hands together. A prayer to his goddess, Artemis. A prayer that she will not bestow upon him madness this day.

Finn, who finally made it to the brain of the Knossos, found the Hermes Familia.

“What is the situation?” he asked.

“Well enough, but… Finn.” Falgar said with a pained expression.

“What is it?”

“The Spirits,” Lili said. “They… took Neze’s body as their own.”

“!!”

Finn grabbed his thumb as it suddenly throbbed intensely. A feeling of danger filled the Knossos. The presence of Fafnir, along with Cirrus’s anger, made everyone on edge.

“No… it can’t be… do you have eyes on Cirrus!!” he shouted.

“We are figuring it out, but it is difficult.” Said a member of the Hermes Familia.

“Then shall I help?”

From a dark corridor came a god in a black and purple robe.

“And you are?” asked Tione.

“My name is Thanatos, the last of the gods of Evilus. I came here to see the end of this long, drawn-out struggle for survival.” He said as he walks towards the orb that is the brain of the Knossos' surveillance.

“Where is he?”

“Let me see…” Thanatos moved his finger around the orb. “Oh… seems he’s quickly moving on… Hm? is there perhaps a dragon Xeno within the raiding party?”

“N-no?” Finn said, confused.

“Well…” a face of curiosity rose on Thanatos’s face. “It seems Thetis’s twisted plan brought out a monster that should have remained unknown.”

“What do—!?”

They could feel it. Cirrus was getting lower and lower into the Knossos, and their instincts as adventures kicked it.

“Such raw anger. I wonder if he was here during the time the Gale went on her rampage. Would it be as angry or even more? Oh, well.” Thanatos changed the visual on the orb to see the fight with Neze.

“I-it is true…” Finn looked at the orb to see Neze but with horns fighting against Ai, Asfi, and Ryuu. “… how far is Cirrus from that room?” Finn looks at Thanatos.

“I say… about 4 or 6 minutes, but given how fast he is going, I’d say—“

Booom!!!

A gust of warm air hit them.

“… He’ll be there in 2 minutes.”

“Dammit! Monitor him! Tione let's move!”

“Take that way!” shouted Lili. “We marked it, and you should meet the Xeno on the way!”

Back to the fight with Neze.

“This… what is this…” Asfi says as her body shakes.

“Is this another one of your Spirits!!” Ryuu shouted.

Ai took a second to recognize this feeling. It was far more twisted, but it was his.

“… Fuck.” Ai said, her face turning to anger and sadness. “This… it’s Cirrus.”

“!?” Ryuu and Asfi were shocked to hear that.

“Thetis…” Neze looked at her hand, shaking. “… This is my end. (Terrain, Shift) [An Ki]!!!!”

The floor shook violently, but the feeling of Cirrus approaching didn’t stop.

“Seems I made it first.” Said Revis, coming down from above. “Thetis is holding them off for a bit, but I can feel Aria and…” She closed her eyes for a second before opening them again. “Seems Arbuda is gone.”

“Leave. I will hold them back as best as I can. Thetis’ plan unleashed that monster your feeling right now.”

Revis looks at the corridor and he could feel herself getting cut down.

“… You better escape.” As she was about to jump down, she saw Valletta. “Hm.” She jumped down a hole, leaving Valletta behind.

“(Terrain, Shift) [An Ki].”

The hole was sealed up completely.

Coming out of a corridor were Bell and Mikoto.

“Were here to—huh?” Bell said as everyone stands around.

“Bell, Mikoto, Asfi, and Ryuu stand near me.” Ai said. “He is—“

Whoosh!!

Coming down was Ais.

“Where is Revis!!!” she shouted.

“Ais! Come here!!” Ai said sternly.

“But I can feel—"

“It’s Cirrus,” Ai said as the others come next to Ai. Neze stands on her own. “Revis has already gotten away, so stand near me, or else I don’t know what is going to happen next.”

Ais stands still for a second and she could feel the animosity coming closer and closer and then the sounds of wings flapping reached the room.

Flap! Flap! Flap!

Flap! Flap! Flap!

This feeling was something comparable to her own hatred of the OEBD, but this was backed by even more palpable anger to the point one would even question it even came from a person. Then, as if it was a response, seven eyes pierce through the darkness, each one holding a color.

“!?”

Only Ai knew who those eyes belonged to.

“Master, we are here.” The female voice said as the eyes melted into the darkness and they could hear footsteps.

Tap!

Tap!

Tap!

When he stepped out of the darkness, his eyes were as sharp as the spear in his hands and as cold as Arbuda’s magic. They even swirled in a spiral reminiscent of Hera and his mother.

“Ah… I made it.” Cirrus said calmly, clenching his fingers tightly, so much so they dug deep into his palms.

Back to Beta and Thetis.

“Huff!! Huff!! URAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!” Beta howls to the ceiling. “YOU FUCKING PUDDLE!!!” He presses down on Thetis’s neck. He turns off his magic tool and his Beastification wore off. “Now that you can’t turn your body to water, you are as fragile as a level 1.”

Thetis had run out of magic to escape from Beta’s relentless attacks.

“Guh!” Thetis looks up at him with disgust. “Get… Your dirty filthy—Squeeze! Cough!”

Beta presses harder.

“Hm?” Beta turns his head. “What is this nasty feeling on my skin?”

His instincts were telling him to run. It was a disgusting feeling for Beta personally.

“That, Guh! Is my gift!” She smiled with a nasty look. “Cirrus must have gotten word of Neze.”

“Neze?” That name rang in Beta’s head.

‘Where have I heard that name before?’ It was like an itch he couldn’t scratch in his head.

“Neze. Cirrus’s former Familia.” Thetis smiles ear to ear.

“Ah.” He connected the face to the name. He knew who she was. She was the most famous Werewolf in the city at the time. “Well, you fucked up. Who in their damn minds would willingly anger that monster? You can even fucking feel him from here.”

“That doesn’t matter. Imagining his face all scrunched up in anger. That is divine.”

“I prefer silence.” Beta removed his foot and kicked her chin.

Thud!!!

Knocking her out.

“I think you’ll be a good gift for him for making this magic tool.” Beta slings Thetis over his shoulders and walks away.

Back with Cirrus.

Fear set in upon everyone in the room. Even Ai, who had known Cirrus for a long time, never saw him this pissed off, this infuriated before.

“You really look like her.” His voice held a fit of cold, restrained anger.

“Yes,” Neze said with sweat and her body tensing up. “But much like what I said to these people here, the ‘Neze’ you knew is dead. Picking this body was not of my choosing. She simply was strong enough to hold me by ‘Her’ will.”

“Her… will… you know she said the same thing, I mean Fafnir, not Arbuda.” He then reached behind him and held an icy-blue magic stone.

“!!” Neze shook at the sight of it. “So… you killed her.”

“You even sound like her.” He glanced around her body to see the dagger he made for Neze on her. “Grave desecration… what is that part of ‘Her’ will as well?” He tosses Arbuda’s core back into the darkness of the corridor he came from, and it sinks into his shadow.

The anger he was holding back leaked out like a crack in the dam.

“That was Thetis’s suggestion, and I apologized for taking them,” Neze said as sincerely as she could.

“… Them?” his anger spiked again; they could see his cold eyes come to life with the fire of rage. “So the one who brought you back even took the rest of my sister-in-arms bodies…”

Neze felt a shiver come down her back, and she found it hard for her to breathe.

“…”

“Ahh~…” Cirrus put his hand to his face, and they could hear the sounds of whatever bottle Cirrus used to put his anger in start to crack. “Do… you even remember me or Ryuu?” he said while looking down.

Blood from his fingers digging into his palm lightly covered his face as some of it drips onto the ground.

“… Fragments. This body has been deceased for a while.”

Cirrus had reached the line he drew. A line he made for himself long ago, so he will not lose himself to his emotions and anger.

‘Why? Why is this the moment I have to choose?’

Crossing that line for Cirrus would be a slippery slope for him. He knows Ai could get him out, but then what about next time? He already crossed it once. Who’s saying a promise broken won’t break again? Once a promise to oneself is broken, what is even the point of making another?

‘Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you.’

His instincts and mind were telling him to kill Neze. End this desecration of her body. Yet his heart told him not to. She bore everything Neze was, minus the horns. The horns. They even changed her body's anatomy.

‘Killing her, even if she is an enemy Spirit. She still has Neze’s body. Capture? I can’t fucking stand to look at her. It only pains and aggravates me to see her like that and all chained up.’

That single factor. That factor is causing Cirrus so much torment.

Seeing Cirrus’s face mixed with so many emotions, Neze can see why Thetis wanted this. Why she egg-ed her to take the Astraea Familia’s weapons, which were embedded in their grave. Thetis would have enjoyed this sight, but for Neze, it was not.

‘Where is he gonna land on? Bondage or death. I do not like this.’

Her breaths were shallow and fast. Neze couldn’t bear this anxiety, this anticipation. It was the same kind of anticipation and tension if someone stretches a rubber band to it's limits, ready to snap at any moment.

Cirrus fights himself for what he will do. He is too angry to fight her or even capture her. Seeing Neze capture boiled his blood even more. Yet letting her go, an enemy would be something he would stupidly regret that would surlily bite him later down the line. It only serves to twist the knife in his heart.

Two minutes have passed since he began to think, and he came down to his decision.

“…. Leave.” He said with great restrained anger.

Crackle~!

His fingers crack from opening and closing his fists.

“H-huh?”

It was an anticlimactic result, but one he chose.

“For the sake of Neze’s body.” Tears fell from his face and frustration soaked into his voice. “I will show you this mercy ONCE. The next time I see you, I will take your fucking sacrilegious life, you parasitic piece of fucking shit.” He looked up to stare her down.

“!!”

His voice and swirling eyes were filled with such anger, added to the blood on his face, and he left a deep scar on her mind that she will never forget.

Neze quickly ran. She didn’t question whether or not it was a trap as she covered her path. He showed mercy she will not get again; she was certain, as the sun would rise from the west and fall to the east.

Not a moment later, Ai and Ryuu quickly ran over to Cirrus.

“Cirrus!!!” Ai shouted.

“I’m sorry… I could not bring myself to go back on my selfish promise.”

“I understand Cirrus,” Ryuu said, placing her hand on his shoulder. “I let my anger blind me… I do not know what I would do or feel if Neze is…” Ryuu also wore a similar expression as Cirrus.

Ryuu was a bit happy Cirrus let Neze go. Now with a calmer state of mind, Ryuu herself didn’t know what she would have done if she killed her.

“Could you leave me alone for a bit… my anger can’t seem to settle down, the more I think about her…. the more my heart breaks.” More tears fall down his face. “I don’t want a repeat of that night. So, can you indulge me in this?”

Ai flinched a bit.

‘You were this angry… Cirrus.’ Ai thought.

“Alright, my love.” Ai leans in and kisses his cheek. “Come on, let's go.”

As everyone walks away, Ai looked at Ryuu. She was probably the closest to fully empathizing with Cirrus, and vice versa. They both were in an uncertain state of mind.

Ai nodded to Ryu, and she understood what she meant with the nod.

Ryuu stops and walks back towards Cirrus.

She comes up behind him and hugs him.

“Cirrus…” she said solemnly.

She could feel the anger in him. It was burning him from the inside.

“Ryuu…” He breaks from her a bit to face her. “Was this what you felt like back then?” He holds his hand out, his fingers trembling in both fury and sadness. “When they died?”

“… Yes,” she said in a quiet tone. Holding his bloody hands. “But this was sharper. Crueler.”

“Kuk….”

The anger boiled more and more inside him. His veins felt as though they were filled with lava.

“Cirrus.” Ryuu gently moves to hold both of his hands. “Remember, you still have me and your Familia. Ai and Lady Artemis.” She moved his hands and hugs him tightly again. “You are not alone in this pain.”

“… Thank you.” He said softly while hugging her back tightly and carefully not to stain her clothes with his blood.

They remain in one another’s embrace. Finding comfort in one another’s shared pain.

They remain for a few minutes in silence.

 “I would… I would like to be alone for a minute. Ryuu.”

Ryuu loosened her arms and stepped back.

“Alright.” She nods. “I’ll go and help the others.” She walks up to him and wipes some blood from his face. “You should also wash up.”

Leaving, she made a faint smile before they parted ways.

‘I… I won’t express my feelings. Not until we retrieve our sisters.’

A promise she made to herself. One born from deep grief and anger, and one born from her fear of getting closer to him.

To Ryuu’s eyes, Cirrus was exactly as Astraea called him, her Lone Star. Hanging so brightly and isolated from everyone else in the sky. He outshines the stars of the Astraea Familia, outperforms the well-roundness of the Loki Familia, he even stands out above the warriors of the Freya Familia. Such an existence that burns so bright, extinguishes just as quickly.

Tears dripped down as she hurried down the corridors of the Knossos. She pushes down her feelings.

“Master,” Fafnir spoke from his shadow. “I can follow them right now and—”

“No. I… I am not in the right mind to fight or deal with this.”

Fafnir said no more. She saw the expression on Cirrus’s face and she did not wish to keep seeing it grow worse.

After a bit, Ryuu had gotten to a good distance away Cirrus paced around.

“Haaa~”

He takes a deep breath and releases the last of his pent-up emotions.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW FUCKING DARE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW DARE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

RUMBLE!!!!!! RUMBLE!!!!!! RUMBLE!!!!!! RUMBLE!!!!!!

RUMBLE!!!!!! RUMBLE!!!!!! RUMBLE!!!!!! RUMBLE!!!!!!

RUMBLE!!!!!! RUMBLE!!!!!! RUMBLE!!!!!! RUMBLE!!!!!!

He punched the wall, and the whole dungeon shook.

“FUCK!!! FUCK!!! FUCK!!! FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

RUMBLE!!!!!! RUMBLE!!!!!! RUMBLE!!!!!! RUMBLE!!!!!!

RUMBLE!!!!!! RUMBLE!!!!!! RUMBLE!!!!!! RUMBLE!!!!!!

Tears and tears poured down his face like a broken dam.

“AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

He bashed his head into the wall out of sheer anger and frustration.

Thud!!!!!!

Thud!!!!!!

Thud!!!!!!

The sounds and his emotional pain shook and filled the corridors of the Knossos.

After letting everything out, Cirrus is on his knees with his head hung low with blood dripping from his forehead.

“Cirrus,” Circe said, coming out of his shadow with Hecton’s hand lifting her up.

“…”

She kneels and lifts his head. She could see how worn he was.

“Your all bloody and dirty.” She takes out a cloth and wets it with a potion.

She cleans Cirrus’s face. Gently tending to him.

“… Do you think I should have got after them? That I made a mistake?”

His voice was low and solemn.

“I don’t know, but I would have found it disturbing if you had killed that Spirit in Neze’s body. Next time you find her, you will lay her body to rest, that I am sure of.”

“… How long are you two going to stay hiding?” Cirrus glances at the corridors and two people came out Riveria and Gareth.

“Sorry um we got here late um…” said Gareth, not knowing what to do or say.

“And well… it was rather… hard not to look.” Said Riveria a bit awkwardly.

“I hope you enjoyed my tantrum.” Cirrus smiles wryly.

“It’s fine, kid.” Gareth walks up to Cirrus. “I would do the same if I see the body of my old comrade in front of me with some spirit inside tainting their memory.” Sat down right next to him.

“Hm… You dealt with it surprisingly well.” Riveria looks around to see the damage. “Well… better than what we expected.”

“If it was in the dungeon or outside, I’m sure I would have caused some serious damage,” Cirrus said.

“That’s what we were afraid of,” Gareth said. “But we are glad you are well, Cirrus. Pat!” Gareth pats Cirrus’s shoulder.

“… Fuuuu~~,” a deep breath leaves him. “… I should have fucking stayed in Yamato.”

“So say you can hide stuff and people in your shadow, huh?”

“I am not answering questions.”

“Well, it explains how you pull stuff out of nowhere!”

“Can I ask what that hand was?” Riveria asked.

“Not answering.”

Raid Results:

• Conquest of the Knossos and a new home for the Xeno.
• Destruction of the fragments of Evilus.
• Captured: 5 people.
  • God of Wine, Dionysus (Guild custody)
  • Maenads, Filvis Challia (Miach Familia custody)
  • God of Death, Thanatos (Gensha Familia custody)
  • Arachnia, Valletta Grede (Gensha Familia custody)
  • Spirit of Water, Thetis (Artemis Familia custody)
• Allied Causalities:
  • 58 injured.
  • 9 deaths