The celebrations for Monster Feria were loud.
Yuji stood near the edge of East Main Street, his new clothes fitting well against his frame. He had on a dark overcoat that sat comfortably over a fitted black shirt, with the hood of it resting behind his neck. There was a leather lining tracing the undercoat of the fabric, adding on to its durability.
The tailor had finished ahead of schedule, citing the reason to be him wanting to get into Yuji's good graces. He didn't even pretend to hide it, just straight up admitted to Yuji right to his face.
Although it wasn't necessary, Yuji appreciated it nonetheless, leaving his silver outfit to the tailor to examine. Whatever results came out of it, Yuji would still be getting a cut out of the tailor.
The festival itself was exactly as Tiona had described. Food stalls lined both sides of the street, their owners shouting over one another to attract potential customers. Banners bearing the elephant mask of Ganesha Familia hung from every building, and the smell of grilled meat and fried dough wafted through the air past the noise of thousands of people funnelling towards the Colosseum at the end of the street.
Yuji grabbed something to eat as he walked the street, watching as tamer guided caged monsters through the streets as a sort of preview to entice more visitors to head to the colosseum.
From inside the Colosseum itself, faint roars of monsters and thunderous applause filtered out with every gust of wind.
Yuji leaned against the side of a building, taking a bite of what the vendor had called a Jyaga Marukun, some kind of stuffed potato puff. He liked it.
Yuji took in the atmosphere, feeling himself relaxing for once. He had to admit, the energy emanating from the festival was infectious, and it had been forever since he was able to kick back like this.
He was considering grabbing a second when a familiar voice cut through the crowd.
"Is that… Yuji?! Hey, Yuji!"
He turned and spotted the familiar Amazonian girl bouncing through the crowds toward him, weaving between people with ease. Tiona arrived in front of him with a wide grin, followed closely by her sister and a considerably more flustered Lefiya trailing behind them.
"I knew it! I told you I saw him, Tione!" Tiona pointed at him triumphantly before turning to her sister.
"I never said you didn't." Tione responded flatly, one hand on her hip as she appraised Yuji's new outfit. "New clothes?"
"Got them this morning." Yuji replied.
"Heh, not bad. You actually look like you belong here now." Tione said with an approving nod.
Lefiya arrived last, slightly out of breath, her staff notably absent. She gave Yuji a polite but nervous bow. "G-Good morning, Mr Itadori."
"Morning. No staff today?"
Lefiya's ears turned pink. "W-we came for the festival, so bringing equipment seemed… unnecessary."
"None of us have anything." Tiona gestured at herself and Tione, who were both dressed in their usual outfits with no weapons in sight. "Can't enjoy the show if you're weighed down with gear, right? Besides, these seats cost us good money, and I'm not missing the tamers!"
"Tamers?" Yuji asked, tilting his head at her words.
"Ganesha Familia's main event! They bring monsters up from the Dungeon and tame them in front of everyone. It's incredible. Last year, they had this huge boar that-"
"Tiona, we're going to be late if you keep on talking." Tione interrupted, already turning towards the Colosseum that loomed at the very end of the street.
"Ah! Right!" Tiona grabbed Lefiya's wrist, earning a yelp from the elf. She turned back to Yuji with an expectant look. "You coming? I bet we can squeeze in one more seat!"
Yuji shook his head. "I'll pass. Crowds aren't really my thing."
"Ehh, boring! You sound just like Riveria." Tiona pouted before relenting with a casual shrug. "Fine, fine. But you should at least walk around the stalls! There's a lot of good food."
She gave him one last wave and dragged Lefiya towards the Colosseum, the elf barely managing to leave him parting words. "E-enjoy the festival!" She said over her shoulder.
Tione lingered for a moment, giving Yuji a side glance, "Loki was looking for you the other day, said you two talked."
"We did." Yuji responded, looking out towards the Colosseum.
Tione studied him for a moment longer before turning to follow her sister. "Don't lead my sister around." She left those words with him before blending in with the traffic to catch up with her sister.
Yuji shook his head, brushing off the implication in her words.
That was when the atmosphere of the festival switched in an instant.
It started off as a scream, distant but sharp and loud enough to cut through the festival noise. Then another scream sounded out, before growing into a cascade of them, spreading from the direction of the Colosseum like a ripple.
"MONSTERRRRRRR!!"
The word tore through the crowd, and the effect was immediate. The relaxed atmosphere disintegrated as people turned and started running in every direction. Stalls were knocked over, scattering food all over the cobblestone street. Even if people didn't see what was causing the commotion, they were too caught up in the panic and joined it, causing the situation to break down even further.
Yuji stayed leaning against the building, his eyes tracking over to the source of the commotion. He could feel it now, several presences moving through the streets that hadn't been there a moment ago. They were monsters, multiple of them spread across the East Block and heading out in different directions.
He didn't move. Not yet, at least.
The city had people for this, Guild employees were already barking orders, directing the civilians away from danger zones. He could also feel the adventurers from the Ganesha Familia moving to intercept, they were responsible for keeping the monsters under control since this event was happening under their banner.
And then there was her.
A familiar presence launched itself from the top of the Colosseum and streaked across the city like a comet. Gold and silver traces flickered at the edge of his senses as Aiz began carving through the escaped monsters.
The crowd started to thin out around him as evacuation efforts were underway. The festival was over before it could properly begin. Soon, he was the only person left standing in the street.
That was when he caught something else, a single monster separate from the others. It was heading south at a fast pace, charging ahead with reckless abandon and what appeared to be straight towards Daedalus Street.
Yuji stepped away from the building and began moving.
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The rooftops of the buildings bordering Daedalus Street were uneven and mismatched, with the occasional gaps appearing in them. It didn't matter to Yuji.
He was moving along the rooftops at a speed that left him as a blur, his feet not making any noise against the terracotta tiles. The streets below were in chaos as residents who had been celebrating the festival moments ago were all scrambling back indoors.
He could sense that the orphanage he had briefly stopped at before was empty, most likely the caretaker had taken them to the festival.
Yuji finally came to a stop on the roof of a three story building that overlooked one of the wider streets leading into the heart of Daedalus.
He could see the monster below, big, fast and angry. It had a thick white coat and massive arms, protected by pieces of metal strung against its body as a type of makeshift armour.
The presence behind it was smaller and frantic.
A boy with white hair was running for his life.
Yuji recognized him, it was the same kid from the Hostess of Fertility who had been dubbed as Tomato Boy by Bete, the same one Aiz had saved in the Dungeon.
He wasn't alone, as a smaller figure ran alongside him, a girl with black hair and twin ponytails.
'A Goddess, huh?'
He could feel the common presence that all Gods and Goddesses he had come across possess. She was clutching the boy's hand tightly, trying to keep up with his pace.
One important detail that Yuji noticed was that the silverback monster was locked onto her, not the boy.
He watched on as the chase tore through the streets of Daedalus, with the boy dragging the Goddess through its winding streets. At least he had the foresight to use the red arrows painted on the walls to navigate himself around.
At some point, the boy managed to separate from the Goddess, sending her down a branching path while he doubled back to draw the silverback's attention.
The kid was utterly terrified, but he was willing to use himself as bait to keep his Goddess safe. All he carried was a small dagger in his hands, trembling as they were.
Eventually, the chase came to a stop at a dead end, the boy having reunited with the Goddess as she stubbornly chased after him.
Yuji shifted to a rooftop overlooking the long, narrow street. The boy and the Goddess were at the far end, trapped as the silverback was slowly rounding the corner at the other end. Its frenzied howl echoed off the walls.
Yuji could've made a move, a simple flick of his fingers and the silverback would cease to exist.
But he stopped himself, seeing something happen between the boy and the Goddess.
She was behind the boy, hands moving across his back at an inhuman speed and an ethereal glow seeped through the shadows that covered them.
Yuji leaned forward slightly, watching it all happen.
'That must be Falna. Does it make that big of a difference?'
Then she pushed the boy forward, and the next scene made Yuji's eyebrow rise slightly.
The boy exploded forward with a speed that he didn't possess before. A black knife in his hand blazed with purple light, and the silverback charged in response.
They closed the distance in a heartbeat, and with one strike, the boy buried the dagger deep into the silverback's chest, driving his small body behind the single thrust, piercing its core.
The silverback crashed onto its back, the black dagger still standing straight up from its chest before its body crumpled away into black ash.
Yuji's eyes lingered on the dagger, as although it looked simple, its feel suggested it was anything but that.
Cheers erupted from the buildings around the dead end. Residents who had been watching from windows and shadows poured into the street, clapping and shouting. The boy was stood dazed and exhausted, turning back to his Goddess, who was in the same rough shape.
The boy grabbed his knife, and the two slowly made their way back out of Daedalus, the crowd of people parting for him.
Yuji watched on for a moment, having finally witnessed what a Falna could do to someone first hand. It wasn't just a small boost, it was substantial. But all of it wouldn't have been possible without that Goddess or the boys own will to fight back.
Yuji was about to turn and leave when he noticed another presence on a rooftop across the dead end from him, partially obscured by a chimney.
Silver hair. A face that could end wars. Silver eyes were locked onto the back of the retreating boy with an expression that was mixed with affection, amusement, and something darker underneath it all.
Freya.
She hadn't noticed Yuji yet. Or if she had, she ignored his presence, too consumed with watching the boy and basking in her own pleasure over it all.
Yuji knew it wasn't mere coincidence she was here. The monster's actions had been to focused and concentrated, specifically targeting the Goddess the boy was with.
Freya murmured something to herself, a smile on her lips as she turned to leave.
Their eyes met.
The smile froze on her face. Those silver eyes widened for a fraction of a second before she quickly composed herself. The last time she'd looked at him her window had shattered and Ottar has been cut from shoulder to hip.
He could feel for a split second when her eyes met his, she almost tried to peer into his being again, but she reverted it just as quickly.
Neither of them moved. Yuji held her gaze for a moment. His hood was lowered so she had a full view of his face, his pink hair streaked with grey, and the two scars on his face.
His expression was flat as he stared at her, before he deliberately looked away, turning her back to her.
The moment she blinked, Yuji had disappeared from place, leaving her alone on the rooftop, biting her lip.
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As the escaped monsters were slowly being dealt with one by one, in another part of the East District, the situation was far from being over.
A tremor passed through the ground beneath the rooftops, subtle enough that most people wouldn't take notice. The tremor was followed by the sound of an explosion, stone cracking apart and sending plumes of dust into the air. It originated from the East Block residential area, a few streets north of the Colosseum.
The pavement had been torn apart. Long, pale green stalks as thick as a person's torso had burst through the cobblestone from below and were thrashing wildly in every direction. The buildings on either side of the street sporting gaping holes were the stalks had swung its appendages at, smashing through walls easily.
Three figures stood in the middle of it all.
The Amazonian twins, Tiona and Tione were circling what looked like a massive snakelike monster with pale green skin and a bulbous head. Neither of them had their weapons with them, and were instead throwing punches and kicks at the monster's body. However, their strikes left much to be desired, as the monster's thick skin was repelling their strikes.
The third figure was further back behind the main fight. Lefiya stood with her arm outstretched, no staff and in the middle of chanting a spell by hand. A golden magic circle had formed beneath her feet, growing brighter as her incarnation continued. Her voice carried across the street as she slowly built in power.
The monster was ignoring her, focused entirely on the twins, which left Lefiya free to continue her chanting, but the situation quickly changed.
It turned, its faceless head swivelled away from the twins and locked directly onto Lefiya.
The ground beneath the elf's feet cracked open. A pale green tendril, as thick as Lefiya's arm, erupted from the stone beneath her and slammed into her stomach with enough force to life her off her feet.
Blood erupted from Lefiya's mouth as the tendril dug into her abdomen, sending her sprawling away onto the cracked ground, her head bleeding from a piece of stray rock impacting it. Her eyes went blank and the magic circle at her feet shattered, dispersing in the air. She flew backwards, landing hard on her back and didn't move, the blowback from having her incantation interrupted, alongside the attack, left her down for the count.
"LEFIYA?!"
The twins screamed in unison, rushing towards her, but more tendrils burst from the ground between them and the fallen elf. Every time they knocked one aside, another took its place, forming a writhing barrier of green flesh.
The monster's bulbous head started to change. Cracks ran along its surface before it bloomed open, revealing a massive flower lined with fangs and dripping with saliva. It resembled a carnivorous plant rather than a snake.
It turned towards Lefiya's motionless body and began to advance, its roots pulling it forward through the broken street.
Lefiya slowly opened her eyes, and tears blurred her vision as she lay against the ground. Behind the monster's approaching body, she could barely make out a figure standing on a rooftop.
She felt her eyes stinging from the blood that dripped down her forehead, forcing her to blink. The figure had disappeared the moment she did, but she could hardly think about it, her body wracked with pain and fear as the monster stretched its wide maw over her body.
"You aren't a monster from the festival, are you?"
*CRASH*
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Authors Notes: Hows your cortisol levels today? Went with a longer chapter today.