"…Are we really doing this?"

The hesitation and trepidation was plain Lili's voice as they approached their destination. The home base of the Soma Familia.

"Shouldn't we have a plan or something?" she asked, looking down at him from where she rode atop his shoulders.

Honestly, her growing trepidation the closer they got was understandable. It was the home to a familia that had terrorized her all her life.

With her directions, it was very easy to find the place and not even half an hour later after leaving the Dian Cecht main store behind, he meandered down the road towards their destination.

"I already have a plan." Caelan replied with a bright smile.

"You do?" Lili blinked and looked down at him, "What kind of plan? Why didn't you tell me Mr. Caelan?"

"Cuz it's a simple plan and you just need to enjoy the ride," he laughed, "Step one - beat the shit out of them all. Step two, slap around Soma and make him release you from his familia. Step three, go get some lunch to make our date nice and proper."

"Eh…?" Lili stared down at him gobsmacked, her mouth opening and closing as she tried and failed to find words for a few moments, "That's….that's not a plan Mr. Caelan!"

Yes it was.

It was a great plan.

The best plan.

He had spent a whole five seconds making this plan after all. And that was a whole five seconds more than the Soma scrub familia were worth.

"…This is going to go horribly wrong." Lili bit her lip as they approached the massive iron cast gate covering the front of the massive property.

Honestly, looking at the Soma Familia's place, Caelan had to admit it wasn't all that bad looking. It was massive, akin to a four sided castle, even had four large guard tower points at each side.

And there was even a lookout tower above the front gate with two men clad in simple leather armour keeping watch.
The massive castle like home was dark in colour, almost gothic looking. It actually looked pretty good, but it was pretty drab in style.

This was not a place one would find a sweet swimming pool in which his sexy short stack goddess and sexy short stack transformer would lounge around in skimpy bikini's.

Therefor, it wasn't a place he would like to live.

Two out of ten.

"What, don't you believe in me?" Caelan asked her with a grin.

"…That's not it!" Lili immediately shook her head, "I know Mr. Caelan is strong, stupidly strong, but the Soma familia has hundreds of members, over two hundred and has two level two's on top of that."

"Two hundred times zero is still zero Lili-pops," Caelan shrugged a bit, just enough to jostle her, "Don't worry about it. Just sit back, hold on tight and enjoy the show. And after we're done here, you'll be free, we can continue our date and maybe make out a little-"

"Hey you, the hell are you doing down there?" he was cut off as one of the guards in the tower noticed him and shouted down at him quite aggressively, "Have you got an appointment or s-"

He was cut off in return, not by a voice though. But rather, the sound that was a cross been a building hum and a static vibration that drowned out his voice. Caelan lifted his right hand, index finger pointed outwards and a sphere of light swirling and condensing around the tip of his finger-

Before abruptly exploding outwards in the shape of a massive and rapid beam of golden light wider than a man was tall. The golden beam of light swept over the guard tower and utterly obliterated it, the pair of guards hitting the ground moments later amongst a rain of debris, beaten, bloodied and unconscious.

"Rude cunts cutting me off," Caelan huffed, lifting his finger up and blowing atop it as if it were a smoking gun, "They better be grateful I kept my Cero low on power."

Lili just gaped at the abrupt and brutal destruction, "….I thought that was the beam power from the Light Quartz?" she mumbled.

Nope.

It was totally a Cero.

A moment later, loud shouts of anger and panic resounded throughout the area beyond the gate. And was immediately followed by a loud alarm that was so loud Caelan could barely hear himself think.

Well, nothing for it.

With Lili still atop his shoulders, Caelan walked the last few paces towards the gate and clenched his fist, winding it back. And then once he reached it, he unleashed his arm in a massively powerful punch.

The impact of his fist meeting the massive gate resounded even louder than the bell, like that of a missile hitting ground. The wall the gate was bolted into rumbled and spiderweb cracks spread across it.

What a sturdy gate.

Exquisite craftsmanship.

Caelan unleashed a second punch with his other arm, and once again it held strong, even as more spiderweb cracks spread across the walls it was bolted into and one of the hinges popped off.

Pop quiz time.

How strong was someone with a falna?

If you said superhuman, you were right. See, from what Caelan had been able to gather, there was an immediate benefit to the falna being given, and it wasn't a small boost.

It wasn't even just a starting multiplier. No, from what he had gathered there was an immediate invisible add on the falna gave upon being given and then their physical abilities, magic power and such was increased by roughly by a factor of two and a half to three times.

There was a reason why even the likes of Bell Cranel, a stringy little lad with no muscle or training to speak of and biceps as wide as a spaghetti noodle was immediately able to handle monsters in the dungeon when even the likes of his grandfather, who was much bigger and much broader in build could barely handle a goblin on the surface which would have been much weaker than even one on the first floor of the dungeon.

And that same boost seemed to apply to level ups from what Caelan had been able to notice of his own increases in ability. All thanks to the instinctual ability to gauge and use his power effectively he had with Typhon.

Now here was a second question.

At which stat points did most have before they levelled up?

If you answered anywhere close to the stats Bell Cranel had when he first levelled up, you would be wrong. Most people in fact levelled up, with only one stat reaching five hundred, and for most that would usually be agility or endurance.

Now, when it came to the likes of Caelan Odhar, who's strength stat broke three thousand before he levelled up, and his ability Typhon enhanced his base physique before the falna amplifications were taken into account-

His physical strength was in general more than six times that of the average adventurer who levelled up to level two. In fact, his strength was so great, it went far beyond the average level two upon levelling up, and was in the realm of Level Three's, if not that of Level Four's.

On top of that, thanks to his recent acquisition from the Goliath, his skin was so tough he barely even felt the impacts of his punches against the massive sturdy iron gate.

Which was why, it was such an impressive gate.

An awesome gate that was worthy of Caelan's attention and looking into who built such a thing so he could get one for himself.

But it was also why on his fourth punch-

The gate came clearly off the wall as the wall itself exploded in a rain of debris and the massive gate that weighed easily over a ton was sent soaring through the air backwards like a missile.

And slammed straight into a group Soma familia members and crushed them underneath its weight.

"I wonder if it was Goibnui who built it?" Caelan wondered aloud, fist still outstretched.

Shaking his head, Caelan lowered his fist and with Lili still riding atop his shoulders, he swaggered confidently into the area belonging to the Soma Familia, "Knock knock bitches," he greeted them as he did, taking note of the dozens upon dozens of people clad in armour and weapons in hand pouring out of well, everywhere, "Daddy's come to visit."

Now, Caelan would like to state in the privacy of his own mind. That, there was a reason to this three step plan of his. Especially the cavalier attitude he was approaching it with.

It was for Lili.

It was simply to show her how beneath him and her by proxy that this familia of trash really were. Right here, right now, he'd crush each and every single demon this familia had plagued upon his cute supporter, he'd crush every doubt, every worry regarding them she had.

Because that was just how he, a real villain done things.

"Who the hell are you?!"

"Arde, what the hell is going on you bitch!?"

"Bastard!"

Manic shouts of rage and anger poured atop them and he felt Lili tremble lightly upon his shoulders as the malice was directed fully at them. Yet, Caelan mostly tuned them out, he was more interested in looking at their eyes.

Not a single one of them didn't have it.

Glazed looks.

Bloodshot eyes.

Pinprick pupils.

Trembling limbs, scratch marks covering arms. Chipped lips. Yellowed teeth. The pungent scent of people too lazy to wash properly.

The looks of people that did not care about their health and only cared about one thing.

Getting their next fix.

It smelled like home.

He hated that.

"SHUT IT!" Caelan howled out, cutting them all off. And as he did, his voice echoed like that of a roaring lion drowning out all their voices and a blinding white shock wave erupted from his mouth, spreading out like a wave.

It smashed into them in the blink of an eye and multiple dozens of godly enhanced demi-gods in the making went flying like bowling pins.

The power of the Goliath was something else.

While not the most destructive of his abilities. The sheer range it could cover as it spread out and the ease of use, was something else. It was a simple, yet brutal power.

And effective.

Walls cratered as Somia Familia members smashed into them, windows smashes as people went straight through them, others slammed into each other with bone crunching force and fell to the ground in groaning heaps.

With just one single attack, more than a half of them were down for the count. Such was the sheer difference in power between him, the holder of the strongest skill and these junkie dregs that had no willpower to their name at all.

And that did it.

The devastation he wrought, cleared the glazed looks in their eyes and terror set in as the ones still standing, totalling over twenty people surrounded by the groaning, beaten heaps of their comrades realised just what kind of monster they had come to claim his pound of flesh.

"No….no fuck this!" the one at the front of the group, a large broad shouldered chienthrope threw his sword to the ground with a metallic clatter and turned on his heel to run.

His giving up was the trigger for the rest, and with screams and cries of terror they began to flee back towards the big castle like building they called home.

In return, the captain of the Hestia familia, moved.

"None of that now." Caelan was suddenly behind the fleeing chienthrope who as the first to flee had reversed the order and was now at the front of the group trying to get back into the mansion.

His palm grasped the man by the back of the head and smashed him face first into the ground hard enough to crater it, and then with his grip on his head, he transitioned into a mid-way handstand and lashed out with both feet backwards and slammed the soles of his boots into the faces of two others trying to flee and sending them flying backwards, their now unconscious bodies skipping across the ground like a stone across a pond.

He landed a second later, Lili securely around his shoulders thanks to her lovely thighs wrapping tightly around his head and turned to face the rest of the Soma familia members with a genial smile.

"No need to run, I just wanted to ask a simple question," he said, "Have you heard about our lady and saviour, Hestia the Bestia?"

They screamed in horror.

he first time Caelan was exposed to cruelty, the true cruelty and unfairness of the world. He was four years old.

It started simply with an odd old man. Who didn't have a house and stayed outside covered up in rags all of the time.

Caelan did not know what to make of him, did not understand why he stayed out in the cold when he could be inside a house and warm and safe.

Later, when he was older Caelan would learn the old man was homeless and could not get a job. He was former military and cut loose after saving someone in a warzone far away from anywhere Caelan had ever thought about in his young life.

The other kids thought it was funny to see the old man struggling. They taunted him and threw rocks to try and get him to chase them when he got angry. Caelan didn't understand why they did it, but he joined in because that was what all the other kids were doing.

A small pit formed within him even so.

Weeks later, while it was pouring of rain he would be in the house with his mother and her new boyfriend, a much younger man barely into his twenties. Tall, handsome and coming from money.

While watching a movie in his bedroom on his bright red race car bed, he hears a commotion outside. It's the old homeless man, he's being accosted by a pair of young punks, high out of their minds on drugs he'd later learn.

He watches in horror as the two jump the old man and savagely attack him, dragging him to the ground and beating him over and over.

On instinct, he runs to his mother and her boyfriend. The boyfriend is too scared to intervene, his mother shouts from the window threatens to call the police before calling other members of his family.

His cousins who live across the road coming running out and chase them off. And with them, his mother bundles the old man up in a quilt and brings him inside, tries to help him while she calls an ambulance.

Caelan is a mess of emotions, even years later he would not be able to tell just what he felt.

He will always remember guilt though.

He apologises to the old man bleeding out on his couch. For what happened? For bothering him with the other kids and harassing him? For being silly enough to join in just because the majority were doing it?

The old man smiles at him, even through a bloodied and beaten mishapen face. The old man tells Caelan it was okay, that he forgave him.

He dies minutes later on the couch before the ambulance arrives.

The pit deepens and something inside of him, grows older.

"Praise be to Hestia!"

"Praise be to Hestia!"

"Praise be to Hestia!"

Tens of dozens of Soma familia members were lined up and kneeling upon the ground, hands clasped in prayer and heads bowed reverently.

It was surreal to look at, Lili was not going to lie. 'There has to be over a hundred of them.' Lili thought in abstract shock from where she was forced to recline atop Caelan's shoulders.

Each and every single one that had rallied to the sounds of commotion they made upon breaking into the Soma Familia home, was beaten down and forced to their knees.

And under threat of Caelan's wrath, were forced to sing praises to another deity. The greatest insult of all for a deity, to have their followers, their children pray in reverence to another over them.

It was arrogant and disrespectful on a level Lili had not fathomed a mortal to ever think of, even Zanis knew there were lines.

And above all else, it was cruel.

Yet, even so-

Lili could not wipe the satisfied smirk from her face as she looked down upon each and every one of them from Caelan's strong, broad shoulders. Watching the addled, disgusting fools who had made her life hell, brought a relished satisfaction to her, deep within her core.

Caelan walked through the throngs of kneeling, terrified and praying Soma Familia members, straight into the main home.

"So what way to Soma then?" he asked, a smirk of his own on his face and not even paying attention to the kneeling Soma Familia members behind him, completely confident they would not try anything.

"He'll be in his office as always, he never leaves," Lili responded as she rested her head atop his, "He won't even care about all the commotion, he'll just continue brewing his wine."

"There's still Chandra and Zanis to deal with though," Lili warned, "Mr. Caelan is definitely more powerful than either of them, but they're both level two as well and have been for a while, so if they come together we might be in trouble."

"Nah, I'd win." Caelan assured her without missing a beat as he made his way through the long, dark winding hallways of the Soma Familia home.

Despite the situation, Lili couldn't help but smile. Even as her emotions roiled in her stomach, a mesh of so many she couldn't tell them apart.

Joy? Trepidation? Relief? Anticipation?

All that and more.

At the very least though, she felt not an ounce of fear. Because she was with Caelan.

"So where should we go for our date after this?" Caelan asked as he followed her directions through the long winding hallways of the Soma Familia base.

"Is that really something we should talk about now?" Lili sighed, Caelan's flow was all wrong, she would never be able to understand his tempo. How could someone be so blase about invading another familia's base, at the drop of the hat, with no planning, pretty much alone considering how little help she'd be. Yet even so, Caelan was doing all this for her, and she felt her cheeks burn lightly, "….I don't really know anywhere good to go for a date." she admitted.

She however could not deny she wanted to go on one.

It was just so crazy he was talking about it right now!

She wished she could have the same kind of strength and confidence he exuded.

…Perhaps one day in the future after she had finally got rid of the Soma Familia's mark and trained with Caelan as he offered, she could obtain a sliver of the same kind of strength he had.

"What time is better than when we're on a nice, quiet stroll together?" Caelan laughed in return, "Well, I do know one place myself. It's called the Hostess of Fertility, I hear the food is great there, if a bit expensive for normal adventurers."

"…That name sounds familiar," Lili hummed nodding, "And what do you mean expensive for a normal adventurer?"

"Well it's pretty much a tavern for adventurers," Caelan shrugged, jostling her lightly, "The cheapest meal you'll find there is like four hundred valis I think."

Lili blinked, "…That is quite an outrageous price, Lili admits, but as expected for a place that caters to adventurers."

And it was outrageous. The average working person in Orario, working a full time job would make roughly in the range of four hundred to five hundred valis a day. The average wage was between forty and fifty valis for decent full time jobs.

Goddess Hestia worked at a food stall from what Lili had learned upon meeting Caelan's goddess, and only made thirty valis an hour.

The average working adult couldn't even afford the cheapest meal of this place Caelan was talking about with a full days earnings.

There was a reason why there were so many adventurers in the dungeon city of Orario. It wasn't out of any grand desire to clear the dungeon, kill monsters and protect the world. But simply that, even the weakest of monsters within the dungeon, the goblins and kobolds on the very first floor dropped magic stones worth four hundred valis.

Killing a single one in a day, gave an adventurer the same wage as the average full time worker in Orario.

…Which was another reason Caelan was absolutely absurd as a person. He literally bled out more valis in a minute, over six hundred and fifty times more than the average full time worker in Orario made in a month.

"Yeah it's a cool place though, I've heard," Caelan continued on, not at all privy to her awe over the surrealness of his existence within her mind, "Apparently pretty much everyone who works there are all cute girls who are former high level adventurers, we're talking like level four here and the owner of the place is a level six who used to be the former captain of the Freya Familia."

A…tavern full of level fours and the former captain of the Freya Familia, who was level 6.

Lili stilled as she tried to digest the absurdity of such a group, working in the service industry, in a tavern of all things. If they actively fought together, that would make them more or less one of the strongest groups in the entirety of Orario.
Perhaps the fourth strongest? Freya Familia was the strongest of the familia's in the world currently, and in second place would be between Loki Familia and Ganesha Familia.

The Loki Familia had three level six's, and four level five's. But, Ganesha familia was well known for having over thirty upper tier adventurers of level three, multiple level fours, and a full eleven level five's.

Wait-

"Cute girls?" Lili asked the boy drily.

"Yup," Caelan tilted his head to grin up at her, "A few of them are almost as cute as you."

Her cheeks flushed a deeper red. He was so blunt and free with the compliments!

That clinched, that was definitely why he wanted to go. It had nothing to with it being an adventurers place, or them all being high level, but because of all the cute girls.

"Mr. Caelan is truly the greatest enemy of all womankind," Lili sighed in defeat, plopping her chin back down atop his soft spiky messy two toned hair, "So greedy, you've already charmed Lili and a goddess, yet you want more." she pouted.

Though she had already accepted that, she just felt the need to voice it anyway and gripe a little.

Caelan merely laughed in reply, completely unashamed.

And it wasn't long before they reached the top floor and turned into the wing of the massive home where Soma's office was.

As they into it though, there was somebody there and despite herself, Lili felt her heart leap into her throat, reflexive fear filling her at the sight of a tall, willowy man with sallow skin and short wavy dark blue hair, clad in an expensive blue business robe and spectacles framing his face.

Zanis, the captain of the Soma Familia.

"Well now," the man snorted as he caught sight of them, "I was wondering who was behind all this ruckus, and it just turns out to be you Arde? Have you taken leave of your senses then finally?" he gave a scoffing laugh and began walking towards them.

Caelan paused and said nothing, but nudged his shoulders up into her thighs jostling her a bit, prompting her to speak.

"Zanis…" Lili swallowed heavily as she said his name. She remembered the last time she saw him, when he threatened to sell her to the Ishtar Familia and the pleasure quarter if she tried to run away from the Soma Familia ever again.

"Now who's this brat I wonder?" Zanis continued on as he approached them, a smug smile on his face, "I've never seen his face before, and I keep track of who needs an eye kept on them. Did you make a deal with some fool who recently managed to level up? I wonder how you managed it, have you been warming his bed you little-"

Zanis never got to finish, and Lili felt the world blur around her for a moment, bleeding into a whirling kaleidoscope of colour-

And then a high pitched squeal rang in her ears, and the world returned to normal.

And found herself looking down upon Zanis from Caelan's shoulders, from directly above. As the man doubled over a foot, that was buried between his legs, his eyes bulging in agony.

The squeal?

That was still going, and coming from his mouth.

Alright, been a while for this but here we do be back again with another chapteruno yay!

Assault on Soma Familia go! Edgy back story being alluded to, go! Everything you need for a good christmas story. Even though it's three months late. That' alright, santa jord is coming to town anyway.

Now, what to say about this chapter? Honestly, nothing much. Caelan basically played up the way he acted to make Soma familia seem like an ever bigger joke than they were, to assure Lili they were no threat and she would never have to worry about them ever again. Such a christmas joy filled fellow, yay! Also, anyone who kicks Zanis in his tiny little raisin sized nads, is always right.#

Welp, that's it for this chapter. I'm heading to bed, was spending ages on a Stacking The Deck update for Pa-atreon that I got halfway through, before jumping to Mayhem and hammering out another update for it on the Pa-atreon and it's now five in the morning. So I'm heading to bed. And as always, if you wanna read ahead for stories like Stacking The Deck, Systematic Shinobi, Systematic Shinobi: Multiverse Mayhem and a bunch other crap, feel free to check out my Pa-atreon.

Anyway, again, shameless Pa-atreon plug. I've got one, go by the same username on there, easy to find and all that jazz. Support me if you want, it'd be swell, but don't feel pressured lads and ladies, I'll be uploading my stuff outside it regardless and not keeping it all behind a paywall or anything like that.