Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka Gaiden – Sword Oratoria - Volume 6 - Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 KINGDOM OF THE AMAZONS 

The enormous galleon pulled slowly into port. 
From its anchor shaped like two swords, to its warrior-esque statue adorning the ship’s bow, to the towering mast protruding from the ship’s hold like a mighty halberd, it was every bit the ship of a tribe of warrior women—and it garnered the attention to match it as the troupe alighted to the land below. 
Even the brawny fishermen littering the dock were immediately abuzz with excitement and confusion as the Amazonian women disembarked, led by their young, masked goddess. 
“Kali!!” Tione shouted, still clad in her blue swimsuit. With Tiona on her heels, she made a beeline toward the incoming ship that, by chance, had pulled halfway into the city port. The gathering crowd quickly moved aside at the menacing aura radiating off the two sisters. 
By the time Aiz and the others arrived, back in their normal attire, the air choking the wharf was liable to explode at a moment’s notice. 
“What are you doing here?!” 
“We haven’t seen each other in years and that’s the first thing you say to me?” the masked goddess, Kali, countered disenchantedly, indifferent to Tione’s rage. 
“Answer me!!” 
“A little sightseeing is all. Problem, Tione?” Kali posed before sending one of her girls to meet the highly flustered city official headed their way. Given they already had the proper port-entry permit, it did seem they’d made prior preparations for the trip. 
“That’s bullshit…!!” 
“No, it’s undeniable truth. Wanted a change in routine is all. A little stimulation, you know?” Kali’s lips curled upward coyly as the crease between Tione’s brows deepened. Behind her, Tiona kept quiet, unable to conceal her look of dubiety. 
Aiz, on the other hand, couldn’t seem to keep her eyes off two different women in the group—the two sandy-haired Amazonian warriors next to the goddess, so alike there was no way they weren’t sisters. 
—They’re strong. 
The battle-hardened intuition of the Sword Princess told her as much. Both women before her could easily stand shoulder to shoulder with the best of their first-tier adventurers. 
Level 5s maybe…? No, Level 6s? 
A thought that, if true, was a little terrifying. 
She was certain they belonged to a familia outside the city. And while Aiz herself didn’t know much about the world outside Orario and the Dungeon, she did know that leveling up outside the Labyrinth City was a difficult task. When taking that into account, these two sisters and the first-tier aura they were giving off seemed even more remarkable. 
Aiz couldn’t help but wonder just what kind of training they’d undergone that would give them the ability to take out a viola with such ease. 
And that one…she hasn’t taken her eyes off Tione this entire time. 
Her gaze flitted to the woman who’d killed the viola, her face expressionless beneath her semi-long hair. The vibe around her suggested she was even more taciturn than Aiz herself. 
The woman next to her, hair tied up in a ponytail that descended all the way to her waist, was currently eyeing the confrontation between Kali and Tione with a little smile. 
As though feeling the pair of eyes on her, she threw a glance in Aiz’s direction. 
Aiz’s muscles instinctively tensed at the almost reptilian way those two eyes bored through her. 
“Aaaanyway! It’s been a long time…” the tiny goddess continued, looking up at Tione and making a rather lewd gesture toward her chest as her eyes traveled downward to stare pointedly at Tione’s breasts. “…You’ve grown.” 
“And just where do you think you’re looking…?!” 
A husky murmur escaped Kali’s lips as her eyes flicked toward Tiona. 
“Meh…you haven’t changed at all,” she finished disinterestedly. 
“What’re you lookin’ at, huh?!” Tiona barked back. As the girl began stomping her feet in indignation, Aiz stepped forward like always to hold her arms behind her back. 
“I’ve heard of you guys before. Loki Familia, yes? Where’s your goddess?” 
“I’m right here.” Loki stepped out from the crowd of people, walking past Tiona and her tantrum to face Kali head-on. The scarlet-haired goddess’s gaze was surly, her lips curled upward in a grin that exuded impertinence. “I thought somethin’ was goin’ on…Heh. No biggie. As you can see, these two kiddos are mine now. You need somethin’, runt number two?” 
“Hmph. Our first time meeting and you’re already being a disobliging asshole. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have business with these two.” 
“Oh-ho-ho! Pickin’ a fight, are we? On our first date? Come at me, you vertically challenged piece of trash!!” One provocation leading to another, Loki erupted—a magnificent first impression if ever they’d seen one. 
“P-please calm down!” 
“You’re making a scene!!” 
Lefiya, Aki, and the others pleaded, moving forward to calm their raging goddess. 
Kali, on the other hand, completely ignored the entire spectacle, turning, instead, toward where Tione was still glaring daggers in her direction. 
“At any rate, we’re going to be here for a while. If you folks are doing the same, perhaps we’ll meet again.” 
“Don’t make me laugh…” 
“I’m sensing some animosity. Do you really hate me—and the rest of your tribe—so much?” 
“I never wanted to see you again…ever!” Tione practically spit, both at Kali and at the rest of the Amazons behind her. 
Kali’s eyes narrowed behind her mask. 
Then she turned on her heel, taking the rest of her troupe with her. 
“I couldn’t help but miss you, my beloved daughters,” she finished before she and her familia left the wharf behind them. 
“Daughters…?” Lefiya murmured curiously as she watched the departing group and Tione, who remained stock-still on the dock. Ever so hesitantly, she turned toward Loki, whose peers were still restraining her. “Do Misses Tione and Tiona…know that goddess?” 
“…Hnnnnggghh…Guess there’s no point hiding it…” Loki let out a disgruntled sigh, completely spent and breath ragged. Pulling away from her captors, she brought a hand to her head with a scratch. “That’s their old familia. Their very first one, too, from before they joined ours.” 
Lefiya, Aiz, and the others sucked in their breath. 
Tiona, however, simply gazed quietly at her sister’s back before turning her eyes toward the infuriatingly sunny sky above. 
 
“Kali Familia consists of the goddess of Telskyura and her followers.” 
Later that night. 
They were in the room they’d reserved at a local inn—their home base for the length of their investigation—as Loki and Riveria explained the situation, everything about Tione and Tiona, and the deep connection they had with this Kali Familia. 
“Telskyura…that’s a peninsular country far to Orario’s southeast, right?” Aki confirmed. 
“It is,” Riveria continued. “A solitary island surrounded on all sides by sea and cliffs…known for belonging to no one but Amazons. I’m sure many of you have heard of it.” 
“S’just like with Ares and Rakia. A nation-state familia or whatever you wanna call it. I mean, not that I think that tiny tramp’s fit to rule or anything…” Loki added. “It’s pointless! That brat and I’ll never get along! The only one who grinds my gears more than that pip-squeak is that Jyaga Maru midget tramp…And what’s with that creepy mask, huh? Ugh! Pisses me off!!” 
Everyone withheld their comments as the goddess grumbled with increasing contempt before Riveria continued. 
“It would seem the only men allowed on the island are slaves or those used for breeding.” 
“From the little we learned about it in school, it seems to be a very savage country. Or, at least, that’s the impression I’ve always had…” 
After Lefiya added her thoughts, Riveria explained further. 
“You’d be correct. From what I’ve heard, a day there doesn’t go by without battle cries and cheering crowds filling the air, everyone devoting themselves to relentless combat. It is a nation of blood and war…the Holy Land of the Amazons. It’s one of the few world powers besides Orario, and they possess incredible capacity for war. And not only that, they’re completely isolated compared to other countries. Information about what goes on inside their borders is extremely limited…” 
It was here that Riveria stopped. 
Eyes traveling back and forth between Aiz and the other women seated on the sofa, she continued. 
“There are rumors that their two captains, the sisters Argana and Bache, have both reached Level Six.” 
There was a simultaneous gulp of dread from all those listening. 
First-tier adventurers were rare enough already, even in Orario, but for them to be the same level as Riveria and the other elites was something else entirely. It was so easy to forget about the world outside the walls of the great Labyrinth City, and this piece of news was enough to leave them speechless. 
“Riveria, how did they get that strong? Without the Dungeon…how were they able to level up?” Aiz asked, unable to wrap her thoughts around the perceived dilemma. 
The group of Amazonian warriors they’d come face-to-face with earlier that day immediately sprang to her mind. It wasn’t just the two sisters in question, either—all of them seemed strong enough to hold their own against a top-tier adventurer. How could they possibly have grown that strong without the boon of the Dungeon? 
Riveria was silent for a moment. Then… 
“Through the rites they perform every day in the arena…ruthless fights to the death, not only against the monsters they capture but even against their fellow warriors.” 
Once again, Aiz and the others found themselves at a loss for words. 
“Yeah, some explorer wrote about it in his chronicle or whatnot. About how he snuck into Telskyura and barely made it out with his life…and the constant killing that took place day and night in those rites,” Loki explained. 
“You mean the Curious Tales of Rastillo Furough?” asked Riveria. 
“That’s the one! There’s a copy in the manor’s archives!” Loki replied with a fervent nod, reciting it for them now as though flipping through the pages then and there. “‘I, too, shall emulate their hymns. An Amazon of the land is a true warrior’…I can still remember that line.” 
Silence settled over the room. 
Whether they’d heard of Telskyura before, like Lefiya, or were just learning about it for the first time, like Aiz, they were all at a loss for words. But not because they’d learned the truth about the island of Amazons. 
No, it was because they remembered that Tiona and Tione, too, had once been members of this Kali Familia, and the realization was enough to shake them to the core. 
Lefiya was the first to speak, voice straining from her parched throat. “Then…Misses Tiona and Tione both…?” 
“Born and raised in Telskyura. Least, that’s what they told me upon joining. So I can assume they went through the whole rigmarole, too…” 
It had been five years since the two sisters had converted to Loki Familia. Loki leaned on the back of the sofa, eyes traveling toward the ceiling as though she was reliving that very day in her mind. 
“We’ve killed so many of our brethren, and you still want us to join you?” 
That was what Tione had asked when Loki had approached them with her invitation. 
Riveria closed her eye in silent reflection. She’d been there, too, together with Finn and the rest of the elites. 
Lefiya and the others could barely contain their shock. 
There was no way they could have known that the eternally innocent Tiona and the lovestruck Tione constantly attempting to court the captain could have had such horrific pasts. Even hearing it now, they could barely believe their ears. 
While, certainly, none of them had ever asked about the two girls’ history, neither Tiona nor Tione had ever shown signs that something darker resided within them. 
I never knew… 
Not even Aiz had known. 
Back then, Aiz had been even less interested in matters aside from her training and had known only that they were getting some new members in the familia—nothing more. She didn’t start interacting with them until Tiona had approached her: Aiz, the inarticulate, flustered girl and Tiona, the ever-smiling, audacious Amazon. 
Aiz knew it was due to—or perhaps “thanks to” would be the more appropriate phrase—the two sisters that she’d grown into the person she was today (“mellowed out,” as Tsubaki had put it). With not a shred of ulterior motive between them, they’d both played a big role in Aiz’s life. 
“…” 
The conversation coming to a close, Aiz turned her gaze toward the open window. 
She could see Tione outside, standing on the wide balcony with her back to them. 
“C’moooon, Tione. Let’s go back inside!” 
With Tiona’s incessant pestering in her ear, Tione continued to stare out at the city beyond the balcony’s railing. The hotel they’d booked was a grand Southern-style inn right in the center of the city. And from the balcony on its fifth and highest floor, one could take in the entire port and its connecting bay in a single glance. 
The lights from the anchored boats flickered like will-o’-the-wisps across the dark waters of the lake, and toward the east, the gleam of a lighthouse cut through the darkness. 
“…Why did they come here?” Tione murmured through her fatigue, letting her eyes drop to the city below. It was a question aimed at a certain goddess and her followers, currently located somewhere within all that shadowy darkness. 
“I know how you feel, but thinkin’ ’bout it’s not gonna do us any good. Maybe they really did just come to sightsee,” Tiona posed, acting no different from usual despite her sister’s melancholy. As she leaned over on the railing into Tione’s line of sight, Tione looked at her long and hard. 
“Why are you acting like this is no big deal?! Kali, she—None of them would have any reason to go somewhere if there wasn’t fighting involved!” 
“…” 
“Do you even remember what they made us do? Do you?! If you do, then wipe that stupid grin off your face!!” Tione exploded. 
The outburst was enough to spark Tiona’s rage, as well. “What’re we supposed to do, then, huh? Tell me what it is we can do! Just put our heads down and charge right in? Are you even listening to yourself?” 
“That’s not what I’m saying, you idiot! Stop putting words in my mouth!” 
“Then stop putting words in mine!!” 
“Yeah, well, I couldn’t stand you acting all ‘la-di-da, nothing’s wrong’!” 
“Oh, couldn’t you?!” 
Aiz and the others in the room were listening in on them now, shocked into silence at the scene taking place on the balcony. 
Having had enough, Tione turned her back on her sister with an angry jerk. She marched past Aiz and the others already gathered at the window, past Loki with her arms folded behind her head, and past Riveria with her one eye closed to make her way out of the room. 
No one knew what to do for a moment. After throwing a glance at Tiona, shocked and silent on the balcony, Aiz raced out the door after Tione. 
“Miss Tiona…are you all right?” Lefiya asked as she and the other girls drew around her once Aiz had left. 
“Mmn…I’m fine…” Tiona nodded. 
“…We, um…heard that…that you and Miss Tione used to belong to the familia of that Lady Kali we met today…” Lefiya continued cautiously. 
“It’s true.” Tiona’s response came without hesitation. The elven mage—and the other girls around them—swallowed hard. 
“Then…erm…well—” 
“Sorry, I don’t really know if I should be talking for both of us if Tione isn’t here…” Tiona cut in before Lefiya could find the right words, her eyes dropping to the floor. 
Silence wrapped itself around the room until, after turning her gaze skyward, Tiona spoke again. 
“But…” she started, looking somewhere far off into the distance, “…I can say that we never wanted to see them again…ever.” 
“Tione.” 
There was a voice from behind her. 
Tione turned away as Aiz ran to catch up with her, the bluish shadow of the corridor tinting the world around her. 
“Isn’t this a sight, you chasing me? Usually it’s the other way around,” Tione muttered sarcastically, averting Aiz’s gaze. 
“Because…because you and Tiona were…always the ones who helped me…whenever I caused trouble for everyone else…” Aiz spoke bit by bit, coming to a halt. Tione could tell she was trying to speak her mind, and the usually taciturn girl was selecting her words with the utmost of care. 
But the warm support of her friend did nothing but irritate her now. 
“Aiz, please. I want to be alone. I’ve…become something I didn’t want to become.” 
“Tione…if there’s anything at all I can do—” 
—let me know. 
Or, at least, that’s what she would undoubtedly have said before Tione interrupted her. 
“You have secrets, too, right? Things you don’t wanna tell us?” 
“!” 
“So don’t you think that’s a little unfair? Saying nothing about yourself but expecting everyone else to bare everything to you?!” Tione snapped, thrusting Aiz’s goodwill right back at her. 
Aiz’s gaze fell. 
“I’m sorry…” 
The near-whisper seemed to echo in the corridor. 
But it was Tione who was truly sorry at what had just transpired. Quickly, as though running away from the other girl, she hurried on ahead. 
“What’s wrong with me…?” She cursed at herself, filled with self-loathing as she made her way not back to the common room but to an empty private room, yanking open the door and stepping inside. She let herself collapse onto the bed. 
All of a sudden, she was overcome by an intense feeling of fatigue. 
“Why…why did they have to be here…?” she moaned, hands clenched around the bedsheets. 
As her eyelids grew as heavy as lead, her dreams called her to sleep. 
 
Ever since she could open her eyes, Tione had been a part of that country. 
The forsaken island of Telskyura. 
A nation of female warriors, Amazons, whose ceaseless rituals of bloodshed had been continuing since their goddess had come into power. The first two things she could remember were a searing heat on her back and the sound of someone crying—she didn’t know if it was herself or someone else. 
Falna. Since the moment they were born, Tione and the other girls of Telskyura had been christened as children of their goddess. 
It was said that the Amazons of Telskyura knew how to kill a goblin before they even knew how to speak. What with their latent abilities unlocked by the Falna, along with their first baptism—being placed in front of a goblin child and forced to fend for themselves—by the time they could take their first steps, they were every bit a warrior. In fact, for as long as Tione could remember, her hand had been gripping a sword. 
She didn’t know what the warmth of a mother’s hand felt like. 
She wouldn’t know her parents if she saw them. She wouldn’t be able to pick out their voices. 
She had no semblance of family save one—the girl she’d recognized instantly as her other half the moment they saw each other. And she was sure it had been the same for Tiona, too. 
“They told me you’re the big sister and I’m the little sister!” 
“Hmph.” 
The word sisters had been nothing more than a word to the young twins, but it would grow to become a powerful bond. 
To be respected in Telskyura, one had to be a true warrior. 
Strength was everything in this holy land of the Amazons. It was truth. Those with strength were lauded, given status and prestige. Contrastingly, the weak, who were defeated in combat and denied even the honor of a noble death, were forced to serve their country and superiors as part of the labor force. Bloodshed was a means of attaining true warriorhood, a staircase, a time-honored national custom. Telskyura was an embodiment of Amazonian instinct in every way. 
Enter the goddess Kali, who was every bit as fond of combat as the Amazons. 
Her blessing further developed the Amazons’ abilities, making their battles all the more violent. The warriors revered this bringer of strength as their one and only god, and the perpetual fighting and bloodshed flourished. 
Did Tione feel remorse for the endless days she’d been forced to fight? No. 
Truthfully, she’d had no real problem with it. 
Had she been unable to fight off the monsters coming at her, she’d have been killed. This was simply basic instinct. Above all, she was an Amazon—it was in her nature. Fighting gave her a natural high that got her blood pumping. 
No, it wasn’t the days and nights she spent in combat, experiencing all that power, that filled her with such enmity. In fact, that was all she’d known back then. Defeat the monsters in the arena, then return to her large stone room with naught but the necessities of life—her days had consisted of nothing but this back-and-forth path. Her entire world had consisted of the zealous cries of her brethren and the cold, cold stones of the battlefield. 
It was when she’d first had to face off against her own sisters that her days of fighting had begun to lose their appeal. 
By the time the monsters in the arena had turned into her fellow Amazons, it had already been too late for Tione. Her peers, similar in age and height, had fought harder than the monsters she was so used to, and though it had been difficult at first, soon, she was picking them off as quickly as the monsters that had come before. 
“Ahhh…” 
The first time she’d heard one of her sisters’ dying cries, it had sounded so weak. 
Though the same blood spilled from their veins as the monsters she’d slain, it seemed somehow even more vivid. 
As she’d watched the life fade from the eyes of the girl beneath the mask she had to wear, Tione had felt her heart stir. It had been a strange feeling she couldn’t quite describe. Upon returning to her room of stone, she’d found her sister, Tiona, normally uncontainable in her excitement, simply staring off into space with the blood of her brethren staining her skin. That night, Tione had washed herself again and again and again in the icy cold water. 
The number of girls she’d had to fight only grew from that day forth. 
She cut them down with her weapons, bludgeoned them with her fists, wrung their necks using the skills she’d acquired. She’d practically been born on the battlefield, and she knew nothing of right from wrong. And yet, the stirring in her heart refused to be assuaged. She couldn’t understand why—why was this any different from the monsters she’d once slaughtered so easily? She could still feel the give of their skin beneath her fingers, the crunch of their bones against her fist. Even long after the battle was over, she could still hear their screams, those agonizing wails that escaped their lips mere moments before death. 
The cheers from the women in the audience would go on and on and on when she won. They’d revered her, the devourer of the weak. This is right, their voices had said, as her goddess Kali sat on high, looking down at her with a smile on her face. 
Maybe she’d just grown weary and learned to ignore the stirring in her heart, dulling it with apathy. Still, she began to yearn for the days when she’d had to fight nothing but monsters. 
And yet, even in the darkest of times, light finds a way. 
It had come in the form of another Amazon who was almost like a sister, generous and caring. Tione, Tiona, and the other girls, too, had all been quite fond of her. Every time Tione would return to their room after another battle, she’d been there to greet her with a warm smile. She’d been strong, too, the strongest of them all, always there waiting before anyone else. 
Perhaps Tione even thought of her like a mother. Her hands had tended to her wounds, rough yet gentle. They’d all gathered around her, craving the warmth of another’s touch as they’d slept side by side on the floor. That room, that cold stone room, more like a prison than anything else, was the only “home” Tione had ever known. 
The rites had a law that prohibited combat between Amazons of the same room—a law that the girls had begun to discover the longer they fought. 
This law had been a breath of relief to Tione. She wouldn’t have to fight the girl who’d long taken care of her, nor the girls whose faces she knew so well, nor her own sister, Tiona. That place, the home she’d created, would never change. 
That’s what she’d believed. 
And then her fifth birthday had arrived, and she’d been summoned to the arena, the same as any other day… 
 
“…” 
Tione opened her eyes. 
It felt like she hadn’t slept a wink thanks to the flashback that had served as her dream. It was the same way she’d felt upon waking for the last two days. 
As she sat up and wiped the sweaty bangs from her eyes, she noticed someone else sleeping in the bed right next to hers. 
Tiona. 
Though Tione hadn’t returned to their shared room, Tiona had still found her and spent the night here next to her. 
Tione was silent as she watched her sister sleep. 
She’d always been like this, wanting to be by Tione’s side whenever something happened. She wouldn’t say anything, simply gravitating toward her, as though seeking out her other half. 
Just like she’d done back then. 
Before they’d joined Loki Familia. 
When it had been just the two of them. 
Giving her sister one last look, she quietly slipped out of the room. 
“…” 
Tiona’s eyelids flicked open the moment the door closed. 
 
The next morning, Aiz and the others split up into groups before heading out into the city. 
They needed to gather as much information as they could on the sudden appearance of the violas in the lake. 
“A giant, man-eating flower? No idea. Weird stuff’s always coming up out of the lake and ocean around here.” 
“If we’re countin’ hits to the hull, these ships are takin’ constant beatings from monsters and whatnot. That’s how we shipbuilders make a profit!” 
“Haven’t had many casualties wound here lately. Mewen’s been pwetty peeshful.” 
“Whenever beasties crop up, we just leave ’em to Njör?r Familia. Those fishermen are a lot stronger than your average adventurer. If things really got out of control, well, we’d simply contact the Guild and they’d send us help from Orario.” 
Aiz, Lefiya, and the rest of the recon group went from person to person—a young human man managing an open-air shop, an elven ship captain (rare as they were), a tanned catgirl wandering around selling ice-cold juice, and a dwarven bar owner currently in his apprenticeship—asking for any info they could offer on violas or other monsters in the lake. 
“It would seem no one knows anything about the violas.” 
“Yeah, yesterday’s sighting must have been the first…” 
Lefiya and Aiz looked out across the bustling crowd of the city’s main street from their vantage point in front of a small alleyway. They and the rest of their group were taking a much-needed respite from the sun’s rays. 
“I guess that means…” Aiz continued with a murmur, “the lake and the sea are both safe…” 
“It would seem that way…If those giant things really were appearing frequently, they’d be causing quite a lot of damage.” 
If the violas were tough enough to give even first-tier adventurers a run for their money, frequent spawnings would be a cause for panic. From what they’d heard from the laymen of the area, however, the lake and its surrounding sea had been perfectly calm as of late. 
Which meant they’d reached something of an impasse. 
“Certainly there’s no way the violas are being killed before they’re able to cause any damage…right? Then what could possibly be going on?” 
As Lefiya racked her brain next to her, Aiz simply stared off into the busy street. 
“The drainage channel seems…in order.” 
Aki and Leene were on their way back to Meren after checking out the river nearby that acted as Lolog Lake’s drain receptacle. The Guild had long been banging their heads against the wall at the raider fish and other monsters that used the river as a way to gain access to Orario’s sewer system, turning it into a cesspool for breeding. In fact, only a short while ago, Loki and Bete had even discovered a viola in the old sewers. Rather than using it as a way to travel from the lake to the city, it seemed more likely that the flower had been using the sewers as a way to return to the lake. Which was why Aki and the others were checking up on it now. 
“The mythril grate seems firmly in place…” 
“I’d heard they were going to fix it ever since those monsters did a number on it, but I didn’t know it was finished already.” 
Drainage water gushed out in great, heavy deluges from behind the silver barricade at the hole to the main sewage pipe. They were a short ways to the northwest of Orario, having descended the gently sloping hill that led to the entrance of the city’s sewers. 
True to Leene’s words, the drainage pipe, with its view of the city walls and their accompanying guard post, had been effectively sealed off thanks to the mythril grating covering its opening. Not only would it be able to hold back large monsters like the violas, it looked as though it would have no problem keeping out mid- and small-scale monsters like the raider fish, too. And it showed no signs of breakage. 
The girls watched as the clean, purified water, free from its preprocessed stink, poured into the pool below. 
“Then there’s no way those flowers could have reached the lake from here…unless it made the trek quite some time ago.” Aki followed this up with a grumble as she brought a hand to her slender chin in thought. 
“Nasty-looking flower creatures, huh…? Come to think of it, we were pretty shocked by those things yesterday,” Njör?r mused in response to Loki’s question, a large sack hoisted up on his shoulder. 
She was in Nóatún, Njör?r Familia’s home. 
As Aiz and the rest of her followers went about on their investigative missions, Loki was off collecting information herself. Currently she was interrogating Njör?r, her old friend, in his home’s storehouse connected to the lake-facing port. 
“You’re the main man around here, ain’t ya? You haven’t heard about any, you know, suspicious goings-on recently, have ya?” 
“I’m afraid I’m only the ‘main man’ when it comes to matters of the fishing variety. I don’t dip my fingers into any other pots and have no delusions of becoming the next Poseidon,” he pointed out with a wry smile as he hefted his sack—“Alley-oop!”—into a corner of the storehouse. “I’m constantly up to my ears in fish. No room for talk of these ‘suspicious goings-on’ of yours.” 
“Oh, gimme a break!” Loki shot back from behind him, seated cross-legged on a nearby crate. 
“You’ll have to forgive me. I must admit I was quite surprised when I heard of your true intentions in coming to Meren…” he explained with a sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck. 
Loki stared at his back in silence. 
“Things have been peaceful here in Meren for many years now…at least, until what happened yesterday. Ask anyone around here and they’ll tell you the same.” 
The violas’ attack on Kali Familia’s boat the day prior had been the first thing to rile up the port in quite some time. Though Tiona and Tione might have been the ones who forced the giant flowers to the water’s surface, the fact still remained that the violas had been there in the first place. To think they’d simply have stayed there on the lake floor, minding their own business and not attacking anyone was unreasonable…right? It seemed much more probable that some creature tamer had set them loose there—or, at least, that’s what Loki thought. 
“That reminds me, you still on bad terms with the Guild?” 
“Hmm? Ah…same old, same old, yes. Even though we aren’t adventurers, they still constantly try to bring us over to their side, and every time we refuse, they tax the hell out of our shipments of fish,” Njör?r explained none too enthusiastically. 
This same practice had been going on since, or perhaps even before, Loki and the others had first come to Orario through Meren’s harbor. 
“Not much we can do, unfortunately, given that Orario’s not only right next door but our biggest business partner to boot. They say it’s the general consensus from their side, but I know it’s a lie—more like a petty revenge tactic. I could see through it from the very beginning. Makes me jealous of Demeter Familia and the preferential treatment they get despite their different affiliation.” 
“We’ve had troubles of our own, too.” 
The “Guild” Njör?r spoke of that was making life miserable for him here in the lower world wasn’t the main Guild Headquarters in Orario. 
There was another Guild here in Meren. 
“Have you already gone to the Guild Branch Office?” Njör?r suddenly asked, returning to the business at hand. 
“Yep,” Loki responded. “Riveria’s actually there right now.” 
The stone lobby of the Guild Branch Office was considerably smaller than that of the main headquarters in Orario. 
While it was a decent-size building in and of itself, the giant pantheon that was the lobby of the headquarters, bustling with activity day and night, was simply too big to make a proper comparison. Most of the relatively few uniformed attendants who worked there did so not at the front counter but, instead, performing routine office work such as filing port entry permits and checklists of commercial goods. 
It was just one of the sub-branches the main Guild in Orario had established outside the city. While the roles of each branch varied depending on their location, this building in Meren acted as the gateway to the sea, directing all matters relating to the port and managing the import and export of goods—magic-stone commodities, for instance—for the city. 
This atmosphere, so different from that of the main headquarters, currently surrounded Riveria as she stood alone before the front desk. 
“Giant man-eating flowers…? Hmm…can’t say I know ’em!” 
Riveria returned her attention to the man in front of her. 
The attendant at the front desk was a long, oval-faced human man. Tall and skinny, he was almost what you could call lanky, and the features below his perfectly coiffed dark hair were expressing some impatience. 
Rubart was his name. 
The head of the branch and the one in charge. 
“You’re quite sure?” 
“You think I’d lie? We haven’t heard anything about this kind of new species, not even from the main headquarters in Orario,” Rubart retorted, clearly annoyed at having to respond to the same question three times. 
It was puzzling. Even if the upper echelons of the Guild (Ouranos, in other words) were limiting information on the new monster species, for information not to be shared even within the organization—especially considering how many people had already witnessed the violas during the Monsterphilia and the event on the eighteenth floor—it wouldn’t make sense to try to cover things up. 
Sure, there wasn’t any pressing reason to involve the branches outside the city, but still… 
“And yet this monster was spotted. Does this not call for an investigation and preventative measures on your part?” 
“We can just leave it to Njör?r Familia. Even if we did try to look into it, that lot’d likely tell us to mind our own business—that the waterfront is their jurisdiction. It’s the same every time,” Rubart spat out, his words evidence enough as to the shaky relationship the two groups shared. 
As obvious as it may have seemed, there was no reason for the Guild to hold sway over familias outside Orario. And the fact that they had no legal right to force Njör?r Familia to do much of anything surely made them an annoying lump they’d rather be rid of. 
Riveria, however, knew the fishermen would be no match for the violas—their strength was simply too great. Unfortunately, her words were getting her nowhere. 
“What’s more important right now is that gaggle of Amazons that made port. We’d like you to do something about them.” Rubart’s brows arched in irritation. 
What’s “more important right now”…? Riveria couldn’t believe what she was hearing. But even as she shot him a one-eyed look of disbelief, the branch manager continued. 
“While they haven’t caused too much trouble yet, we’ve already been getting complaints from our citizens. Terribly hard to approach, it seems. Words just don’t get through to them! And apparently they’ve even been running off with merchandise without paying…” 
“You are the ones who permitted them entry to the port, yes?” 
“Well, yes…but…it’s a little more complicated than that,” Rubart continued somewhat ambiguously. “The city has an autonomous government that operates separately from the Guild.” 
“And the city granted the Amazons their port entry permit?” 
“Yes,” Rubart replied with a disgruntled nod. “Meren used to be nothing but a tiny fishing village constantly threatened by monsters. But after Poseidon Familia set up camp and Orario’s prosperity helped it develop, it really flourished into the ‘Gateway to the Dungeon City’ it is today.” 
It was a well-known story—Poseidon Familia deciding to use Meren as its base—and it made sense considering how many aquatic monsters appeared offshore. They’d plugged up the hole in the bottom of the lake and, ever since, had been monitoring and maintaining the giant lid while upholding peace on the water’s surface. Then, once the Leviathan Seal had been put in place fifteen years ago, Poseidon and his followers had left the port city with the assurance that the seal could never be broken, off to quell the threat of sea creatures all over the world. Njör?r Familia stayed behind, supplying the city with their fish. 
Though Riveria already knew much of what Rubart was telling her, she listened in all the same. 
“The Guild invested in the city early, even going so far as to help it expand…but after all these generations, the head of Meren’s still never given up its autonomous government.” 
Of course, what Rubart failed to mention was that any city would resist being commandeered if given the chance. 
“You probably know this already, but Meren isn’t just a company under the Guild’s patronage. It’s also an entry point for people and communities all over the world, so there’s that to think about, too.” 
“Yet this gives you no trouble with Orario?” 
The neutrality of the large-scale port was one of its key factors. After all, a controlling government would only lead to decline. Though Meren focused the majority of its efforts toward Orario, there were still many ships that used the port as a relay point on their journeys to other destinations. There were also the shipments of cargo destined for its surrounding cities and towns to consider. If the Guild started being fastidious about who could use the port, their clientele would simply move their business elsewhere. 
Even from an outsider’s perspective, preventing the Guild’s unilateral reign over Meren was in everyone’s favor. 
“Well, a compromise was reached, and it was decided that the government would be split in two. To put things simply, all matters related to Orario, trade included, are to be handled by this branch office…” 
“And everything else is taken care of by the city?” 
“Exactly,” Rubart confirmed, face still sour. 
At the time, the decision was heavily influenced by the support of Poseidon Familia, which still acted independently despite cooperating with Orario, and Njör?r Familia, which was acting as a good neighbor. 
All in all, it was just as complicated a situation as the branch manager described. 
“True, we didn’t actually raise any objections to Kali Familia being granted a permit, so I suppose we are partly responsible…but it was the city that fought tooth and nail to get them in here, thanks mostly to that bastard Murdock,” Rubart finished with a curse, a disgusted look on his face. 
At the end of all things, Njör?r Familia was loyal to the city of Meren. 
While the relationship between them and the Guild wouldn’t necessarily be called antagonistic, given the Guild branch’s history of conflict with the city, they certainly weren’t the best of friends. Riveria was already well aware of this, at least. 
“At any rate…it feels like we’ve got some wild animal prowling around the city.” 
“…” 
“Which is why the Guild, as your administrative body, is asking for your cooperation.” 
As Rubart laid down the law, Riveria could do nothing but sit in silence, one eye now almost perpetually closed. 
“So please! We promise we’ve no ill intentions…If you’d be ever so kind as to hear us out!” Alicia pleaded, holding in her urge to cringe as she forced an ingratiating smile. 
“Go away,” was the curt reply from the elderly gentleman in question. 
They were in Meren’s west town, at a building that seemed to have been built to glower at the Guild Branch Office in the east—the Murdock estate, home to generation after generation of Meren’s governors. 
Alicia and Narfi were there to collect information but hadn’t even made it inside; they were presently being barred entry at the door by a Mr. Borg Murdock, the current head of the family. 
“I have nothing to say to you, Guild dogs.” 
Borg was an aging human man with a tuft of white hair protruding from his chin. With no sign of a sagging belly, instead he boasted a physique that could rival any of the fishermen’s on the wharf. His eyes were sharp, and though he lacked hair on his head, by simply adding a cap to the picture, one could easily picture him as a ship captain from the old stories. 
“Gods’ honest truth, we’re not here on Guild business. We’re here about the giant flower creatures that appeared in the lake yesterday…as part of an investigation. If you have any relevant information you could give us, we would be ever so appreciative,” Alicia pleaded. 
“…” 
Borg was silent. 
Simply looking at the elf for a few moments in all her innocent sincerity, he finally opened his mouth. 
“…Go away.” 
He said nothing else. 
Then he turned around and disappeared inside the manor. Alicia and Narfi could do nothing but make their own exit back through the gate, at a loss as to what to do. 
“I’ll admit, I had higher expectations for that interaction, considering he’s the governor and all…but apparently that was asking too much,” Narfi mused, scratching at her cheek in dumbfounded astonishment. 
Alicia sighed. “I’ve heard the city and Guild don’t exactly see eye to eye on things…but to think it was this bad! Guess we’re outta luck. No point in beating a dead horse.” 
Faced with a feud that had been around longer than either of them had been alive, the girls had no choice but to leave the mansion behind. 
“…” 
From one of the windows of the mansion, Borg watched them leave, eyes narrowed with acrimony. 
 
The sun, having reached its peak, had already started its afternoon descent toward the western horizon. Aiz, Lefiya, and the rest of the reconnaissance groups were making their way back toward the pier. 
They didn’t have to go far past the commerce area with its trade ships, passenger ships, and fishermen’s dhows to reach Njör?r Familia’s fishing pier. The merchants and travelers dressed in their foreign clothes gave way to fishermen and women, all bustling about in their work. This rare type of familia—neither adventurers nor merchants—was still novel enough to the group of girls that they couldn’t help but scan their environs in wonder. 
Most of the trawlers wore nothing over their broad chests or donned a set of short sleeves and long pants. Everyone was going about their own business, from the burly dwarf who passed by with an unbelievably large fish on his shoulder to the group of harpoon-wielding prums currently maneuvering their boat out to sea. Some were hard at work hauling great nets full of fresh and saltwater fish alike to shore—everything from giant dodobass to shiny red shrimp—while still others were grilling up their catches of fish and clams for an afternoon snack. The smell of salt and sound of popping oil were enough to draw in the eyes (and appetites) of Lefiya and the others as they walked along, none of them having taken their lunches yet. 
And among all the crunching and the munching of seafolk ingesting their freshly caught fish, they caught sight of Tiona and Tione. 
“M-Miss Tiona? What are you two…doing?” Lefiya asked, somewhat taken aback. 
“Got hungry while asking these folks for info. They said we were free to have a bite, too, so long as we paid up, so…here we are!” Tiona responded, her mouth currently full of enough grilled fish to rival the surrounding workers’. 
It would seem Tiona and Tione’s luck collecting info had been about as good as Aiz and everyone else’s. The others in their group, already having eaten their fill, were taking a load off nearby. 
“…How is…Tione doing?” Aiz whispered discreetly as she threw a glance at the Amazon in question. 
“Mmmn…still a little testy, but I think she’ll be fine. We made sure to keep away from Kali and crew this morning, and I kept an eye on her to make sure she didn’t get into any trouble.” 
The atmosphere around Tione had been tense since the night prior, and the others in her group, hume bunny Rakuta included, had found it hard to truly relax. Currently, Tione was masking her irritation with food, asking for seconds, thirds, and fourths—“More”—with stern glares daunting enough to elicit stammers of surprise from their brawny mealtime companions. 
“Usually it’s her keeping tabs on me…” Tiona laughed awkwardly. Even she could see the irony in the role reversal. 
“What about you? Are you okay?” Aiz asked. 
“Me? I’m fine! You know me—thinking’s not my strong suit,” the young Amazon responded with her usual smile, almost as though completely indifferent to the entire situation. Perhaps it was just Aiz’s imagination, but something about the innocent smile was different than usual—strained. But she wasn’t about to press any further. 
“Geez…you girls can eat! Even for adventurers! I guess first-tiers really are in a class all their own,” one of the particularly strapping men gushed as he watched the two sisters stuff their faces together with the other fishermen around the grill. He was a human man nearly two meders tall with a crop of black hair above his jet-black eyes. “What about that skinny little thing over there, huh? The Sword Princess? Can she eat like you two?” 
“Nah, she never eats as much as us. Really likes her Jyaga Maru Kun, though.” 
“And you are…?” Aiz turned her eyes in the young man’s direction. 
“Me? I’m Rod. The captain ’round these parts,” Rod boasted warmly. 
Aiz was silent a moment as she formulated her words. “Mister Rod, then…do you and the others in your familia fish a lot?” 
“That we do. S’bout all we’re good at, really. We fish the lake, a’course, but even all the way out to the sea, too. I’ve probably spent more of my life on the waves than here on land.” 
Fishing was Njör?r Familia’s be-all and end-all. As burly as these men of the sea happened to be, neither they nor their patron deity had any delusions of grandeur or bones to pick with other familias. 
In fact, they seemed more like an organization of fishermen than a true familia. 
“Most men in this city grow up to be fishers. Guess it’s thanks to Skip Njör?r.” 
“Are there any fishermen in the port who don’t belong to Njör?r Familia?” Lefiya asked curiously. 
“You probably could if you wanted, but no one does. The Skip’s a great guy, and his blessing comes in real handy. Gives you more strength than the average trawler,” Rod replied, glancing toward one of the storehouses where a slender young human was lugging around a giant net all by himself. No doubt, a Status was carved into his back, as well. 
“If your goal is just to make a livin’ with fishin’, you’ll do it a lot faster at the feet of the Skip. And even if it’s sailin’ on the high seas, you’ll have a much easier time with his blessin’, especially given how many monsters are lurkin’ out there,” the Njör?r Familia captain explained. In today’s day and age, even fishermen needed the power of the Falna, if only to give them a better chance at defending themselves. Out on the ocean and surrounded by water, a man had no one to rely on but himself. “And besides, well…we all love Skip Njör?r! He’s taken care of us since we were knee-high to a minnow…and he’s been protectin’ this city for centuries, all the way back to the time of our fathers, and even our fathers’ fathers, may they rest in peace.” 
Njör?r had been in charge of the fishing in Meren for so long, no other familias had ever even tried to set up their own fishing gigs—which was one more reason why Njör?r Familia’s grip on the city’s fishing industry was so strong. The love, respect, and trust Rod and the other fishermen had for their patron deity was all too evident in the intrepid captain’s smile. 
“Do you ever hunt monsters purposefully, Mister Rod?” 
“Hmm? Ah…sometimes! Every once in a while we’ll get a request from the folks here in among the orders of fish.” 
Then what the townsfolk had told them earlier had been correct. 
The fishers here, what with the help of the Falna, would probably have no trouble taking care of the type of monsters that appeared on the surface—weakened from generations of breeding and never having stepped foot in the actual Dungeon. They were strong enough to take out their fair share of sea pirates, after all. Rod himself had already reached Level 2, what with his many years spent on the open ocean and the countless battles he’d seen. And from what Aiz could see, there were at least a few others in the group besides him whose strength could easily rival a low-level adventurer’s. 
So long as things didn’t get too crazy, they’d be able to deal with any trouble themselves, meaning the times they were forced to send for help from Orario were few and far between. 
“In all your experience on the lake and ocean, did you ever see…a large flower-type monster?” 
“You mean that thing from yesterday? Didn’t get to see it myself, as I just pulled into port this morning, but…you sure that thing wasn’t an aqua serpent?” Rod asked, lacing his thick arms across each other. 
Aiz and the others nodded. 
The captain’s brows furrowed. Out of all the fishermen, he was easily the most acquainted with Meren’s waterfront. “I do have an idea. I’ve often seen it when I’m fishin’ in the lake and ocean. A real long thing, like a snake, almost…swimmin’ in the water below the ship…” 
“…!” 
“Even I thought it was an aqua serpent at first, but—” Rod started before cutting his words short and quickly raising his head. “This thing you’re talkin’ about’s never attacked us. Not even once!” 
He looked around at the rest of his men, who all nodded in agreement, both at never having been attacked and never having gotten a good look at the creature in question. 
Befuddlement crossed the faces of the group of girls. 
“…? Hey, what’s that little bag hanging from your waist? I’ve noticed most of you fisher guys have one,” Tiona suddenly said. 
True enough, there was a similar bag—a little bigger than a typical adventurer’s pouch—tied around the waist of every fisherman walking along the dock. 
“Ho-ho! You’ve got good eyes, little missy.” Rod laughed. Grabbing ahold of the bag, he held it aloft for the group to see, almost like a child showing off his favorite toy. “This here’s magic dust! Sprinkle a little of this beauty on the water, and monsters won’t come close!” he announced proudly. 
“What?!” Tiona (and the rest of the girls) blurted back in surprise. Bewildered as to what could be inside, she took the bag from the captain’s hand and worked the stubborn tie open. 
“Hey, hey, careful now!” 
“Huh—? Bwwwwwooooaaaagh, that stinks!” she cried out, reeling back and away from the pungent smell wafting out of the bag. 
It was strong enough to elicit cries of disgust from Aiz, Lefiya, and the surrounding girls, all of them quickly bringing their hands to their noses. 
“Why didn’t you say something?! What is this stuff?!” Tears forming in her eyes, Tiona attempted to peer into the bag. The others followed suit, doing their best to hold out against the overwhelming odor. 
“Is it raw? Seems like a bunch of different things all ground up into powder…” 
“And that color! Gives me the heebie-jeebies!” 
Reds, yellows, blacks—all variety of different colored powders appeared to be mixed together, which almost looked like the crumbled remains of something dead when paired with the rancid smell. Tiona’s face curled in on itself like a dried prune as she surveyed the mysterious glittering dust. 
“A dust that repels monsters…We don’t have anything like this in Orario, as far as I know,” Lefiya mused. 
“You sure this doesn’t actually attract monsters? You know, mix it with some blood and meat and toss it over the side of the boat like bait to keep things from attacking the boat itself?” Tiona posed as the rest of the group exchanged similar thoughts behind her. 
True to Lefiya’s words, this kind of convenient “monster repellant” certainly couldn’t be found in any stores in Orario. Aiz, however, knew of another item with remarkably similar properties. It was something she’d heard about from Bell, after he’d fled to the eighteenth floor during his escape from certain death. A “stink bag” that an apothecary from an ally familia had whipped up by chance. The bag and its terrific monster-repelling odor was what had helped him and his party make it all the way to the safety point with their lives. 
Perhaps this powder in front of them now was one and the same. 
Still…could this smell really keep even marine-type beasts at bay? 
“But…we heard this thing was invented in Orario,” Rod mused as confusion crossed his and the other fishermen’s faces. “Yeah, you know! By that…that…Herseus…Persimmeus…oh, whatever her name is…” 
“Perseus?” 
“That’s it! She’s the one who invented it!” 
While it certainly did seem like something the rare item maker could whip up…Lefiya and the others remained skeptical. They simply couldn’t understand why, if such an item truly existed, no one in Orario knew about it. 
“Erm…from whom exactly did you receive this powder, Mister Rod?” 
“From the big man, Papa Borg…head of the Murdock family. He bought it up in the city and gave it out to us free of charge. Not only to us fishermen but to all the boats that pass through Meren. It’s been forever now. That old man does a lot for us,” Rod explained. “Well…can’t say it’s perfect, as we do still get some raider fish attacks and such, but it’s certainly helped us avoid a lotta excess damage to our ships. Ships ’round here never sail without it!” 
Could that be why Kali Familia’s ship got attacked yesterday…? Aiz immediately thought. 
Every ship that docked in Meren, and even the passenger ships and sailing boats that often passed through, had these bags…but Kali Familia wouldn’t, given that this was their first time making port in the city. They wouldn’t have known that the powder even existed. 
“…” 
Aiz took the bag of powder from Tiona, reaching her hand inside. 
She scooped up some of the colorful, sparkling dust with her fingers, letting it cascade down into her palm. 
All the while, she watched, studying the tumbling, flowing particles. 
“Speaking of…what’s going on between you guys and those Amazons, huh?” 
“…Why? Did something happen?” 
“Ah, no, no, just…us’n everyone else in the city are rightly pretty terrified of ’em. You can tell how strong they are just by lookin’! And then they march right through the middle of the street like they own the place…” 
Rod explained as he scratched the back of his head. By strange coincidence, the conversation turned toward Kali Familia, similar to what had happened to Riveria during her visit to the Guild. 
“Yeah, they’re scary!” “Savages, the whole lot of ’em!” the other fishermen were quick to add as Tiona grew quiet. The teary-eyed appeals from the burly men were enough to draw troubled looks from Aiz and the others. 
“…” 
Meanwhile, Tione was standing a short distance away from the group, focused in the direction of the city. 
The conversation, however, didn’t last much longer. 
“—Rod! We’ve got trouble!” an out-of-breath animal-person trawler shouted as he came running out onto the dock. Before anyone could so much as ask what the matter was, he continued his hysterical rant. “Those Amazonian ladies are causing a huge ruckus on the main road. One of ’em’s got ahold of Mark!” 
All at once, the entire wharf plunged into panic. 
As the color drained from Rod’s and the other fishermen’s faces, Aiz and her group found themselves thrown for a loop. 
Amid the building clamor, however, Tiona was the only one who quickly scanned the area around them. 
“Crap—!!” she hissed beneath her breath. 
Mere moments later, Aiz, too, noticed the cause of her alarm. 
“Miss Tiona, Miss Aiz, is…is something wrong?!” Lefiya inquired hesitantly. 
“Tione’s gone.” 
“She’s flown the coop!” 
Aiz and Tiona responded in unison. 
Before Lefiya and the other girls could register their surprise, the two were off, sprinting away from the pier. 
“Lefiya! Get Loki! She should be in the storehouse nearby!” 
“We’re going on ahead!” 
The two first-tier adventurers called back as they raced as fast as their legs would take them. Even as the commotion built behind them, they kept their sights set straight on the city. 
 
It was a gorgeous day. 
Fluffy white clouds lingered lazily in the cerulean sky overlooking the city, and the gleam of the sun reflected a beautiful emerald green off the waters of the brackish lake below. 
But despite the peaceful calm of the weather, the main street of Meren, normally filled with the hustle and bustle of passersby, was currently blanketed in a strange hush. 
No one moved. 
Or, more accurately, no one could move. 
All eyes were glued to the middle of the street, where an Amazonian warrior was single-handedly holding one of the local fishermen aloft by his throat. 
“Is there…problem?” she asked with a smile, her use of Koine maladroit at best. 
Her long sandy hair was tied back in a ponytail that fell all the way down her back. The revealing clothing practically drawn on her copper skin was undeniably Amazonian, and around her waist she wore a belt not of fur but of scale—a drop item, perhaps, from some kind of dragon. 
Despite her obvious beauty, between the glint in her eyes and the upward curve of her lips, she gave off an aura, purposeful or not, that reeked of reptilian malice. Far from what anyone would describe as “bewitching,” she looked more like a giant serpent anxious to gorge itself on its prey. Even her tongue seemed inhuman, impossibly long as it darted out to wet her lips. 

The well-built young man currently in her clutches said nothing in response to her inquiry. A raspy, wheezing breath worked its way out of his mouth as his legs dangled uselessly in the air. The Amazon gripped his throat and held him aloft with one slender arm. Desperate for breath, he clawed at the fingers digging into his skin. 
“P-please f-forgive…him…! Y-you were just so b-b-beautiful that he…couldn’t stop staring and…and didn’t watch where he was g-going, so p-please…!!” another fisherman nearby—his companion—pleaded. 
The Amazon’s head turned toward the tear-stricken man with an almost audible creak. 
“In my country, bumping into a warrior…is a challenge to fight to the death.” 
The man’s face paled instantly. 
Her grip on the fisherman’s neck tightened with a series of cracks, and the man’s body spasmed in response. 
As frightened screams began erupting from the crowd, the woman’s companions, another group of Amazons, simply watched in amusement. Her sister, too, hair of the same sandy hue, merely stared out across the goings-on in apathy. 
The man appeared to lose consciousness, his arms going limp, as his assailant narrowed her eyes in amusement. 
Only then. 
“Let him go.” 
An arm reached out, the same copper color, and grabbed her wrist. 
It was Tione. 
“…Tione?” 
“I said let him go, Argana.” 
But the Amazon’s—Argana’s—smile never faltered, even at the bone-crushing grip on her arm. In fact, if anything, it deepened. 
Finally, as Tione’s murderous glare continued, she released her grip on the fisherman’s neck with a shrug, almost as though having lost interest. The man’s body fell to the ground with a thud, and she shook off Tione’s hold on her arm. 
“Where were you? We searched for you…you and Tiona.” 
“I see you can speak Koine now. So fighting’s not the only thing in that monkey brain of yours.” Tione snorted, glaring daggers at the woman in front of her as the fisherman’s companion rushed forward to drag him out of the way. 
Argana didn’t so much as flinch, her eyes filled with amusement. 
“Kali taught it to me. She teaches us many things. The pleasure of growing stronger…and how to understand those who are different from us,” she added as her eyes passed over the crowd. “We wanted to know…what are our prey screaming? Are they angry? Are they begging for their lives?” 
The naked sadism elicited a look of pure revulsion from Tione, who stuck her tongue out at her former comrade. 
They were still the same as ever. Interested in nothing but power, bloodshed, combat. 
Tione felt her blood begin to boil, face-to-face with the red thread of fate that connected the Amazons to their native country of Telskyura. 
Her hand instinctively curled into a tight fist. 
“Have you heard, Tione? How strong the outside world has gotten?” 
“…” 
“They have turned into snakes…just like us.” 
“—No one’s the same as you, you evil witch!” 
Something snapped inside Tione. 
With an almost audible crack, all the years spent remedying her brash nature, her coarse tongue, came undone as her features lit up with rage. 
Argana continued to smile that same crescent moon smile, head slowly twisting to the side. 
“Then—shall we see just how strong you’ve become?” 
For a single moment, no one so much as twitched along that wide road. 
Then. 
“Gnnngh!!” 
The two women launched themselves at each other. 
Argana’s left arm blocked Tione’s kick, and Tione’s left arm blocked Argana’s kick. 
In less than an instant, the grand hand-to-hand duel had begun. 
“Tione?!” 
Tiona and Aiz arrived a second too late. 
Screaming at the throng of onlookers to stay back, they made their way toward the center of the panicking crowd, where a barefoot battle of fist against fist was currently taking place. Long sandy hair tangled with jet-black as the two women exchanged punches and kicks that would leave an ordinary person crippled. The thick, dull sounds of the blocked blows thrummed in the ears of everyone present. 
They seemed on par with each other. No, Tione was slightly—. 
The skill with which they delivered their blows was nothing short of exemplary, and as Aiz watched them, she felt tiny prickles of apprehension stab at her heart. 
When it came to weapons-free combat, Tione and Tiona were unquestionably the best in Loki Familia. Though Gareth might have been the strongest and Bete might have been the fastest, from a technical perspective, the Amazons’ unique style of martial arts was easily the fiercest. Aiz herself knew that, without a sword, she’d be out on her ass in five seconds flat. 
But that same Tione now was slowly, ever so slowly, being “out-fierced” by Argana. 
Those long limbs, almost like snakes, pecked away at her in ever-quickening strikes. And Argana’s ability to read her enemy’s next move was uncanny. Before Tione even began her attacks, Argana was already preparing for a counterstrike. There was no question as to her Level-6 rank, and she seemed to have the advantage when it came to Status, too. 
Argana’s eyes flashed as Tione’s face twisted in frustration. That same frustration was quickly painted over with pure, concentrated rage as her unwillingness to lose spurred on her attacks at an even greater speed. 
Aiz and Tiona sailed over the crowd of pushing, shoving onlookers, just about to put a stop to the fight, when— 
“!” 
Someone else stepped forward from the crowd to block their way. 
It was the other sandy-haired Amazon, the one who shared the same blood as the woman in the brawl. 
“Move, Bache!!” Tiona screamed. 
“…rhu muu,” was the only reply from the stoic Amazon’s neckerchief. 
Aiz couldn’t understand the words, but she could understand their meaning—that the woman had no intentions of letting them pass. 
Tiona’s eyebrows positively bristled, and she charged toward the woman’s right side, fully prepared to push her way through, as Aiz zoomed forward at a similar breakneck speed on the woman’s immediate left. The very breaths of the two first-tier adventurers were perfectly in sync as they prepped for the combo technique they’d cultivated in the Dungeon’s depths—only for Bache to take on the two of them at the same time. 
Catching Tiona’s iron fist in one hand, she let loose a simultaneous kick in Aiz’s direction. 
““?!”” 
Despite being airborne, Tiona found herself instantly in the clutches of a circular throw, while Aiz, despite her speed, felt the Amazon’s kick slice through strands of her golden hair. 
But there was no time for gawking. Hands slamming the ground, the two of them prepared to right themselves for the next onslaught. Bache, however, was already two steps ahead. Spinning like a chess piece, she let loose a rapid-fire barrage of blows and kicks to their heads, torsos, and legs, coming at them from every direction and striking both Aiz and Tiona at the same time. 
—She’s fast!! 
Aiz could barely believe her eyes at the sheer velocity of the attacks coming from the seemingly dispassionate warrior. 
She knew right away that this wasn’t an opponent she’d be able to defeat without her sword. Pulling her backup sword out of its scabbard—Desperate was still in maintenance—she looked up to see the rest of the Amazonian warriors joining the battle. 
“…!” 
They must have felt Bache was at a disadvantage now that the two first-tier adventurers were fully prepared for battle, and they charged forward with weapons flashing. 
Bache kept her focus on Tiona as the group of Amazons targeted Aiz, who quickly found herself drawn into her own free-for-all as the bare-fisted duel between the two Amazons intensified next to her. 
“Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! You’ve changed, Tione! You’ve really changed!” 
“Ggh—!” 
Meanwhile, the battle between Argana and Tione continued, Argana’s laugh eliciting even deeper rage from the younger Amazon. 
But it wasn’t just rage directed at her opponent. It was frustration at herself, too. The more damage she took, the more her combat power skyrocketed, and the more her fury bubbled, the more effective her Berserk skill became. And yet, despite the building power behind her each and every punch, Argana continued to fend them off with ease. Even the most powerful of attacks, enough to completely demolish an enemy, were useless if one couldn’t land them. 
Argana’s techniques had the advantage when it came to polish, and she countered every one of Tione’s strikes like a mirror—the very same steps, the very same moves. 
Which was natural, really. 
Considering that the style of martial arts Tione practiced had been beat into her again and again at the hands of this very Amazon. 
“Gnngh!!” 
One of the kicks connected directly with Tione’s back, sending her sailing toward the side of the road in front of a nearby food stand. 
Somehow, she’d been able to absorb the blow, and her arms tingled from the impact, but she shook it off, fully prepared to dash back into the fight when—she noticed it. 
“Huh…?!” 
A kid?! 
Right behind her, a young human girl was crouched in fear. 
What are you doing here?! she almost screamed, only to remember she was the one who’d lost her senses and recklessly begun fighting in the middle of a crowded street. No doubt, this girl simply hadn’t been able to run away in time. 
Tione found herself at a loss for words as she stared down into the girl’s tear-stricken eyes, when all of a sudden, a shadow overtook them. 
“?” 
It was Argana. And her laugh was enough to make Tione’s blood run cold as she held her fist aloft. 
Tione would have just enough time to duck out of the way. But the girl wouldn’t be so lucky. Considering the incoming strike was powerful enough to send an entire carriage flying just by grazing it, the small body would be crushed. Even the resulting shock waves would be enough to snap her tiny limbs. 
Argana, however, showed no concern. She had no reason to be concerned. 
The only person in her eyes was Tione. 
“?ngh!!” 
Tione yanked the girl out of the way, leaving herself wide open for Argana’s incoming fist. 
“Tione?!” 
There was a thunderous crash as Tione’s body was launched through the food stall, splintering it into pieces as she careened into the wall of the building behind it. 
Tiona and Aiz forgot about their own battles, whirling around to see a giant cloud of dust billowing up from the nearby building. 
“Gn—…ghnn…!” Tione grunted, spitting up blood. While she’d somehow been able to defend herself against the full force of the attack, the impact had still created a giant crack. 
Argana, on the other hand, simply stood there blinking in silence, a strange look on her face. 
“Did you really just…protect that girl?” She threw a glance at the girl in question, currently sprawled out on the ground and trembling in fear, before returning her eyes to Tione. “You really have changed, Tione…You’ve gotten stronger…and you’ve gotten weaker.” A look of pure, unadulterated disappointment crossed her face. “You are…no longer a warrior.” 
Her body drooped, almost as though she had lost all will to fight. 
There was the sound of weapons dropping from the direction of Aiz and Tiona, both of them still stopped where they stood, as Tione slowly staggered to her feet. 
“The old you would never have protected garbage like that. I see now that you shouldn’t have left…You should have continued your battles in Telskyura…with us.” 
“Are you…seriously saying that to me…?! Who would…who would ever want to stay in that place…?!” Tione hissed, glaring with deep-rooted resentment. 
Argana’s eyes narrowed as a small smile formed on her lips. 
“You still regret…killing Seldas, don’t you?” 
In that instant, time seemed to stop. 
“And yet, by killing her, you grew stronger, did you not?” 
Tione’s eyes went red. 
“?NNNGGHH!!!” 
An unintelligible roar erupted from the depths of her throat. 
Forgetting herself, forgetting the pain, she let the madness take control and charged toward the other woman in an uncontrollable rage. 
“?That’s far enough!” 
It came the moment before her fist hit its mark. 
The sound of two short claps echoed throughout the street. 
Though quiet, the voice that called out to them possessed a godlike sovereignty, and Tione’s body gave an instinctive shudder. Her tightly curled fist loosened as she returned to herself. Argana turned in the direction of the voice. 
It was Loki, together with the rest of Loki Familia’s adventurers, including one very out of breath Lefiya. 
“If things get any more heated ’round here, people are gonna get hurt. Not cool.” The goddess narrowed her eyes; she had only just arrived from the direction of the wharf but was already holding the battlefield in the palm of her hand. Rakuta, looking even more like a rabbit than usual, darted forward to grab the young girl, still sprawled out on the ground, and pull her out of harm’s way. 
Tiona and Aiz lowered their fists and sword respectively, eyes directed toward their goddess. 
“Argana. Bache. You two, too.” 
The voice came from closer this time, from the opposite side of Loki and near where Tione and Argana had been fighting. 
It was Kali, carting along a number of her followers. 
“Apologies, Loki. Seems the outside world was a little too much for my girls.” She shook her head with a sigh and a (seemingly forced) grumble as her eyes met Loki’s. “Shall we share the blame? After all, your Sword Princess and her friends did a number on my girls, too.” 
“Oh, whatever. Just scat, will ya? And I don’t wanna see you or any of your ‘girls’ again,” Loki scoffed, brushing her hand at them as though swatting at a bug. 
While Bache had come out of her battle with Tiona unscathed, the group of Amazons Aiz had been fighting hadn’t fared so well and were in various states of injury. The girls in question were glaring daggers at Aiz and her sword while Aiz herself seemed none the worse for wear despite having been vastly outnumbered. 
Kali simply smiled, then turned on her heel. 
“Ta-ta, Tione.” 
“…” 
Argana and Bache walked past them, Bache as silent as ever and Argana throwing them a sidelong glance as they made their way first past Aiz and Tiona and then, finally, Tione. The rest of the Amazons, too, fell in line obediently behind their goddess and made their exit. 
“M-Miss Aiz! Miss Tiona! Are you two all right?!” Lefiya immediately started for the two girls. 
“I’m fine…thank you,” Aiz replied as she resheathed her sword, appreciative of the elf’s efforts in fetching Loki. 
Tiona rubbed at her arm. “Yeeeouch…she really did a good one on me!” she hissed, and, indeed, bruises were already beginning to pop up all across her copper skin. 
As much as she bemoaned the pain, however, there was something more important on her mind, and she threw a glance toward her sister. 
“Miss Tione…” Lefiya and Aiz, too, noticed the direction of her gaze. 
The girl in question was standing in the middle of the deserted road, her back to them. 
Her eyes followed the retreating group of Amazons until they’d disappeared in the distance. 
“Seems this is more serious than I thought…” Loki murmured, and the words caught on the breeze and circled their way toward Tione. 
Tione brought a hand to her still-aching chest, oblivious to the blood that stained her mouth, as the wind played with her long black hair. 
“Ngh…” 
Seldas. 
The name stirred in her heart—a name she’d kept buried for so, so long and, with it, the memories that haunted her. It was a piece of her past she didn’t want to remember. 
She felt lost, confused, simply staring up at the sky overhead, as blue as the landscape of her memories. 
 
The sky had been blue that day, too. 
And it was stifling hot, baking the arena in the fiery heat of the sun overhead. 
The ground of packed earth was already stained a brilliant red from the day’s fresh blood. 
“Se wehga! Se wehga! Se wehga!” 
The deafening roar surrounded her. Cheers. Cheers for her, Tione, standing her ground in the middle of the arena. Praise and adoration rained down on her tiny frame from every corner of the stands. 
“Se wehga” was a phrase unique to the Amazons of Telskyura. 
Translated roughly, it meant “Thou art the true warrior.” 
She couldn’t make out anything over the thunderous ovation, her sense of hearing all but useless as she made her way toward the opponent in front of her. Hands shaking, she pulled the mask off the prone body—from the Amazon she’d killed—as the girl’s blood spilled out like a fountain onto the ground below. 
She knew this face. 
It was the face of the girl who’d tended to her wounds, who’d slept beside her so many nights, who’d breathed life back into her cold, dry heart. 
The girl who’d been like a big sister to her, a mother to her, one of the most important figures in her life. 
“Seldas…” 
Though the name passed Tione’s trembling lips, Seldas’s eyes had already descended into darkness. Never again would they respond to her voice. 
There had been a rule regarding who fought whom in the rites. 
But Tione and the others had misunderstood that rule. 
The reason they’d not yet had to fight any of the girls from their same room was simply that the right moment hadn’t come. As they strengthened the vessels of their flesh, so, too, did they strengthen their bonds with their roommates. They created friends, family for them to love. 
And then, they were made to kill those loved ones. 
This was their way of unleashing their anger. Of forcing them to overcome their grief. Of drying the tears from their eyes. 
This was how they created “true warriors,” ones free from all manner of emotions and perfectly molded for combat. 
Everything was part of this procedure for manufacturing warriors. 
No…NO… 
Something shattered. The world Tione had once known crumbled around her the moment she removed that mask. 
For the very first time in her life, as she laid her hands upon the girl she’d loved, she knew how to differentiate right from wrong. She realized how twisted, how mistaken she’d been—cutting down her peers without so much as flinching, just as she’d killed the monsters before them. 
On that day and in that place, the girl she’d so looked up to, the only mother she’d ever had, had taught her an important lesson—the agony of losing someone you loved. 
She’d hurt her. No, her country, her goddess, these warrior-manufacturing traditions, her brethren had— 
As tears of fury cascaded from her eyes, Tione turned toward the sky and roared. 
“Se wehga! Se wehga! Se wehga!” 
Thou art the true warrior. Thou art the true warrior. Thou art the true warrior. 
The chant was deafening. Lauding the tiny girl in the arena, howling at the heavens. Christening her a warrior of old, having passed the test and now one step closer to the gods. 
But to Tione, the words were nothing but a curse. 
It was her fifth birthday. The day Tione had killed the one she loved…and advanced to Level 2. 
Tione’s eyes would never see clearly again. 
 
The moon in the sky overhead cast its light across the mountains, forest, and lake. 
Night’s curtain had descended over Meren. 
Off to the north, the great walls of Orario stood tall, visible from every corner of the small port city and its comparably undersized parapets. Not even the shadow of night masked the view. The glimmer of light from the city itself, hidden within its mighty walls, flooded out in harsh contrast to the surrounding darkness. Orario wasn’t called “the hottest city in the world” for nothing—one would almost think night never fell the way the sleepless city’s brilliant lights stained the sky. While the sight of the bustling city was old hat for the denizens of Meren, it was enough to stir the hearts and hopes of those for whom Orario was their journey’s end. 
And while the nightlife of Meren couldn’t compare to that of its bigger sister, by no means was it going to go down without a fight. 
Magic-stone lanterns hung from the port’s columns and buildings, bathing its main road in warm orange light. A festival-like atmosphere buzzed about the marketplace and its open-air stands, the whole street brimming with endless throngs of passersby. Travelers joined the ranks of shipwrights and fishermen, all of them solicited by the sounds and smells of freshly cooked seafood as they wandered from one tent to the next. 
Needless to say, the port was a busy place—a true melting pot of foreigners. 
In the bars, too, demi-humans and even a few gods mingled, hitting it off with all manner of new conversation partners. 
“How’s Tione lookin’, Riveria?” 
It was in one such bar—a little establishment not far from Loki Familia’s hotel—that Loki bided her time now. When the high elf appeared, she called out from her place at a small two-person table surrounded by the din of the enthused clientele. 
“Even with Tiona and Aiz at her side…she isn’t faring well. She took quite the beating. Especially her heart,” Riveria explained as she pulled out the chair across from the goddess and sat down. “It doesn’t look good,” she added, guiltily almost, as though blaming herself for not having been at the scene of the fight. Still busy collecting information, by the time she, Alicia, and the others had rushed over upon hearing the commotion, all that was left was a deserted street and the girls of Loki Familia watching over a motionless Tione. 
Once they’d finished repairing the storefronts they’d destroyed after apologizing to a very flustered Rubart and company, it was already evening. Since then, most of them had returned to the inn, which was exactly where Riveria had been prior to this meeting, doing her best to heal and soothe a broken Tione. 
As Riveria sighed, Loki took a swig from her mug of ale. 
“I know we’ve gotta continue this investigation, but…it’s startin’ to look like we might need to get Tione and her sister back to the city sooner rather than later.” 
“Tiona should go quietly, but I doubt Tione will back down without a fight…” 
“Hmm…You and I’ll talk to her.” 
As concerned as they were for the two Amazonian sisters, however, they had a more important topic to discuss. The real reason they were meeting in this bar was to exchange the information they’d uncovered regarding their elusive violas. 
And so, the goddess and vice captain of Loki Familia began their conference, away from the prying ears of the rest of their familia. 
“All righty then, let’s go over everything we know first. We know that Tiona and Tione found nothin’ off-kilter on the lake bottom. The ol’ seal was tight as ever. While they didn’t probe every nook and cranny down there, I think it’s safe to say the second Dungeon entrance we’re lookin’ for isn’t in the lake…” 
“Which would mean that however our flower fiends got there, they used a route on the surface.” 
“’Zactly. If I had to guess, they’re in the sewers. And someone’s cartin’ them to the lake. We just need to look for somethin’ fishy…boxes or cages or somethin’…and then we’ll find the mastermind behind this whole thing.” 
Riveria nodded. 
The remnants of the Evils, and perhaps their one possible connection to the creatures, could well be somewhere within this very port. 
“You learn anything new from your huntin’ today?” 
“Mostly more of the same. Given how calm things have been on the waterfront lately, everyone’s more concerned about pirates than they are about any sort of monster. No one had even caught a glimpse of a viola before yesterday’s attack.” 
“What about the folks at the Guild?” 
“I was only able to speak with the branch manager—a human man named Rubart. Admittedly, I…have my suspicions,” the high elf conceded, one eye closing. 
“Anything you can pinpoint?” 
“There was just something unnatural about the whole conversation. The way he brought up the topic of Kali Familia, completely drawing my attention away from the violas…” 
Loki wasn’t one to second-guess Riveria’s judgment. 
While Finn may have been the brains and intuition of the group, Riveria was surely its all-seeing eye of perception. Her ability to discern others’ hearts could prove victorious even against Aiz’s defenses, much like a motherly sort of insight. 
“What about Alicia and crew’s trip to see the gov? They learn anything?” 
“Unfortunately, they were thrown out on suspicions of Guild involvement. Nigh unapproachable, it seems. The conversation itself was entirely one-sided.” 
“Hmph…Involved with the Guild, sure, but we’re still not from around here,” Loki grumbled, bringing her mug to her lips. 
Riveria was silent as the goddess picked at her food—a fish fillet with faintly greenish oil and sauce—before finally speaking up. 
“And what of you? Were you able to acquire any new information? You went to see Njör?r, did you not?” 
Loki grew even quieter. 
Fork hand coming to a stop, she threw a quick glance up at the high elf. 
“Hey…you don’t think Njör?r could be dirty, do ya?” 
Surprise flashed in Riveria’s jade-colored eyes. “You really suspect Njör?r could have anything to do with this?” 
“It was just a thought…” 
“I find it difficult to believe, even absurd. While I may not have spent a great deal of time with him, the lengths he went to in order to help others like me when we first arrived on our journeys to Orario were extraordinary. He is, above all else, a man of character,” the high elf asserted, not a trace of doubt in her voice. 
Loki scratched at her head awkwardly. 
Having known the other god since their time in the upper world, this was something she knew all too well, herself. And yet, there was something she just couldn’t shake from their earlier exchange. 
“Us gods have a hard time tellin’ when another god is lyin’. S’not like with you kids. Still…Njör?r, he…was never very good at it. At least from my perspective,” Loki explained, recalling the image of Njör?r with his back to her, avoiding eye contact. 
It had been that moment that Loki knew. 
“He’s hidin’ somethin’ from me. I know it.” 
“…And that ‘something’ is related to the violas?” 
“That I don’t know…but he’s certainly got a guilty conscience about something.” 
Riveria shook her head. “I don’t believe it…” 
As Loki sat there, her follower’s eye narrowed at her in disbelief, a strange feeling washed over her—one she’d never before felt. There was a flower-shaped shadow looming over this peaceful port town. And while it didn’t unsettle her, so to speak, it was still in sharp contradiction to everything Aiz and the others had uncovered today. That’s what bothered her. The fact that she just couldn’t figure it out. 
Loki let her head fall. 
“This whole thing might be bigger ’n all of us…or maybe more tangled would be the better way to put it.” 
There were a number of characters she couldn’t bring herself to trust. Three, if she only included humans and gods. 
Rubart at the Guild, Borg at the manor, and the patron deity of Njör?r Familia himself. 
There was a good chance one of those three was the puppet master Loki was searching for. 
“…What are we to do about Kali Familia?” Riveria finally asked, still mulling about Njör?r. 
Loki grew quiet. 
“Do you believe they’ve nothing to do with any of this?” 
“As much as I worry ’bout Tione and her sister, they’re not high on my radar. Whether or not they’re completely innocent, though…” she trailed off, displeased with her vague answer. Finally, after another moment to think, she continued, trying to put her instinct into words. “…I can’t help but feel like there’s some sorta thread connecting ’em. It’s tiny, one you can’t see no matter how hard you squint…but a thread nonetheless,” she mused, almost to herself, as her eyes widened ever so slightly. 
Riveria brought a hand to her chin in thought. 
The din of the pub around them wove itself through their silence. Craving alcohol to lubricate the gears of her thoughts, Loki sought out her mug only to find it devoid of ale. She stuck out her tongue in displeasure before waving the empty stein high. “I need a top-up over here, old man!” 
“Guzzlin’ them down tonight, I see, milady. Somethin’ on your mind?” the owner of the bar, an old raccoon, asked as he traded out the empty mug on her table for a new one full of ale. 
“Oh, this and that. Lots to think about when my cute little kids are involved, you know? Only choice is to drown my troubles!” 
“If you have any Alb Water, I’ll take that,” Riveria spoke up when it came her turn to order, never one to touch the drink herself. 
“Come to think, you notice anything weird goin’ on lately, old man? Doesn’t have to be big. Just somethin’ you might have noticed in passin’,” Loki said nonchalantly, downing half her ale in one gulp. 
“Anything weird, huh…?” the raccoon murmured. “You know, just so rightly there was somethin’! Amazons! Been seein’ ’em everywhere in the streets lately…” 
“Amazons…?” Riveria inquired. 
“The very same! From that one lady god’s familia,” he continued. “We might have our fair share of brothels on the backstreets, but these ain’t no ladies of Meren! Don’t recognize a one of ’em…Then again, could just be my mind playin’ tricks on me. After all, this town’s the gateway to Orario, so we get all sorts of folks comin’ through here from one day to the next…” he mused, head cocked to the side as though suddenly unsure of himself. 
Loki and Riveria could only look at each other in silence. 
 
Velvet curtains lined every wall in the magic-stone-lit room. 
The velvet rug, the vases, the sofa—everything was dyed a deep crimson. There was something almost licentious about it as every corner oozed a brothel-like aura. It contained not a single window; the entirety of the room was underground. Inside, its walls were filled with Amazons of Kali Familia, clothed in warriors’ attire. 
Argana, Bache, and others were lounging around the room, each one idling about on their own, as Kali lay sprawled out upon the couch, petite lips parting for a lethargic yawn. 
“…” 
Without warning, Bache, who was standing off by herself in silence, turned her eyes toward the entrance. 
As if in response, the room’s sole door opened. 
“—You’re all here. Perfect.” 
The newcomer was a copper-skinned goddess. 
Her body was adorned in gold, from the circlet around her head to her earrings, necklace, bracelets, and anklets. As far as clothing was concerned, she wore nothing but a loincloth and a few strips of fabric for a top, all of it tied together by a belt at her waist. Everything about her seemed molded to incite the lust of male eyes, from her ample chest and supple limbs to her salaciously curved hips. She was stunningly gorgeous. So much so that clothes would only hinder her beauty. 
The Amazons of Telskyura, having known nothing but combat their whole lives, were taken with her immediately. 
Even if the “femme fatales” they’d heard of only through word of mouth did, indeed, exist, something told them they’d still pale in the face of the beauty before them now. It didn’t matter that they were all women the same as she—the mouths of everyone in the room dropped in an entranced stupor, and their cheeks flushed a brilliant red. As Argana directed her eyes toward the newcomer in delighted curiosity, Bache furrowed her brows in an attempt to resist before turning her gaze away. 
A fiendishly bewitching allure filled the room, strong enough to captivate men and women alike and liable to put even other gods in their place. 
The goddess twirled a long kiseru pipe between her fingers as her eyes narrowed in provocation. 
“Finally! We’ve been waiting for you!” Kali piped up with her usual smile of confidence as she rose from the sofa, the only one in the room unaffected by the newcomer’s charm. 
As the goddess entered the room, a trail of women followed her. They, too, were Amazons, similar to Kali Familia. Every one of them boasted a monstrous body, practically mistakable for a two-meder-plus monster, yet stunningly beautiful with long legs. 
There wasn’t one among them who was nothing short of a goddess herself, clad in combat garments that accentuated the cascading valleys between their breasts and the bare curves of their hips. And yet, even in spite of their beauty, it was clear from how they carried themselves, with not a single visible opening, that they were every bit living, breathing weapons of destruction. 
Their beguiling patron deity took her seat on the sofa across from Kali. 
Kali’s followers, in turn, took their places behind Kali, while their visitors did the same opposite them. 
With the table in the center of the room between them, the two goddess-led factions faced each other. 
“This may be a little off base this late into the game, but I just wanna confirm—you’re Ishtar, correct?” 
“That I am,” the goddess Ishtar confirmed with a smile. 
Ishtar Familia. 
A large familia known for its superior combat prowess even among the familias of Orario. 
Reigning over the Pleasure Quarter in the southeast, its enormous sphere of influence was said to be the greatest in the city, and its warrior courtesans, known as the “Berbera,” were easily strong enough to rival the most skilled first-tier adventurers. 
Their patron deity was the goddess of beauty Ishtar. 

A goddess whose enchanting guiles could ensnare the hearts of thousands—the very embodiment of beauty itself—and who kept the brothels of the city firmly under her thumb. 
Kali, however, didn’t hesitate a moment in the face of Ishtar’s authority. 
“You’re a bit of an odd duck, you know that? Sending a request to a far-off country like ours.” 
“Which is why I explained my reasoning in great detail in the many letters we exchanged. I’m not afraid to use whatever means necessary.” 
In fact, it was at Ishtar’s behest that Kali and the rest of her followers had journeyed to Meren in the first place—a certain request letter, signed by the goddess of beauty herself, had simply shown up on her doorstep one day. 
“…I will bring down that woman—Freya,” Ishtar asserted, a dark flame burning in her amethyst eyes. 
There was no one Ishtar despised more than Orario’s other twin head, and coincidentally the other “goddess of beauty,” Freya. It was jealousy that spurred her hatred—she envied the other goddess’s prestige, renown, and, most of all, the fact that she was considered the most beautiful goddess in all the world. 
Ishtar refused to be known as simply the “Goddess of Jealousy,” deity of an envy so powerful, the gods had warned them it would upend the fate of humans and plunge the lower world into chaos. 
No, Ishtar had pledged herself to bringing her rival down. 
Which was exactly why she’d requested the help of Kali Familia in realizing her scheme now. 
“I had no idea what to expect when that first secret message of yours came,” Kali remarked, thinking back to the first letter she’d received from Ishtar more than a year ago. 
Freya Familia was easily the strongest in Orario, and Ishtar wasn’t stupid enough to think she could take them on herself. Her only option if she had any hopes of proving victorious was to request help from one of the world’s much smaller powers—Kali Familia, with its warriors that rivaled Orario’s first-tier adventurers. And so she’d felt them out time and time again, not only with her letters but through the observations her messenger Amazons brought back from the island nation. 
Though Kali hadn’t believed the letters at first, after multiple envoys and tributes of Superior-grade armaments, she’d finally agreed to give Ishtar’s request some thought. 
“All things considered, it didn’t take much to catch your interest.” 
“It’s a great opportunity! To do battle with the famed Freya Familia…and really, you musta done your homework before comin’ to us. You knew this’d be right up our alley.” 
The true reason Kali Familia had decided to heed Ishtar’s request, even going so far as to leave their own country, was because of the chance it offered—to fight against the irrefutably powerful Freya Familia, the strongest in a city already known for its capable factions. 
This was an offer Kali and her combat-craving Amazons simply couldn’t refuse, and it was a serendipitous meeting of interests for the two goddesses. 
Ishtar crossed her slender, tanned legs as she and the young goddess across the table exchanged smiles. Catching the sidelong glances of Kali’s followers eyeing her every move, she brought the tip of her kiseru pipe to her lips. 
“I’ll only let you know my initial plan for now. Wouldn’t want you and your girls to run wild or anything, now would we?” 
“What, you don’t trust us?” Kali scoffed. 
“I’d watch my tongue if I were you, little Neanderthals.” 
Ishtar’s warning was accompanied by a puff of purple smoke from between her lips. 
Behind Kali, Argana and the other Kali Familia Amazons sported contentious smiles directed at Ishtar’s followers. The enormous women behind Ishtar responded in kind. Though the alliance had been formed, the atmosphere in the room seemed liable to combust at a moment’s notice. 
“Samira,” Ishtar called out, slicing through the tension. 
An ashen-haired Amazon approached the short-legged table between the two goddesses, unfolding a scroll atop its surface. 
It was a map of Orario. 
“Our territory is here—the Pleasure Quarter in the southeast. Freya Familia’s home, on the other hand, is located here, right in the middle of the Shopping District. To put things in perspective, Meren is located to Orario’s southwest,” Ishtar explained, her thin finger pointing out each location on the map. 
“Hmmm…interesting. Then the enemy’s already nicely sandwiched between us,” Kali mused with a nod, leaning forward across the table. “A pincer attack, then?” 
“Precisely,” Ishtar confirmed with a smile. “My familia will begin the attack, and while Freya and her followers have their full attention on us, you and your warriors will sneak in from behind.” 
Ishtar had chosen an ally outside the city itself not only to ensure her plan’s secrecy but also to guarantee their attack would come as a complete surprise. Even the strongest familia in Orario wouldn’t expect an attack from outside the city’s walls. Even more so if the attackers boasted Level-6 combat power. 
“And what’re we supposed to do about those crazy-high walls, huh? I’m sure they’ve got guards, yeah?” 
“There’s a certain…company I’ve got wrapped around my finger—Albella. Simply come in by freight, and you should be able to pass by without an inspection. If you’d like, I can even open the gate for you myself the day prior,” Ishtar explained, the corners of her mouth curling upward as her irresistible charm did its work. “Once you’ve finished preparing, we’ll invade Freya’s territory…And once the fighting begins, that will be your sign to attack,” she finished. Her aura embodied callous ferocity despite her commanding allure. 
Helping an outside force infiltrate the city was a serious crime, but Ishtar had no qualms about making enemies with the Guild. Such was the tenacity of one who’d spent too long ruminating on her own humiliation. 
As Ishtar finished relaying her plan, Kali’s eyes narrowed. 
“Heh. The jealousy of a goddess truly is a terrifying thing. A shame, really, that one so beautiful could have fallen so far,” she mused, chuckling at the irony. While her outward appearance and voice resembled a young girl’s, the bite behind her words and the way she stared daggers made it plain that she was no child. 
Ishtar made her rebuke while she smiled. 
“Say what you will, but I will do anything to bring that woman’s world crashing down around her.” As the goddess’s smile widened, her gorgeous features bordered on the demonic. 
The sheer intensity exuding from her every pore had reached the point where it was overwhelming Kali’s followers. 
“At any rate, that’s as much as I can tell you now. Even barbarians like you should be able to follow such simple instructions, yes?” 
“Heh, charming as ever. But simple’s good. After all, this is our first time meetin’ face-to-face. Can’t expect too much, now, can we?” Kali agreed, playing off her opponent’s effrontery with congeniality. “What day we lookin’ at?” 
“Preparations are taking longer than planned; however, feel free to use this inn as you like until the day arrives.” 
“How generous.” 
“I know. You should feel honored.” 
Ishtar had taken care of everything since the Amazons’ arrival, from their port-entry permit to their lodgings, while her followers made constant treks in secret between Orario and Meren. In fact, the “Amazons” mentioned in a certain bar in another corner of the city were the Amazons of Ishtar Familia. 
“Still, even with the lavish fineries, we’re still here just twiddlin’ our thumbs…My girls wanna get out there and fight, don’t you, Argana?” Kali leaned back against the sofa and glanced back to where Argana was currently standing behind her. 
“We do,” the Amazon replied, a snakelike smile gracing her lips. 
“That Warlord especially. Gotta see what he’s really made of.” 
“That boaz is just one of many in Freya’s entourage. Don’t act out of turn,” Ishtar hissed, purple smoke escaping her teeth. 
“I know, I know! We’ll wait like good little girls,” Kali responded with a wave of her hands, looking more and more like a mischievous child. “Speakin’ of, this your whole familia, Ishtar?” 
“Are you really that imbecilic? My familia is equally as large as yours. I left most of them back in the city and brought only my top girls with me here. Why do you ask?” the goddess of beauty inquired with a tilt of her head. 
“Just wondering if your girls here would be the only ones tackling the front end of the pincer attack, is all. Our friend the Warlord’s a Level Seven. He alone would be enough to take down my Argana and Bache. Just don’t want the whole thing to be over before it even starts,” Kali remarked none too delicately as she glanced at Ishtar’s entourage. She, too, had left the majority of her familia back in Telskyura. From her point of view, what with her party of mostly Level 5s and 6s, Ishtar Familia didn’t exactly seem the best choice for a frontal attack. 
While Ishtar’s followers were quick to anger at the remark, Ishtar herself simply smiled. 
“There’s no need to worry. I have something special up my sleeve,” she assured, throwing a glance at one of the women behind her. 
The woman in question was the only one in the group of a different race. 
Though her face was hidden by a pure-white veil of feathers covering her head, from the tail protruding from her hips, it was clear she was of animal-person descent. Her curves betrayed her femininity and, when coupled with her robes, gave off the impression of a priest or kazuki-adorned Shinto shrine maiden. 
She didn’t respond to her patron deity’s knowing glance, remaining completely silent and apparently devoid of any sort of enthusiasm. 
“…Hmm?” Kali eyed the girl curiously. 
In return, she found a set of gorgeous green eyes staring back at her from behind her facial covering. Almost immediately, however, the long-legged woman next to her blocked her view, face stern as she hid the veiled girl behind her back. 
“I’m basically serving you victory on a platter. Any leftovers are yours for the taking…Feel free to have a ball,” Ishtar offered, and her followers behind her responded with bestial smiles. 
Kali’s followers couldn’t help but grin in return at the alluring proposition. 
“While I’m not sure how I feel about this trump card of yours…I guess it’ll have to do. So long as I get the gist of it. For now, we’re just supposed to sit tight, yeah?” 
“Exactly.” 
“That bein’ the case, I’d like it if we finished this whole business of my compensation, then.” 
Ishtar’s dark hair fluttered, glimpses of purple visible amid the rich obsidian. “I’d be glad to pay you as much as you’d like. Simply name your price, and I’ll—” 
“Keep your money. I don’t need it anymore. I want somethin’ else.” 
“Oh?” 
“And I want it before all this goes down, too,” the miniature goddess asserted, the tiniest of trembles audible in her voice. 
Ishtar scowled. Eyes sharpening like needles, she looked at the other goddess head-on. “…Go on.” 
“Loki Familia’s currently here in this port. Don’t get me wrong—it’s got nothin’ to do with us. Just a coincidence, is all. Seems like they’re here huntin’ some kinda man-eating flower monster or whatsit.” 
“Man-eating flower…? Ah yes. Those.” A disdainful smile crossed Ishtar’s lips as she made the connection in her mind. “And? Don’t tell me…?” 
“You got it. I was hopin’ to go up against ’em.” 
Ishtar’s eyebrows rose in identical arcs. “You can’t be serious. Going up against Freya and her followers is ludicrous enough. Loki Familia would be even more so. I can’t have you bloodied and bruised before the fight with Freya even begins!” she snapped, voice cracking. 
Kali raised her hands in supplication. “Sorry, sorry…I wasn’t being clear. By ‘them’ I didn’t mean the whole familia…but two certain sisters within the familia.” 
At the word sisters, Argana’s lips broke into a smile behind the goddess. 
“You see, Loki’s gotten her hands on a few of my kids. Well, former kids, at least. I lost the two of ’em in a rather…unfortunate incident. Still tugs a bit at my heartstrings, you know?” 
“…You speak of the two Amazonian twins?” 
“One and the same! I’d very much like it if my Argana and Bache could go up against ’em.” 
Ishtar tossed a puzzled glance at the two Amazons in question. 
The two were sisters, the same sand-colored hair falling over their shoulders. While one wasn’t even trying to contain her mirth, the other remained stony and silent. 
And yet, while their attitudes may have differed, both of them were imbued with the same carnal desire to fight. 
“Two sisters who left…two sisters who stayed…Which ones turned out stronger, I wonder? Will the ones who come out on top break free of the vessel they’re trapped in? Will they reach new heights—a new level?” Kali mused, half to herself, as her eyes stared off in the distance. “I want to see that battle. The carnage. I want to witness for myself which choice was correct…in a shower of blood.” 
With a quiet intensity, Kali’s voice grew more and more heated as she spoke. 
Her eyes glinted beneath her mask, her throat trembling in imminent ecstasy. 
This time, it was the Amazons on Ishtar’s side who shuddered, nerves on edge at their glimpse of the goddess of war, blood, and mayhem in all her glory. It was clear that the woman before them now sought not just combat but a brilliant fight to the death. 
What gratified Kali the most, and what had been her sole purpose in descending to the lower world, had been nothing but war itself. 
The fact that her true motivation focused solely on the taking of lives made her all the more detestable. But it was this simple purpose that had drawn Ishtar to her in the first place—somehow it made her seem more “manageable”…Still. Not even Ishtar could have calculated the true extent of the tiny goddess’s bloodlust, and faced with it now, she could only glower in disgust. 
There was a gasp from the veiled beast woman behind her—fear, perhaps? 
“But in order to make that happen, I need you folks to keep the rest of their familia at bay. We learned well enough today that they’ve got a number of girls in their ranks who’ll cause us trouble if we try again, their Sword Princess in particular. And I want this to be a fight between sisters only,” the petite goddess demanded haughtily. 
Ishtar, however, would have none of that, and she was just about to tell her as such when— 
“—Hee-hee-hee. Let them have their funnnn, Lady Ishtar.” 
A certain giant of a woman who’d been silently watching the scene unfold from behind Ishtar finally opened her enormous mouth. 
“Phryne…” 
“It’s finnnne, isn’t it? A warm-up for the fight with Freya, if you will. Besidesssss, sooner or later even Orario will find out Kali and her followersssss are here in Meren. If they’re convinced their purpose in coming was to fight Loki Familia, there’s no chance of the Guild or Freya and her lot raising any suspicionsssss…” the Amazon explained. 
While her limbs were strangely short, her bust size was substantial, and atop her large body and even larger head was a patch of short bobbed hair, the profile almost reminiscent of a toad’s. Her voice, too, hoarse and guttural, sounded as though it had been ripped straight from a frog, the husky croaking eliciting looks of disgust from both Kali’s and Ishtar’s entourages. 
It was none other than Phryne Jamil, Ishtar Familia’s captain. 
At Level 5, she was the strongest in the familia. 
“I’ll take care of that Sword Princessssssss for them.” 
Despite the good argument the toad woman had given, Ishtar still suspected she had ulterior motives, and, indeed, she didn’t miss the deep-rooted enmity burning in those giant ogling eyes the moment Phryne mentioned the Sword Princess. 
She sighed, long and low, but finally recovered her earlier smile. 
“All right, then. Phryne does make a good point. And I can’t say I’m all too fond of Loki and her merry men, either,” she finally agreed, her distaste for Freya Familia’s rivals all too obvious. “Having said that, if we find we’ve bitten off more than we can chew, I’m pulling my girls out, and you’ll have to handle the rest yourselves.” 
“I’d assumed as much.” Kali nodded coolly. The inklings of a smile were finally beginning to show on the cherubic goddess’s face. “There’s nothing that excites me like the spray of blood, and nothing lights a fire in my gut like the cries of agony when some poor soul crosses over the line between life and death. There exists no greater thrill in all the world! And a treat my more frivolous brothers and sisters will never get to taste—real war, with real lives at stake. That…that is the true thrill of the lower world…and exactly what I seek.” 
“…” 
“The only truth my children know is that of fighting and bloodshed.” 
From Ishtar’s point of view, as someone whose entire being revolved around love and sex, love was the true, unchanging universal truth, but since they would never see eye to eye on such things, she kept her mouth shut. 
“—War is the future,” Kali continued caustically, her bloodred eyes narrowing within the empty sockets of her mask. “And I’m gonna be the first in line to see it.”