Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka - Volume 7 - Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 

YEARNING OF A HERO 

“Bell and Mikoto have to be here. Let us through!” 

The last of the natural sunlight was fading from the evening sky as Hestia arrived at the outer corner of the Pleasure Quarter. Guards moved to block her path almost immediately. 

They were standing at the edge of Orario’s third district, the place where Ishtar Familia’s territory officially began. 

Hestia was accompanied by Welf and Lilly, as well as Takemikazuchi, on her mission to rescue the rest of her familia. They were blocked by two Amazons just before entering the main strip of brothels on Main Street. A standoff ensued. 

“My pardon, goddess, do you have any proof?” 

“Watch your words. Any funny business and we’ll remove you by force.” 

“Grrr…” Hestia started growling, getting steadily louder as the two female warriors gripped the weapons strapped to their backs: One carried a battle-ax; the other pulled twin longswords just far enough out of their sheaths to make the blades flash. 

A group of Amazons had attacked Lilly and Welf in the Dungeon, but they had no evidence. 

“UGHAAA!!” Hestia’s voice erupted, her hands rising in the air as the two enemy warriors grinned at her frustration. 

“They sure are giving us the runaround…” 

“Well, were we expecting anything else?” 

Male customers who started arriving on Southeast Main Street and their prostitutes stopped in their tracks to gawk at the enraged deity. Lilly could only sigh at her goddess’s childish arguing technique. Welf crossed his arms but watched the Amazons like a hawk. 

Takemikazuchi stood not too far away from them, his black hair in the usual bobbed, triangular style. His own followers started emerging out of the crowd and gathered around him. Their scouting mission complete, it was time to make a plan of their own. 

“Ouka, what did you see?” 

“They have this area completely locked down. Not even a rat could sneak in unnoticed.” 

“Amazons and prostitutes are blocking every street…There’s no opening.” 

Takemikazuchi listened to Ouka, Chigusa, and his other followers. “I see,” he muttered, eyebrows sinking. 

He reasoned that it was likely this was a cage to keep Bell and Mikoto from revealing the existence of the Killing Stone to anyone else. At the same time, it acted as a barrier to keep anyone else from interfering with the Killing Stone Ritual. 

While he was still unsure why they had captured the two humans, he was sure they were inside. 

“Mikoto…” 

Concern for the girl’s well-being written all over his face, Takemikazuchi looked up at the full moon that was peeking out from behind rolling clouds. 

“Sir Bell, please take this potion with you as well.” 

“If you’re sure, thank you. I’ll take it.” 

At the same time two deities were trying to get into Orario’s third district, Bell and Mikoto were undergoing their last preparations in their hidden alcove under the night sky. 

The two of them were planning to break into the palace alone and rescue Haruhime. They had to be ready for anything. 

They had briefly considered leaving the Pleasure Quarter and returning with reinforcements. However, they thought better of it. Deep in the heart of Ishtar’s territory, they might not get a better chance to strike at this range. If they left now, there was no guarantee that they’d get a chance to strike at all. Therefore, they stayed hidden and divided up the high-quality healing potions and supplies Mikoto had taken from the vault. 

Mikoto sat on the ground, tying her clothing to her joints to reduce the sound of the fabric. Dressed completely in black, she looked more and more like a ninja every second. Even while talking with Bell, a conversation she had with Takemikazuchi many years ago floated to the front of her mind. 

“Mikoto, you are the most physically suited to learn ninjutsu out of everyone. However, you don’t have the right mind-set.” 

At the time, her god had already trained her in how to use many weapons and in styles of hand-to-hand combat, so the time came to train her in the ways of the ninja. 

“Listen well, Mikoto. Ninjutsu is…dirty.” 

“D-dirty?” 

“Yes. A ninja is not picky about the methods used to complete the mission.” 

Mikoto had been sitting on her heels, sweating in the humid air as she listened to her god say these things as though it was common sense. 

“Sneak attacks, ambushes, traps…A ninja uses every option, any means to reach their goal. So, to be blunt, someone as straightforward and honest as yourself might not have much use for it.” 

Even so, Takemikazuchi taught her everything he knew. Once they came to Orario, Mikoto distinctly remembered Takemikazuchi telling her while smiling to himself that she was much more suited to be an adventurer. 

She truly missed being around him. His calming smile at the forefront of her mind, Mikoto took a deep breath and used the image to calm her nerves. 

She was using Bell’s Ushiwakamaru in place of the katana that was broken in the Dungeon. She also borrowed his item pouch and filled it with everything except the potions she had liberated from their enemy. 

Feeling light as a feather, she nodded to herself. 

“Sir Bell, I would like to confirm the plan one last time.” 

“Of course,” said Bell as he kneeled in front of her. 

“According to the scrolls I read, the ritual must be performed when the full moon first reaches its brightest peak, approximately eight o’clock tonight. Location will be at the top of one of the palace towers, an area called the Floating Garden…but please ignore that last piece of information.” 

Mikoto proceeded to explain the Killing Stone Ritual, including the time limit and other details. She glanced up at the clouds blocking the full moon from view, knowing they were almost out of time. “There will be no ploy,” she said before explaining the attack plan. 

“First off, Sir Bell will garner the most attention, break into the palace, and cause a diversion…” 

“While Miss Mikoto rescues Miss Haruhime.” 

Bell echoed their simple plan before Mikoto could finish. However, her eyes were clouded with concern. 

“This may be our only option…But are you certain, Sir Bell? All danger falls squarely on your shoulders.” 

Bell knew full well that if he was drawn into combat, countless more enemies would swarm in in an attempt to overwhelm him. Clearing his throat, he simply said, “I’ll do it.” 

“…Give me twelve—no, ten minutes. I will find Lady Haruhime and get her to safety.” 

Bell’s ruby-red eyes locked onto her dark-violet gaze; both shone with the light of determination. 

Seeing Bell’s conviction empowered Mikoto with even more courage and resolve. 

“…Lastly, what we should do should our plan fail.” 

Neither of them wanted to talk about it, but Mikoto knew they had to cover all bases. 

Bell lent her his ears, his expression just as serious. 

“Once I have made contact with Lady Haruhime, I will send up a flare. Green if I’ve succeeded, and red if—” 

“Not…and in that case…?” 

“…We break into the most heavily guarded area in the enemy stronghold and destroy the Killing Stone. That’s our only choice.” 

It wouldn’t solve the problem of Ishtar Familia acquiring another Killing Stone, but it would buy them time, as well as cancel tonight’s ritual. 

“Should it come to pass, improvisation will be necessary…One of us will need to draw attention while the other breaks the stone. I believe that is all we can plan for at this time.” 

Bell had no objections to Mikoto’s plan of attack. Every item necessary for the ritual was set in the Floating Garden, waiting for the moonlight. The location of the ritual could not be moved at the last minute. Their plan in place, the two humans exchanged one final nod. 

“Well then, Sir Bell…May the tides of battle flow in your favor.” 

“You, too, Miss Mikoto. Take care of Miss Haruhime.” 

Then they split up. 

Emerging from their dark side path, Bell and Mikoto moved out to get into their respective positions. 

Careful to evade the eyes of Amazons and prostitutes alike, Bell made his way to the front gate of Ishtar Familia’s home. Staying just out of sight, he eyed the front gate and weighed his options. 

“…” 

Well hidden in the shadows of a nearby brothel, Bell took a knee and looked at the palm of his right hand. 

Bell knew exactly who might show up—Aisha, the Berbera, and, of course, Phryne. 

As for what to do when that Level 5, top-class adventurer appeared, he had no clue. Of all the scenarios that played in his head, not one of them ended in victory. 

Bell glanced at the rest of his body. Light armor completely destroyed, only a layer of cotton protected his skin. BA-DUM BA-DUM. The thumps of his heart banged against the inside of his chest. 

“This is all I’ve got…” 

Ring, ring. Bell whispered to himself as soft chime sounds echoed and points of light started swirling around his right arm. He focused as hard as he could and bit down on his lip. 

More light started to gather in the palm of his hand. But would it really hit his target? Would he even be able to charge it in time to use in battle? Even more questions surged into Bell’s head. Shaking it from side to side, he ignored the voices and clenched his fist. 

I have to make it work, he said to himself as even more of the specks of light slipped into the center of his fist between his clenched fingers. 

A heartbeat later, Bell jumped out of the shadows. 

“Wha…?!” 

“Little Rookie?!” 

He could clearly see the golden palace and the front gardens beyond the main gate, as well as the stunned faces of all the Amazons who had been assigned to protect it. 

None of them had even considered the possibility that he would come to their home base on his own. Panicking, each of them reached for their weapons or turned their backs to sound the alarm. 

Bell thrust his right arm forward before any of the Amazons were able to get very far. 

Ten-second charge. 

A small bell sound rang out, signaling the start of the battle as the boy roared at the top of his lungs: 

“FIREBOLT!!” 

The pillar of white light accompanied the thunderous roar of a flaming lightning bolt. 

The front gate of the palace was utterly destroyed in the ensuing explosion and every single one of the guards was launched skyward. 

Screams and shrieks rose into the air, along with an enormous amount of smoke. Bell charged forward, right through it all. 

Running as fast as he could, he quickly reached into his leg holster and withdrew two potions he’d received from Mikoto: a high potion and a high-mind potion. He downed them both in one gulp and discarded the empty vials in one swift motion. Emerging from the smoke, Bell raced up the front steps of the palace and into the building. 

The mission to save one girl was now officially under way. 

“You wanna explain that explosion?” 

Greatsword balanced on his shoulder, Welf yelled at the two Amazons. 

Everyone in the area was looking at the mushroom cloud rising from the middle of the third district. Even Hestia stopped glaring at the guards the moment the explosion reached her ears. 

Lilly ignored the sudden chaos and used the opportunity to press the Amazon roadblock. 

“There’s the undeniable proof!! That explosion was caused by Mr. Bell’s Firebolt!” 

“Out of the way!” 

The Amazons knew there was no way Lilly and Welf could discern a type of Magic from this distance, but they also figured out there was no way to prove them wrong. Snapping their tongues in frustration, the two drew their weapons in earnest. 

“So what if it was? You trying to start a war?” 

“We’re Ishtar Familia!” 

Lilly hesitated for a moment, the reality of her actions hitting home—a mountain of a shadow passed over her. 

The enormous man reached out and grabbed the closest Amazon by the throat, lifted her up, and threw her to the side. 

The other guard was just as surprised as the thrown Amazon, watching her ally tumble down the stone pavement. Then she looked up at a pair of furious human eyes honing in on her. The massive human, Ouka, took another step forward and said only one word: 

“Move.” 

Ouka had had enough of standing idly by while Mikoto and Haruhime were in danger. His decisive action inspired the rest of Takemikazuchi Familia to draw their own blades and prepare for battle. Ouka unhooked his great ax from his back and led the party of humans from the Far East into a line of red-faced Amazons. 

“Everyone together!” 

“Ha-ha-ha, that’s what I’m talking about!” 

Welf laughed and joined their formation as Ouka led the opening charge. The battle had officially begun. 

Lilly loaded her bow gun and surveyed the battlefield. Orario’s third district had become the stage for the opening acts of an all-out war. 

“So it came to this after all…!” 

“There was no time, couldn’t be helped.” 

Welf and Ouka were powerful Level 2 adventurers, but their enemies had the advantage of numbers. Hestia watched the events unfold and sighed to herself, thinking that the situation couldn’t be helped. She followed after Takemikazuchi and entered the street her allies had forcibly broken into. 

—If there was a true beginning to all this… 

It started with one-sided animosity. 

Ishtar hated Freya from the moment the two Goddesses of Beauty first met. 

It could have been something as simple as a sibling rivalry, or perhaps it was caused by jealousy, wanting something she did not have. But in the end, she despised Freya to the point that she had tried to topple her many times. 

On the other hand, Freya didn’t have a strong opinion of Ishtar at all. 

She would laugh off all the “provocations” and enjoy watching Ishtar retreat with every failure. That was the only time Freya ever paid any attention to her, so she didn’t care one way or the other. 

She didn’t know if her indifference came from her power, fame, or influence. 

Freya had reached the summit of Orario, undisputedly second to none. Meanwhile, Ishtar’s rise had stopped at becoming queen of the debauched streets and districts in the metropolis. 

Freya’s name had spread like wildfire. Her followers were wrapped in fear. It was said that her beauty was unequaled throughout the world—and other nonsense like her charms could turn heaven and earth on their heels. The claims and compliments for Freya never halted. 

This was the moment when she laughed at the jealousy of other goddesses. 

That’s when and why black flames surged within that glare of animosity, or perhaps it was destined to happen this way no matter how events came to pass. 

However, if there was one thing that could be said… 

The difference between the two Goddesses of Beauty, Freya and Ishtar, it was— 

“My Lady.” 

The voice of her trusted follower pulled Freya’s eyes away from her own reflection in the wineglass she was holding. 

She placed the glass on a circular table at her side. Ottar took that as his signal and approached her. 

“Allen has submitted a report. Ishtar Familia abducted Bell Cranell and is behaving suspiciously…Also, an explosion in the Pleasure Quarter occurred moments ago.” 

Freya stood up from her chair before Ottar had completely finished his sentence. 

“The entire familia has been assembled, yes?” 

“Yes.” 

“Issue a decree.” 

“Then your will is set.” 

“It is. Ishtar crossed the line.” 

Freya’s voice was cool, calm, and collected. Her silver eyes narrowed as she spoke. 

“All her little jokes were laughable until now. But this…No. I won’t allow it.” 

Ottar watched Freya take a step away from her table—and then he turned to address a large crowd. 

“To arms! Our goddess desires glory on the battlefield!” 

All her warriors had gathered and were standing at attention in the main chamber beneath her throne. The sounds of marching boots filled the room as her followers filed out in ranks. 

They readied their weapons of choice and moved out, wasting no movement. Their discipline was evidence of their deep-seated loyalty. 

Without even a whisper of idle chatter, the household warriors assembled outside on the grounds of the silver fortress, Folkvangr. It was so organized it seemed as though they had practiced and arranged the movements beforehand. 

Numbering well over one hundred, every one of them was ready to carry out their goddess’s bidding. 

“…Deplorable.” 

Following the last of the echoes through the hallways, Ottar escorted Freya out of the building. 

Caught off guard by his goddess’s sudden utterance, Ottar responded in a hushed voice: 

“What is?” 

“This turn of events.” 

Ottar frowned but kept walking. 

Freya didn’t notice. She shrugged to herself as the two of them arrived at the front door of their home. 

“I, too, shall head out. We leave as soon as preparations are complete.” 

Belit Babili was overrun in a flash by loud, angry voices. 

“Intruders!” 

“How many?” 

“J-just one, the Little Rookie! He charged the front gate!” 

Bell could hear all the Amazons shouting orders, caught glimpses of them pointing him out to their kin as he raced through the palace. 

Making his way toward the center, he could see a tower, similar to Babel, rising toward the heavens. The base of the looming structure was composed of many long, wide floors. Bursting out of the outer ring and into the courtyard, he raced toward it and entered the first floor. Everything from stairwells, to pillars, to spaces between stones became his route to higher and higher floors up the inside of the tower. 

“STOP HIM—!” 

A large group of fully armed Berbera was in hot pursuit. 

Bell immediately changed course whenever he caught a glimpse of anyone in his path. Wave after wave of arrows relentlessly rained down from every direction but, at the same time, gave him the best indication of where to run. 

If I stop now, it’s all over…! 

This was the enemy stronghold. He had to avoid hundreds of warriors on his own. 

If he lost even a step, a single second in combat facing any one of them, the rest would catch up and he’d be forced into a fight he could never win. 

Flashes of his enemies zoomed by every corner of his vision. Bell knew he couldn’t allow any of them to get close. 

“Firebolt!” 

“Ughhaa!” 

He fired multiple rounds of his magic without breaking stride. 

Spell chants—time to prepare magic abilities—were unnecessary with Bell’s Swift-Strike Magic. The Amazons had no answer for a ranged attack that was faster and stronger than their arrows. They were either blown backward or stayed out of range, which meant they couldn’t get close enough for a blade or fist. 

Trying to carefully avoid hitting the noncombatant prostitutes he could see huddled up in fear in the hallways and chambers as he passed through, Bell aimed his Firebolt at any enemies, ceilings, and floors he could reach. Thunderous flames rained down within the central tower as Bell tried to cause as much chaos as possible. 

“Loose!” 

“Whaa?!” 

Bell had just turned off a hallway onto a stairwell only to be greeted by a group of ten Amazonian archers with their arrows at the ready. 

The twangs of their bowstrings rang through the stairwell as the arrows were launched before Bell had time to call forth his magic. While he was able to deflect most of them with his Hestia Knife, the awkward swing made him lose his balance and he fell back down the stairs. 

There was no time to recover; the next round of arrows was already on its way. Rolling out at the last instant, Bell caught a glimpse of the ten Amazons as each of them drew swords and jumped down the stairwell. Even more were coming from either side of the hallway. He immediately charged under the jumping Amazons, past the stairwell, down the hallway toward a window, and dived into it headfirst. 

“He’s outside!” 

Breaking through the glass, he felt cool night air envelop his skin. 

The moon was still partially hidden by cloud cover. Bell landed on the awning of the window below and used another to continue his ascent up the tower. 

One window after another was shattered as the Amazons followed the agile rabbit outside and up the tower. They weren’t giving him any breathing room. 

It hasn’t even been—three minutes?! 

Beads of sweat flew off his skin. His lungs labored for breath. Even more dark shadows were on his tail. Bell decided now was the time to take the third potion out of his leg holster. 

His heart beating so hard that his chest might implode at any second, Bell urged every muscle to keep firing. Feeling the effects of the potion kick in, Bell discarded the empty vial without losing a step. He kept drawing their attention, trying to get away while making as much noise as possible. 

The evening lights of the Pleasure Quarter spreading out beneath him, Bell continued to lean on the one thing he knew surpassed the Berbera: his speed. 

“Sir Bell, you have my gratitude.” 

—Meanwhile, on the complete opposite side of the palace… 

Mikoto slipped into a window on the backside of Belit Babili completely unnoticed. Many guards had been pulled away from their stations. Even the patrols on the inside were much less frequent. No one could catch Bell, their original target. The only choice was to corner him with numbers. And those numbers had been pulled from the patrols. 

Words of gratitude and apology on her lips, Mikoto moved swiftly and silently through the hallways. She hid in the shadows the moment approaching footsteps revealed the location of enemy warriors. Three or four groups of Berbera went past her without detecting her presence. At last, Mikoto came upon a single Berbera. She sensed the same spiritual pressure in the Amazon as herself, another Level 2. 

Wasting no time, she withdrew a spherical crystal from her item pouch and rolled it at the Amazon coming toward her from farther down the hallway. 

“…What’s this…?” 

The moment the Amazon bent down to inspect the shiny object, Mikoto dropped down from the ceiling and landed directly behind her target. Before her victim knew what happened, Mikoto had her arm around her neck. 

What’s more, the Ushiwakamaru blade was resting on top of the coppery skin of the Amazon’s throat. 

“Where is Lady Haruhime?” 

“F-fortieth floor. Close to the Floating Garden.” 

That was all she needed to hear. She moved slightly to put her prisoner in a choke hold and, a moment later, the Amazon fell unconscious to the floor. 

Mikoto wasted no time in dragging the limp warrior out of the hallway and into a room before disappearing without a trace. She was on her way to the fortieth floor. 

“How dirty…” whispered Mikoto as she remembered Takemikazuchi’s face. It was true; an adventurer would never want to pull off such an underhanded ambush. 

Finding a window, Mikoto climbed outside and started scaling the building. 

Far above, she spotted light coming from an open window. 

Haruhime was sitting in front of a certain window, trembling. 

Just when she thought something unusual was going on, a report came in saying that the Little Rookie—Bell Cranell—had forced his way into the palace. 

She stood up and made a break for the door but was caught by two Berbera and roughly escorted back to her seat. Now two of the intimidating warrior prostitutes stood on either side of her, watching her every movement with the same emotionless glare. 

Haruhime had changed into a formal red kimono imported from the Far East. She cast her anxious gaze back out the window, her drooping golden tail twitching behind her chair. 

“That boy did what…?” 

No one had told her anything. The words involuntarily spilled out of her soft pink lips when her ears picked up the news from the conversations going on around her. 

Thoughts like why, how, and please stop, among other fragmented thoughts, weakly spilled from her mouth. 

Haruhime’s gaze fell to the floor as she wrapped her arms around her thin body like she was afraid of what was going to happen next. 

“All of you go help out. I’ll stay here.” 

Aisha issued orders to the other Berbera in the same room where Haruhime was trying to make herself as small as possible. 

Aisha volunteered to stay behind and protect their person of interest, but a rather large woman was much more concerned about capturing Bell and voiced an even larger dissent. 

“You ain’t leavin’ the group, Aisha. You’re comin’ with me on the rabbit hunnnt.” 

“…Aahh?” 

“Already forgotten the beatin’ you got at our hands when you smashed the first Killing Stone, Aishaaa?” 

The overgrown frog out of water, Phryne, squared her shoulders in front of Aisha and looked down on the thinner Amazon. 

“Plannin’ to use the chaos to let Haruhime escape, ehhhh? Can’t trust you. So I want you where I can see you.” 

Other Amazons in the room seemed a bit confused by Phryne’s words. 

“You idiot,” Aisha spat back. She felt the effects of Ishtar’s Charm far more than anyone else present in the room and couldn’t even think against her goddess at this point. 

“The Little Rookie is an obvious decoy. The Eternal Shadow is comin’ here for Haruhime.” 

“That’s what I’m sayin’. Let the others handle the Level Two, third-tier shrimmmp. They don’t need you or me.” 

With the exception of Phryne and Aisha, all the Berbera in the room were Level 2. 

Every single one of the second-tier adventurers was currently pursuing Bell, their Statuses matching his at Level 3. 

Phryne’s nostrils flexed as she claimed with absolute confidence that someone at Mikoto’s level wouldn’t stand a chance against these numbers anyway. 

“That girl used an unbelievable spell during the War Game. If she’s underestimated—” 

“Shut up alreadyyy!” 

Phryne bellowed loud enough to shake the room. The Berbera and Haruhime all recoiled in surprise. 

Her bloodshot eyes once again fell onto a surprisingly unfazed Aisha. 

“All you have to do is follow my orders. Or do you want me to smash in that faaace?” 

Aisha did her best to ignore the incredible stench emerging from Phryne’s wide mouth as her face shifted into a frown. 

When she destroyed the first Killing Stone, Aisha had been thoroughly “disciplined” by Phryne’s brutal methods before being dragged before Ishtar as a nearly lifeless wreck. 

“Or perhaps…you’d like all your other little varmints to have a taste?” 

Aisha’s stoic expression suddenly showed a flash of concern. 

That, more than anything else, struck fear into the hearts of the other Berbera as they watched on. 

Those Amazons trusted Aisha far more than their leader, Phryne. That was especially true for the younger ones. Aisha treated them like younger sisters—as she did with Haruhime—and looked after them. 

“Did you forget, Aishaaa? Next time you stick a toe out of line, it won’t be just you who gets devoured. All the others get their turn…Lady Ishtar warned you herself, didn’t sheee?” 

Ishtar had been testing Aisha’s loyalty. Perhaps “playing with it” would be a better way to describe her demeanor. 

Despite being overwhelmingly Charmed by her goddess, Aisha still possessed her own free will and would never become a true puppet. However, that meant that she felt every ounce of fear as she was forced to choose between Haruhime and the well-being of her adopted younger siblings. She was constantly balancing a scale that would break her heart should either side fall. 

This state of constant unease was Ishtar’s punishment for breaking the Killing Stone. 

“Well?” came a pompous demand. Aisha’s lips twitched before she finally opened her mouth. 

“…Fine.” 

The gorgeous Amazon decided to follow orders. 

“Ge-ge-ge-ge-ge-ge-geh!” Phyrne’s croaking laughter echoed throughout the room. 

They equipped their weapons and prepared to find the intruder. 

“Keep an eye on the time, then go to the altar. See to it that Haruhime is brought to Samira and the others when everything is set.” 

Phryne turned to address the other Berbera just before leaving the room, and she issued her last orders. 

Then the massive woman led Aisha and a group of her most trusted allies out the door. 

“Oh? He broke in?” 

The divine voice echoed on the top floor of the main tower inside Belit Babili, the goddess’s private quarters. 

Ishtar sat on a lavish sofa and listened to a report on Bell’s sudden attack. 

“It appears he’s running wild through the inside of the palace…All attempts to capture him thus far have failed.” 

“Running wild, you say. No one charges into a lion’s den without a reason.” 

Ishtar held her long oriental pipe in one hand, purple smoke emerging from one end. She listened to her assistant Tammuz’s report before taking a long drag from the pipe. 

The windows on all four sides of her quarters had been opened. A light breeze blew the smoke from her lips and the tip of the pipe. 

“Perhaps he left something behind…A woman who found her way into his heart?” 

The goddess narrowed her eyes, deep in thought. 

“He will be captured at once.” 

“No, don’t. Call them back.” 

Tammuz didn’t know what to say as Ishtar stood up from her comfortable sofa. 

She didn’t pay any attention to her human follower. Instead, an ominous smile grew on her lips. 

“This could be interesting. I’ll go myself.” 

Standing up to her full height, the goddess didn’t say another word as she descended the closest staircase toward the sounds of battle. 

Bell had reached the thirtieth floor of the palace tower. 

He was already more than a hundred meders above the ground. Frantically avoiding the incoming Berbera attacks, he made his way up a grand staircase. 

The intense battle hadn’t lasted even ten minutes yet. Once he’d avoided capture for more than ten minutes, he decided he would give up without a fight. But for now, he had to keep pressing forward. It was his duty, his mission. 

Every muscle burning, every sense screaming out in pain, he continued to evade every attack the second-tier-adventurer Berbera were throwing at him. Firebolt was proving to be an effective shield for the white rabbit as he recklessly poured all his energy into making it past the next obstacle alive. 

Continuing to find openings in the net that the Level 3 Amazons had set for him, he saw visions of Haruhime’s and Mikoto’s faces sear themselves into his heart. 

A trail of shattered stairs and walls in his wake, Bell’s dramatic run persisted as even more Berbera joined the hunt. 

“—Outta the waaay!!” 

“?!” 

Bell heard the scarily familiar voice rain down from above from the center of the tower as he rounded another corner. It was followed almost immediately by the sound of destruction coming his way. 

Something big and sharp was spinning at him with high speed—a grand war ax. Bell bent backward just in time. The tip of the blade sliced through a few strands of hair just in front of his eyes. 

The heavy weapon continued on its way, turning the railing, floor, and even the wall into a gaping hole that went down another four floors. 

A cold chill ran up his spine as Bell looked at the spot that he had moved through less than a second ago, now nothing but shards of wood and other debris. 

He knew right away, she was here. 

“Phryne…!” 

Bell looked up at the path from which the grand war ax had come. Indeed, her two-meder frame was not hard to spot. 

The frog-like Amazon bearing the title Androctonus, the Man Slayer, looked down on her prey with a hungry grin on her thick lips. 

That was when Bell recognized someone else standing next to her—a heroic-looking female warrior with long black hair: Aisha. 

“Did you miss me so much you came baaack? Ahh, how sweeeet!” 

Other Amazons handed Phryne two more grand battle-axes before she narrowed her eyes at Bell. 

A heartbeat later, she kicked off the floor. 

“—!” 

“I’m comin’ for yoooou!” 

Bell wasted no time in turning tail and taking off at full speed as Phryne plummeted toward him. 

His escape route brought him into the main hallway, with doors to many rooms lining the walls. The impact of the gargantuan Amazon’s landing nearly knocked him off his feet. A shock wave littered with debris blasted out of the doorway he’d just run through. 

“Let that toad handle the rabbit. All of you, to the thirtieth floor!” 

Aisha’s sharp orders cracked through the air like a whip. However, Bell didn’t have time to listen due to the living wrecking ball closing in from behind. 

Muscles searing in pain, the young human didn’t care which direction he went anymore, just as long as it was away from Phryne. 

Eyes frantically scanning the hallway, he caught a glimpse of the cloudy skyline. A window, a path away from the mass of impending doom only a few meders away. He dashed—when a familiar high-speed whistling sound reached his ears. Another ax. 

“?!” 

“Goin’ somewherrre?” 

The grand battle-ax was closing in with blinding speed. 

Bell dove to the floor, protecting his neck and bracing for impact as the ridiculously large weapon destroyed everything in its path. Walls, floor, ceiling, and finally the window—chunks of jagged wood showered his body as the blade passed over him. He looked up and saw Orario’s full skyline. The outer wall was gone. 

There was no time to gawk at the damage. 

A dark shadow fell over him where he lay. 

“?!” 

Phryne had closed the distance in a matter of seconds. The Amazon lifted her remaining grand battle-ax and brought it down. 

Bell rolled to his left without a moment to spare. Another second later and the ax would have landed right between his shoulder blades. 

Instead, the weapon plunged into the floor, causing the ground around her to cave in slightly. Phryne lost her balance for a moment. Bell desperately leaped up and thrust out his right arm toward the Amazon. 

He didn’t have the luxury of lining up a shot or worrying about his remaining Mind. Bell pulled his magic’s trigger. 

“FIREBOLT!!” 

An electrified inferno burst forward from his palm. 

It came together to form the sharp tip of the spear—that Phryne dodged with a quick backspin. 

“No way…!” 

Bell couldn’t believe his eyes. 

Firebolt—missed? 

At that distance?! 

The bolt continued down the hallway, scorching the walls as it went. Bell was absently stunned that someone as large as Phryne could evade something like that so easily. However, his would-be target was back on the offensive. 

“Tricky piece of magic you got there!” 

With that, her ax became a blur as she took swipe after swipe at Bell. It was all Bell could do in his panicked state to get out of the way. 

Bell couldn’t help but tremble at the knowledge that Phryne was fast enough to evade a lightning bolt with no warning. Her speed and agility didn’t match her body type in the slightest. 

It didn’t make any sense. 

Even as Bell evaded the weapon, the backlash from the air pressure cut into his skin. The true power of top-class adventurers hit home. 

“You done yet?” 

Phryne continued to take chunks out of the wide hallway as she forced Bell into the center of the tower. 

The walls, ceiling, and floor bore deep gashes, the claw marks of a crazed beast. The expensive rugs and ornate magic-stone lamps were utterly destroyed by Phryne’s onslaught. However, she was enjoying herself like a cat that refused to kill a dying mouse. Bell had become her toy. 

Argonaut—Bell had no time to charge his Skill. He couldn’t focus on it and fight against an opponent like her at the same time. 

He would lose a limb the moment he thought about trying. 

Phryne’s overwhelming figure filled his quivering eyes. His ace in the hole, the one and only backup plan, wouldn’t work. Only one option remained. Bell drew Ushiwakamaru-Nishiki to use with the Hestia Knife so he could attack—no, so he could defend—with a dual-blade style. 

“KEHH!” 

Shaking off his fear, he managed to guide a sideways swipe of the ax past his body. 

With that came a series of un-dodgeable attacks, bringing forth visions of a different Amazon, the berserker Tiona, and her massive blade during his training on the city wall. Just as he did then, Bell took a defensive angle and slashed the incoming weapon out of the way. 

High-pitched metallic screeches rang out every time the weapons collided. Short bursts of arcing sparks accompanied Ushiwakamaru-Nishiki’s screams. 

However, Bell was quickly overpowered and kicked farther down the hallway when he was most vulnerable between swipes. 

“GE-GE-GE-GE-GEH! So you can dance!!” 

Phryne complimented the young human as he tumbled backward. 

Flipping over two, three times, Bell rolled out of the hallway and into a larger chamber before finally coming to a stop. 

Body covered in cuts, sweat, and bruises, Bell jumped back up to his feet. 

What he saw next made his blood run cold. 

“Miss Aisha…?!” 

The chamber was completely filled with Berbera. Bell had rolled into a trap and was now surrounded on all sides. 

The heroic Amazonian warrior stood tall, holding her favorite large wooden blade against her shoulder, her gaze firmly locked on the boy. 

“…You did good, getting this far.” 

Aisha stood in front of a staircase leading to a higher floor, her voice loud enough to echo throughout the chamber. 

A shock wave rumbled through the floorboards a second later. Phryne had arrived. 

This particular chamber was decorated with fine artwork on the walls and ornate pillars framing each of the ceiling-high windows. With Aisha guarding the way up and Phryne preventing him from turning around, Bell had nowhere to run. That would’ve been bad enough without the countless other Amazons encircling him, bouncing their weapons against their shoulders with anticipation. 

Oh shit…! Bell cursed to himself as he desperately looked for another way out. His mind raced almost to the point of bursting when suddenly: 

“Back down, all of you.” 

A powerful voice came from the top of the stairwell. 

Every set of eyes in the chamber snapped in that direction in surprise. Slowly but surely, the figure of a bronze-skinned goddess, boasting a peerless level of beauty, descended into the chamber with an oriental pipe in her hand. A sweet scent strong enough to drive the strongest of mortals mad wafted into the room before her. It enveloped Bell, seemed to burn him from his nose. His unblinking ruby-red eyes were drawn to her body like magnets. 

The Goddess of Beauty Ishtar seduced any observer with her divine figure, but nonetheless, she was thoroughly pleased seeing Bell’s reaction as she continued smoking. 

“Wh-what’s the meanin’ of thisss, Lady Ishtar? Bargin’ in?” 

Phryne wasted no time voicing her displeasure with her goddess. Ishtar looked toward her towering follower as her assistant Tammuz made his way down the stairs behind her. 

The frog-like Amazon’s face turned a deep red, veins pulsing in her forehead. 

“Did you not hear me, Phryne? I said back down.” 

Her emotionless black amethyst eyes flashed. Her words conveyed one simple message from her divine will: obey. 

The corners of Phryne’s wide mouth twitched. 

It was the first time Bell had ever seen a hint of fear in her eyes. 

“All of you, to the Floating Garden. Heads will roll if the Killing Stone Ritual fails again.” 

The completely overwhelmed Berbera sheathed their weapons. It didn’t take them long to disappear from the chamber. 

They filed out one by one. Aisha’s eyelids sank as she looked at Ishtar for a moment before turning her back and following her kin out of the room. Just as she reached the door, she looked back over her shoulder at Bell, her long hair swaying. 

Phryne clicked her tongue in frustration. She was the last one left. A few long seconds later, she put one foot in front of the other and left the chamber behind. 

Bell breathed a momentary sigh of relief. His thoughts immediately went to Mikoto and Haruhime. He turned to leave, thinking to help them avoid more danger—when Tammuz scared him senseless. 

The handsome, black-haired tan man’s glare overpowered him. 

“Little brat, I’ve come all this way to meet you myself. It’s rude to turn your back on me.” 

Beads of sweat pouring down his face, Bell froze in place as he watched the Goddess of Beauty slowly descend the remaining stairs. 

Ishtar approached Bell, a thin smile on her lips. Bell’s body twitched back in her direction. 

“Lady…Ishtar…” 

She stood at his height, their eyes on the same level. Bell couldn’t hide his bewilderment as the deity came even closer. 

Two against one. No, gods and goddesses were physically weak and could not fight for themselves. In reality, it was one-on-one, Bell against Tammuz. 

Bell’s wide eyes jumped back and forth between the goddess and the human standing just behind her. It might have been a direct order from their goddess, but the boy still couldn’t understand why Phryne and the others left without a word—that’s how far his train of thought went before the goddess came to a stop. 

“Most impressive, child of Hestia. You have more backbone than I thought, offering yourself up as a diversion and forcing your way in like that.” 

In reality, Bell’s spine wouldn’t stop trembling in her presence. 

A seductive body, a voice that melted his ears, a sweet aroma, and alluring eyes. 

Bell fell to the full force of divine beauty and immediately understood the reason the Amazons had given up so easily. 

He had already been ensnared by a beauty that no mortal could resist. 

The Amazons knew: Bell’s fate had already been decided. 

“Was it a woman’s pull that brought you back here?” 

The goddess commented on Bell’s reckless valor, amethyst eyes sparkling as if they could see all. 

Bell didn’t know where to look, standing in the face of a goddess who was too beautiful. 

An ornate golden crown, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and anklets decorated her body. The only cloth to be found on her perfectly proportioned tan figure was a strip of cloth covering the bare minimum of her breasts and stomach as well as another, slightly thicker strip wrapping around her lower back and thighs. Her long, braided black hair shone with the flickering light of the magic-stone lamps. 

Any unprepared, unfortunate soul who happened to glimpse any part of her body ran the risk of being Charmed without warning. 

That fear worked its way into Bell’s mind. He blushed, trying to resist her erotic aura. All he could do was take a defensive stance. 

“So, this is our second meeting. At first I doubted that vixen’s sanity, taking an interest in you…But then again, I should reconsider. You have a nice face.” 

The goddess’s smile broadened as she listened to Bell constantly clear his throat, apparently at a loss in the face of her allure. 

The boy did his best to ignore shakes and tremors coursing through his body and did his best to force words out of his mouth. 

“…Wh-why did you attack us in the Dungeon?” 

He asked her the one thing that he could never figure out. To his surprise, she gave him a straight answer. 

“You caught my attention and interest during the War Game. After that…it was to stick a thorn in the side of a certain vixen I can’t stand.” 

Ishtar’s words meant nothing to him. The look of confusion on Bell’s face only caused her grin to grow even wider. 

“Rejoice. I will Charm you and you will be mine.” 

A fresh wave of her enticing scent filled his nostrils. Her words sending more shivers down his spine, Bell took a step back. 

However, a conversation with Haruhime’s goddess was worth every second and he decided to press further. 

Even if he didn’t understand everything, this kind of opportunity might never come again. 

Under the watchful gaze of Tammuz, Bell kept his distance from the Goddess of Beauty and continued asking questions. 

“…Please, tell me.” 

“Oh?” 

“Why…are you going to sacrifice Miss Haruhime?” 

It took every ounce of willpower for Bell to string those words together. The enticing goddess’s laughter filled the chamber a moment later. 

“Ha-ha-ha-ha! You can talk about another woman in front of me!” 

“A-answer me, please!” 

Ishtar calmed down enough to take a long draw from her pipe. She was pleasantly surprised by the sudden demanding tone in Bell’s voice. 

She rolled her shoulders a few times as her interest in the boy grew. Ishtar’s mood was improving by the second as she started speaking again. 

“Well, let’s see. First, I bought Haruhime. I saved her from a life no better than livestock at the hands of those dirty men. In fact, I should be shown gratitude for treating her like a valuable treasure all these years.” 

The reality of Haruhime being sold like some object at the marketplace to become someone’s plaything flustered Bell. He had thought she was “sold” in name only, that the reality could not be so cruel. 

A goddess who had just happened to walk in on an auction, a still young renart girl. Drawn in by her natural beauty and an interest in her race, the goddess used her divine gifts to force the miserly merchants into selling her the young girl. 

Ishtar enjoyed the flavor of the oriental pipe, taking another long drag as she told Bell about the first time she laid eyes on Haruhime. 

“Her life was born anew, thanks to me…Children serve their parents, do they not?” 

“That’s…?” 

“And you know, Bell Cranell? I don’t think of this as killing Haruhime. She will get her soul back as soon as the vixen falls. I’m only borrowing it for a short while.” 

What cheap logic! Bell screamed inside his head. 

The chances of no shard being misplaced during a war with Freya Familia were extraordinarily slim. 

Even after everything was over, the innocently smiling Haruhime whom Bell knew would never return. 

Bell glared at Ishtar, his eyes shaking with rising anger. 

“Let me just say this…Even if I did not seal Haruhime’s soul, it is her destiny to be used by someone else. That is the true meaning of her power.” 

“…!” 

“Can you comprehend how I felt…the moment I gave that girl a Status? I shivered. The instant I realized that the possibility of finally toppling that wretched goddess was right in front of me!” 

That wretched goddess—the profile of the Goddess of Beauty who led Orario’s most powerful familia formed in Bell’s mind. 

Ishtar’s jubilant voice echoed throughout the chamber, saying that the renart put the possibility to negate any and all divine expectations in the palm of her hand. 

“Haruhime is my trump card! My chance to cast Freya into the abyss!” 

Ishtar poured more and more energy into her voice, her excitement palpable. Bell fought back his anger enough to ask the next question. 

“What makes you hate Freya Familia that much…?” 

“What, you ask? Everything! I hate everything about her!” 

Ishtar’s eyes flashed with animosity for the first time. A rage-filled rant ensued. 

“Men ignore me and flock to her instead, claiming that she is the most beautiful for absolutely no reason! You must be joking! How could that pig sow ever surpass me?! Have all men gone blind?!” 

Ishtar roared at the floor, her jealousy rearing its ugly head in an explosion of hate. 

Bell recoiled in fear of a divine passion that beings of Gekai could never fully understand. 

Even Tammuz was careful not to draw the attention of his goddess. 

“…B-but that doesn’t give you the right to use Haruhime…!” 

Bell fought to brace his buckling knees before willing the words out of his throat. 

Ishtar seemed to get a handle on her rage and flashed another thin smile at the boy who had claimed that it was too cruel a fate. 

“How insulting. If I were a goddess without blood or tears, I would have Charmed her into a faithful puppet long ago. But she is loyal; that fox listens to only my orders.” 

“That’s only…” 

“I have my own way of showing mercy. That pitiful girl was treated very well, you know.” 

Swish, swish. Ishtar spun her pipe between her fingers. 

“Can’t be helped if she felt uncomfortable from time to time. But I gave her beautiful clothing and delicious food…Not to mention I blessed her with many opportunities to know the joys of being a woman.” 

“…!!” 

Bell could no longer contain the rage bursting forth from within his heart after hearing the way Ishtar described forcing Haruhime to sell her body and cooping her up in little more than a birdcage. 

He even forgot that he was confronting a deity. His voice erupted in unbridled fury. 

“WHY?! WHY DID YOU MAKE HER BECOME A PROSTITUTE?!” 

“This is my familia. Everything I decide becomes law, rules that everyone must live by. It’s common knowledge.” 

Bell’s outburst sounded like nothing more than the cry of an ignorant child during a temper tantrum. Ishtar chuckled to herself, wondering what his problem was after coming all this way. 

The one major downside to being a part of a familia was being subject to any rules they create. 

They had no choice but to obey. The main reason that many average people chose not to receive Falna—outside of avoiding the inter-familia conflicts—was because they were scared of what they might have to do should their god demand it. Finding a deity with good character was a long shot at best. 

That’s what it truly meant to be a follower, a member of their family. 

“So tell me, boy, why is it you avoid prostitutes? Bodies coming together in beautiful passion is sacred. It controls the wild aggression of men, allowing women to become a pillar of stability in this world.” 

“Wha…?!” 

“The difference in gender on Gekai is what allows new life to be born, for fertility to thrive. Sharing this bond with many different men is by no means unclean. Why can’t you children see this? It is beyond me.” 

Gods and mortals had very different values. 

This difference in the thinking of the deusdea came as a complete shock to Bell. 

Perhaps it could be as she said. Just as the Guild had accepted the Pleasure Quarter’s activities, prostitutes might be an irreplaceable part of society. 

That prostitutes weren’t abhorrent outcasts at all, that they were necessary. 

But…!! 

There had to be many who couldn’t live like that. 

The image of a young girl staring out the window with longing eyes had been burned into Bell’s memory. He clenched his fist with all his might. 

“Even so…Even if that’s true, there are people suffering because of it!” 

Bell stood tall, squaring his shoulders at Ishtar as he unleashed a booming voice, demanding that she release Haruhime from the life of a prostitute, from being an object of destruction. 

Unfortunately, Ishtar wasn’t the least bit moved by the zealous display. 

“It will not happen.” 

Bell’s plea could not reach the goddess of sensual desire. She couldn’t understand Haruhime’s pain. 

Ishtar stared at him for a moment before pulling her pipe out from between her lips. 

“Your selfishness and the truth will never align. Most of all, I have no interest in playing along.” 

She frowned and snapped her fingers. 

Tammuz moved with blinding speed and knocked Bell to the floor in the blink of an eye. 

“Guwaah!” 

He’d gotten so caught up in his conversation with the goddess that Bell had forgotten about her assistant. He let his guard down. 

No, more than that—Tammuz was fast. 

Bell never had time to resist. Now he was pinned to the floor and completely immobilized. 

“He may not look it, but Tammuz is Level Four. You can’t break his grip.” 

Ishtar gave a quick introduction to her familia’s second in command. 

Then she closed the distance between them—and started to disrobe. 

“UWAHH?!” 

The tension from a moment ago gone, Bell blushed and yelled in surprise. 

“Eh—eh—EHHHHH!” 

“Such a child. Hasn’t Hestia taught you anything…? Ah, wait, she’s one of the virgin goddesses, that’s right.” 

“Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-why are you taking off your…?!” 

Facedown on the ground, Bell tried to hide his eyes under his shoulder. However, Tammuz took hold of his hair and forced his head back up. 

Bell’s wide eyes were greeted by a small pile of clothing and golden accessories at the feet of a completely nude goddess. 

“Like I said, I’ll make you mine.” 

Released from the cotton restraints, her breasts swayed from side to side as she stretched her supple, voluptuous body. Ishtar ran her fingers down all her seductive curves, finally stopping on her bulging bottom. Her moist, bronze skin was emitting the strongest erotic aura it had thus far that day. 

A refined smile grew on her lips as she watched Bell’s entire body blush bright red. 

“I’ll Charm you—’til your bones melt.” 

Her eyes had taken on a sadistic glint, dead set on stealing his body and soul. 

Bell’s face turned from dark red to light blue as her shadow fell over him. 

Several buildings formed the palace of Belit Babili. Other than the palace for the goddess and the buildings where familia members lived and slept, there was one other massive structure within the main gates. 

It was constructed out of white stone and stood at the back of the complex almost like an afterthought. However, it rivaled the main tower’s palace in elegance and had been designed to resemble a ziggurat from the Ancient Times. 

Constructed five years ago as a new brothel, the building’s true purpose was to provide the stage for a certain ritual. It had been ready to fulfill its role three years ago when a certain prostitute destroyed a Killing Stone that had taken years to acquire. The structure had laid dormant ever since. Now it sat under the full moon, again waiting to fulfill its purpose. 

The roof of this building was connected to the palace by one long stone bridge. Haruhime began her journey across it. 

Despite standing forty stories above the ground, this bridge had no ceiling. Only a chest-high parapet prevented people from plummeting to the ground below. There was also no protection from the wind that gusted past. Haruhime held her hair in place as three Berbera assigned to escort her to the Floating Garden urged her forward. 

“Move it, Haruhime!” 

“R-right…” 

Thud! The lead Amazon gave her an extra push, causing Haruhime to step on the front of her kimono. 

The Berbera were completely focused on the night sky. Haruhime recovered her footing before she too looked up into the dark, starry abyss. A full, golden moon was staring back down at her from behind thinning cloud cover. 

The light that will kill me. 

—Haruhime said to herself in a silent voice. 

Lowering her gaze to the bridge, she could clearly see the garden on the other side. Soft blue light rose from the center, as if beckoning her to come closer. 

Face devoid of emotion, Haruhime continued forward. 

Her pace quickened, as if there were people who could be saved if only she went through with it as quickly as possible. 

“Weird girl…” 

The Amazons stayed right beside her, looking down with thinly veiled disgust. 

All three of them sneered at the girl who refused to put up a fight despite knowing that she was walking to her own doom. She had already given up. For brave and bold Amazons, her resignation to this fate came across as cowardice. That was the only thing more reprehensible than weakness to the proud warriors. 

The Amazons kept their eyes on Haruhime as she walked a few paces in front of them. They let their guard down. 

There was nowhere to hide on this one-way bridge that was completely exposed. 

As this was the least likely place for an ambush to occur, the three women focused solely on carrying out their orders. Being able to see in every direction only increased their confidence. That’s why they failed to notice the presence of someone lurking under the bridge. 

A human hand silently grabbed hold of the guard wall. Her black hair whipping behind her in the night, Mikoto flipped over it and landed behind the Amazons. 

“—Huh?” 

The last of the three was jerked backward by the throat before she was thrown up and over the side. 

The screams of their fallen comrade alerted the other two Berbera, but the closest couldn’t react in time, knocked off balance before she could defend herself. The human figure used a quick succession of grappling techniques to throw her over the side as well. 

“Y-you?!” 

The remaining Amazon shuddered as she listened to her falling comrades. Seeing that they fell from the left and right sides of the bridge, she took a central position and drew a longsword. The black shadow drew a crimson blade in response—but felt something strange in the air and ducked to the floor. 

A strong gust of wind hit the bridge a moment later. Haruhime stumbled in the sudden push of air. The Amazon was rushing forward, her sword held high as she took the brunt of the wind. Next thing she knew, her back hit the guard wall. 

“Wai—!” she started to say, but the black shadow had already closed the distance between them. Planting its foot, the shadow drove a heel into her chin. 

“…Lady…Mikoto?” 

The last of her escort gone from the bridge, Haruhime cautiously came to a stop and turned around. The black shadow, Mikoto, wasted no time in rushing to her side. 

“Why are you here…?” 

“To rescue you.” 

Mikoto answered the stunned renart’s question with no hesitation in her voice. 

The human girl’s reflection in her large green eyes, Haruhime watched as Mikoto reached out and took hold of her hand. 

“Let us escape together, Lady Haruhime. Quickly.” 

Time was of the essence. Mikoto didn’t want to waste any of it exchanging words in such a vulnerable location. 

However, Haruhime didn’t move despite Mikoto’s pull. 

“Miss Mikoto…I’m fine, please save yourself.” 

“Wha…?” 

Now it was Mikoto’s turn to be stunned. Her grip going slack, Haruhime pulled away her hand. 

“Why did you come, Lady Mikoto? Master Cranell, as well. I’m a burden, I would put you and your friends in danger. I thought everyone understood this.” 

“That was…!” 

Mikoto had been forced to weigh the importance of Haruhime against her family just hours ago. Her heart still ached from having to make that decision. 

Haruhime continued with an expression of sorrow on her face. 

“Because of me, Lady Phryne and Lady Ishtar would never let you rest. My presence would put everyone you know in harm’s way…That’s what I am.” 

“Even so! Sir Bell swore to me that he would protect you!” 

Frantically trying to wash away Haruhime’s words with her own, Mikoto stepped forward and grabbed Haruhime’s shoulders. The renart’s eyes shot open in surprise. 

“He will fight for you, become stronger for you, protect you! Those were his words!” 

“That is because…Master Cranell is kind.” 

“That’s not why! He’s not fighting for you out of guilt or pity!” 

Mikoto didn’t allow Haruhime time to question Bell’s resolve. 

The girl looked down, desperate to avoid Mikoto’s gaze. 

“Lady Mikoto, I beg of you, leave me be…I am not worthy of this pain and suffering.” 

“Tell me why…why have you already given up? Your life is at stake!” 

Tears flew from her eyes as Mikoto’s fingers buried themselves in Haruhime’s shoulders. The human’s voice overpowered the wind that was making her hair whip to and fro. 

Then. 

Haruhime’s lips fluttered. All the emotion, all the pain she’d kept bottled up over the years was threatening to spill over. 

“I can’t ask for help…” 

The breeze carried her words off into the moonlit night. Mikoto didn’t take them lying down. 

“There is nothing to be frightened of!! Should Lady Haruhime ask, Sir Bell would never abandon you! He’s not that kind of man!!” 

“…” 

“Lady Haruhime!” 

Mikoto’s voice jumped an octave higher in desperation. A heartbeat later— 

Haruhime looked up. 

“You don’t understand, Mikoto!” 

Tears poured down her cheeks, eyebrows standing on end. 

The dam had fallen. Everything Haruhime had kept under wraps burst forward. 

“…?!” 

“Giving your body to someone you have no feelings for, selling it for money! Could you forgive yourself for doing that, Mikoto?” 

A childlike tone had taken over Haruhime’s voice. Even the politeness that had been drilled into her since birth was gone. That was Mikoto’s first clue something big was coming, and it scared her. 

“Look at me. I’m a prostitute!” 

Mikoto’s eyes shook as Haruhime’s reality struck her like a blow to the head. She had no words to respond. 

Haruhime shook her body left and right, cheeks soaked with tears. 

She wrapped her arms around her chest after pulling her shoulders free from Mikoto’s slackened grasp. 

“I should ask him to help, is that what you’re saying? I should ask him to fight for this soiled body, ask him to allow me to stay beside him after all I’ve done? All while knowing it would put him in danger?” 

She looked at Mikoto with the eyes of a lost child. 

Haruhime’s eyes squeezed shut as she poured out more of her sadness. 

“I can’t! I just can’t…!” 

Her eyes closed, moonlight reflecting off her wet eyelashes as she looked back down at the floor. 

Soft hiccups interrupted her cries, making Haruhime’s shoulders jump every few seconds. The stones around her feet were dotted with fallen tears. Mikoto could only stand there like a frozen statue and watch her childhood friend lament. 

If she had been in Haruhime’s position, what then? 

Would she be able to ask Ouka, Chigusa, Takemikazuchi for help? 

As a prostitute, would she really ask to be saved? 

Quite the opposite. She would ask them to look away. 

As another woman, she couldn’t refute Haruhime’s words. She sympathized. 

“…!!” 

She chanced another look at Haruhime as both of them stood bathed in moonlight. 

Filled with a feeling of powerlessness, Mikoto forgot where they were for one moment too long. 

“—Open fire!” 

They’d been discovered. 

A bolt of lightning emerged from the main tower, searing the night air. It hit Mikoto directly in her back. 

“GUAH!” 

Her body shook as the bolt ripped through her shoulder. 

A magic sword. 

More Berbera had appeared from the palace. The forward ranks brandished several magical weapons. 

Haruhime watched in horror as her friend’s body spasmed and stumbled toward the guard wall. 

“Mikoto!” 

Haruhime reached out to help her. Another bolt made contact with Mikoto’s side. 

The human girl managed to block the fatal blow with her crimson dagger, but the impact was enough to knock her off the bridge. 

Unable to grab hold of Haruhime’s outstretched hand, Mikoto fell through the air. 

“AAHHH…!!” 

Haruhime hid her face with both hands, a fresh wave of tears flowing from her eyes as she collapsed to her knees. 

Stricken with guilt, she rocked back and forth, whispering, “Sorry,” over and over. 

“…!” 

Meanwhile, a still-plummeting Mikoto gritted her teeth and grabbed her injured shoulder. 

The bridge where she left her friend behind shrank in the distance. 

“Failure…!” 

She reached into the item pouch with her other hand and withdrew a flare. 

As much as it pained her to do it, she flipped the trigger and let it fly—a spray of red sparks arced over Belit Babili. 

“—Can’t you open your eyes?!” 

Ishtar’s rage was undeniable. 

And all of it was targeted at the boy, Bell, who was currently pinned to the ground by her assistant Tammuz. 

Eyes clenched shut, the bright-red boy wasn’t listening. 

“I c-c-c-c-can’t! Please put on some clothes!” 

Bell screamed at the top of his lungs as he thrashed about, trying to break out of the stranglehold. “Hold still!” snarled Tammuz in frustration that he couldn’t keep a Level 3 adventurer completely still. Only when Ishtar added her own body weight did the panicked rabbit fall in line. 

The boy still refused to look at her. It was time to change her strategy. 

Just what the hell is going on with this one…? 

The boy shouldn’t have a choice. Whether or not he opened his eyes, the very fact that Ishtar had taken an interest should have Charmed him on the spot. That’s the way it worked. 

Her beauty in their eyes, her smell overwhelming their nostrils, her voice melting in their ears, the sensation of her skin on theirs—none of the senses was safe from her allure. She could use any one of them to turn an army of ten thousand into her slaves. She didn’t even have to touch them. It should all be over on eye contact. No one should be able to resist her gaze. 

Yet the boy beneath her had resisted at every turn. Not only was it strange, but his innocent reaction was making her embarrassed. 

“Why isn’t he being Charmed?!” 

Tammuz was taken aback by his goddess’s fit of rage. 

While the Goddess of Beauty’s Charm was similar to a monster’s poison, even the Advanced Ability Immunity shouldn’t be able to block it. 

Ishtar’s pride was reeling. She bit her lip and menacingly eyed the boy’s back. 

“Tammuz, strip him!” 

“U-understood!” 

Without armor, only a thin layer of cloth hid his back from sight. Tammuz did as he was told and placed his hand on Bell’s back. 

The white-haired boy tried to struggle, but his inner shirt was ripped to shreds in the blink of an eye. 

His Status was exposed. 

Even though the black hieroglyphs were hard to read, there was no lock protecting the information. Ishtar raised an eyebrow, surprised that her picking skills would not be necessary before leaning in for a closer look. 

A moment later, she was speechless. 

Bell Cranell 

Level Three 

Strength: I 94   Defense: H 144   Dexterity: I 95   Agility: G 299   Magic: I 78 

Luck: H Immunity: I 

Magic 

(Firebolt) 

• Swift-Strike Magic 

Skills 

(Learis Freese) 

• rapid growth 

• continued desire results in continued growth 

• stronger desire results in stronger growth 

(Argonaut) 

• charges automatically with active action 

“What in the—” 

While his Luck ability got her attention at first, Ishtar couldn’t take her eyes off a specific Skill the moment she deciphered the sloppy handwriting. 

Learis Freese. 

A yet undocumented Rare Skill that affected growth rate. 

Ishtar couldn’t believe it. 

If the information written in his Status was to be believed…The goddess froze in awe of the mortal boy struggling under her weight. 

He possessed an immensely strong will, powerful enough to create Skills. 

A will powerful enough to force his own growth out of sheer desire. 

A pure, yet one-track mind that came around once in a millennium at most. 

Learis Freese’s unintended side effect: a goddess’s Charm had no effect on him! 

“A-are you an idiot?!” 

Ishtar’s voice exploded from her throat the moment she connected the dots and realized the truth. 

Ishtar was devastated and completely lost her composure once she learned the secret of a boy too pure to be true. 

All people of Gekai, including monsters and even the gods, shouldn’t have the power to escape the Charm of the Goddess of Beauty. And yet, here was one human boy with the ability to nullify it, canceling out the overwhelming power at her command. 

Inconceivable. Absolute nonsense. 

Ishtar leaned back, her amethyst eyes alight with a new flame. 

“~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!” 

She glared at the white rabbit who still wouldn’t obey her. The goddess’s entire body shook with a mixture of anger and humiliation. 

Tammuz had never seen his goddess lose her poise, not to this extent. He looked up from Bell, shaking in fear. 

“Ha-pwaah!” 

“AH!” 

That was the window that Bell needed to break free from the young man’s stranglehold. 

Noises similar to his own goddess, Hestia, escaped Bell as he rolled away and was back on his feet before either of his captors could react. 

He dashed past Ishtar as Tammuz realized what had just transpired. Bell chanced a glance over his shoulder as he made a break through the middle of the room toward the closest window. 

Not worried about minor details, Bell threw himself through the glass and into the night air. 

“The rabbit escaped! Capture him, now!” 

Tammuz ran to the window, leaned out, and yelled to the Berbera stationed below. Ishtar, who had lost all sense of calm, screamed at the top of her lungs. 

“That boy cannot be allowed to get away! Bring him to me, I don’t care how!” 

Tammuz didn’t waste a moment following his enraged goddess’s order. Forgetting to help her get dressed, the young human left the chamber and raced down the stairs. 

Ishtar donned her garments with her own hands before ascending the other staircase. 

“Make a fool of me, will you…?” 

As a Goddess of Beauty, she wouldn’t allow the existence of anything that could not be bent to her will. 

Envisioning the boy’s neck between her fingers, Ishtar snapped her oriental pipe in half. 

Bell fell from the thirtieth story of the palace. 

“GAHH!” 

His body hit the wall of the tower and more window awnings than he could count before he managed to catch the inside of an open window with his right hand. 

Despite the jarring end to his descent, Bell still had enough strength in his arm to pull himself into the room. 

“Wuh—WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” 

A group of gorgeous young men and women screamed at the unexpected intruder; all the helpless servants scattered, yelling at the top of their lungs. Bell’s eyes met those of the young animal person. “S-sorry!” He apologized out of reflex. 

“Ah, I apologize…!” 

Bell’s Status was still out in the open for anyone to see. Pulling the rest of his black inner shirt off his body, he helped himself to one of the shirts already in the room, a servant’s shirt. Stuffing his head into the garment, Bell flew out the door and into the hallway. 

“Miss Mikoto, Miss Haruhime…!” 

He took the last remaining potion out of his leg holster and downed it in one gulp. 

The voices of his pursuers came from above and below. Bell searched for the path that would lead to his friends. 

That’s when he saw them. 

Bang! The sound of an explosion drew his attention outside. 

“Red sparks…It didn’t work?” 

Red light was coming through all the outside windows. With wide eyes, the boy watched the light flash and fade. 

It came from behind the palace—a red light that told him Haruhime was still in danger. 

He ran to the closest window, looking skyward in disbelief. 

However… 

“—Not yet!” 

He kicked off the floor at full speed. 

It wasn’t over yet, and Mikoto would never give up! 

Bell set his sights on the Floating Garden to carry out their backup plan: to destroy the Killing Stone. 

“There’s still a chance…!” 

—At that exact moment, Mikoto looked at the Floating Garden with determination in her eyes. She’d made an emergency landing on the outside wall of the palace but was back on her feet. 

Nothing had been set in stone, and Bell would never give up! 

She bit down on the sleeve of her black kimono and tore off strips of fabric. Mikoto wrapped them around her injured shoulder while on the run, eyes completely focused on her destination. 

Their rescue operation was becoming a matter of life and death. 

The roof of the ziggurat—the Floating Garden. 

Several towers extended well beyond its forty-story height to protect it. The palace reached farther into the sky just beside it. Each stone block that made up the ground of the wide building had been meticulously placed to be exactly level and to have absolutely no cracks between each slab. 

The stone slabs that made up the Floating Garden were a synthesized hybrid of a black ore called darubu mixed with a large amount of lunatic light stones. Each of them reacted to the moonlight shining down from above by releasing a steady stream of soft pale-blue light that spread across the surface like a floating carpet. 

“Samira, everything ready yeeet?” 

“Yeah, can’t you use your eyes? All that’s left is waitin’ for the moon to get in position.” 

Half of Ishtar Familia’s Berbera, including almost all the members Level 3 and higher, had gathered in the Floating Garden. 

Over one hundred Amazons were walking barefoot across the pale, bluish-white slate, congregating in the center. Phryne walked up to the one in charge of overseeing the preparations for the ritual, Samira. The gray-haired Amazon jerked her chin toward the center. 

There, in the middle of the solemn, dreamlike Floating Garden, stood three tall and thin stone pillars, arranged in a triangular formation around an altar. 

The stone altar itself glowed even brighter than the stone slabs of the roof. Its light reacted with the pillars, breaking off into sparkling streams as it mixed with the moonlight. 

The garden and the altar were designed to serve one purpose: increase the power of the Killing Stone. There was a risk of splitting the soul should the stone be used by itself. With this much energy to draw from, the Killing Stone would be able to seal the soul in its entirety. 

Phryne’s eyes narrowed as she grinned. Samira stood next to her, watching the sky. 

A great deal of the clouds had disappeared. An unobstructed night sky filled with stars and a stunning full moon spread out over the Floating Garden. 

All the Amazons were waiting for one thing—for the light emanating from the altar to turn from light blue to dark red. Then the ritual could begin. 

“Haruhimeee! Stop loafin’ around and get to the altarrr!” 

Phryne turned away from the altar as her booming voice filled the air. 

The mass of Amazons stepped aside to make way. A renart girl dressed in a gorgeous red kimono quietly put one foot in front of the other as she silently marched toward the front. 

With the exception of the whites of her green eyes being red, her face was expressionless. She kept her gaze fixed on the blue light rising from the stone beneath her feet. There was no personality or emotion in her demeanor; she was like a doll walking on a cloud. 

“…” 

The Amazons made many faces at her as she passed. Aisha watched Haruhime’s approach and opened her mouth just before the renart walked in front of her. However, no sound came out. 

Haruhime briefly looked up in her direction, a weak smile in her eyes as if she was trying to convey something to Aisha. But the Amazon closed her mouth, hands shaking as the young girl passed by. 

Haruhime arrived at the altar and climbed to the top. 

“Kneel here.” 

“Yes…” 

She placed her knees on top of the center of the glowing stone as ordered. 

Several chains fit with shackles hung from the tall pillars surrounding the altar. In the next few moments, they were attached to her wrists, ankles, waist, and neck. 

It was said that the renart experienced extreme pain when their soul was being transferred from their body to the Killing Stone during the ritual. These chains were to prevent Haruhime from thrashing wildly when the time came. 

“…” 

On her knees and in chains, Haruhime truly looked like a maiden about to be sacrificed to a deity, or at the very least the centerpiece to some ancient ceremony. Even the Amazons surrounding the altar lost themselves in the poignant beauty of the scene. 

“With this, we can finally fight against Freya Familia.” 

From the opposite side of the Floating Garden came a sight that brought grins of anticipation to their lips: the Killing Stone had arrived. 

The fist-size, bloodred crystal had been attached to the end of the hilt of a ceremonial longsword. 

Its blade would pierce Haruhime’s body and give the stone direct access to her magical energy. It would become the bridge her soul would travel across as it was sealed inside the Killing Stone. The blade itself glistened in the moonlight while the stone on its hilt released an ominous red glow. 

Haruhime felt a twinge of fear the moment the weapon came into view. She quickly closed her eyes, shook her head, and looked up at the stars. 

Her eyes were greeted by countless sparkles of light behind a golden moon. 

The light that would kill her. 

Then again, it would be the light that would save her from the pain and suffering in this world. 

Illuminated by a dazzling moonbeam, Haruhime let her head drop. 

There were no tears. It was her heart that cried. But she didn’t let it show. 

Her tiny body held in all the sadness, pain, happiness, and regret. 

All the memories she’d made in the past few days, meeting that boy and reuniting with that girl, everything was packed tightly together and hidden away. 

Her mind a blank slate, Haruhime slowly closed her eyes. 

“—The enemy is attacking!” 

A shrill voice reached her ears a moment later. 

Haruhime’s eyes shot open as her head sprang up. The intense sounds of weapons crashing against one another echoed from the entrance bridge that connected to the Floating Garden. 

What appeared was a young girl with long black hair tied into a ponytail, charging into the ranks of Amazons. 

“Lady Haruhime—!” 

Mikoto jumped over the guards at the gate leading to the Floating Gardens and raced toward the altar. 

The guards were already alerted to her presence; trying to hide was meaningless at this point. She drew in a deep breath of air and shouted loud enough for the girl chained to the glowing stone to know she was there. 

“Again?!” 

The Amazons around the altar grabbed their weapons and charged toward the oncoming Mikoto. 

However, they came to a stop about thirty meders in front of the altar. Mikoto, already badly injured, stopped in the face of the wall of Amazonian muscle and steel. All the guards she’d snuck past caught up behind her and fanned out. Mikoto was now completely surrounded. 

“Seriously, you came here alone?!” 

Samira smiled as if she’d taken a liking to the brave and reckless human. 

The rest of the Berbera soon donned the same grin, eager to see what was about to unfold. 

“Hey Haruhime, your hero is here!” 

Samira looked over her shoulder at the girl in chains. What color remained in Haruhime’s face drained in the blink of an eye. 

Her body tried to jump into action but was quickly held back by the chains. 

“Why…WHY?! Leave, now, Lady Mikoto!” 

The rattling chains accented Haruhime’s screams as she struggled against them. 

Despite being rejected before, Mikoto appeared before her once again. The human girl looked up at her with an awe-inspiring gaze. 

“That’s impossible, Lady Haruhime. No matter how many times you refuse me, I will do what I have always done since our childhood. I will take you outside.” 

Memories of days long past in their hometown in the Far East. 

She had told them everyone would get angry, that they should just let her be, so many times. But they ignored her pleas, not giving any pause to being labeled delinquents, and still came to take her out of her family’s manor. 

Nothing had changed. Mikoto was the same as ever and Haruhime knew that look in her eyes. The emotions that had been so tightly confined within the renart broke free once again as her eyes glistened with tears. 

“You lookin’ pretty cool right about now.” 

The gray-haired Amazon Samira watched Mikoto’s dramatic entrance and her long-distance reunion with Haruhime with delight. 

“Hey, Phryne, Aisha. Let me have her!” 

She turned to face the commander and the heart and soul of the Berbera, practically the captain of their familia. 

“You two already had time to play! Let me have a turn!” 

“…Ge-ge-ge-ge-geh, have some fuuun. We got time anyway.” 

Phryne glanced at the moon before a vulgar laugh rushed forth from her lips. 

Samira had been tasked with overseeing the ritual preparations and hadn’t been part of the rabbit hunt. Phryne didn’t see any problem with letting her have her way. “Yeayuh!” Samira clapped her hands together in excitement. 

Aisha made no attempt to stop her and watched on in silence. 

“Please! Please stop this! Lady Phryne, Lady Aisha!” 

Paying no attention to Haruhime’s cries in the distance, Samira stepped out of the ring of Amazons encircling Mikoto. 

“That’s how it is, so humor me. Tell you what, you beat me…and I might listen to what you have to say.” 

“…” 

Already feeling the eyes of all the Berbera squarely on her, Mikoto turned to face her opponent. 

A tenacious grin grew on Samira’s face. Mikoto knew that she had no choice but to play along. 

This situation might even work to her advantage. At the very least, it would allow her to buy time for Bell to arrive, or even open a path for him to the altar. Mikoto’s mind was set. 

The human stayed silent as she withdrew Ushiwakamaru, the blade she had borrowed from him. She held out the weapon in front of her, holding it backhanded in a defensive stance. 

The corner of Samira’s lips turned upward, elated that her challenge had been accepted. She chose not to use any weapons at all and stared down Mikoto as she stretched her arms and legs. 

They stood not too far away from the entrance to the stone bridge. The bloodthirsty Amazons lined up shoulder to shoulder, creating a ring around the combatants. Their battle started with the utterance of a simple phrase: 

“Here I come!” 

No sooner had the words left her mouth than Samira had launched herself toward Mikoto in a full-frontal assault. 

“—” 

The oncoming attack was too fast for Mikoto to block or counter, so she was forced to focus completely on dodging the first strike. 

“!” 

The Amazon’s large fist passed just in front of her eyes as she got her head out of the way in the nick of time. 

But that left-handed jab was only a feint. Samira turned that momentum downward, placing her left hand on the ground and sweeping her legs upward. 

“Guh!” 

Mikoto caught a glimpse of Samira’s right heel in time to block the attack with Ushiwakamaru. 

Her arms went numb as if getting hit by the blunt end of a steel pipe. A shock wave of pain tore through her body, knocking her off balance. Samira wasted no time pressing her advantage. 

“Just like that, try and keep up!” 

A barrage of fists and feet rained down on Mikoto. 

Each one of the copper-colored streaks that was coming at Mikoto had enough power to send her reeling. The human focused everything she had on getting far enough out of the path of each strike that her Defense could withstand the blow if she couldn’t dodge it completely. No wasted motion, no room for error. 

—As I expected, Level 3. 

Her opponent’s ash-gray hair shook back and forth, her minimal clothing holding tight to her body as she moved. Samira’s overwhelming dance of death proved to Mikoto what she had already suspected: There was a large gap between her own Level 2 Status and the Amazon’s. She had no way to overcome her opponent’s overwhelmingly superior power, combat style, and footwork. 

How many of the Berbera surrounding her were just as strong as Samira? Their yells seemed distant to her as that realization set in. Sensing the fear creeping into her heart, Mikoto shook it off and regained her calm center. 

She and Bell had already decided that they would save Haruhime no matter how insurmountable the odds appeared. 

“Hiiiya!” 

“Hah! Not bad!” 

Samira blocked Mikoto’s first counterattack with her right arm. 

She smiled as if enjoying the pain shooting through her arm, after taking the full force of Mikoto’s kick. Then she returned the favor. 

“UgAHH!” 

Mikoto went airborne. 

Ushiwakamaru knocked from her grasp on impact, Mikoto watched the blade land at the feet of their audience while on her back in the middle of the ring. Rolling over her shoulder to face forward, her eyes opened wide as Samira charged her once again. 

“You done?!” 

Mikoto’s eyes narrowed as the Amazon’s right fist came hurtling toward her face. 

Now or never! Mikoto grabbed ahold of the fist and guided it over her shoulder—into a throwing position. 

“?!” 

The hollering Amazons and Samira herself took notice. 

A judo-style arm throw. Another combat style instilled in her by Takemikazuchi—Mikoto seized her chance to use one of these techniques. 

Monsters in the Dungeon came in all shapes and sizes, making her judo training practically useless. However, this Far Eastern style was extremely useful for manipulating the bodies of human opponents. 

These techniques were designed to help take down larger, stronger fighters. She was on the verge of accomplishing something grand. 

Mikoto exhaled with all her might, her muscles contracting at full power to bring Samira down onto the stone surface. 

“Hey, nice!” 

But Samira had other ideas. 

Commenting on her technique in mid-throw, she casually twisted her right arm and broke free. 

“!” 

The throw was a mere heartbeat away from being completed. Now free, the Amazon grabbed onto Mikoto’s body with both hands—and threw her. 

“Wha?!” 

Just before the Amazon’s back hit the stone floor, Mikoto’s eyes registered two flashes of tan skin go under her left arm and around her neck. The next thing she knew, Mikoto had been forced skyward by the sheer muscle of her opponent. “Ow!” yelled Samira in pain as her rear end landed squarely on the hard surface. At the same time, Mikoto had been thrown all the way to the ring of Amazons. 

The closest one watched with glee and delivered a devastating roundhouse kick that sent Mikoto tumbling back into the center. 

“Was that one of those Far East moves? That was pretty.” 

With that, Samira closed the distance between her and Mikoto in the blink of an eye. 

The human girl was still on her back, reeling from the last hit. Samira took a more playful approach to her next barrage of attacks, kicking Mikoto like she was trying to juggle a soccer ball with her feet. 

“GUAH!” 

“Show me more if you got ’em!” 

Samira’s last kick sent the girl flying. Mikoto bounced once before finally managing to regain her feet. 

However, that just opened her up to the second-tier adventurer’s merciless fists. 

Mikoto’s body jerked left and right as her shoulders, stomach, and cheeks all took direct hits. Droplets of her blood flew with each blow, cutting dark splashes into the pale-blue light emanating from the stone floor. Samira’s beastly smile grew. In her eyes, Mikoto was nothing but a toy that had some hidden features. She would stop at nothing to see them. 

Techniques were useless. 

Mikoto’s thoughts were a mess. The only thing that came through loud and clear was awestruck horror at Samira’s wild yet perfected battle style. 

The Amazon was a living, breathing weapon. Years of experience culminated in a body that could react on instinct, knew how to move without thinking. Each blow that connected delivered more than just physical pain, they were direct shots to her confidence and pride. Each impact was also the sound of her breaking down within. 

Her talent and skill were outmatched. 

Mikoto’s knees went weak as each new wave of attacks showed her just how much distance there was between her abilities and those of a second-tier adventurer. 

“Lady Mikoto! MIKOTO!” 

Haruhime’s screams had finally reached her. 

“!!” 

Mikoto’s eyelids flew open. 

The human girl stood up strong, light back in her eyes. 

“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Seriously, are you Level Two?” 

Clearly impressed that Mikoto had taken the brunt of her full assault and remained standing, Samira joyfully complimented her fighting spirit. 

Another round of fists, knees, and elbows slammed into the bruised and bloody Mikoto. However, she now had a good understanding of her opponent’s attack pattern and did her best to protect herself and avoid a fatal blow. 

She even tried some more of her techniques when a window presented itself. Unfortunately, the ash-gray-haired Amazon could sense when something was coming and always managed to evade. 

Winning as an adventurer is impossible!! 

Mikoto screamed inside her mind as her body just barely avoided an elbow that would have broken her shoulder. 

As long as they remained on an even playing field, there was no way for Mikoto to gain the upper hand. Coming to this realization, Mikoto threw her pride, compassion, and battle etiquette on the back burner. 

“Listen well, Mikoto. Ninjutsu is…dirty.” 

Takemikazuchi’s voice popped into her mind. 

“Sneak attacks, ambushes, traps…A ninja uses every option, any means to reach their goal.” 

The god she loved and respected had said this with a stern face. 

“So, to be blunt, someone as straightforward and honest as yourself might not have much use for it.” 

While he wasn’t eager to teach her the techniques, the deity explained his reasoning. 

“True ninjas act out of devotion. Be it to a lord they must protect or someone very important to them.” 

Then Takemikazuchi smiled. 

“Should that someone be in mortal danger—then even someone as straightforward and serious as you can become a ninja of legendary proportions.” 

Devotion. 

Her devotion was to Haruhime. 

If it’s to save her, then any method—! 

Samira’s last kick caught her under the chin. Even while spinning in midair, Mikoto reached for her item pouch, took something out, and threw it onto the floor. 

“Huh—smoke?!” 

“A smoke bomb!” 

Samira and the surrounding Amazons took a step back in surprise as a thick gray gas spewed into the air. 

Along with a flash grenade, it was one of the items that Mikoto had taken from the vault. The Berbera were more surprised that one of their own items had been used against them than its actual appearance on the battlefield. 

The cloud overtook Mikoto and Samira in the middle of the ring, completely hiding them from view. 

“Where is she?!” 

A few of the Berbera retreated to protect the altar. Meanwhile, Samira’s head was on a swivel as she searched for Mikoto within the cloud. Her own senses, a second-tier adventurer’s enhanced sight and hearing, couldn’t find the human. For the first time, her air of confidence was gone. 

A black shadow appeared behind her a moment later. 

“—Got you!” 

A crazed grin appeared on her lips as Samira jumped high into the air and brought her heel down on top of the shadow. 

Her reflexes had been spot-on, delivering an accurate blow from a nearly blind angle at blazing speed. However, her grin was gone and eyes opened wide in shock. 

“Cloth?!” 

Her foot had made contact with the short robe that Mikoto had been wearing as a shirt. 

Substitution technique—Utsusemi. 

Then Mikoto approached her opponent in earnest from behind. 

“!” 

She came in high, high enough to wrap her thighs around Samira’s head. 

Blocking her opponent’s vision, Mikoto roared with all her might as she thrust her body back in the other direction. 

“—HHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!” 

Full-Moon Throw—Mikazuchi. 

Samira was lifted off her feet. Her body arced through the smoke cloud with her head pinned between Mikoto’s knees. BAM!! It made contact with the stone floor in the blink of an eye. 

“GUAH!” 

The sound blasted through the air, the impact strong enough to break the stone slab and leave Samira’s head buried under its surface. 

“Haa…haa…!” 

Mikoto gasped for breath as Samira’s body fell limp to the ground beside her. 

That was the scene that the Amazons were greeted by the moment the smoke cleared. There wasn’t a sound to be heard. 

Her shirt gone, only the fabric wrapped around her chest protected Mikoto’s dignity as she struggled to climb to her feet. However, her fighting spirit hadn’t left her eyes despite all the injuries she’d sustained. That got the attention of all the Berbera. 

“…Ge-ge-ge-ge-geh. Quite the fighter, aren’t you.” 

Mikoto scanned the ring, shoulders going up and down as she waited for her next opponent. 

“Such a waaaste.” 

“…?” 

Mikoto turned to look at the possessor of the deep, croaking voice: the Amazon commander, Phryne. 

The large face grinned. Aisha, who had been silent up to this point, opened her mouth to speak. But just before she could… 

“This ain’t over.” 

From behind. 

More specifically, from below. 

“?” 

A cold chill ran down Mikoto’s spine as she slowly looked over her shoulder. 

The tan body on the ground had both hands up where its head should be. Muscles flexed, causing a loud pop. Suddenly, the body had a head. 

The Amazon briefly looked up through the dust and debris on her face while on all fours. Shaking her head like a wet dog, she jumped to her feet. 

“Definitely felt that one…Very nice.” 

Jerking her head from side to side to crack her neck, Samira’s eyes narrowed as a grin returned to her lips. 

Mikoto’s spirit fell into a dark despair. She’d exhausted all options, thrown everything she had at the Amazon, but it hadn’t even fazed her opponent. 

That was the true meaning of Level, a barrier not so easily overturned. 

“Come on, next round!” 

“GAHhh!” 

Samira’s fist collided with Mikoto’s cheek before she could react. 

Mikoto had inflicted damage, but it wasn’t enough. Her normally beautiful white skin was dotted with black and blue craters and streaks of blood all over her body. She just couldn’t compete. 

“AAahh…!” 

Haruhime couldn’t watch, tears rolling off her chin as Samira vented her frustration on her breathing punching bag. 

One girl locked in torment as the sound of fist to flesh created a melody of pain in the background. Phryne watched everything unfold with glee…when another Amazon appeared from the stone bridge with a message. The newcomer came right up to Phryne and whispered in her ear. 

“Ahhnn……The bunny’s on the looose?” 

“Y-yes.” 

“GE-GE-GE-GE-GE-GEH! Looks like Lady Ishtar ain’t so tough.” 

Phryne couldn’t contain her laughter at the news. Her voice grew so loud that Samira’s barrage was little more than background noise. 

Insulting her goddess over and over, she opened her wide mouth and took in a deep breath. 

“—Little Rookie, you’re watchin’ us right now, aren’t you? Better hurry up, your precious friend can’t take much morrre!” 

The surrounding Amazons had to shield their ears as Phryne’s voice erupted like a volcano. The massive woman’s eyes went from tower to tower, searching every corner of the Floating Garden. 

Phryne was absolutely sure that the boy would come to rescue Haruhime after escaping from Ishtar’s grasp. 

“…” 

—And she was right. 

Five minutes after Mikoto, Bell had finally arrived at the Floating Garden. 

He’d given up on finding a safe route inside the tower that connected to the stone bridge, opting instead to take advantage of the ziggurat’s intricate carvings to scale the outside wall all the way to the top. 

Bell hid himself behind one of the towers surrounding the Floating Garden. Mikoto was following their plan to the letter, drawing the attention of as many Amazons as possible to give him an opening to destroy the Killing Stone—but he couldn’t ignore her once he got a glimpse of her horrible condition. He stood at another crossroads, hands tightening into fists. 

I can’t take it! His mind was set. Just when he was about to jump in… 

“SIR BELL!” 

Mikoto’s scream stopped him in his tracks. 

He wasn’t the only one. Every set of eyes in the garden was suddenly locked on the bloodied human. Arms limp at her sides, Mikoto stood up to her full height and took a step forward. Slowly but surely, her hands made fists. 

Mikoto’s voice echoed throughout the garden long after she fell silent, as if searching for the boy she knew had to be here. Resolute eyes burning, she turned her shoulders to face Samira once again. 

“Ohh…But what are we gonna do about this now?” 

Samira kicked high, the heel of her foot colliding with Mikoto’s collarbone. She bent backward but didn’t lose her balance. 

Gritting her teeth, Mikoto prepared for the next merciless attack. 

“There ain’t no time left!” 

The girl’s eyes shot open as the Amazon’s fist dug into her gut. 

Indeed, the tips of soft blue light emanating from the stones beneath their feet were starting to get a red tint. 

The altar at the center of the Floating Garden was also changing. The lunatic light in the stone was reacting to the full moon almost directly above, pulsing as if calling out to a long-lost brother. Streaks of red light leaped out from the blue and toward the sky. 

It wasn’t long before Haruhime was chained inside the eye of a crimson vortex reaching out toward the moon far above. 

“Sharay. When the time is right, do herrr.” 

Phryne’s eyes narrowed in anticipation before issuing the order to an Amazon standing at the base of the altar. 

The warrior named Sharay nodded, the ceremonial longsword in her grip. The Killing Stone glowed with the same ominous light emitting from the altar. 

Aisha saw all this transpire and turned her right foot toward Haruhime. 

“You stay right therrre.” 

“…” 

Phryne’s massive frame blocked Aisha’s path. 

Two Amazons glaring daggers at each other and one white-haired boy—his eyes filled with disbelief. 

Just out of their view was Mikoto, still absorbing punch after punch from Samira. 

“…Go beyond…” 

Mikoto whispered with a spark of determination in her dark-purple eyes. 

“…the enemy’s…” 

Samira was enjoying the rush of her assured victory so much that Mikoto’s voice never reached her ears. 

“…expectations.” 

Mikoto let her voice fade out. 

Slipping past one of Samira’s punches, Mikoto wrapped her limp arms around her opponent’s chest and held on with everything she had left. 

“Haah?” 

The Amazon sounded vaguely annoyed that her toy wanted a hug rather than to try to fight back. 

Mikoto didn’t pay attention to her and started casting. 

“Fear, strong and winding—” 

Samira smirked at the human girl, who was trying to cast magic while draped over her shoulder. 

“I get it, I know how you feel. But don’cha think using magic now is a bit, I don’t know, amateurish?” 

Magic—an ace in the hole that could turn the tables of battle and bring anyone back from the brink of demise. 

However, Mikoto’s choice under the circumstances disappointed Samira to no end. 

“You know, I saw your magic in the War Game. It’s a kick-ass spell, but the trigger takes forever!” 

“GAH!” 

Samira drilled her elbow into Mikoto’s defenseless ribs in an effort to show her how pointless the attempt really was. 

“I call upon the god…the destroyer of any, and all for…” 

Even still, Mikoto did not stop casting her spell between grunts of pain and staggered breaths. 

“Enough of this, you’re boring me. Just cut it out, will you?” 

“GuWAH!” 

A second hit, a third. Samira’s elbow hit harder and harder each time. 

Mikoto made no attempt to pull away or dodge the blows as she continued to push her magical energy forward. 

The Amazons watching the pitiful spectacle just laughed or shook their heads in discontent. Samira had to find some way to enjoy the rest of this fight as the blue cloud beneath her feet became redder with each passing moment. She decided to see how many blows it would take to knock the human off her—when something clicked in her mind. 

“H-hey…You wouldn’t seriously…” 

Mikoto’s magical energy was beginning to overflow. 

Like a bowl that couldn’t hold any more water, like a flooded river that wouldn’t obey its banks, a storm had been let loose. 

The small body could no longer handle the surging magical energy coursing through it. 

“Guidance from…the heavens…” 

Mikoto’s mind drifted further and further into darkness even as the trigger spell continued to pass through her lips. 

“—Watch your opponent, learn their habits, their expectations. And then go beyond them. All ninjas must think this way to succeed.” 

Takemikazuchi’s voice came to her as her blood-caked body went beyond its physical limit, her consciousness on the verge of shutting down. 

He had told her that all the techniques were just for show. 

“Grant this trivial body…” 

He had tried to convey one truth through his teachings: 

The reason why he, as a god, considered ninjutsu to be dirty. 

“A ninja learns the way the enemy thinks—and goes a step further.” 

Betray the enemy’s expectations, an unthinkable sneak attack. 

“…divine, power beyond power…!!” 

The God of Combat’s words ringing through her heart, Mikoto pushed her magical energy even harder. 

“No, you wouldn’t dare—!” 

Samira’s shrill voice was laced with unmistakable fear. 

But it was too late. The energy was free. 

It coursed through her muscles, desperately searching for an exit, like too much water in a thin pipe. 

“O-OFF!! GET OFF MEEEEEEEEEE!” 

Mikoto had converted all her Mind into magical energy without completing the trigger spell. This caused a chain reaction that would inevitably lead to an explosion. 

Desperation overtook Samira as she assaulted the girl hanging onto her chest with all her might, panic in her bloodshot eyes. 

More of Mikoto’s vulnerable ribs cracked with each hit, but her grip didn’t falter. 

Quite the opposite. Despite her searing headache and the most physical pain she’d ever experienced, a bloody smile appeared on Mikoto’s lips. 

“All of you! Get this thing OFF MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” 

No matter how many times she struck her, no matter how hard she thrashed around, Samira couldn’t break free and finally sought help. The Berbera responded immediately, charging in with weapons drawn—all too late. 

The magical energy had found its exit and started to squeal like a boiling teapot. 

Mikoto’s body became the epicenter of a deafening explosion that enveloped the entirety of the Floating Garden. 

Samira, Phryne, Aisha, the Berbera, Haruhime, and Bell. 

All sets of eyes flew open as rampaging magical energy overtook them. 

“Protect, purifying light?!!” 

—Ignis Fatuus. 

“~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!” 

An explosion of pure magical energy. 

Sparkles of it reflected in all the awestruck eyes just moments before everyone was caught up in the shock wave. The Berbera who’d charged in took the brunt of it, getting blown off their feet and crashing to the stone floor. 

This was how one smith’s anti-magic Magic worked—an explosion caused by an overloading energy within a body rather than using chemicals from without. 

It could happen by mistake when young adventurers were still learning how to control their magical energy, an outcome that most avoided at all costs. Mikoto, on the other hand, lost control on purpose and used it to turn herself into a bomb. 

Her opponent’s assumption was the magic couldn’t trigger if she couldn’t finish casting. The fire of life burning within her went beyond that expectation. 

“GAH?” 

The explosion launched Samira’s body skyward. She landed in a heap and slid all the way to the edge of the garden. Burned to a crisp and leaking blood, the Amazon showed no signs of trying to stand up. More than half the Berbera who were caught up in the blast lay motionless on the floor. The ones who had managed to avoid a direct hit—Phryne, Aisha, and the rest of the Berbera who were lucky enough to be outside the blast radius—still felt the intense burst of energy wash over them. Even Haruhime, still chained to the altar, felt the heat on her skin. 

Echoes of the blast kept bouncing around the wide-open garden. 

“?ah.” 

Mikoto was falling. 

Her Ignis Fatuus explosion sent her flying in the opposite direction of Samira and off the edge of the Floating Garden. Arcing through the air like a limp spear, she plummeted headfirst toward the ground. 

The wind whipped the smoke emerging from her body into a frenzy as she fell. Mikoto’s skin was black, charred from the inside. 

There was no pain, no feeling at all. Her eyes clouded as the last bits of physical and mental energy she had were whisked away by the howling wind. 

“Sir Bell…!” 

The very last drop of strength in her body went into yelling his name. 

Her words did not reach Haruhime. 

She could not save Haruhime. 

Just like in that memory of a moonlit night, she could not become Haruhime’s hero. 

Misty eyes started to close. All her sadness, pain, and a wish that went beyond all of it gathered in the back of her throat. 

Somehow, somehow. 

That girl’s curse. 

Her ruin. 

Her tears—get rid of them all! 

Somehow, somehow! 

Bring back her smile once again! 

Reach—please reach!! 

“SIR BELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!” 

He ran. 

The moment the explosion of life went off, he ran faster than anyone. 

He heard. 

The words of the girl who’d put her life on the line, and the yearning within them, reached him. 

Bell emerged from his hiding place the instant the shock wave blew past and committed every muscle, every tendon, to reaching the altar one heartbeat sooner. 

He had to break through the line of Amazons in his way. 

“?!!” 

Bell tore through the hanging smoke so quickly that the Amazons couldn’t respond. 

His speed wouldn’t allow any to give chase. The white rabbit was on a direct line straight for the altar. The Berbera he passed couldn’t even follow his movements, only watch the smoke twist in his wake. Even Aisha couldn’t make a move. 

No one could keep up. 

“—GE-GE-GE-GE-GE-GE-GE-GEH!” 

Except for her. 

“I don’t think soooooooooooo!” 

“!!” 

The frog-like Amazonian queen suddenly entered Bell’s line of sight with unbelievable speed. 

It was a reaction that only top-class adventurers were capable of. 

She had withstood the explosion and overtaken Bell at full charge. Now she stood as an insurmountable wall in his way. 

The corners of Phryne’s lips curled up as she arched her back, pulled back her right fist, and braced for impact. 

“IT’S OVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!” 

She focused all her strength into this one punch. 

Less than a heartbeat was left between the incredible force and vicious object, presenting Bell with very little time to make an important choice. 

Left, right, or stop. 

Or perhaps up. 

Bell could already see the crimson altar and the girl chained to it just behind the behemoth obstacle. 

It was the moment of truth. 

Bell’s ruby-red eyes flashed. 

He lowered his shoulder—and kept going forward. 

“?!” 

Faster. 

Slivers of glowing stone sprang into the air as his feet kicked off the ground. Bell was determined to go through the wall. 

Riding this simple train of thought, Bell collided into Phryne. 

A direct attack was the last thing the huge Amazon thought would happen. Her fist changed course at the last instant to adjust to Bell’s trajectory. 

However, Bell managed to get beneath the overly showy punch and didn’t slow down even as his shoulder collided with her exposed flank. WHAM! Twisting ever so slightly, his momentum bounced him into the air with minimal damage and knocked Phryne off her feet. 

“GUH!” 

An airborne Bell, a reeling Phryne. 

He had safely cleared the deadly attack. 

Phryne’s grunt of surprise behind him, Bell landed directly at the base of the altar. 

The Amazon looked up from her seat on the floor and yelled at the top of her lungs: 

“Sharay! DO HARUHIME, NOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!” 

Phryne’s scream hit the Amazon like a wrecking ball. But she did as told and lifted the longsword high into the air. 

Blade forward, she aimed the tip directly at Haruhime’s chest like a javelin. The moon was in perfect position, the now crimson altar pulsing like a beating heart. 

Haruhime sat motionless, her gaze following the shining Killing Stone until dropping to the base of the altar the moment the boy touched down. 

Bell fought through an awkward landing. One foot, second foot—and he jumped. 

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” 

Bell launched himself skyward like an arrow fired from an overstressed bow. 

A set of blank green eyes. The ceremonial longsword held high. The resonating Killing Stone. 

Gaze locked on the stone, Bell withdrew the Hestia Knife from its sheath. 

The Amazon’s back threatening to overtake him, Bell made his move. 

A dark violet streak arced through the air the moment Bell tackled the Amazonian guard from behind. 

“YAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!” 

The tip of the jet-black blade pierced the Killing Stone—and shattered it. 

Pieces of the stone fell to the floor as the yells of the blade’s owner filled the night. 

Haruhime saw it all unfold in slow motion. The Amazon tumbling through the air, the blade landing at her knees, the white-haired boy flying over her head and directly into a stone pillar, breaking it before sliding to a stop at the edge of the Floating Garden. 

And finally, the last of the shards falling to the ground. 

The ominous red light filling the garden flickered before fading out. 

“Ugh—gahhh…!” 

Bell’s exposed skin scraped over the stone surface as he slid all the way to the edge of the Floating Garden. Knees, elbows, and the palms of his hands raw and bleeding, he climbed back to his feet. 

The red light that had consumed the garden before was now barely a soft glow. The altar now had a withering, dull red appearance due to Bell accidentally knocking down one of the pillars that focused the moon’s light. The sparkles that had poured upward like a confused waterfall only moments ago were nowhere to be seen. 

Catching his breath, Bell returned the knife to its sheath. The sound of many bare feet racing across stone swarmed around him within moments. 

The infuriated faces of over fifty Amazons were waiting to meet his eyes when Bell finally looked up. He was completely surrounded. 

More accurately, they cut off his escape routes with a half encirclement, trapping him against the outer wall. 

“Now you’ve done iiit…!” 

A massive Amazon stepped in front of the ring with such force that the ground shook beneath her feet. 

At the end of her meaty arm was Haruhime, forcefully pulled from the chains. 

Phryne had a fistful of the renart’s golden hair clutched in her mighty fist, roughly pulling her forward. Bell’s body jerked into action, preparing to rush to her aid. However, the infuriated aura of the rest of the Amazons following their commander’s lead made him think twice. 

“Brat, just wait till I get my hands on you…!” 

“Ah…!” 

Phryne slammed Haruhime to the floor by her hair, eyes bloodshot with rage. 

“Miss Haruhime!” Bell yelled as the girl stayed down. A low, booming voice cut him off. 

“So how you gonna pay, breakin’ our Killing Stone like that?” 

The sheer power in her voice made Bell lean backward, goose bumps jumping up on his skin. 

The Killing Stone lay in pieces. The very sight of the darkening crimson shards served only to make the Amazons even angrier. 

Bell had completely ruined the ritual that they’d spent years preparing. 

Flames and smoke still rose from the spot where Mikoto’s Ignis Fatuus had ignited, and pieces of the pillar Bell tackled slowly rolled across the floor. At least fifty Berbera lay motionless on the ground, looking like little more than corpses dotting the scene of a massacre. They would not be rejoining this fight. 

Bell scanned the crowd of Amazons surrounding him and made eye contact with Aisha. He couldn’t read her expression in the slightest. Looking away from her gaze, Bell turned to face Phryne. 

“All you did was bring us back to square ooone…!” 

“…” 

The muscles in Bell’s face tightened as he stood beneath Phryne’s icy glare. 

It was true. All his efforts had accomplished was to reset the situation. 

That’s why he wasn’t celebrating. Ishtar Familia could acquire a new Killing Stone. 

Just like with Aisha, Bell’s destroying the stone only delayed the inevitable. 

This wasn’t over. 

…In order to protect Haruhime… 

In order to save the girl collapsed at Phryne’s feet… 

There was no other option than to secure her freedom from the goddess who had set all this in motion. 

“…Please release Miss Haruhime.” 

Overcoming his fear, Bell made his appeal to the Amazons surrounding him. 

Lips twitched, fists clenched; the Berbera were not in the mood to listen. Haruhime’s green eyes shook as she looked at the boy from beneath an imposing shadow. 

Aisha’s mouth narrowed into a frown, but the only audible response was Phryne’s croaking laughter. 

“GE-GE-GE-GE-GE-GEH! Ain’t you a joker, Little Rookie!” 

The Amazon’s massive eyes suddenly unleashed a piercing death stare at the white-haired human. 

“Get off your high horse, puny braaat! Who do you think you are?” 

“Ahhgh…!” 

She grabbed Haruhime’s hair again and pulled her up to her feet. Then the frog-like Amazon leaned down to the point that her face was next to her captive’s. Phryne’s jaw hid Haruhime’s shoulder as she opened her mouth to speak. 

“This here is our tool! One that we’ll use to smash Freya’s lot to bits! This has nothin’ to do with the likes of you!!” 

The Amazons were too hungry for war with the Labyrinth City’s most powerful familia to let go of Haruhime’s power so easily. 

Bell couldn’t stand the look of pain on Haruhime’s face and tried to repeat his demands, but Phryne wasn’t finished. 

“Just who do you think kept this varmint alive—a varmint so useless she couldn’t even make money as a prostituuuute…? It’s her duty to use that body to pay us baaack!” 

“…” 

“Isn’t that righttt, Haruhimeee? You tell him how it isss.” 

Haruhime’s body shook. The Amazon’s wide lips whispered into her ear with all the affection a chef would have for a rat. 

Momentarily released from Phryne’s grasp, Haruhime made eye contact with Bell. 

“Master Cranell…” 

The young girl’s hands came together in front of her chest, still well within grabbing distance of the fleshy boulder behind her. A range of emotions passed through Haruhime’s eyes. 

“Please take your leave…I’m fine…” 

“…” 

“Leave me be……I beg you, do not bother yourself with my situation any longer.” 

Haruhime’s voice trembled out of fear of Ishtar and the Amazons around her. Bell watched the renart look away as menacing grins appeared on the lips of every Amazon in his line of sight. 

Bell kept his eyes trained on the girl and opened his mouth to speak. 

“Stories of heroes.” 

“Eh…?” 

“I made my decision based on the heroes we talked about.” 

Haruhime’s head shot up in surprise. Bell’s voice never wavered as he continued. 

“I decided to save you.” 

“How do you mean…?” 

“To save you and to prove you wrong…I’ve made up my mind.” 

—No hero would ever come for someone as lowly as myself. 

—Prostitutes are the ruin of heroes. 

Bell declared that he’d come all this way to refute the words she had uttered that night in the red-light district. 

Haruhime recoiled, but Bell’s confidence only grew. 

“The heroes you and I admire—they aren’t like that!” 

The strength in Bell’s voice caught everyone’s attention. Aisha and Phryne blinked, the Berbera shifted on their feet, and Haruhime stood in stunned silence. 

“A prostitute, a cause of ruin—none of that would matter to a hero!” 

“Th-that can’t be true…” 

“Heroes would fight, no matter how many frightening, powerful enemies are in the way!” 

“It can’t be like that…” 

“My idols, the heroes I look up to, they would protect you to the very end!” 

“!” 

He had said his piece. 

Bell fought off his fear, anxiety, and unease to say exactly what he wanted to since that night, in a voice loud enough for all to hear. 

Just like the heroes the two of them aspired to, he would reach out and take her hand. 

In fact, he was reaching out to her at this very moment. His outstretched hand reflected in her green eyes, Haruhime’s body quivered. 

“Ge-ge-ge-ge-ge-geh! The brat thinks he’s a heeeero!” 

Bell ignored Phryne’s chuckling as his eyes burned with the determination he felt in his heart. 

The boy’s powerful gaze scared Haruhime. She held her own body tight and shook her head back and forth. 

“I…I am a prostitute!” 

She thrust the words out of her mouth, declaring the title that had become her fate. 

“I don’t want to become your burden! I am a soiled being, not worthy of anything!” 

Bell’s chin shot up and he glared down at the renart. 

“Don’t think that we can’t do anything, that you’re not worth it!” 

“—!” 

It was the first time Haruhime had ever heard anger in Bell’s voice. He wasn’t finished. 

“Being laughed at, pointed at, being called names, being called dirty—that’s not shameful at all!” 

His grandfather’s words. 

They had become rooted within his heart. Now he brought them crashing down on Haruhime. 

“The truly shameful thing is standing still because you can’t make up your mind!” 

The renart’s eyes went wide. 

“I still haven’t heard what you want!” 

Bell’s words—and his right hand—reached out even further. He yelled: 

“I want to know the real you!” 

The boy’s voice cut through the remaining smoke and flames still inside the Floating Garden. 

It rang out into the night under the full moon. Even as it disappeared into the distance, everyone standing above the weak red cloud felt a change in the wind. 

The Amazons stood in silence. Haruhime met Bell’s gaze. 

Drop. One solitary tear rolled down her cheek and dropped off her chin. 

“…Haruhimeeee.” 

A new sound. 

A warning from Phryne from directly behind her ear. 

Haruhime’s shoulders jumped. Looking at the boy for another moment, she let her gaze fall to the floor. 

Her body, hair, and tail shook softly. 

Her lips slowly opened. 

“—Grow.” 

And she started casting. 

“GE-GE-GE-GE-GE-GEH! That’ll wooork!” 

Phryne laughed with joyous mockery. Despite the boy’s call, the renart began to chant instead of answering him. 

“Miss Haruhime…!” 

Bell grimaced as she clenched her eyes closed tight and continued the incantation. 

“That power and that vessel. Breadth of wealth and breadth of wishes. Until the bell tolls, bring forth glory and illusion.” 

She reached forward from her chest, as if surrendering something to an unseen recipient. The renart’s regal voice continued to grow louder. 

“Callin’ yourself a hero gets you nowhere. Ge-ge-ge-ge-geh! Now I’m gonna show you why!” 

Haruhime’s beautiful song reverberated throughout the garden as two Berbera handed Phryne a grand battle-ax. 

The other Amazons took that as their cue. Weapons were being drawn left and right all around Bell. 

“—Grow.” 

The intimidating clashing of metal and the stomping of feet on stone joined the ensemble of sounds swirling within the garden. The Berbera flexed their muscles and flashed their blades in the moonlight. 

Out of all of them, Aisha was the only one who kept her eyes on Haruhime. She was the only one who noticed something strange about the flow of magical energy emanating from the golden-haired fox. 

“Confine divine offerings within this body. This golden light bestowed from above. Into the hammer and into the ground, may it bestow good fortune upon you.” 

The energy of her spell went past all the members of her familia and into the chest of the human boy. 

Her incantation nearly complete, a misty cloud of magical energy started to swirl around him. 

“Anybody, stop Haruhime!” 

Right after Aisha’s suddenly frightened scream reached the ears of her allies… 

A magic circle appeared above Bell’s head as sparkles of white light fell around him like a veil. 

The boy glanced around in surprise. It wasn’t until he looked above his head that he saw it: a pillar of light—no, a handleless hammer of light forming directly over his head. 

He felt the warmth of its light on his skin. His eyes fell onto the renart. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, but she was smiling. 

“—Grow.” 

The Berbera finally realized what was happening and jumped at the two of them, but they couldn’t make it in time. 

Because the name of her spell escaped Haruhime’s lips at that exact moment. 

“Uchide no Kozuchi.” 

The sparkling hammerhead fell, surrounding Bell’s body in a radiant light. 

The light flooded his body and spirit with pure power, like a shot of revitalizing adrenaline. 

A spark had been lit within him, each flake of light emerging through his skin. 

“HAH—HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” 

The Berbera threw caution to the wind and charged in blades-first. 

One particular Berbera brandishing a broadsword came straight at Bell from the front. Her weapon flashed before Bell’s eyes, when suddenly he grabbed hold of its hilt. 

“Huh?!” 

He stepped outside the weapon’s path and into his opponent’s space. 

Tripping her with his foot and knocking her over with his free hand, Bell forced the weapon into a wide sweep. All of the closest Berbera were knocked backward. 

“GAH!” 

Five Berbera hit the floor as Bell put his other hand on the broadsword that had belonged to their ally. It was his now. 

It was also at that time that Bell realized the flakes of light emerging from his body were the same ones that had come from Aisha during their fight in the Dungeon. That was the final piece of the puzzle. 

Haruhime’s Magic, “Uchide no Kozuchi.” 

It had the power to grant its target a temporary level-up. 

While active, the magic allowed the recipient to move with power and speed one level above their Status. That was the reason Ishtar kept her existence under wraps, why she was the trump card against Freya Familia—“Level Boost.” 

The thing that made the Goddess of Beauty swell with glee; she’d worked so hard to conceal the most powerful form of sorcery. 

The reason that Phryne and the Berbera refused to let her go was that she possessed a rare magic so powerful it should have been illegal. What Eina had told him at the Guild, about Aisha’s sudden increase in strength and speed and Ishtar calling Haruhime her ace in the hole—everything made sense now. 

Phryne and the Berbera froze in place. There was no stopping the power, Haruhime’s power, from flowing into Bell. He felt it, embraced it, and was fully prepared to use it. 

“T-TAKE HIM DOWNNNNNNNNNNNN!” 

More Berbera charged in with a battle cry, but Bell was ready to meet them head-on. 

“—FAHH!!” 

One swing of the broadsword sent several of the Amazonian warriors flying into the air. Each one crying out as their feet left the ground, they spiraled into a hard landing on the stone surface. 

Bell’s strikes were too fast for their eyes to see. The broadsword had become a wall they could not break and a weapon they could not block. Sparks flew into the air, joining the pinpricks of light around Bell as even more Berbera were thrown from their feet. The Level 2 Amazons didn’t stand a chance, knocked out in the blink of an eye. Even the Level 3s who should have been on equal footing with Bell were tossed aside like tissue paper. 

Haruhime had bestowed upon him the abilities of a Level 4 adventurer, and he wasn’t about to hold any of it back. 

“H-HARUHIMEEEEEEEEE!” 

“UwAH!” 

Phryne roared as the one-sided slugfest unfolded in front of her eyes. 

A flash of gold within the rush of Amazons caught her attention. She reached out with one meaty hand, grabbed the girl by the neck, and hoisted her off the ground. 

“You betrayed usss! Break the spell, you worthless prostitute! Break it now!” 

As soon as Uchide no Kozuchi was triggered, its effects would last until time ran out or the caster chose to end it. Even if Haruhime were knocked unconscious or worse, the spell would not wear off. Phryne resorted to force out of desperation, but even then, the renart didn’t give in. 

Neck cracking between muscular fingers and feet swinging through the air, Haruhime clenched her eyes shut. Her cheeks shone in the moonlight, wet with more tears. 

Fighting to stay conscious, she forced weak words through her quivering lips. 

“I do not want to sell my body ever again…!” 

She said it; that shy girl actually said it. 

“I do not want to hurt anyone ever again…!” 

Afraid of others, terrified of the world, the fragile renart gathered up all the emotion, every desire, every grievance she’d kept bottled up. 

“I do not want to die…!” 

And put it into two words: 

“Save me…!” 

She asked for his help. 

“!!” 

He heard. Bell’s eyes instantly zeroed in on her. 

Dashing through the horde of Amazons, he hurled himself at Phryne with the force of a cannonball at full speed. 

“Wha—?!” 

“AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!” 

The massive Amazon barely managed to get her ax in position to block the incoming blade. However, the impact knocked her back toward the center of the garden. 

She let go of Haruhime in mid-fall, sending the helpless girl into the air. Bell reached out to catch her, but a quick shadow got to her first. 

“Miss Aisha…!” 

“…” 

Holding an unconscious Haruhime in her arms, the Amazonian warrior’s long black hair danced in the wind behind her. Her narrow eyes were focused solely on Bell. 

A heartbeat later she was airborne, jumping backward high into the air to allow a fresh wave of Berbera to attack. 

“B-blooood…?!” 

Bell engaged the Berbera head-on in an attempt to follow Aisha. At the same time, Phryne climbed to her feet and felt something unusual dripping down her face. 

The blade of her ax had carved a gash into her own cheek. Bell’s attack caused the injury. She slowly traced the wound with her thick, trembling fingers in disbelief. 

“My beautiful face…is BLOODYYY…?!” 

Her whole body shook before erupting like a volcano. 

“OUTTA MY WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!” 

She charged forward like an enraged bowling ball, knocking Berbera out of the way as she made a beeline for the white-haired boy. Bell froze for a moment as he watched the bodies hit the stone floor in her wake. 

Grand battle-ax and broadsword collided in an explosion of sparks a second later. 

“…!” 

“I had a soft spot for you, but no morrre! YOU DIE NOWWWWWWW!” 

Fueled by pure rage, she spun into a swing that sent Bell arcing through the air. 

Landing close to the wall at the edge of the Floating Garden, Bell barely had time to get on his feet to block the Amazon’s follow-up attack. 

“Ai-Aisha, what do we do? Those two are almost outside the garden!” 

“That toad…She’s completely lost it.” 

Phryne drove Bell back onto the bridge amid sharp clashes and showers of sparks. At this rate, they would be in the main tower before any other Berbera could catch up. A younger Amazon came to Aisha for orders. 

Aisha watched the battle for a moment before looking down at Haruhime’s head resting on her chest. 

Trails of dried tears crisscrossed the unconscious renart’s cheeks. Aisha closed her eyes. 

Then she set the girl who had asked for help for the first time in her life gently on the floor and immediately stood back up. 

Just as she was about to issue orders to the Berbera still able to fight—something exploded. 

“What was that…?” 

Searching for its source, Aisha ran to the edge of the garden to look over the Pleasure Quarter. 

“Mr. Welf, that explosion just now…!” 

Hestia and her familia saw the flash of light burst out from the Floating Garden as they ran through the brothel-filled streets of the Pleasure Quarter. 

Lilly knew that sound and had seen that color of flame many times before. She quickened her steps to catch up with Welf and made eye contact as they ran. 

“Ignis Fatuus…!” 

Welf groaned under his breath. He knew out-of-control magical energy when he saw it. 

Something or someone with magical energy was in a dire enough situation to trigger Ignis Fatuus on top of the building behind the palace. 

Hestia wasted no time in declaring that Bell and Mikoto were there. The entire group veered right and set a course directly for Belit Babili. 

“Stop right there, intruders!” 

“Tsk, not again…!” 

Yet another group of Amazons arrived to bar their path through Orario’s third district. 

Ouka spat in frustration at barely making any headway. Even so, he charged into battle with ax held high. 

“Luckily, the opponents aren’t strong enough to keep us back!” 

“Yes, their forces are spread too thin…!” 

Lilly shot her bow gun to distract the closest Amazon while calling out in an attempt to raise morale. Chigusa added her own voice from the middle of the formation as she jumped into the fray, spear a blur. 

Ishtar Familia’s forces had been split between protecting the Killing Stone Ritual and capturing Bell. Street patrols, the lowest priority, had been assigned to the weakest of the Berbera. It wasn’t long before Welf and Ouka carved a path through the lower Level 2 Amazons and the Level 1 animal people and humans sent to support them. Slowly but surely, the patrol guards fell by the wayside. 

Thanks to Welf’s unusual anti-magic Magic and Takemikazuchi Familia’s incredible teamwork, the group worked their way through waves of enemies. 

“Can we make it through?” 

Takemikazuchi called out to Hestia from behind the protection of his followers. The goddess, however, was silent and in deep contemplation. 

Why—why did it come to this…? 

The War Game against Apollo had just ended. So why was Bell being targeted by so many gods? 

Of course his quick growth would perk their interest…but was this really a coincidence? 

Welf and the others rushed to meet the next wave of enemies as Hestia ran through the sequence of events in her head once again. “Outta my way!” the red-haired young man yelled at the Amazons who blocked his path—KA-BOOM. 

“Huh…?” 

Hestia, Lilly, Welf, and all of Takemikazuchi Familia looked over their shoulders to find the source of the latest explosion. 

They immediately spotted a column of smoke emerging from a completely different direction. Flames licked the sky as the pyre rose even higher. 

It was the same explosion that caught Aisha’s attention in the Floating Garden. An eerie silence continued for a few seconds before…BOOM, KA-BOOM, BOOM, BOOM! 

More explosions came from around the Pleasure Quarter—no, the entire third district. 

That’s when the first screams reached their ears. 

“What is going on?!” 

Ishtar herself had joined the hunt for Bell in the main palace when the explosions started going off outside. She was quick to demand a report. 

Without her most trusted servant at her side, she addressed the first member of her familia she could find. The unlucky passerby dropped to his knees and hastily strung words together. 

“S-some intruders are attacking the Pleasure Quarter…!” 

“Attacking…?” 

Pausing for a moment in shock, Ishtar then ran out of the hall and onto the closest balcony where she could see all of the Pleasure Quarter. Waves of hot air washed over her bronze skin the moment she stepped outside. 

The condition of her territory made her jaw drop. 

Loud noises, flashes of light, screams, and explosions erupted from every corner of the Night District under the moonlight. 

Countless human figures advanced through the streets, her streets, under the cover of smoke and darkness. Shadows of the invading adventurer army flashed in every direction as new explosions went off all around them. Ishtar was lost for words. 

Her familia was under siege. 

The invading adventurers were moving swiftly among the brothels. Members of her familia fell one by one with each swing of a blade, each Magic casting, each flash of a magical sword. Ishtar could see it all. 

What is this, what is going on?! Her mind raced as she tightened her white-knuckled grip on the balcony railing. 

Her voice trembled as she watched the flames of war dance their way through the Pleasure Quarter. 

“Wh-what? Nobody would have the gall to…!” 

She was the grand and mighty Ishtar, head of Orario’s feared Ishtar Familia. 

Who would show up with this many warriors, unannounced, weapons drawn, and start a fight with someone as powerful as she? That was as far as her train of thought needed to go. 

The color drained from her face. 

“It…it can’t be…?” 

“E-ENEMY ATTACK?!” 

“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!” 

Yells and screams laced their way through the buildings. 

Moonlight and the occasional magic-stone lamp cast light on the golden seal of a nude female warrior in profile—the symbol of Ishtar Familia. 

It could be found on discarded armor and weapons scattered throughout the streets. Another flash of steel brought another Berbera to her knees, buckler rolling to the middle of the street and coming to a stop with her familia’s emblem facing the sky. 

They had been overrun. Elves, dwarves, animal people, prums, Amazons, all types of demi-human and human warriors surged into the Pleasure Quarter. They took over strategic positions, kicked over barrels in the streets, advanced over rooftops and eliminated Berbera resistance with ruthless efficiency. The invading men and women didn’t try to hide their faces—quite the opposite. They wore the beautiful and handsome features that had captured the attention of their goddess like badges of honor. They wielded the power that kept them in her good graces without any hesitation. An elf with a fluid spear, an animal person with pulsing magical energy in the palms of his hands, a dwarf with a war hammer that overshadowed him in size—every single one of them showed no mercy to the opposition. 

Swarms of noncombatants and prostitutes ran for their lives in the face of this one-sided assault. Male customers, literally caught with their pants down, cowered in fear as the invaders pointed their weapons toward only those who attempted to bar their advance. 

“E-Eina? EINA! Big problem—really, really BIG PROBLEM!” 

—The onslaught was being monitored from the Guild Headquarters northwest of the Pleasure Quarter. 

Caught off guard by the panic in her coworker’s voice from outside, Eina jumped up from her desk and went to join her. She wasn’t prepared for what was waiting for her. 

Joining the masses of Guild employees who had gathered on the front garden, Eina saw that every set of eyes was glued to the flashes of magical light, billowing smoke, and orange-red glow emerging from the southeast. 

“That direction—the Pleasure Quarter…? Could it be—Belit Babili is burning?!” 

Eina found her coworker Misha pacing back and forth among the nervously chattering staff of the Guild. Coming to a stop next to her, Eina cast her unsteady emerald-green gaze toward the pandemonium on the other side of Orario. 

“An outbreak? What familia would be powerful enough to launch an offensive against Lady Ishtar?” 

Eina thought out loud, unable to shake her disbelief. 

Then it hit her like a jolt of lightning. 

“It can’t be…” 

“It can’t be…” 

Other deities living in Orario watched the flames rise from the southeast. 

“There’s no way…” 

Some watched from their homes; others climbed to the tops of tall buildings for a better look. 

“She wouldn’t…” 

From the Shopping District, from the engineering wards, from trading outposts, deities young and old watched from a distance. 

“Could that be…Ganesha?” 

The divine beings all had the same reaction as Eina. A certain vermilion-haired goddess watched from the tallest tower of her home, Twilight Manor. Her thin eyes opened wider than usual; Loki kept a sharp vigil on the events taking place on the opposite side of the city. 

Windows beneath her swung open as the heads of her followers appeared one by one. They yelled to one another, trying to figure out what was happening. Loki whispered to herself: 

“Couldn’t be…Freya?” 

Loki’s tongue snapped at the thought, vermilion eyes opening wider. 

“That airhead, makin’ a move…” 

Ker-tap. Ker-tap. 

The sound of high heels on stone echoed through the scream-filled streets. 

The bodies of fallen Amazons littered the streets, their faces illuminated by the flames reaching to grasp the sky. And yet her beauty managed to remain intact, a diamond traveling through the rough. 

With her warriors clearing a path before her, she advanced through the Pleasure Quarter at her own fast pace. 

“The Pleasure Quarter is under our control.” 

“Ottar’s team has reached the palace.” 

A man and woman appeared at her side to bring her up to speed. Freya kept walking, only saying, “I see,” without looking at the messengers. 

The invaders showed no remorse for their actions. They traveled north through the third district with either an air of arrogance or resignation to the knowledge that their goddess’s will was absolute. 

“Both of you, go to the front. That boy, he should be there.” 

The goddess’s unblinking silver eyes remained focused on her target: the gleaming golden palace in the distance. 

The first explosion hadn’t alerted only Hestia and Takemikazuchi to Bell’s position, it showed Freya exactly where to go. 

“But My Lady, your escort…” 

“Not needed.” 

Freya didn’t listen to her follower’s concern. 

“Eliminate all who stand in your way.” 

And find the boy. Those were her orders. 

The two gave a quick bow and left her side. Freya kept walking, speeding up. 

Her straight silver hair swayed in the breeze. The sounds of battle around her never ceased. Surrounded by clashes, screams, and roaring flames, Freya continued to walk down the middle of the street, all the way to what was left of Belit Babili’s front gate. 

Passing by a crater with random poles of warped steel littering the ground, Freya could feel the traces of magical energy on her skin as she passed through the front garden and stepped up to the palace. Then she just happened to look up. 

Her silver eyes caught a glimpse of a bronze-skinned deity looking down at her with amethyst eyes from a balcony. 

Freya returned the scowl with a glare menacing enough to intimidate a hawk, an ice-cold grin on her lips. 

The other Goddess of Beauty’s face took on a ghostly shade of blue. 

—Mere minutes had passed since Freya Familia began the invasion. 

“…” 

The mountainous frame of the boaz with the title of warlord stood with a human girl lying limp in his arms. 

The hair band that kept her black ponytail in place long gone, her singed hair listlessly drifted in the breeze. She had fallen from the top of the building behind the palace. The large man saw her in time and caught her before she hit the ground. 

“…Self-sacrifice to protect your allies, was it?” 

Ignis Fatuus—the unique markings of internal burns gave Ottar a clue to the young girl’s fate. 

She lay motionless in his gentle embrace, eyes closed. 

The girl’s actions had earned her the boaz warlord’s respect. He lay her down on the ground and brought out an elixir from his item pouch before carefully pouring it on her skin. 

The girl’s body, which was on the verge of falling apart due to the sheer number and severity of her injuries, started to heal on the spot. Life once again took root within her. 

“Hey, Ottar. Quit playin’ around.” 

“Don’t waste time on that girl,” a catman—Allen—snapped from behind him. Glaring coldly at his ally as he walked past, the top-class adventurer flipped a spear over his wrist. 

Four more 120-celch-tall figures emerged from the shadows behind him: four prums. Two more sets of eyes were lurking in the darkness, those of an elf and a dark elf. 

“We’re going to say this only once, Ottar.” 

“The boy who has taken over her favor—Bell Cranell. We don’t like him.” 

“We will follow the goddess’s will and eliminate all threats.” 

“But we refuse to help him.” 

“…Do as you will.” 

The four prums showed no fear in speaking frankly with their familia’s commander. The other three said nothing, their silence indicating they shared the same opinion. 

Ottar’s expression remained stoic despite his borderline insubordinate allies. However, he did draw a line. 

“Goddess Ishtar does not escape. Block the exits.” 

“And the ones who get in our way?” 

“—Obliterate them.” 

Ottar’s tone remained cool and collected as he led the team of seven adventurers toward the golden palace. 

The strongest battle party in Orario, composed completely of top-tier adventurers, entered Belit Babili. 

Roaring flames illuminated the streets of the Pleasure Quarter in place of the broken magic-stone lamps. 

The flames worked in unison with other adventurers to isolate the third district, keeping everything inside. It was indeed the final hours of a once-proud fortress. Even more explosions were still ringing out in the distance, signaling the battle was not over yet. 

Of all the spacious districts in Orario, the one that had given in to desire and adultery was now burning red under the full moon. 

“To think it would come to this…” 

A dandy deity stood on the southeastern portion of the city wall that wrapped all the way around Orario. He stood right up against the guard wall, looking down over the carnage. 

Feathered hat planted firmly on his head, Hermes watched the flames rise with Asfi standing a few paces behind him. 

“The one who told Ishtar about Bell in the first place was none other…than me…” 

The words fell out of Hermes’s mouth, his eyes tracing the ring of flames around the once thriving district. 

His orange hair wavered in the blasting heat, the precisely laid inferno reflected in his orange eyes. His breaths were short, as if he was struggling to hold back tears. 

“I’m the reason all this happened…Ahh, what is this piercing guilt in my chest…?” 

He opened his arms wide and shook them, as if trying to cleanse himself. The deity looked down and quietly brought his hands together in front of his chest. 

Directly behind the deity, his follower looked at his back with a cold stare through her glasses. 

She sighed to herself at the same moment the light from a large explosion washed over them. 

“So, how much of this was according to plan?” 

Hermes lifted his head and looked over his shoulder. An unmistakable grin grew in the corners of his lips. 

The remorseful aura was gone. Dropping the dramatic act, Hermes turned around to face Asfi and give his answer. 

“First off, I wasn’t trying to make something on this scale happen. I just thought that something interesting might be set in motion if I provided a spark…That’s all.” 

Asfi’s eyes twitched, a sure tell that she was keeping her opinion to herself. 

Hermes had sown the seeds. 

All he did was tell Ishtar about Bell under interrogation. 

All he did was alert Freya out of concern for Bell’s safety. 

That was it. They were very small seeds in the bigger picture. 

Hermes once again turned around to watch the battles unfold amid the flames and moonlight. 

“I’m not saying they’re dancing in the palm of my hand. This completely outdid my expectations. Ishtar’s jealousy was far more intense than I expected, just as Lady Freya was more attached to him than I thought.” 

He had no idea something this big would happen so soon. 

His grin grew wider with each word. 

“Well, even the best laid plans, you know? Nothing scarier than a jealous goddess, right, Asfi?” 

“…” 

His voice was laced with excitement. Asfi continued to stare at the back of her god’s head but didn’t say anything. 

“But most importantly…Bell’s good nature outdid my wildest dreams.” 

Hermes cast his gaze at the palace in the middle of Orario’s third district and narrowed his eyes. 

The only information he’d given Bell was the existence of the Killing Stone. 

Bell figured out the rest on his own without being provided with any hints. 

Most likely, Freya wouldn’t have made a move if Bell escaped from Ishtar’s grasp. The course of today’s events changed two or three times based on Bell’s actions alone—and the boy had no idea. 

He just went to save one renart he couldn’t leave behind. 

But not recklessly. Bell was ready to lose everything. 

Asfi listened to her god. She let his words sink in for a moment before asking a question of her own. 

“Was your intention to destroy Ishtar Familia or entertainment? Or was it perhaps…a trial?” 

Hermes heard her question. 

But he chose to smile at her instead of answering. 

“People, gods…Everyone is seeking a girl like that. Every single being.” 

At the base of the city wall… 

Hundreds of humans and demi-humans ran past in a desperate effort to escape the Pleasure Quarter. 

The many gods watched the Pleasure Quarter from afar. 

And a renart girl still lay unconscious in the Floating Garden. 

Hermes raised his arms as he took it all in—the battle still raging on the roof of the palace between a large woman and a white-haired boy. Then Hermes made his point. 

“The world wants a hero.” 

The last of the Three Grand Quests: the Black Dragon. 

A darkness hanging over the city. 

And the root of it all, the Dungeon. 

It was hidden by a veil of peace, but in reality there was a ticking time bomb to complete destruction lurking in their midst. 

Hermes declared that what the world needed, was yearning for, was the birth of the true hero. 

“As for the one who can save the world from this tragic fate…I choose Bell.” 

“Not someone from Loki Familia? Not even Freya Familia?” 

“That’s right.” 

Shrouded in darkness of night, Hermes finally gave Asfi a straight answer, despite not turning around to look at her. 

The deity continued staring into the flames, talking to no one in particular, like a monologue. 

“Zeus, I, Hermes—no, Orario as a whole—shall finish what you could not.” 

A dandy smile emerging on his lips, Hermes looked to the heavens. 

“We shall mold him into the last hero.” 

Then— 

Hermes tipped his hat to the sky before returning his gaze to the burning district. His eyes narrowed. 

“And for that to happen…Ishtar and all the children who follow you, please become his first stepping-stones. What? It’s not like you’re not going to die.” 

If it was for the hero… 

Hermes had no qualms about using the jealousy of a goddess to his advantage. 

Hermes watched the flames engulf even more of the battlefield around the boy, a cruel smile on his face. 

“Uh-oh…looks like she knows. Better get out of here before she really gets pissed.” 

Far away at the base of the palace, two silver orbs were aimed in his direction. 

Hermes was quick to cover his face with his feathered hat, and he broke off eye contact as soon as the Goddess of Beauty noticed his presence. 

“Scary, scary,” he muttered to himself with a grin, and left his spot on the city wall behind. 

“…Zeus, I’m betting everything on that white light.” 

That brilliant shine that took down a floor boss. The boy’s blindingly pure soul. 

To Hermes, it was but a sign of things to come—the boy’s familia myth. 

With those words, Hermes turned his back on the battlefield. 

The flames of war climbed high into the sky, tinting the heavens bright red.