*Rumble—*
On this day, Orario experienced yet another earthquake.
Just like when Thanatos had been sent back to Heaven, and his returning light pillar had appeared in Orario, tonight the city was once again shaken by a terrifying force.
People stared almost blankly in the direction of the Entertainment District, falling into a dazed state as they saw a golden lightning dragon rise from the ground and shoot into the sky. As it twisted its body in flight, it seemed to roar as it plunged into the night, illuminating the entire sky.
Even though that golden lightning dragon might not have been as sacred and magnificent as the god's returning light pillar, it was the same as that pillar—it connected heaven and earth, lit up the night and the clouds, shook the entire city, and stirred the hearts of all who saw it.
At the location where the golden lightning dragon had appeared, everything in the surrounding area had already been flattened by the shockwave, leaving not even rubble behind.
When the dragon disappeared, all that remained was a smoking crater.
*Clang!*
A severed silver spear spun in midair for a long time before falling into the crater, its tip piercing the ground with a crisp sound.
"Ugh… Hahh…"
Amid a faint, almost imperceptible groan, a battered hand stretched toward the spear, yet it could not reach it. Right after, the owner of that hand tried to struggle to his feet, but he no longer had the strength to do so.
Upon closer inspection, the once-fierce, murderous Allen now lay collapsed within the crater, barely clinging to life. A massive wound ran across his body, nearly cutting his torso in two, while blood gushed out like a spring, staining his entire body red and soaking the crater beneath him.
Allen, looking as if he were dying, lay there, and no matter how he struggled, he could no longer stand.
*Click—*
Behind him, Riezel, his body still flickering with lightning, slowly sheathed his sword, returning Fool to its scabbard.
He turned his head and looked at the cat beastman before him—facing away, covered in blood, yet still stubbornly crawling toward his spear, trying to grasp it and stand up again.
For a brief moment, a trace of distraction appeared on Riezel's face because at this moment, it was as if he had returned to the time when he had just reached Level 4.
Back then, in a dim alley, he had been nothing more than an insignificant figure before Level 6 Allen, relying on trading injuries and catching his opponent off guard just to land a single strike.
Now, however, he was able to cut him down with a single sword strike, emerging completely unscathed.
At this realization, Riezel let out a quiet sigh, but soon, he regained his composure.
"Well, that settles the score from back then."
"Tell your goddess not to reach her hand too far. Teasing a harmless little rabbit is one thing, but provoking me is another."
"If there's a next time, I'll personally visit Folkvangr to seek her out."
Right after leaving these words behind, Riezel turned and departed.
"..."
As he listened to the fading footsteps behind him, Allen, filled with unwillingness and rage, finally stopped moving as he lost consciousness.
Not long after, a group of adventurers from the Freya Familia cautiously approached the area and discovered Allen lying in a pool of blood.
Shocked cries of disbelief soon echoed throughout the surroundings, lingering for a long time.
===
*Swish!*
With a faint sound of air being cut, Riezel's figure reappeared before Belit Babili.
At this moment, Belit Babili had completely changed its appearance.
While Riezel and Allen had been locked in fierce combat—turning the entire Entertainment District into a battlefield and gradually leveling it—Belit Babili had perhaps been the only building left intact.
But now, black smoke drifted from every part of it, and the walls at every corner had been shattered, revealing the chaotic corridors within.
"Hm, they really made quite a mess..."
A translucent gleam flickered in Riezel's eyes as he observed the situation inside Belit Babili.
Ottar and the others had already stopped fighting and were now guarding the top floor of Belit Babili. Around them lay members of the Ishtar Familia, all knocked unconscious.
Meanwhile, Freya had caught up with Ishtar, and the two were now speaking about something—one smiling faintly, the other filled with fear.
"So things have settled over here..."
Riezel shifted his gaze again, looking toward the direction of the altar, where another battle had unexpectedly broken out.
Bell had somehow freed himself and stormed into the altar, where he was now engaged in fierce combat with Aisha.
Both were Level 3, but although one had only recently leveled up while the other had already pushed that level to its limits, Bell—being the only one besides Riezel whose basic abilities could all break past their limits—possessed accumulated basic abilities from his previous levels, so even against Aisha, he was not at a disadvantage, as the two were locked in an evenly matched fight.
As for the other berberas, they were nowhere to be seen—most likely, they had fled.
It was understandable.
First, there had been the battle between Riezel and Allen that flattened the Entertainment District, followed by Ottar and the others storming into Belit Babili and driving Ishtar into a corner, so there were certainly many who, out of fear, had chosen to run.
As a result, inside the altar, aside from Bell and Aisha fighting, only Haruhime remained, bound and weeping helplessly.
"...Don't worry. You'll be saved soon."
Seeing the scene, Riezel murmured to himself.
He had no intention of interfering any further because he knew that, no matter what, Haruhime would be freed.
Haruhime's magic was extremely powerful—so powerful that it bordered on being unfair.
A level boost without conditions—this kind of effect, no matter who it was applied to, was enough to grant a transformation-like enhancement.
Since this magic did not restrict levels, whether the target was Level 1 or Level 10, all would be raised equally by one level. Unfortunately, the effect was fixed, so even if the caster's level increased or their basic ability, MAG, improved, the effect itself would not change, though the caster's own growth would affect the duration and cooldown of the magic.
For example, Haruhime, being only Level 1, could maintain Uchide no Kozuchi for fifteen minutes after casting it, and once used, it required a ten-minute cooldown before it could be cast again.
In contrast, Riezel was already Level 8, and his accumulated MAG was practically absurd. Combined with Mage and Magic Chant, when he activated Uchide no Kozuchi, even with minimal mind consumption, he could maintain the effect for over an hour and a half, while the cooldown was less than ten seconds. If he were willing to expend a large amount of mind, the duration could be extended even further.
Just like that, the caster's strength functioned in exactly this way—it only influenced the duration and cooldown of Uchide no Kozuchi, while the effect itself remained unchanged: granting a level boost and raising the target by one level.
Even so, even when used by Haruhime—allowing only fifteen minutes of level boosting—it was already extraordinary.
Without it, Phryne, at merely Level 5, would never have been able to act arrogantly before Level 6 Ais.
Without it, Argana, at Level 6, would not have been able to fight evenly with Riezel, who could challenge opponents above his level.
For that reason, Riezel had always believed that Uchide no Kozuchi was the most overpowered magic in the world of Danmachi, as without it, Bell would never have accomplished so many astonishing challenges, adventures, and miracles in the original work.
And this was also why, after learning Lost Truth, Riezel had immediately sought to acquire this magic, because with it, he no longer needed to worry about techniques like Sun Breathing or other Breathing Styles gradually becoming ordinary combat methods after reaching a certain level.
No matter how high his level rose, this magic could still raise him by another level. It could also be used on others, providing astonishing support and enhancement. In comparison, even exceptional magic like Ariel and various enhancement magic from Tier Magic were left far behind.
It was precisely because of this that Haruhime had been targeted by that malicious goddess.
Others might not know what Ishtar was planning, but Riezel understood it clearly.
'No matter how busted Uchide no Kozuchi is, it's still got a pretty unavoidable flaw—or more like, a limitation. Aside from duration and cooldown, it can only affect one person at a time, so with one cast, only a single person can get that level boost.'
Needless to say, this was the greatest difference between Riezel and Haruhime.
Issues like duration and cooldown could always be gradually improved as the caster's level increased or their MAG grew, but the limitation on the number of targets could not be solved simply by increasing level or MAG.
Riezel had only managed to overcome this by combining Uchide no Kozuchi with other magic, allowing this single-target magic to affect multiple people.
Haruhime, however, could not do this—at least not yet.
Because she possessed only Uchide no Kozuchi and had not awakened any other magic to complement it, its single-target level-boost effect was far from sufficient when dealing with the Freya Familia.
Even if the strongest member of the Ishtar Familia, Phryne, were raised to Level 6, what difference would it make?
Even before now, the Freya Familia already had no fewer than three executives at that level. One should remember that the Gulliver brothers, when working together, could handle a Level 6 or even more than one, let alone that above them all still stood the insurmountable peak known as King.
Consequently, a single-target level boost could never satisfy Ishtar's ambitions, because what she wanted was for everyone to receive this magic. Only then could the Ishtar Familia stand a chance against the Freya Familia.
Unfortunately, there truly existed a method in this world to make a renard's magic affect multiple people.
It was an item known as the 'Killing Stone,' exclusive to the renard.
During a full moon, through a ritual, the soul of a renard capable of using rare magic could be sealed within it, turning it into a magic item similar to a magic sword.
A magic sword allowed anyone who wielded it to release the magic sealed within, and the Killing Stone functioned the same way, allowing anyone who possessed it to unleash the magic sealed inside.
If Haruhime's soul were sealed into a Killing Stone during the full moon ritual, and the stone were then shattered and its fragments distributed among all members of the Ishtar Familia, those carrying those fragments could collectively activate the power of Uchide no Kozuchi and achieve a mass-level boost.
Yes, this was Ishtar's plan—to sacrifice one member to mass-produce magic items containing a cheating-level magic, thereby transforming the entire Ishtar Familia.
Haruhime herself would be the price, reduced to an empty shell without a soul.
If it came to that, even Riezel would have no way to save her.
Resurrection magic targeted the soul, but without a soul, resurrection magic could not take effect.
Fortunately, everything was about to end.
'Done—that idiot Ishtar really picked the wrong person to mess with.'
'Her familia's done for too, and the Entertainment District's about to disappear for good.'
'Next, you're going where you were meant to be.'
'As the price for getting your magic, this is about all I can do for you.'
In truth, Riezel had once considered bringing Haruhime to the Loki Familia, as with the Loki Familia's protection, even if Haruhime possessed such a coveted and overpowered magic, no one would dare to openly target her. Compared to the Hestia Familia, the Loki Familia could undoubtedly offer her greater protection and security.
However, after careful thought, Riezel abandoned the idea.
First, he had already learned Haruhime's magic.
Because her only distinguishing trait was Uchide no Kozuchi, if she joined the same familia as him, her talents would inevitably be overshadowed by him, who possessed a superior version of Uchide no Kozuchi, reducing her to little more than a protected mascot.
Second, although the Loki Familia was large and powerful, it was not without its expectations and responsibilities. Even though it was only a possibility, she might not be able to keep up with the other members and might be looked down upon by people like Bete.
Third, she longed for a hero who could save her, and Riezel unfortunately could not become that hero because he could not remain in this world forever and was destined to leave her behind.
Her past was worthy of sympathy, and she would need a warm environment to accept her, care for her, and allow her to grow, but the Loki Familia was sadly not such a place, for its members did not simply care for others—they expected everyone to run and fight together.
In contrast, though the Hestia Familia was small, it had her childhood friend and a hero who would shine ahead of her and never abandon her.
And Hestia, the Goddess of the Hearth, was a guardian of the home—perfect for someone like Haruhime, who needed warmth and belonging.
"Well, guess it's time to withdraw."
Riezel smiled faintly, turned around, and prepared to leave, but at that very moment, behind him, a massive, distorted shadow suddenly appeared and engulfed him.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
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