1 Month and 24 Days After the MS Begins.
∆∆∆∆
The morning sun barely managed to pierce through the rotting floorboards of the abandoned church, casting long, dusty streaks of light into the damp basement below. The silence inside the hidden sanctuary was heavy, almost suffocating, completely contrasting the explosive drama of the previous night's banquet.
Yuuya stood near the base of the wooden ladder, meticulously checking the straps of his gear. His dark blade, Kurotsuki, rested securely at his hip. Even without poking his head above ground, his sharpened senses—now thoroughly enhanced by his hidden Level 4 status—could pick up the subtle, unnatural vibrations vibrating through the earth.
The faint rustle of light armor, the rhythmic, synchronized breathing of multiple hidden vanguards, and the faint scent of ozone and kindling magic permeating the morning air.
They were surrounded. The sun god hadn't even waited for twenty-four hours to make good on his furious threats.
Yuuya adjusted his collar, completely unbothered by the invisible tightening of the noose outside. He turned his head slightly, his cool gaze locking onto Bell.
"Get ready." Yuuya said, his voice a calm, flat reassurance in the dim basement.
"Right..."
Yuuya ascended the ladder first, his movements fluid and silent. He pushed open the heavy wooden trapdoor, stepping out into the ruined nave of the church, with Bell and Hestia following closely behind.
The moment Yuuya placed his hand on the iron ring of the main door and pulled it open, the bright morning light flooded the entrance—accompanied by the sight of dozens of armed adventurers clad in the black cloaks of the Apollo Familia.
They had locked down the entire perimeter, occupying the surrounding alleyways, the broken stone walls, and the nearby rooftops.
Standing at the front of the blockade was a sharp-eyed elf. The moment the church doors creaked open and the figures of Hestia, Bell, and Yuuya became visible, the elf didn't waste a single second on theatrical monologues or polite warnings.
He coldly raised his right hand, his fingers snapping down in a swift, military motion.
"Open fire!" the elf commanded.
Instantly, a dozen mages concealed behind the front lines completed their incantations. The courtyard erupted into a blinding flash of crimson and orange as a massive, synchronized barrage of fire spells was unleashed simultaneously.
The roaring projectiles of condensed heat streaked through the air, converging directly on the narrow doorway of the church with enough destructive force to incinerate everything within the stone archway.
Bell's eyes widened in shock, his instincts screaming at him to dodge, but the doorway was too narrow, and the incoming magical blast covered every available inch of their exit.
Yuuya didn't even blink. He took half a step forward, shielding Hestia and Bell behind his broader frame. He didn't draw his sword. Instead, he raised his left hand, his palm open toward the incoming wall of flames, and casted his magic.
•Gospel• Yuuya uttered softly.
A massive, invisible shockwave of dense, crushing pressure erupted from his palm, vibrating with a low, thunderous hum that shook the very air. The sheer velocity and weight of Yuuya's Level 4 magic slammed directly into the incoming barrage of fire spells. The pressure was so overwhelming that it literally snuffed out the flames mid-air, scattering the condensed heat into harmless, dissipating embers and a thick cloud of white smoke.
The Apollo mages widened their eyes in absolute disbelief as their coordinated assault was neutralized in a single, effortless motion.
Before the smoke could even clear, Yuuya glanced over his shoulder at the stunned white-haired boy.
"Bell, go. Take the Goddess and get out of here." Yuuya ordered, his tone commanding and sharp. "I'll follow closely and cover your back. Don't stop moving."
Snapping out of his temporary shock, Bell's combat instincts kicked in.
"Understood!" He didn't hesitate. Stepping forward, he cleanly scooped Hestia up into his arms, ignoring her startled squeak of surprise, and bolted past Yuuya, using his natural agility to leap over the broken stone steps of the courtyard.
Yuuya immediately moved right behind them, tracking Bell's trajectory. The moment their boots cleared the immediate perimeter of the courtyard, a second, even larger volley of fire spells rained down from the rooftops, bypassing where Yuuya had stood and slamming directly into the core structure of the abandoned church.
BOOM
A deafening explosion ripped through the morning air. The ancient, rotting wood and crumbling stone pillars of their sanctuary couldn't withstand the concentrated magical heat. The church buckled, collapsing inward in a catastrophic roar of fracturing stone, splintering beams, and a towering column of fire and black ash.
Their home was gone. The chase was officially on.
Bell sprinted through the twisting, narrow alleyways of Orario's residential district, carrying Hestia securely against his chest as he navigated the sharp turns. Yuuya ran a few paces behind him, his head constantly pivoting to scan the rooftops and the intersecting pathways for incoming threats.
The Apollo Familia were everywhere, moving like a coordinated pack of wolves trying to herd them into a dead end.
As they sprinted past a row of dilapidated stone buildings, a familiar, casual voice chimed in directly within the depths of Yuuya's consciousness, completely unaffected by the high stakes pursuit.
[Well, there goes the neighborhood. I guess the sun god really didn't appreciate the landlord jokes from last night. So, what's the play now, boss? Are we painting these streets red, or are we keeping it casual?]
Yuuya didn't slow his stride, his gaze locking onto a shadow shifting on the roof line ahead.
'We're holding back.' Yuuya replied internally, his mental tone completely deadpan. 'Just like we discussed when the Goddess updated my status. If I start lopping off heads with Level 4 strength in the middle of the city streets, the Guild will have a collective aneurysm, and Eina will actually carry out that military strike. We mask the level, keep them unconscious, and keep moving.'
[Aight, try not to break their bones too hard, okay? We don't want the paperwork.]
Just as the mental exchange concluded, the air above them fractured.
"Found you, Hestia Familia vermin!" a voice shouted from above.
Three heavily armed members of the Apollo Familia jumped down from the roof of a two story residential building, their weapons drawn as they dropped directly into the narrow alleyway, aiming to cut off their path and crush Bell from above.
"Keep going, Bell! Don't look back!" Yuuya instructed, his voice cutting through the wind.
Without breaking his forward momentum, Yuuya's right hand blurred, gripping the hilt of Kurotsuki and drawing the dark blade from its scabbard in a single, fluid motion.
But as the sword cleared the sheath, Yuuya expertly flipped the sword. So that the edge faces him instead. Making sure that even if he strikes a opponent, they wouldn't be cut. As he will be using the spine of his sword instead.
The first Apollo attacker, a burly human wielding a broadsword, dropped within arm's reach. Yuuya pivoted on his heel, dodging the downward slash by a fraction of an inch, and drove the heavy steel spine of Kurotsuki directly into the man's exposed ribs.
CRACK
The sheer, kinetic force of a suppressed Level 4 blow completely knocked the wind out of the vanguard, his armor denting slightly as he was sent flying sideways, crashing unconscious into a pile of wooden crates.
Before the remaining two attackers could even adjust their trajectories mid-air, Yuuya stepped into their shadow. He swept the reinforced spine of his blade upward in a brutal, blindingly fast arc. The heavy metal connected cleanly with the jaw of the second pursuer and the temple of the third in a rapid, synchronized double strike.
THWACK. BANG.
Both adventurers dropped like stones, their weapons clattering uselessly against the cobblestones as they hit the dirt, completely knocked out cold before their brains could even register the impact.
Yuuya smoothly twirled Kurotsuki, shearing the excess momentum, and sheathed the dark blade back into its scabbard without a single pause in his running stride. He kept his eyes locked firmly on Bell's white hair ahead, trailing right behind his Familia as the sound of shouting pursuers continued to echo through the labyrinth of Orario.
The rhythmic thud of their boots on the cobblestones was suddenly accompanied by a sharp, whistling chorus from above. High on the clay tiled roofs flanking the alleyway, Apollo Familia archers were leaning over the ledges, drawing their bows in rapid succession. A hail of iron tipped arrows rained down toward the fleeing trio.
Yuuya didn't stop running, but his hand moved in a flawless, rhythmic blur. His katana sliced through the air, the cold steel snapping the incoming projectiles cleanly in half whenever they got a little too close for comfort. Splintered shafts and sheared metal fletchings clattered harmlessly against the stone walls around them as he kept pace right behind Bell.
"What should we do, Goddess?!" Bell yelled over his shoulder, his chest heaving as he sprinted hard while keeping a tight, secure grip on Hestia. "They're everywhere!"
Hestia clung to his collar, her black hair whipping wildly in the wind.
"Head toward the Guild main headquarters, Bell! Fighting is strictly prohibited inside their territory! Even an arrogant freak like Apollo won't dare launch an open military assault right in front of the Guild staff!"
"Understood!" Bell shouted back, twisting around a sharp corner into another passageway.
But their momentum crashed to a sudden halt. The alleyway they had just plunged into didn't connect to the main thoroughfare. Instead, it terminated sharply against a massive, three story stone brick wall. It was a complete dead end, and the sound of pursuing footsteps was already echoing loudly from the entrance behind them.
Bell didn't panic. He looked up at the roof line, his legs compressing like tightly wound springs.
"Goddess, hang on tight!"
Before Hestia could even process the warning, Bell leaped straight up into the air. His enhanced strength launched them cleanly off the ground, bypassing the sheer face of the stone wall and landing heavily but securely on the flat, tiled roof above. Yuuya followed a fraction of a second later, his movements so light and effortless he barely made a sound as his boots touched the clay tiles.
The moment they cleared the roof line, however, they realized they hadn't escaped the trap. Standing waiting for them on the wide rooftop pavilion was another large detachment of the Apollo Familia, their black cloaks billowing heavily in the morning breeze.
Standing right at the front of the blockade were the two familiar faces they had encountered at the Guild lobby just two days prior.
Daphne stood with her hand resting firmly on the hilt of her sword, her short red hair shifting across her brow, while the timid, blue haired Cassandra hovered just behind her, clutching her staff.
Daphne looked at Bell, her sharp eyes carrying a heavy, grim finality.
"Give it up, Cranel. You're only making this harder on yourselves."
Bell stepped back defensively, shielding Hestia behind his torso.
"We aren't going to just surrender to someone who destroys our home!"
Daphne let out a slow, tired sigh.
"You don't understand how Lord Apollo operates. Once he takes a liking to a child, he won't give up. It doesn't matter how far you run, it doesn't matter where you hide, he will follow you to the ends of the world until you give up. Because that's exactly how Cassandra and I ended up trapped in his house in the first place."
Daphne then stepped forward slightly, her eyes looking at Bell and flickering with genuine pity for a split second.
"Just surrender peacefully. We really don't want to hurt anyone who is about to become our fellow Familia member. If you just stop resisting, no one else has to get injured."
Bell gripped his knife tighter, his jaw setting into a hard, stubborn line.
"No. I'm not leaving my Goddess, and I'm definitely not joining a Familia like yours."
Cassandra who was beside Daphne, slumped her shoulders, a look of sad resignation washing over her gentle features.
"I expected you to say that..." said Daphne. "Go. Suppress them."
The black cloaked adventurers drew their weapons, moving forward in a tight, coordinated circle.
Yuuya calmly stepped past Bell, his katana completely unsheathed now, the dark metal reflecting the bright morning light.
"Go and continue, Bell. I'll hold them back myself. Don't lose your momentum."
Bell hesitated for a split second, looking at the sheer number of opponents, but he knew Yuuya's real strength.
"Don't get caught, Yuuya-bro!"
With a powerful push, Bell broke away, leaping across the narrow gap to the neighboring rooftop and sprinting toward the Guild with Hestia.
Four heavy vanguards from the Apollo Familia immediately tried to rush past Yuuya to pursue the white-haired boy, huddling close together as they charged across the narrow roof tiles.
Yuuya didn't even give them the chance to take three steps. He planted his boots firmly, his left hand extending outward toward the cluster of attackers. He didn't need a massive incantation, just the simple, triggering words to unleash his sound magic.
•Gospel• Yuuya murmured.
The air in front of his palm fractured instantly as his spell, Satanas Verion, activated. The compressed sound slammed in the middle of the four huddling adventurers. The sheer atmospheric pressure didn't just blow them backward; it completely shattered their guard and sent all four of them flying through the air like ragdolls, their black cloaks flapping violently as they crashed unconscious into the lower alleys below.
Before the remaining troops could even process the sound blast, Daphne lunged forward. She drew her sword with exceptional speed, her training kicking in as she unleashed a fierce, sweeping slash aimed at Yuuya's chest.
Yuuya met her strike head on. The cold ring of steel against steel echoed across the rooftops as their blades collided.
Daphne was fast for a Level 2, pushing her momentum to unleash a rapid flurry of strikes, but to Yuuya's hidden Level 4 perception, her movements looked like they were happening underwater.
He effortlessly parried every single blow, his katana moving with minimal effort, before he swiftly stepped inside her guard, deflected her blade outward, and delivered a precise, powerful palm strike straight to her stomach.
The force sent Daphne skidding backward across the clay tiles, her boots losing friction as she tumbled over, disarmed and completely winded.
With the vanguard captain down, the remaining black cloaked mages and archers began to panic, scrambling to chant their spells.
Amidst the chaos, Cassandra found a sudden burst of desperate courage. She ran forward from the side, raising her wooden magic staff high above her head with both hands, and took a wild, clumsy swing directly at the back of Yuuya's head.
BONK
"..."
"..."
[Pfft, cute.]
Yuuya turned around to look at Cassandra who literally just tried to bonk him unconscious. A small huff of amusement came out of him.
Meanwhile, Cassandra just goes red, embarrassed that her so called attack failed quite spectacularly.
'You gotta give it to her for the effort.' Yuuya thought dryly, a faint smirk playing on his lips as he stared at the thoroughly panicked blue haired girl.
He didn't bother knocking her out; there was no point in wasting energy on someone who clearly didn't want to be fighting in the first place.
Instead, Yuuya simply stepped past her trembling form, his eyes locking onto the remaining pursuers who were attempting to regroup near the edge of the roof.
"Alrightm" Yuuya muttered, flipping his katana back to the non-lethal spine side as he moved forward like a dark blur. "Let's clean up the rest of this fan club."
While Yuuya was busy dismantling their attackers on the rooftops, the sheer scale of Apollo's illegal assault made it impossible to keep under wraps. It didn't take long for the scandalous news of a full scale Familia pursuit to ripple through the bustling streets of Orario.
Down at the central plaza right in front of Babel's grand entrance, the regular morning rush of adventurers preparing for their dungeon dives was in full swing.
Near one of the fountains is Welf, his arms crossed over his chest, while Lili stood beside him, nervously adjusting the straps of her oversized backpack.
Both of them kept their eyes glued to the incoming thoroughfares, their anxiety mounting by the minute.
"They're really taking their sweet time today." Welf muttered, shifting his weight. "I know Yuuya likes his sleep, but Bell is usually running ahead of schedule. They should've been here half an hour ago."
"Lili agrees." the small pallum murmured, her ears twitching as she scanned the crowd. "Bell-sama is never this late without sending a message first. Maybe they got held up by Eina-san again?"
Before Welf could answer, an adventurer jogged past their position., loudly gesturing toward the residential districts.
"Hey, did you hear?!" one of them yelled at his companion. "The Apollo Familia just completely locked down the northwest block! They're openly hunting those two rookies from the Hestia Familia in broad daylight! They literally blew up their church!"
"Are you serious?!" the other gasped. "Man, Lord Apollo really doesn't take no for an answer, does he? The whole district is a war zone right now!"
Welf stiffened, his eyes widening in absolute shock as the words sank in. He exchanged a horrified look with Lili, whose face had instantly drained of all color.
"They're... they're attacking them?!" Lili squeaked, her voice trembling as she clutched her staff tight.
"Dammit, I knew those insufferable sunshine bastards was up to something!" Welf growled, his hand instantly flying to the hilt of his greatsword. He didn't care about the laws or the consequences; his friends were in trouble.
"Come on, Lili! We have to help them!"
Meanwhile, high up in the elegant spires of Twilight Manor, the atmosphere was far more orderly, though no less tense.
Ais stood quietly by a tall arched window in the main corridor, her golden eyes staring blankly out over the city rooftops.
The memory of her dance with Bell from the previous night was still fresh in her mind, leaving her with a strange, unfamiliar fluttering in her chest that she didn't quite know how to process.
The heavy silence of the hallway was suddenly broken by the sound of rapid, frantic footsteps.
"Ais-tan! Ais-tan! This is bad! It's super bad!"
The doors burst open, and Tiona practically skidded into the corridor. She ran straight up to Ais, her expression a mix of high energy excitement and genuine worry.
"Tiona?" Ais blinked, turning around slowly. "What's wrong?"
"It's Argonaut-kun and Yuuya!" Tiona blurted out, waving her arms dramatically. "The black cloaks from the Apollo Familia are totally swarming them right now! They've got the whole district surrounded, and they're throwing fire spells and everything! They're trying to drag them back to Apollo's palace!"
Ais's heart gave a sudden, violent jolt. Her golden eyes widened slightly. A deep, heavy wave of conflict washed over her features. Bell—the boy who worked so hard to catch up to her, the one she had just shared a dance with—was in danger. And Yuuya, whom she hasn't known much about but knows just how important he is in the Hestia familia, was currently fighting a losing battle against an entire Familia.
Her feet instinctively shifted forward, her instinct of right and wrong that she possessed tells her to leap out the window and sprint to their aid.
"Ais."
A firm, authoritative voice echoed down the hall, instantly freezing her in her tracks.
Finn walked smoothly into the corridor, his arms crossed over his chest. His youthful, pallum features were completely devoid of their usual warmth, replaced by the strict, cold calculation of the Loki Familia's Captain. He looked directly at Ais, his sharp blue eyes reading her internal panic like an open book.
"Don't get any reckless ideas." Finn said, his tone dropping into a strict, unyielding command. "This isn't like the one back on the eighteenth floor, Ais. Right now, this is a strictly political, private feud between the Apollo and Hestia Familias."
Ais bit her lower lip, her gaze dropping to the floor.
"But... Finn... they're..."
"I know." Finn interrupted gently, but firmly. "But the Loki Familia cannot afford to get dragged into a public war over a rookie. Any action you take right now—even just blocking a single arrow—will be seen by the Guild and the rest of the city as our Familia officially taking a side. It would trigger a diplomatic nightmare."
He stepped closer, his voice leaving absolutely no room for negotiation.
"I am instructing you, as your captain, to stay within the manor. Do not do anything that could be interpreted as helping the Hestia Familia today. Am I understood?"
Ais stood completely still, her knuckles turning white as she clenched her fist. The image of Bell's innocent, wide eyes flashed through her mind, battling fiercely against her absolute loyalty to her captain and her family.
Finally, she let out a slow, hesitant breath, her shoulders slumping in bitter resignation.
"...I understand, Captain." Ais whispered, her voice barely audible.
Finn offered a small, sympathetic nod.
Ais turned back to the window, her golden eyes fixed on the distant smoke rising from the residential district, silently praying that Yuuya's overwhelming strength would be enough to keep the white-haired boy safe.
∆∆∆∆
Bell sprinted down a connecting alleyway, his heart hammering against his ribs. He had just managed to knock out the last pair of pursuer, his movements a blur of desperate evasion. But the moment he turned around, a familiar face met him.
Waiting for him in the alleyway is him.
Hyakinthos. The Captain of the Apollo Familia stood perfectly poised, the wind catching the edges of his pristine black cloak.
He didn't offer a grand speech or a formal warning. Instead, a malicious, arrogant smirk stretched across his handsome features.
With a fluid, practiced motion, he drew his sword, the polished steel gleaming dangerously under the morning sun, and immediately lunged forward to attack.
Bell's combat instincts flared. He gripped the hilt of his black sword, Elucidator, and raised it just in time to catch the descending strike.
CLANG
The sheer, heavy impact of the Level 3 captain's blow vibrated violently through the hilt of Elucidator. The pure force, forced Bell back a few staggering steps, his boots grinding against the stone.
But before he could even catch his breath or steady his stance, Hyakinthos was already moving. The captain compressed the distance instantly, his blade slicing through the air in a lethal follow up.
Forced onto the absolute defensive, Bell was compelled to throw himself backward, leaping away to narrowly avoid the flashing steel.
Hyakinthos lowered his blade slightly, his smirk widening as he observed the panting rookie.
"I must commend you for making it this far, little rabbit." he said, his voice dripping with condescending superiority. "But your run ends here. Rejoice, Cranel—as I will be the one to break you personally."
What followed was a brutal, one sided duel of swords.
Bell poured everything he had into his movements, trying to utilize his natural agility, but the gap in experience and status was overwhelmingly evident.
Bell was utterly outclassed. He couldn't find a single opening to mount an offensive; he could do absolutely nothing but desperately raise Elucidator to block and parry the relentless, overwhelming press of Hyakinthos's steel.
It didn't take long for the captain to draw first blood. With a swift, blinding feint, Hyakinthos's blade bypassed Bell's guard, the tip of the sword cleanly slicing across Bell's right cheek. A thin line of crimson erupted across his skin.
"Ah—!" Bell winced, but the pain was immediately followed by another sharp sting as Hyakinthos's sword lashed out again, scoring a deep cut on Bell's right upper arm.
Bell tried to pivot away, but the captain's pressure was suffocating. The flashing blade darted low, biting into the flesh of Bell's right leg just above the knee, immediately followed by an identical, biting slash to his left leg.
Bell desperately tried to swing back, launching a frantic counter strike with Elucidator, but he simply couldn't connect. Hyakinthos easily parried the desperate trajectory, and more and more shallow cuts began to blossom across Bell's body, tearing through his clothing and drawing blood.
Finding a massive opening in the rookie's broken rhythm, Hyakinthos drove his heavy boot straight into Bell's gut.
BANG
The blunt force completely knocked the wind out of Bell, sending him stumbling back several paces as he clutched his stomach, his vision swimming.
Hyakinthos didn't immediately pursue. He stood there, his eyes narrowing into a look of deep, burning resentment.
"I despise you." the captain hissed, his voice trembling with a mixture of fanatical devotion and jealousy. "I absolutely hate you for being the object of Lord Apollo's affection. But... this is his divine wish. Therefore, I will permit you to join our glorious Familia. Once you are broken, of course."
Bell didn't answer. He couldn't. Gritting his teeth through the throbbing pain in his abdomen and legs, Bell roared as he forced himself forward, launching a desperate, all out attack.
Hyakinthos effortlessly sidestepped the rushing strike, his expression utterly bored.
"Too slow." he mocked, his voice dropping into a cold sneer. "A rabbit shouldn't try to howl."
With a sudden, violent surge of speed, Hyakinthos unleashed a powerful, ascending upward slash. The edge of his sword tore cleanly through Bell's protective chest plate with a horrific screech of metal. The blade bit deep, carving a gashing, diagonal wound completely across Bell's torso.
The sheer upward momentum of the strike literally lifted Bell off the ground for a fraction of a second before he tumbled heavily onto the hard cobblestones.
He rolled across the dirt, gasping for air as a torrent of blood began to bleed out from the massive chest wound, his body reeling from the trauma.
Hovering over him, the smirk returned to Hyakinthos's face. Without a shred of mercy, he delivered a brutal kick directly to Bell's face while the boy was still down on the dirt.
CRACK
The impact sent Bell skidding across the courtyard, his body crashing hard against the stone wall of a nearby residential house. Shaking violently, his vision blurring with dark spots, Bell desperately tried to push himself up, using the stone wall behind his back for support, refusing to completely lose consciousness.
Hyakinthos walked over slowly, his boots clicking against the stone.
"Still awake, huh?"
He stopped right in front of the battered rookie, raised his leg, and brutally planted his heavy boot directly onto Bell's shoulder—intentionally pressing down hard on the fresh, bleeding diagonal chest wound.
Bell let out a choked, agonized scream, his fingers clawing at the dirt as the pressure forced the gashing injury open.
Hyakinthos leaned down, taking a closer, disgust filled look at Bell's bloody, sweating face.
"Such an ugly face." the captain spat, his eyes full of pure malice. "Not a single trace of elegance. Why... why would Lord Apollo obsess over someone as worthless as this?"
Infuriated by his own thoughts, Hyakinthos ground his heel even harder into Bell's shoulder, pressing his full weight into the open wound.
"I offered him my entire body and soul!" Hyakinthos shouted, his fanatical devotion twisting his features into something monstrous. "I am the one person who can accept him for everything that he is! Not some pathetic, unrefined brat!"
With a sharp snap of his leg, Hyakinthos kicked Bell one more time, sending the boy slumping back against the stone wall, barely breathing.
Hyakinthos coldly looked down at his blood stained boot, then began to slowly approach Bell once more, raising his sword over his head.
"It doesn't matter anyway. It'll all be healed later. Lord Apollo won't care if I cut off an arm or a leg before we drag you back."
Just as the steel began to descend, a sudden, heavy, and absolutely freezing voice boomed across the entire courtyard, completely shattering the morning air.
"And who's cutting who?"
The heavy, freezing silence that blanketed the alleyway was suddenly shattered by the soft, distinct sound of boots touching the cobblestones.
Descending directly from the edge of the tiled roof above, Yuuya dropped into the clearing. His dark armor gleaming flawlessly between the battered, bleeding form of Bell and the raised sword of the Apollo Familia's captain.
Seeing his new opponent, Hyakinthos visibly clicked his tongue in annoyance, his aristocratic features pulling into a momentary scowl.
But he didn't retreat. In fact, he didn't even take a step back. In his arrogant mind, he was already doing the math.
'Yuuya Mitsukuji.' Hyakinthos thought, his eyes narrowing as he sized up the dark haired man. 'It's only been two months since the Guild announced his level up. He's nothing but a fresh Level 3. I've been sitting at Level 3 for far longer. I have the experience, the technique, and the stats.'
Fueled by that absolute, unshakeable belief, the annoyance on Hyakinthos's face melted away. He lowered his foot from Bell's shoulder, turned his full attention to Yuuya, and let a confident, condescending smirk stretch across his face as he shifted into a ready stance.
Yuuya slowly stood up straight, his eyes utterly deadpan as he looked at the captain.
"You know." Yuuya said, his voice calm, casual, and completely devoid of the tension that should accompany a life or death battle. "I've been kinda wanting to try out fighting a fellow sword wielder. I've been so sick of the dungeon monsters lately. They give absolutely no thrill. Their movements are just way too predictable."
Yuuya's right hand drifted to his hip. With a sharp, metallic shing, he drew Kurotsuki from its scabbard. The dark, polished steel of his katana caught the morning light, radiating a cold, lethal intent.
He pointed the tip of the blade down toward the cobblestones.
"Well then. Shall we dance?"
Without waiting for a response, Yuuya vanished.
He was the first one to launch the attack, closing the ten yard gap in a fraction of a second. Hyakinthos's eyes widened slightly at the initial burst of speed, but his veteran instincts kicked in. The captain whipped his sword upward, catching Kurotsuki right before it could cleave his chest open.
CLANG
A shockwave of compressed air blasted outward from the collision, kicking up a violent cloud of dust and debris around their boots. Sparks showered over the cobblestones as the two blades locked in a furious bind.
Thus, the duel of swords began.
Hyakinthos immediately pushed back, using his footwork to pivot and unleash a blindingly fast flurry of thrusts. His sword moved like a blur, aiming for Yuuya's throat, chest, and vital arteries.
Yuuya didn't retreat. He stood his ground, weaving his katana through the air to meet every single incoming strike.
Clang Clang Clack
The deafening screech of steel against steel rang through the alleyway in rapid succession. He didn't waste movement, simply angling the dark spine of Kurotsuki to deflect Hyakinthos's thrusts off course by mere millimeters.
To an outsider, the fight looked like a breathtaking, perfectly balanced clash of titans. Two experienced adventurers pushing each other to the absolute brink, their speed and strength entirely evenly matched.
But internally, Yuuya was practically sweating from the sheer mental exertion of not instantly killing the man in front of him.
'Okay, his swing speed is roughly around a B-rank agility stat.' Yuuya rapidly calculated in his mind, actively suppressing his own muscles as he parried another heavy downward slash. 'I need to drop my arm strength by at least forty percent, or I'll accidentally snap his sword in half. Dial back the reaction time. Let him think his feints are actually working.'
Funnily enough, it was taking infinitely more effort and concentration for Yuuya to hold back and artificially match Hyakinthos's strength than the actual sword fight itself.
When Hyakinthos swung hard, Yuuya had to forcefully relax his grip, allowing himself to be pushed back a few inches so the captain would feel the resistance he expected from a fresh Level 3.
"Is that all you have, rookie?!"
Hyakinthos laughed, his ego violently inflating as his blade sparked against Yuuya's guard. He spun, driving a heavy horizontal sweep toward Yuuya's ribs.
"You can't even mount an offense! You're just defending!"
'Yeah, because if I swing back with actual intent, your torso is going to end up in the next district.' Yuuya thought dryly.
Instead of saying that, Yuuya gritted his teeth, pretending to struggle as he brought his katana down in a heavy, two-handed block to catch the strike.
He allowed his boots to skid backward across the dirt, perfectly selling the illusion of a desperate defense.
He needed to do this. He had to let Hyakinthos remain completely full of himself.
Out of the corner of his eye, Yuuya caught a glimpse of Bell, who was being taken away by Hestia to go somewhere safer.
As we know, Yuuya is aware of her flow of events. Hyakinthos wasn't just an arrogant Apollo freak; he was a milestone. He was the literal catalyst that Bell needed to overcome to push his own limits and eventually reach Level 3.
If Yuuya humiliated Hyakinthos right here and now, or if he revealed his Level 4 strength and utterly crushed him, it might cause a butterfly effect and ruin Bell's future stepping stone.
Hyakinthos needed to walk away from this fight believing he was the superior warrior.
"You're wide open!" Hyakinthos roared, mistaking Yuuya's momentary glance at Bell for a lapse in concentration.
The Apollo captain lunged forward, putting his entire body weight into a massive, piercing thrust aimed directly at Yuuya's heart.
Yuuya let the blade come dangerously close, waiting until the very last millisecond. With a sharp twist of his waist, he perfectly sidestepped the lethal thrust.
As Hyakinthos's momentum carried him forward, Yuuya brought the flat side of his katana up, slamming it hard against the captain's exposed wrists to knock his balance entirely off center.
The duel raged on, a high speed dance of flying sparks and ringing steel, with Hyakinthos fighting for his god's twisted love, and Yuuya fighting the ultimate battle of stat management.
Hyakinthos was completely locked in, his sword slashing through the air with furious precision, fully convinced that he was just a few moves away from breaking the Hestia Familia's strongest member.
Yuuya, however, decided it was time to put an end to this particular phase of the dance.
As Hyakinthos recovered from a wide horizontal sweep and prepared to launch another piercing thrust, Yuuya stepped fluidly inside the captain's guard.
His movement was so sudden and calculated that it completely bypassed the blade. Instead of swinging his katana, Yuuya clenched his left hand into a fist and drove a swift punch straight into Hyakinthos's gut.
He heavily restricted his strength, delivering just enough kinetic force to knock the wind out of the arrogant captain without rupturing any internal organs.
"Oof—!"
The blunt impact forced Hyakinthos to instinctively leap backward, his boots skidding across the dirt as he doubled over slightly, gasping for air. He quickly straightened his posture, his eyes flashing with a dangerous mix of humiliation and rage.
For a tense, heavy second, the two warriors stood a few yards apart, staring each other down. The morning breeze whipped through Yuuya's figure, while Hyakinthos tightly gripped his hilt, his muscles coiling like springs.
The Apollo captain shifted his weight, preparing to take a decisive step forward to renew his assault—but his foot never touched the stone.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Three iron tipped arrows suddenly slammed into the cobblestones with lethal velocity, planting themselves deeply into the exact patch of dirt Hyakinthos had been about to step on.
Hyakinthos's survival instincts flared, forcing him to immediately leap backward once more, his cloak billowing around him as a second volley of arrows rained down from above. He twisted his body mid-air, narrowly dodging the incoming projectiles as they hissed past his ears.
His eyes darted toward the sky, tracing the high, arching trajectory of the shots.
'A sniper. Someone is covering them from the upper rooflines.' Hyakinthos rapidly deduced, his jaw tightening.
Far off in the distance, hidden away on a high vantage point overlooking the residential district, Naaza lowered her bow slightly, her sharp eyes tracking the captain's forced retreat through her sightline. She had arrived just in time to provide the perfect window of escape.
Yuuya looked down at the arrows embedded in the ground, and then glanced back at Hyakinthos, who was now forced onto the defensive by the unseen archer. A faint, knowing smirk played on Yuuya's lips.
With a slow, deliberate motion, Yuuya rotated his wrist and smoothly slid Kurotsuki back into its scabbard, the cold steel clicking firmly into place.
"There goes our backup." Yuuya said, his voice entirely relaxed as he offered a casual shrug. He looked at the frustrated, panting captain one last time. "I've had fun, even for a short moment. Till then, Hyakinthos."
Without giving the stunned captain a chance to respond, Yuuya pivoted on his heel and bolted to where Hestia and Bell headed.
He moved with practiced, effortless speed, rapidly retracing the path to catch up with Bell and Hestia, who had already managed to pull ahead while he kept the main force occupied.
Behind him, the distant, furious shouts of the Apollo Familia faded into the morning air, leaving the ruined courtyard behind as the grand chase through Orario continued.
∆∆∆∆
(Author: what follows after this is just like in the anime. But for those who want a memory refresher, I'll write the summary instead. It pretty much goes the same way as the original with some minor tweaks.)
After they've gone quite far enough, Hestia stopped on a pillar from a building. There, she laid Bell so that he can rest.
However, not long after that, the Apollo familia have already catched up to them.
Luckily, just when the Apollo familia have closed in to them, Takemizuchi familia members arrived along with Lili, Welf, and Miach. The latter uncorks a potion, healing Bell's wounds.
With Lili's persuasion, Bell, Yuuya, and Hestia escaped. While Lili and Welf cover their tracks.
Eventually, they got splitted up. Because in the way, the five of them meet a group of adventurers who are also pursuing Bell.
Lili and Welf insisted that they can handle them, that the three of them should head to the guild. With that, they parted ways
Halfway through the fight, Lili met Zanis, her familia—Soma familia's captain. Zanis said something to Lili which made her go with Zanis.
Something along the line of the Soma familia withdrawing from their pursuit of the Hestia familia if she came back to them.
Meanwhile, back to Yuuya, they've managed to hide under a bridge, where they rested for a little bit.
During their rest, Hyakinthos voice was heard. He was saying things like how Bell and Yuuya's actions are in vain. That the Apollo familia will chase them wherever they go. Not giving them a moment of rest.
Hearing this, Hestia needs to make a choice. At this point, they won't have a future and they will always be threatened if they don't make a choice.
That while Yuuya can probably handle them by himself, that doesn't apply to Bell. That goes to Hestia as well who is probably gonna be used as a hostage. Not to mention, the chaos and normal people who will also be caught in the crossfire.
(Though if I were forced to make this particular scene, the only difference that would be made is that Hestia didn't go "do you like me?" part to Bell or Yuuya.)
Hestia then asked Yuuya and Bell if they trust her, in which they said yes. With that, Hestia's decision is made. They immediately leaved the cover of the bridge and headed southwest according to Hestia's direction.
Which eventually brings them in front of the gates of the Apollo familia manor.
∆∆∆∆
Standing in the main door of the manor, Apollo received them with an insufferable, triumphant grin stretched across his face.
He didn't even try to hide his disgusting delight as Hestia stepped forward, her small fists clenched tightly at her sides.
"Fine, you creep!" Hestia shouted, her voice echoing across the marble courtyard as she threw a glove she got from Lukan. The said glove landed squarely on Apollo's face. "You want a fight so badly?! The Hestia Familia accepts your challenge! We accept the War Game!"
Apollo's eyes practically turned into literal stars as he clapped his hands together, his posture radiating pure, unadulterated ecstasy.
"Magnificent! Brilliant! I knew you would see reason, Hestia! Oh, the glory of a divine duel!"
The words had barely left the sun god's mouth when the surrounding estate suddenly underwent a bizarre, chaotic transformation.
Before Yuuya or Bell could even process the sudden noise, a small army of deities began to materialize out of absolutely nowhere.
A male god violently burst out from a dense row of bushes, spitting out leaves and laughing hysterically.
Another god popped his head directly out from the central water fountain, completely soaked but wearing a massive, shit eating grin. Minor gods crawled out from behind marble pillars, dropped down from the roof lines, and emerged from the decorative hedges like a plague of divine locusts.
They had been hiding there the entire time. The gods of Orario's pantheon had literally been crouching in the dirt and the plumbing, eagerly waiting for the exact moment Hestia would cave so they could witness the official declaration of entertainment.
Yuuya stood entirely still, his left eyebrow twitching violently as he watched a minor god clumsily untangle his divine robes from a thorn bush. The sheer, concentrated absurdity of the scene made his blood run cold.
'These people are absolutely insufferable.' Yuuya thought, his hand instinctively drifting toward the hilt of Kurotsuki. A dark, terrifying aura began to subtly bleed out from his frame, his eyes narrowing into slits as he stared at the cheering crowd of deities. 'I swear to whoever god who isn't here right now... it would be so easy. I could just chant it right now. One Genos Angelus. I could completely flatten this entire manor, turn Apollo and his little fan club into a localized crater, and just deal with the Guild's paperwork later.'
The raw, destructive sound magic was already coiling in his throat, his inner mana surging with a terrifyingly familiar, apocalyptic weight. And honestly? He chose to let the world burn and be damned.
•Blessing of the root of evil—• Yuuya began to chant. But before he can say another word, a frantic voice came out from his mind.
[Whoa, whoa, whoa, stop right there crackhead!]
Yuuya paused, his mental grip on his mana wavering slightly.
'What?'
[Don't 'what' me? Where did the talk about letting Bell use the Apollo familia to become stronger go? You're literally talking about leveling a city block because you're annoyed. Who are you? Alfia?] The system said. Yuuya can literally feel it doing its own version of face palm. [The cold disdain? Fine. The sharp tongue? Great. But we do NOT need a second coming of the Great Feud or the Dark Age for Orario right now! Think about Eina's scolding man. You are not the only one who gets to suffer everytime she scolds you, I was caught as well. I am literally in your head!]
Yuuya let out a slow, deeply irritated sigh through his nose, forcefully suppressing the heavy mana before it could manifest fully.
'Fine. But if one more god jumps out of a piece of foliage, I'm not making any promises.'
[Fair enough. Just keep your eyes on the prize. Let these dorks have their little party today. They'll eventually have their time once we can break them legally.]
Adjusting his armor, Yuuya crossed his arms and stood silently behind Hestia, his expression a mask of pure, unbothered ice as the gods continued to celebrate the upcoming war around them.
Apollo really had a profound, utterly disastrous effect on Yuuya's usually stable temperament. Under normal circumstances, Yuuya is, well.. Yuuya.
But something about the Apollo's slimy, possessive glare and his sickeningly perverted comments had actively breached Yuuya's psychological defenses.
It made his skin crawl in a way that no terrifying floor boss ever could.
For the first time since arriving in Orario, Yuuya felt a genuine, burning temptation to just throw cosmic caution to the wind and commit divine eviction via a localized shockwave.
He legit just wants to commit terrorism as of the moment if it means he can scrub Apollo's existence out of Gekai's history.
As the eccentric crowd of deities continued to loudly bicker and celebrate their newly scheduled entertainment across the grand pavilion, the heavy, tense atmosphere surrounding the Hestia Familia was suddenly interrupted.
After a few more words from Hestia, telling her they will have denatus later. Where they can talk about the details of the war game, the three of them were back on the gates of the manor.
Just right in time, Welf arrived. The blacksmith's usual easygoing grin was completely absent, replaced by a pale, sweat slicked expression of absolute gravity.
He panted heavily, clutching his knees for a brief second before his eyes locked onto Bell and Yuuya.
"Guys! Thank gods I found you!" Welf gasped out, his voice laced with panic. "There's something wrong. It's Lili. She's been taken. The thugs from the Soma Familia... They said something to her and she just... I don't know! She just goes with them while saying stuff how she isn't gonna cause trouble to Bell anymore!"
The color instantly drained from Bell's face. His large, innocent eyes widened in absolute horror as the weight of Welf's words slammed into him.
"Lili?! They took her?! But... but why now? Is she okay? We have to go save her right now!"
Bell instinctively took a step forward, his mind spiraling into a frantic panic, completely overwhelmed by the double calamity of losing his home and now having his precious supporter snatched away into the dark clutches of a notoriously corrupt Familia.
Yuuya, however, remained a pillar of absolute ice. He reached out, his hand firmly planting on Bell's shoulder to physically anchor the trembling boy in place. His dark eyes darted away from the fuming Apollo and settled directly onto his small goddess.
"Goddess." Yuuya said, his voice dropping into a flat, steady whisper that cut right through Bell's rising hysteria. "What's the play here? What should we do?"
Hestia stood tall. Despite her tiny stature, the Goddess of the Hearth possessed a fiercely protective heart, and the sheer desperation in her children's eyes brought out her true divine authority. She stepped directly in front of Bell, gently grabbing his calloused hands and looking straight up into his panicked eyes with a soft, unshakeable confidence.
"Listen to me carefully, Bell." Hestia commanded softly, her voice acting like a soothing balm to his frantic thoughts. "You don't need to panic. Lili is one of us, which means she is my child now. I promise you, Welf and I will figure out a way to rescue her from the Soma Familia. We will handle the logistics, the politics, and whatever else it takes to bring our supporter back home safely. Do you understand me?"
Bell blinked, his breath hitching.
"But, Goddess—"
"No buts, Bell." Hestia interrupted, her expression turning incredibly serious, full of maternal determination. "All I need you to do right now... is focus entirely on what you must do."
Bell froze, the words echoing in his mind. He looked at his trembling hands, and then he looked back over his shoulder toward the distant courtyard where Hyakinthos stood, proudly smirking alongside Apollo. A sudden, striking realization washed over the white-haired boy.
What he must do.
He had to get stronger.
The gap between him and the Level 3 captain was a yawning chasm. If the War Game started tomorrow, he wouldn't just lose; he would be utterly helpless to stop Apollo from claiming them. He needed to push his limits, train past his breaking point, and ensure that the next time he faced Hyakinthos in a duel of swords, he could hold his absolute ground.
"I will personally negotiate with the Guild and Apollo to iron out the official terms of this War Game." Hestia continued, a fierce glint in her eyes as she crossed her arms. "I'll figure out a way to stall them, use every diplomatic trick in the book, and buy us as much time as possible before the official match begins. So until that day arrives, Bell... your only job is to grow."
Bell's panic slowly melted away, replaced by a fierce, burning resolve. He tightly clenched his fists, his jaw setting into a hard line as he nodded heavily.
"I understand, Goddess. I'll do it. I'll get stronger."
With Bell's focus properly aligned, Hestia slowly turned her head toward Yuuya. Her expression shifted from comforting warmth to a cold, sharp finality. She stared at her quiet, dark haired vanguard, her eyes silently acknowledging the monstrous, hidden potential resting within his frame.
"As for your mission, Yuuya... it's simple." Hestia said, a knowing smirk playing on her lips. "I want you to do exactly what you usually do, and what you are absolutely the best at. But this time... I want you to do it with even more intensity."
Yuuya didn't need any further explanation. He instantly caught her meaning.
She wanted him to dive back into the depths of the Dungeon. No more casual pacing, no more taking it easy. She was ordering him to unleash his full, unbridled work ethic upon the deeper floors, grinding relentlessly against the strongest monsters Orario's underworld had to offer.
If their plan failed, if the rescue went south, or if Apollo attempted to pull any underhanded tricks during the official War Game, Yuuya was meant to be the Hestia Familia's absolute, overwhelming trump card—the hidden nightmare that would completely shatter the Apollo's ambitions.
A faint, cold smile tugged at the corner of Yuuya's lips.
"Understood, Goddess." he accepted without a single shred of hesitation. "Honestly, it's a perfect opportunity. I've been needing a good excuse to properly break in my new Level 4 status anyway."
"Wait, before we part ways and begin our operations..." Welf suddenly spoke up, snapping his fingers as he remembered something crucial. He quickly unslung the heavy leather pack from his shoulders and unbuckled the straps. "Yuuya, I actually managed to finish that special commission you requested right before the church got turned into a bonfire. Lucky thing I was carrying it with me."
Welf reached deep into the pack and pulled out a massive, heavily insulated bundle of thick, dark grey material. It was the completed Goliath Scarf, made by Welf himself from the drop that Yuuya got back when he killed the black goliath solo.
Welf rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a sheepish, slightly embarrassed laugh as he handed the sheer bulk of the fabric over.
"To be completely honest with you, man... it turned out a lot less like a regular scarf and way more like a literal blanket. The Goliath's hide was just so dense and massive that if I cut it down any further, it would've completely ruined the structural integrity and the defensive properties of the material. Look at this thing."
Welf gripped one end and shook it out. The sheer scale of the fabric unfolded across the place—it was enormous. If someone were to lay it out flat, it possessed enough surface area to completely wrap a boy of Bell's size.
Bell blinked, staring at the massive sheet of monster hide.
"Wow... that's huge. How are you supposed to wear that, Yuuya-bro?"
Yuuya didn't say a word. The sheer, ridiculous size of the defensive garment didn't bother him in the slightest. He calmly stepped forward, took the massive weight of the Goliath hide from Welf's hands, and laid it smoothly over his forearm.
With incredibly meticulous precision, Yuuya began to fold the material. His fingers smoothed out the heavy creases, precisely layering the dense fabric over itself, tucking the raw edges inward with perfect symmetry until the massive blanket was transformed into a tightly condensed, perfectly proportioned band of dark, protective cloth.
Once he was satisfied with the shape, Yuuya lifted the folded garment and smoothly wrapped it around his neck, draping the excess length over his shoulders.
Because of the sheer abundance of the material, the stylized scarf didn't just sit around his collar. The two long, dark grey tails of the fabric flowed elegantly down the front and back of his physique, cascading past his waist and perfectly sitting just a few inches above his knees.
The heavy, premium texture of the Goliath hide perfectly complemented his dark aesthetic, giving him an imposing, quietly terrifying silhouette.
Yuuya adjusted the collar of the long scarf, feeling the immense, passive defensive properties immediately settling over his vital areas. It was perfect.
"Perfect job, Welf." Yuuya muttered, his dark eyes flashing with a cold, dangerous resolve as he looked toward the looming structure of Babel Tower in the distance. "The craftsmanship is excellent. Now if you'll excuse me... I have a date with twenty hours of therapeutic violence."
∆∆∆∆
Next chapter - War Game.