Ryoji's gaze was ice-cold, and the killing intent radiating from his eyes was anything but a bluff.
The people of the Lower Realm were intimidated by Divine Power, and very few would ever dare to kill a god. Not only did they have to face the terrifying will of a deity, but they would also be hunted down by the Guild afterward.
But Ryoji was different.
He really would kill a god.
He didn't care about Divine Power or the Guild's pursuit. He seemed completely fearless, and the blade pressed against her neck was proof enough.
He had absolutely no reverence for gods.
"…I understand."
Ishtar's expression became unreadable as she withdrew her Divine Power.
"Untie me, and I'll give you the key."
Without Divine Power, a god was no different from an ordinary person.
And with her charm no longer working, Ryoji, confident in his own strength, decided to untie her.
Ishtar made no attempt to pull anything.
She walked over to the corner of the room and broke open a Magic Stone Lamp built into the wall. With a series of clicks, a hidden door appeared.
She gestured for Ryoji to follow and entered first.
Beyond it was a pitch-black secret room. Almost no light reached inside, yet the place was extravagantly furnished.
Countless rare Magic Items and materials were displayed in cabinets along the walls, many of which Ryoji couldn't even name. This was Ishtar's private collection.
Anything worthy of being collected by a god was bound to possess astonishing value.
"The key is in here."
Ishtar took out a wooden box and handed it to Ryoji.
According to her, the box contained the key to the artificial labyrinth.
With that key, they could control the labyrinth's entrance and mechanisms, allowing them to move through it without obstruction.
Ryoji stared directly at the wooden box.
Sensing no danger from it, he stepped forward and reached out.
Once they obtained the key, Loki Familia could completely turn this situation around and avenge Line and the others.
"…Are you messing with me?"
Ryoji's expression suddenly darkened.
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
Ishtar impatiently tugged at her hair.
But the next moment, she froze.
Ryoji lifted the box and opened the lid.
There was nothing inside.
"This… How is that possible?!"
Ishtar's eyes widened.
She snatched the wooden box from him and frantically turned it over, searching inside as if refusing to believe what she was seeing.
But there was nothing.
The box was completely empty.
"Impossible! I clearly put the key in here! There's only one key, so I specifically kept it in this wooden box…" Ishtar muttered in disbelief.
"Hey. What's going on?" Ryoji stared at her coldly. "Are you really trying to deceive me?"
"No! I'm absolutely certain the key was in this box. Every time I used it, I put it back here!" Ishtar hurriedly explained. "Someone must have taken it!"
She genuinely didn't look like she was lying.
Because if she were, Ryoji's blade would already be buried inside her body, sending her back to the Heavenly Realm.
"Did Kali take it?" Ryoji took a deep breath and continued questioning her.
"Impossible. She doesn't even know about this treasury!" Ishtar shook her head firmly. "Very few people know about this room. Apart from me, there's only one… Tammuz! Could it be that he betrayed me?!"
Something suddenly occurred to Ishtar, and her expression turned ugly.
Tammuz?
Ryoji remembered that name. He had heard it in passing.
He was apparently the Vice-Captain of Ishtar Familia, second only to Phryne in strength, a Level 4 High-Class Adventurer.
"Where is he?"
"…He disappeared a few days ago," Ishtar gritted her teeth. "He was my personal guard and the only other person who knew about this secret room. Normally, he would appear whenever I called for him, but three days ago he suddenly vanished. I searched everywhere and couldn't find him. I thought he was dead…"
She clenched her fists.
"But now that I think about it, he must have stolen the key!"
Three days ago.
Ryoji knew there was probably no way to find him now.
Orario wasn't very large, but every Familia had its own territory and hideouts. Loki Familia couldn't search every single Familia's territory one by one. Doing that would turn everyone against them.
"What about the other keys?"
"There aren't any."
"Kali doesn't have one either?"
"She just joined. She hasn't earned Evilus's trust yet."
"Haah…" Ryoji let out a long breath. "So I came all this way for nothing?"
His grip on his sword tightened, and killing intent surged from his eyes.
"W-Wait! Give me some time!" Ishtar's expression changed, and she unconsciously stepped backward. "Give me some time! I can definitely find Tammuz. I've charmed him before, there's no way I won't be able to find him! No, just let me go back to the labyrinth one more time. I can definitely get another key. They wouldn't dare refuse me, I'm their investor…!"
Ishtar desperately tried to bargain for her life.
What she said wasn't wrong. As long as she asked, she could probably get a second key from Thanatos.
But...
'Puchi!'
The next second, the tip of a sword pierced through her body.
White steel went in; red blood came out.
Ishtar stared at her chest in disbelief. The long blade had plunged straight through her, leaving only the hilt outside.
Ryoji's face remained completely expressionless.
His gaze was cold.
"You… why…?" Ishtar stared at him blankly.
"Do you take me for an idiot? If I let you go now, I won't be able to find you next time. And you'd cause a huge amount of trouble for me and my Familia." Ryoji gave a cold laugh.
Her attitude toward Freya had made it obvious enough: there was something seriously wrong with this woman.
Freya had done absolutely nothing to her. She simply stood naturally above Ishtar, and Ishtar couldn't stand it. Her jealousy had driven her mad, making her obsessed with bringing Freya down and constantly causing trouble for her.
If he let someone like that go, what would happen?
Wouldn't she become completely obsessed with getting revenge on Ryoji for threatening her?
That wouldn't just bring trouble to him. It could drag his entire Familia into it.
"You… bastard… Daaaamn it!! Aah!!"
Ishtar's face twisted with rage.
She used every last bit of her strength to unleash a vicious curse.
The next moment...
'Vooooom!'
A massive pillar of white light shot into the sky.
The pillar pierced both heaven and earth. Centered around Ishtar, it released a majestic power that surpassed everything on the ground, spreading the sacred majesty of a god throughout all of Orario.
At that instant, every person and god who witnessed the pillar trembled.
A god was about to be sent back.
That understanding entered the hearts of everyone who saw it.
"In the end, this should at least give Line and the others a little peace."
Ryoji leaped away from the pillar of light.
He looked up at Ishtar, who was disappearing within the radiance, and murmured softly.
Even if they had already been reincarnated and become different people by now.
(End of Chapter)
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