This chapter was really difficult to write, especially when it came to characterizing the members of the Soma family—both directly and indirectly—throughout the story. Based on every source I found, one could easily infer that they act like animals devoid of scruples or logic; however, even if they were being controlled by Zanis (who controls the wine), they would have ended up killing each other off very quickly. So, there had to be at least a shred of "well, at least I'm not a Neanderthal" in their behavior. Took my whole day just writing this.
//
Crackle...
Luki held the edge of the parchment containing his Falna information as a candle slowly burned away the rest of the paper.
Once he was completely certain it had caught enough fire, he let it go, allowing the ashes to scatter and disintegrate onto the floor.
"Now that you've leveled up, what do you plan to do? Head into the Dungeon to test your new strength?" Miach asked.
"No. Honestly, not much has changed, I just gained a production skill. But it's long past time to take care of some... pending matters. I'm going to need your help with that," Luki replied.
"Mine?" Miach blinked.
"We need to free Lili from the Soma Family," Luki said, placing a reassuring hand on Lili's shoulders.
The girl looked up at Luki with eyes full of love, deeply happy that he was willing to help her escape her old nightmare. She then turned toward Miach with a confident expression.
"Ah, right, there's that. Where exactly is that guy's place again...?" Miach muttered, rubbing his chin.
"In the outermost part, near the Daedalus Street district. There is a big house that stands out completely from the others, which serves as both the base and the brewery for the god Soma," Naaza interjected from behind the counter.
"How do you know that?" Miach asked, surprised.
"I know a lot of things," Naaza replied smoothly.
Luki and Lili watched the two of them interacting, then exchanged a knowing glance... and smiled mischievously. Only the two of them understood exactly what they had just picked up on.
"I've been there once before, and Lili lived there for many years. It will be easy to find," Luki stated.
"Since that's the case, then what are we waiting for? Let's go! I'm eager to expand my Family once again," Miach said enthusiastically, getting out first.
"Wait. You aren't planning for us to just walk together in broad daylight all the way there, are you? What happened to the 'let's play dumb' plan?" Luki asked as he followed right behind the god.
"Nah, relax. Nothing will come of it," Miach laughed. He opened the front door to the street and held it, gesturing for the two of them to go ahead.
As they turned to leave, Miach called out toward the back of the shop.
"Naaza-chan, I'll be heading out with Luki to settle Lili's adoption problems. I'll be back soon, watch over the shop!"
With that, they turned around, walked out the door, and went on their way.
"I never noticed it before, but you and her are pretty close, huh?" Luki said, hinting for something.
"You think so? Well, I suppose it's hard for two people not to get along when they are forced to live together in misery and depend on each other," the god replied casually, looking up while holding his chin.
Luki and Lili, for their part, exchanged an awkward glance, since that was basically how things had started between them.
"Are you two in some kind of relationship?" Lili asked.
"What? No, no, never. We are just Family, Naaza is practically a daughter to me."
"I feel like she doesn't see things that way. I could feel how much she changed internally when interacting with you. It was subtle, but I recognize the feeling," Luki said, squeezing Lili's hand gently.
'To think that having a strong special sense would make me unconsciously interpret people's neural signals and internal chemical reactions to the point of understanding their suppressed feelings... I've never seen anything like this in any other work. Talk about a broken ability,' Luki thought.
After finally getting a good look at his Falna, Luki could at last understand how his various new abilities worked and deduce the rest.
All the hallucinations he used to get when looking at people were the result of his Maze Runner skill increasing his spatial sense, rather than some kind of unique supernatural sense of his own.
All those things he saw—or rather, perceived—were internal chemical and physical reactions of people, interpreted for some reason into overlaid images because that was what his mind imagined to be in front of him.
'Honestly, what a huge pain in the ass to keep confusing what's real and what isn't. My vision and imagination say it's there, but my spatial sense says there's nothing. Did I turn into Baki Hanma or something and nobody told me?' he thought.
"Lili thinks that Miach-sama underestimates himself too much. Lili is absolutely certain that Naaza-san has some romantic interest in Miach-sama."
"I already told you, don't talk nonsen—"
"Miach, you're the single one here. I have two girlfriends, so I have the right to speak. The atmosphere between you two is so obvious that only a complete idiot wouldn't notice it," Luki interrupted.
Miach felt an arrow piercing his chest, but looking down, he saw nothing stuck there. Strange.
"That being said, you must take Naaza-san out on a date this very month. Otherwise, as your friend, I will take charge of the situation."
"But I don-"
"No excuses, be a man and ask her out already!" Luki shouted while slapping Miach on the back.
PA!
'Damn, I've been saving this one since my past life. Man, it feels so good to be the only one in a relationship in the group,' Luki thought, hilariously proud of what he just said.
"Ouch! Ouch! H-How about we change the subject, huh? How about we talk about Soma, um?" Miach suggested nervously, sweating slightly as he tried to escape the romance talk.
Upon hearing the name of her patron god, Lili's expression visibly fell, but neither of them decided to comment on it.
"What is there to say about him?" Luki asked.
"I don't know, I've never really interacted much with him. To be honest, nobody interacts much with him, besides that Hindu group he is part of," Miach replied.
"I only saw him once from afar when Hestia was talking to him about Lili. The only thing I can say is that he's an introvert."
"Everyone knows that, but what are we going to do to convince him to let Lili leave the Family? No god likes to lose their members, even if they aren't important."
"Maybe owing a favor? That seems to work in the stories from where I come from," Luki muttered. "At least the cultivators ones..."
"Said something? Anyway, what favor could a mortal owe a god? And what favor could I, who am below him, possibly owe to Soma?" Miach questioned.
"Um... I don't know. He's the one who'll ask for the favor, I just need to do it when the day comes."
"...Luki, your optimism and lack of worry are..."
"Contagious?"
"Let's just say that's it," Miach sighed.
Meanwhile, Lili remained in thoughtful silence, not interfering at all in the conversation, even though they all knew she possessed the knowledge they needed.
However, her feelings toward Soma, which were once pure resentment, were now a mix of uncertainty and confusion. She didn't know how to look at his face now after everything that had happened.
On one hand, he was the miserable creator of the poison that ruined her parents—Soma's wine. He was also the same man who allowed that toxic environment he called a Family to prosper. There was no excuse he could give; with just a snap of his fingers, all the Falnas of that bunch of addicts would disappear, turning them back into ordinary people.
Yet, he was also the person who had looked out for her throughout all that time when she couldn't, something Lili had only realized recently when she forced herself to look at him from another angle.
It as if Soma was always there whenever something unexpected or way beyond her capabilities happened—in his own way of being, of course, which was probably why Lili had never noticed it before.
But if he cared about her, why didn't he do more? Why didn't he do better? Does he really not care, as for any other person Familia? If Yes, then why did he helped her with her Falna yesterday?
In the end, Soma, his way of thinking, and his motivations were a mystery to everyone. To anyone else, he was just a lonely guy who liked to make exotic wines.
"Leave it to Lili. Lili knows what to do," she said casually, looking straight ahead.
The two men who had been discussing until now looked at her curiously. However, seeing that she was not interested in speaking any further, they decided not to pry.
The group walked on in silence until they finally arrived at the edge of Orario, standing right in front of the Soma Family's headquarters.
Alarge residential compound in Orario featuring multiple buildings, including a storehouse, breweries, and several watchtowers. It functions as both an exploration base and the production site for their famous divine wine
"Was this your home?" Luki asked, taking in the surroundings with his spatial sense.
In his view, the place—which could even be considered of relatively decent quality once someone rid it of all the "filth"—was actually a massive abyss in the air, exuding a purple, dizzying miasma.
A drug den. A bottomless pit. A breeding ground for sin and corruption.
However, at the very bottom of this pit, there was a faint divine light. That had to be Soma's presence. At least he knew the man was home.
Luki blinked his eyes and shook his head, trying to clear the overlaid image from his vision.
"No... Lili was lucky. A kind old couple took me in when I was younger. They looked after me, but... things didn't ended well for them... theses guys discovered and... I was blamed for it... them I became who I was." Lili said. Surprisingly, she did not refer to herself in the third person as usual. Apparently, the subject was truly serious.
"How could Soma let something like this happen? Does he have no conscience regarding his actions?" Miach muttered, looking at the grim compound.
"Or maybe he just doesn't care. Let's go."
Luki took a step forward. As the strongest among them, it was his duty to protect his god and his girlfriend.
At the front entrance, two guards stood watch, leaning casually against the stone pillars. They carried themselves with the practiced confidence of experienced adventurers, though their light armor looked slightly neglected and a faint smell of alcohol lingered around them. Permanent.
As the trio approached, the guards straightened up, their eyes narrowing with a sharp glint. There was a subtle restlessness in their posture—the only real sign of their dependency—but they were at least focused and alert, clearly used to intimidating anyone who came near their territory.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing here? State your business or get lost!" one of the guards spat, his breath reeking of alcohol even from there.
'Strange, they don't recognize me?' Luki thought, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. 'I thought that with everything that happened and my unique appearance, I would already be completely unmistakable in this city.'
Luki concluded that those guys—or members of the Soma Family in general—didn't care enough about that conflict to even know who he was. Perhaps because they had no intention of stupidly trying to "recruit" him, or simply because they were too focused on their own vices.
"We would like to have an audience with the god Soma regarding one of his members," Luki said aloud, moving his arm to pull Lili into a side-hug.
This action immediately drew the attention of the two guards toward her. The twitchier of the two squinted, his eyes widening in a spark of recognition.
"Well, well... look who crawled back to the gutter," the guard sneered, a wet, wheezing laugh escaping his throat. "The little rat brought some new protectors. Did you find them in a trash can, Lili?"
"Did you come to pay what you owe, brat?" the second guard added, stepping forward into their personal space. A malicious, yellow-toothed grin spread across his face. "Captain Zanis has been counting your missed payments. You know what happens to runners."
Lili visibly flinched, wrapping her arms tightly around Luki's waist, shivering as if the guard's gaze was physically freezing her blood.
Luki looked down at her with affection and lovingly stroked her shoulder and arm, nonverbally reassuring her that everything was going to be completely fine.
"You don't need to worry about her. The important one here is me," Luki stated, his voice turning cold and sharp, cutting through the heavy stench of the air. "Take me to Soma."
The two addicts blinked, taken aback by the sheer authority in Luki's tone. But empathy or caution had long been burned out of their chests. The second guard spat into the mud right by Luki's boot.
"Take you to Soma-sama? Ha! You think a god has time for charity cases?" The guard stepped even closer, his eyes locking onto Luki's clothes as if searching for something. "The gate has a toll, pal. Hand over your Valis, or we'll just take the rat back and beat the difference out of her hide."
He reached out a calloused hand, aiming straight for Lili to yank her away from Luki.
But before the guard's fingers could even brush against her, Luki's hand shot forward, delivering a swift, firm shove directly to the man's chest.
The guard stumbled back a few paces, his arms flailing slightly as he fought to keep his balance. When his boots finally found purchase in the dirt, he stopped. He looked down at his own chest, staring blankly at the spot where Luki had pushed him, Processing what had just happened with a quiet confusion.
The second guard glanced over at his companion, eyebrows raised in mild surprise. He hadn't expected the kid to actually move. Across from them, Luki, Miach, and Lili remained perfectly still and silent, simply observing.
The pushed guard finally looked back up, adjusting his stance. He didn't explode into a rage, nor did he bark like a rabid dog; his face just hardened, shifting into a cold, casual annoyance.
"You've got some nerve, kid," the guard said, his voice flat but dangerous. "Do you have any idea whose gate you're standing in front of?"
"We don't need to do this," Luki replied smoothly, his tone even and entirely devoid of emotion. "Just take me to Soma, and everything will be fine."
The guard let out a dry scoff, rolling his shoulders. "Lord Soma doesn't take uninvited guests. And I don't take orders from brats."
Instead of drawing his sword or throwing a wild punch, the guard stepped forward, reaching out a hand toward Luki's shirt, clearly intending to shove him back to return the favor.
His fingers managed to snag the fabric of Luki's collar. But with a flash of speed, Luki slapped the man's hand away with a sharp crack, forcing him to let go, and pushed him back a second time.
The man staggered back once more. He lifted his gaze, only to find Luki staring at him, completely unfazed by the encounter.
Without any grand ceremony, the guard tried again, stepping into Luki's space. Once more, he was effortlessly repelled. This time, the guard resisted the push, absorbing the force by only yielding half a step, and immediately lunged forward with his other hand. Luki leaned his torso slightly to the side, letting the hand pass harmlessly through the air, and calmly pushed the guard away yet again.
The guard's casual annoyance finally cracked. His jaw tightened, teeth grinding together with a sharp, audible grit as his entire expression hardened into pure, venomous frustration.
"You bastard..." he growled, the words scraping out of his throat.
Lunging forward, the man pulled his arm back, committing his full weight into a heavy, wild punch aimed straight for Luki's face.
Then... time stopped.
The world ground to an absolute, freezing halt. Luki looked at the fist hovering just inches from his nose. In this suspended reality, his perception was so sharp he could count the individual hairs on the man's knuckles. He could trace every distorted, ugly line etched into the guard's face, down to the tightest, most minute fold of skin around his bared teeth.
Luki didn't know what to think of this situation. Was he supposed to feel anger? Well, a spark of resentment did linger deep within him—after all, this guy he doesn't even know the name dared to raise a hand toward Lili. Yet, Luki couldn't bring himself to feel a true, burning wrath against him.
How could he even describe it? It wasn't pity, it was...
As Luki stared at the frozen guard, his vision began to overlay. He looked past the gate, taking in every other person residing within the compound. In his eyes, the hallucinations bloomed into vivid, sickening shapes: they weren't humans anymore, but animals.
Every single one of them was a different beast, small and pathetic, yet arching their backs and flexing to make themselves appear larger than they were. They were all so thin... so weak... so ugly and disheveled. They were so... entirely nothing.
They possessed unnaturally bloated stomachs, distended and round as if they were pregnant, and they flashed sharp, jagged teeth in a desperate bid to intimidate. But Luki could see right through the facade. He saw their fragile, brittle claws—the ultimate proof that they held no real power.
That was exactly what they were. Animals. Abused and destroyed animals. Insatiable, gluttonous creatures. Oppressors who tried to bury their own weakness, their own profound insignificance, behind a pathetic, shameful illusion of power just to protect their fragile egos.
And Luki simply couldn't feel anything toward them. These beasts were neither strong nor numerous enough to threaten his life, not like the monsters lurking in the deep zones of the Dungeon.
A sudden thought drifted through his slowed mind. 'Freya can see the colors of people's souls, and it made her into who she is. I wonder if Soma can see something special too, just like me? Is that why he acts the way he does? What did he see when he looked at these people?'
Luki closed his eyes, drawing in a slow breath to calm his racing thoughts. With an inexplicable, deliberate command over his own brain, he forced his perception to drop back into a normal, everyday speed.
Woosh.
The man's fist sliced cleanly through the empty air where Luki's head had been just a millisecond prior, Luki having effortlessly tilted his upper body to the side.
Before the guard could recover, Luki slapped his extended arm away. The force of the redirection sent the man spinning off-balance. In one smooth, continuous motion, Luki raised his leg and delivered a sharp, casual kick right to the guard's backside.
"Ghh—Aargh!"
The man let out a strangled, undignified yelp as he lost all footing, flying forward and crashing pathetically face-first into the dirt.
"Miach," Luki asked casually, his eyes still fixed on the fallen guard. "If I were to beat some people up... it wouldn't tarnish your image, would it?"
"Not that it matters to me," Miach replied, his voice laced with a calm but cautious undertone. "However, it is best not to draw unwanted attention. We have already been reckless enough just by walking together."
Snap!
With a sharp sound, the god suddenly vanished from plain sight. Yet, Luki's spatial sense could still perfectly feel Miach's silhouette remaining right by his side. He had turned completely invisible.
"Lili-" Luki began, looking down.
"Just don't kill anyone, and it will be fine," Lili interrupted softly, her voice steadying. "Zanis doesn't care about these guys, only the money they can bring him. Lord Soma wouldn't care either, though he does need people to maintain his lifestyle."
"Uhm..." Luki nodded in agreement. He leaned down, placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head before smoothly releasing his hold around her.
At the same time, the fallen guard scrambled back to his feet as the cold reality of his pathetic humiliation settled in, his face contorted into pure, unadulterated hatred. The casual composure he held earlier shattered completely, replaced by the rabid, snarling expression of a wild dog.
"I am done with you!" he roared, his voice trembling with a mixture of raw fury and wounded pride.
With a violent jerk, he drew his weapon from its sheath, the sharp ring of unsheathed steel cutting through the heavy air.
The second guard, who until now had merely watched the encounter with detached amusement, suddenly shifted. He pulled his own blade, his expression twisting into an equally enraged scowl, seemingly infuriated for no logical reason at all.
Luki observed them calmly. It was strange. These animals sabotaged, robbed, and betrayed one another every single day inside that compound, yet the moment an outsider struck one of their own, a twisted concept of a pack took over.
The two guards lunged simultaneously, their blades cutting through the air in a frantic, uncoordinated pincer attack.
To Luki, however, their movements were painfully sluggish. He stepped into the fray, his body moving as fluidly and effortlessly as a feather caught in a gentle breeze. He swayed his torso inches away from the first blade, then dipped his shoulder to let the second one slice harmlessly over his head.
"Stand still, you slippery brat!" the first guard roared, swinging wildly.
Luki didn't even counter with a strike. Instead, he just extended a casual palm, tapping the guard's shoulder. The slight redirect sent the man stumbling into his partner.
"Watch it, you idiot!" the second guard hissed, shoving his companion away as he tried to adjust his stance. "He's just mocking us! Cut his legs off!"
Every miss, every casual dodge, and every minor shove from Luki only served as fuel to their fire. The more effortlessly Luki handled them, the more their fragile egos shattered, driving them into a blind, desperate frenzy. They were screaming, cursing, and swinging their swords with zero technique, completely blinded by rage.
"I'll kill you! I'll tear you apart!" the second guard shrieked, spit flying from his mouth as he thrust his dagger forward. Luki simply leaned back, letting the point graze the air before tapping the man's wrist, sending him spinning like a top.
The first guard, completely pushed over the edge, gripped his sword with both hands. He raised it high above his head, channeling every ounce of his remaining strength and hatred into a massive, desperate vertical slash.
"Die!"
The blade came crashing down with a heavy gust of wind. But it never met its mark.
Luki's hands shot upward with lightning speed. His palms clapped firmly around the guard's wrists, locking onto the handle of the weapon right beneath the crossguard. The downward momentum stopped instantly, frozen solid in Luki's iron grip.
The guard's bloodshot eyes widened in sheer, paralyzing horror. Before he could even process the gap in their strength, Luki's right fist buried itself deep into the man's stomach.
BOOM!
The impact sounded like a cannon shot. The guard's body folded into a neat 'V' shape as he was launched backward through the air, crashing violently into the gates of the compound. The heavy doors rattled with a deafening thud, and the man slid down into the mud, coughing up bile and groaning in agony.
Without missing a beat, Luki pivoted on his heel toward the second guard. The man was frozen in shock, but Luki didn't give him time to react. He delivered a swift, backhand strike to the man's jaw, followed by a firm kick to his chest that sent him skidding across the dirt, tumbling right next to his unconscious partner.
"Ghh... a-ahh..." the second guard whimpered, curling into a fetal position, clutching his shattered jaw as blood leaked through his fingers.
The massive racket—the screams, the thunderous impact against the gate, and the groans of pain—instantly shattered the quiet of the compound.
Within seconds, the heavy wooden doors of the main residential building burst open. Multiple figures began pouring into the courtyard, their expressions a mix of annoyance and curiosity.
"What the hell is all this racket?!" a loud voice shouted from the balcony.
"Who's causing a riot at the front gates?!" another added, as over a dozen members of the Soma Family—all bearing the same unkempt, restless look—gathered in the pátio, staring at the scene.
The guard on the floor, barely conscious, raised a trembling, muddy finger, pointing straight at Luki. "He... he attacked us... The brat... he's trying to break in!"
Their eyes locked onto Luki, and the air instantly turned heavy and hostile. Weapons were drawn, shields were raised, and the fragile pack mentality of the "animals" fully ignited. The war was about to begin.