In Orario: Roy, being in the lower world, had no idea what was happening among the gods. He placed the Shikon Jewel into the corpse, and seconds later, a surge of life erupted. A chest heaved; a heart began to beat.
In the silent secret room, the faint sound was like a tolling bell. Roy stared at the corpse, a quiet "WTF" echoing in his mind. It actually worked! The lifeless, pale, stiff body was suddenly enveloped in an eerie purple light. The skin turned crimson as vitality returned.
"I'm... not dead?" The young man snapped his eyes open, touching his chest and cheeks in disbelief. Then he saw Roy. Fury filled his eyes. "You said you'd let me go!"
Roy blinked. When did I say that? My jokes are always top secret—even after you're dead.
"Hah!" The youth shouted. His skin seemed to burst, turning bloody as the demonic energy of the Shikon Jewel reinforced him. His muscles became hard as steel, and his body bulked up, radiating power.
"Hahaha! With this power, I won't lose again!" he laughed manically. He lunged at Roy, throwing a punch fueled by hate and newfound confidence. In his mind, he was invincible.
Roy sneered. "Idiot."
Just as the punch was about to connect, Roy vanished. The youth froze. Roy spun, easily dodging the fist, and his hand shot out like a lightning bolt, grabbing the youth's head. With a sickening crack, the skull began to fracture under Roy's grip.
Boom!
Roy slammed the youth's head into the wall, burying it deep into the stone. The terrifying force caused cracks to spiderweb across the entire surface. Dust and debris rained down. The youth's mind reeled. Where is my invincible power?
It was merely an illusion of grandeur. Roy's hand shifted into a knife-strike, piercing the youth's chest. He grabbed a hard object and ripped the Shikon Jewel out of the body. Without the jewel's power, the youth's flesh disintegrated instantly, leaving only a pile of bones on the floor.
"Hmph." Roy snorted. A centipede demon once swallowed a whole Shikon Jewel and was still one-shotted by Inuyasha. Later bosses used only a few shards to trade blows with the Tetsusaiga. It just goes to show: if you're a scrub, you're still a scrub even with a cheat item.
To the truly strong, the Shikon Jewel is a mere decoration, not a life-saver. But the resurrection capability... that was important.
Knossos: The Daedalus Labyrinth.
In this eerie maze, two Familias coexisted. One was the strongest of the remaining Evilus remnants—the Thanatos Familia. The other was the nominally neutral Ikelos Familia. They were a pure alliance of convenience.
Currently, in the Ikelos sector: The Captain, Dix Perdix—dubbed "The Barbarian" by the gods—was gathered with his executives and nearly 90% of his members. They were there for one reason.
A few days ago, while hunting a Xenos mermaid on the 25th floor, they had been ambushed by Roy, the "Sprout of Justice," who wiped out a squad. The scouts had fled, and Roy wasn't fast enough to kill every last one of them. The news had sparked fury within the Ikelos Familia.
Losing a squad was nothing to them; like the dark Familias, they had no sense of brotherhood. But losing a Xenos mermaid worth over 100 million Valis? That made them lose their minds.
You can kill my brother, but you can't touch my money!
They didn't have a money-printing machine like the Soma Wine. Smuggling, raiding, pillaging... it took them a whole year to make 100 million.
"Captain, let's do it!" the members shouted at Dix.
Blocking someone's path to wealth is like killing their parents. Without taking out Roy and the Astraea Familia, they'd never catch that mermaid. They had been a B-rank Familia for years—far more established than the Astraea newcomers. With their smuggling routes and the monsters they controlled, they were effectively a semi-S-rank Familia. How did a weakened, nearly-wiped-out Astraea Familia dare provoke them?
Looking at his rebellious crew, the goggled youth—Dix—spat, "Don't get ahead of yourselves, you bastards."
Their primary god, Ikelos, sat on the stairs. He was a slender man in athletic wear with drooping eyes, wearing the same "entertainment-at-all-costs" smile as the gods above. Unlike the surface gods, Ikelos's stance was neutral-evil; he didn't initiate malice, he just let it happen for the thrill of watching.
"Dix, what fun things are you planning for me this time?" Ikelos chuckled.
"You should try being useful for once, Lord," Dix snapped.
"How disrespectful to your god," Ikelos laughed, unbothered. "Look, I've found you a very reliable ally."
Faint footsteps echoed as a man stepped from the shadows, shrouded in a loathsome aura of death—Thanatos!
"Dix," Thanatos smiled. "I heard you're moving against the 'Sprout of Justice.' Need a hand?"
"What's the occasion? Why the sudden interest?" Dix frowned. He didn't want to be a plaything for these gods.
Thanatos laughed. "My children haven't forgotten what happened two years ago. They're screaming to 'give those people on the surface a lesson in blood.' Since you're targeting the Astraea Familia anyway, let's do it together. It's better than fighting alone."
Dix didn't doubt him. He knew the strength of the Thanatos Familia. Their executives—"The Murder Emperor" Valletta and "The White-Haired Demon" Olivas—were survivors of the Great Feud.
"Besides," Thanatos added, "I have a test subject. After two years of tuning, it's at the level of a Level 5 adventurer. Even you might struggle to beat it. Let's make a deal."
"Something from two years ago? A test subject?" Dix's eyes widened. "You still have those things?"
────────────────────────────────────────
Support me here: https://[email protected]/AuAuMon
Spring Sale Special – 20% OFF!
Danmachi : Starting with an Elf (378 Chapter – Ongoing)
Join the journey and become part of the story!
────────────────────────────────────────