Noon drew steadily closer.
And throughout Orario, excitement surrounding the coming War Game continued to build.
Large-scale contests between gods were rarely kept quiet.
Most deities craved attention almost as much as worship, and after enduring endless, painfully boring lives, reputation had become one of the few things capable of keeping that emptiness at bay.
A War Game was perfect for that.
The patron deity of the victorious Familia would receive an enormous amount of attention, so the gods involved naturally encouraged their familia to spread word of the event as widely as possible.
The larger the audience...
The greater the satisfaction.
That was precisely why this War Game had caused such an enormous commotion throughout Orario.
Adventurers and ordinary citizens who heard that a match was about to begin were already streaming toward the central plaza, the city's dedicated viewing area for War Games.
The plaza could accommodate an enormous audience, and a massive floating screen would display everything happening during the battle.
The participating sides would not actually fight inside Orario.
Instead, both groups would be transported through magical formations into a separate special space, while the floating screen allowed everyone in the city to watch.
As more and more people flooded into the central plaza, Yuto and the others were also preparing to leave the Hostess of Fertility.
"Everyone outside is heading toward the central plaza. Looks like they're all going to watch this War Game."
Mia had gone outside briefly to check the situation.
Even she had been surprised by the sight of countless people flowing toward the plaza like converging rivers.
"A large audience?" Gilgamesh leaned back in his chair with his arms folded, shameless arrogance written across his face.
"Hmph! Excellent. If there were too few spectators, how could they possibly appreciate this king's brilliance?"
There was not the slightest trace of embarrassment in his expression.
To Gilgamesh, what he had just said was simply an obvious fact.
Enkidu and several others nearby could only smile helplessly.
"Oho~ If there are tons of people, then it'll be really lively!"
Marisa immediately became excited.
She had always been the sort of person who loved a spectacle, and the larger the commotion became, the happier she seemed.
"Idiot Marisa~"
Reimu casually insulted her.
Marisa immediately snapped back.
Fortunately, Yukari intervened before the two could start wrestling inside Mia's tavern.
"Eh... there's going to be an audience too...?"
Rin looked noticeably less enthusiastic.
"This appears to be one of the relatively rare forms of entertainment in this world," Genos explained with his usual seriousness. "Having spectators is therefore perfectly reasonable."
Saitama nodded thoughtfully beside him.
Of everyone gathered here, Rin was probably the only person who seemed genuinely nervous.
She came from an exceptional background and possessed mental fortitude far beyond most people her age.
Even so...
Going into battle against the familia of actual gods was not exactly something an ordinary magus was ever trained to deal with.
Sakura stood beside her and quietly took Rin's hand.
The little girl was trying to comfort her in her own way.
"Shouldn't we get going too?"
After checking the time, Yuto looked toward Hestia.
Hestia nodded solemnly.
Yuto smiled faintly and turned toward everyone else.
"Let's go."
"Yeah!"
Amid another burst of noisy enthusiasm, the entire group left the tavern and headed toward the central plaza.
...
More and more adventurers and civilians filled the stands.
The plaza had been built in a circular shape, with tiered seating surrounding the central area much like an enormous arena.
Behind it rose Babel, allowing the gods residing high above to look directly down upon the spectacle.
The noise inside the plaza continued growing.
Vendors appeared among the crowd one after another, selling food and drinks until the atmosphere began to resemble a festival rather than a serious contest.
Several gods who particularly enjoyed this kind of spectacle had also arrived in person, each claiming sections of the audience area while surrounded by members of their Familias.
Loki's arrival immediately attracted attention from across the plaza.
After all, hers was one of the strongest Familias in Orario.
Ais and several other Familia members accompanied her.
Loki selected a spacious spot in the shade and unceremoniously dropped into one of the seats.
Her familia settled around her while she crossed her legs without the slightest concern for appearances and propped her head up with one hand.
"It really has gotten unusually lively today."
She looked around the plaza with an amused grin.
"Loki-sama, why didn't you watch from Babel instead? It's really noisy down here."
"Hahahaha! Lefiya, this is the best place to watch!" Loki laughed loudly. "All this noise is exactly what gives an event like this its atmosphere!"
While answering, her eyes quietly searched through the crowd.
When she failed to find the person she was looking for, Loki raised her gaze toward Babel instead.
'Freya... You're watching from up there too, aren't you?'
...
At the highest reaches of Babel, Freya sat beside a window with her legs crossed.
The corner of her lips lifted faintly.
She had noticed Loki looking up.
"Still as casual as ever, Loki." Freya murmured with a soft laugh.
She shifted her legs before leaning back against an extravagant sofa, her gaze drifting indifferently toward the plaza far below.
Truthfully...
She was not particularly interested in the War Game itself.
As far as Freya was concerned, the result had already been decided.
How could Hestia, someone who had always lingered near the bottom, possibly have any hope of winning?
That was more or less what everyone believed.
And a game whose ending was obvious held little appeal for Freya.
If one of her scouts had not reported earlier that Hestia had suddenly appeared with a group of unfamiliar reinforcements...
She probably would not even have bothered sitting here.
'Come, Hestia. Let me see how you struggle...'
...
While countless spectators entertained their own thoughts, the goddess who had challenged Hestia finally arrived.
She was a Valkyrie.
One of the deities who had confronted Hestia during the gods' meeting, and now the representative of the opposing side.
In one particular mythology, she had been renowned as an extraordinarily fierce warrior.
She entered the plaza with an enormous number of Familia members marching behind her.
Several hundred people moved together in formation.
The Valkyrie had deliberately brought so many followers today for one simple reason—
To attract attention.
As for Hestia?
Hmph!
She did not take that woman seriously in the slightest.
To the Valkyrie, Hestia was little more than a weed she could crush beneath her heel whenever she wished.
The goddess raised one hand.
The hundreds of Familia members behind her immediately erupted into a thunderous battle cry.
The entire arena ignited.
Cheers thundered through the plaza, and countless excited gazes turned toward her.
The Valkyrie visibly enjoyed every second of it.
"She really loves showing off."
Loki watched the spectacle with an amused smile.
"They do look strong."
Finn, captain of the Loki Familia, smiled as he spoke.
"Sure, but if we actually fought them, we'd definitely win."
"That goes without saying!"
Listening to her Familia members boast beside her, Loki smiled helplessly.
"Unfortunately for them, Hestia is destined to steal all the attention today."
Her familia did not exactly question her outright.
But they still looked unconvinced.
"Loki, can the Boss really help Hestia-sama overturn the situation?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm not sure I believe it either!"
"It kind of feels like Loki-sama is lying..."
"Boss looks pretty weak..."
Listening to the jumble of comments around her, an imaginary vein seemed to appear on Loki's forehead.
"Oi, oi, oi! I'm your patron goddess! How can you accuse me of lying? Just wait and you'll see~"
Loki snorted indignantly.
Her familia wisely shut up.
...
Finally...
With only a few minutes remaining before noon, Hestia, Yuto, and the others appeared at the entrance to the plaza.
One by one, they stepped inside.
The entire arena immediately erupted.
The roar of the audience rolled through the plaza like a tsunami crashing ashore.
"This really is a huge crowd..."
Saitama looked back and forth, visibly impressed.
Yuto merely smiled.
It certainly was a large spectacle.
But compared with one of Miku's concerts... this was still a little lacking.
"OHHHHHHHH!!!"
Marisa enthusiastically waved toward the stands.
Reimu immediately punched her on the head.
"Stop doing embarrassing crap like that!"
"You bastard, Reimu!!!"
Within seconds, the two girls were wrestling again.
To the spectators watching from above, the sight was rather entertaining.
"Is that bald guy in the yellow suit an idiot?"
"He looks hilarious!"
"Those two girls are already fighting! Ahahahaha! Did they start fighting among themselves before the War Game even began?"
"That boy standing in the middle looks pretty good."
"Interested?"
"Hehehe..."
"I like the blond guy myself. He's got this wild look about him!"
"The one in white robes is pretty nice too..."
The spectators excitedly discussed the newcomers.
At the same time, the gods watching from above were studying Yuto's group far more carefully.
Divine eyes could perceive things ordinary people could not.
With only a glance, many of them realized that Hestia's reinforcements were anything but ordinary.
Surprise appeared in more than a few divine gazes.
"I didn't expect Hestia to find people like these..."
"Those children all seem to possess extraordinary potential."
"Perhaps this game will actually be worth watching."
...
At the very summit of Babel, Freya's gaze finally fell upon Hestia's group.
And the instant she truly saw them—it felt as though lightning had struck straight through her heart.
Freya's Eyes could perceive the essence of a person's soul.
The more extraordinary a soul was...
The more brilliantly it shone before her.
And toward those rare individuals whose souls possessed overwhelming radiance, Freya felt an almost pathological desire for possession.
She wanted to take every beautiful soul she discovered and make it belong exclusively to her.
That was how many members of the Freya Familia had ultimately come to serve her.
For souls bright enough to capture her attention...
Freya was willing to pay almost any price.
Over the course of her unimaginably long life, she had witnessed the radiance of countless heroes later praised throughout ancient mythology.
She had even claimed many of those lights for herself.
Her standards had risen higher and higher as the centuries passed.
Eventually, Freya had begun to believe that little remained in existence capable of shaking her through brilliance alone.
But today... she realized how wrong she had been!
Before her Eyes was something like a blazing golden sun.
Its radiance was so overwhelming that Freya could almost feel scorching heat spilling from the soul itself, burning toward her through a distance that should have made such a sensation impossible.
Even the greatest heroes she had witnessed throughout ancient mythology could not compare.
A thousand heroes.
Ten thousand heroes.
Pile them together, and still... their brilliance would not match his!
Freya's breathing changed.
Her eyes locked onto Yuto.
Possess him.
The thought rose inside her with frightening clarity.
Possess him.
Everything else seemed to fade.
The War Game.
The crowds.
The gods.
Her Familia.
None of it mattered!
Possess him.
For that soul... Freya could abandon every member of her Familia!
Even herself... If that was what it took, she could sacrifice that too.
She wanted him.
Wanted to claim him.
Wanted that radiant soul to belong entirely to her.
Freya's gaze remained fixed on Yuto.
And no matter how hard she tried... she could not tear her eyes away.