Rumble—
It was as if a giant beast that had slumbered for a thousand years let out a yawn.
As the dull sound of mechanisms engaging rang out, that bronze door, so heavy it seemed capable of isolating two worlds, slowly opened inward amidst a burst of rumbling.
The door gap had barely revealed a sliver.
Whoosh—
A gust of cold draft, carrying the unique damp chill of the underground, impatiently surged out from the gap, sweeping through the hall.
Whoosh—
The cold wind blew against their faces. This wind was too cold.
Guild Master Royman was already fat to begin with, and his body was drenched in sweat. Being blown by this wind, it was truly a bone-piercing chill that sent his soul flying. That bone-chilling sensation was simply more exhilarating than falling directly into an ice hole. His rotund body violently shivered, all the fat on his frame quivering three times over in tandem.
If it were any normal time, this pampered Guild Master would have long since roared for his subordinates to close the windows.
But at this moment, Royman truly couldn't care about this discomfort. He didn't even dare to evenly breathe out the heavy breath held in his chest. He could only desperately bend his waist even lower. He wished he could bury his bald head directly into his massive belly, which looked like he was ten months pregnant, in order to minimize his presence.
They saw the bronze door had already fully opened.
Haimer stood at the doorway, not taking a step immediately. His gaze pierced through this gloom, cast straight toward the end of this massive pantheon.
Behind the bronze door was a space so colossal it was enough to make any mortal instantly feel their own insignificance. Giant stone pillars propped up a dome whose ceiling could not be seen. The entire altar stood tall in the center of the darkness. Above the altar, several torches were erected.
At the end of his line of sight, a figure was currently sitting upright on a stone throne.
—Ouranos.
As the first God to bring God's Grace to the Lower World. The creator of this labyrinth city of Orario.
—And, the true ruler of the Guild, both in name and in reality.
Ouranos was currently sitting quietly upright on the stone throne. The divine robe he wore was so simple it was even somewhat shabby, his grayish-white long hair hanging somewhat messily down his chest. That body of his was hunched.
At first glance, his entire body lacked even the slightest bit of so-called divine glory, nor a trace of vitality. If one didn't say it, he looked just like a down-and-out old man waiting to die, the kind that could be seen everywhere in Orario's slums.
However.
As long as you truly rested your gaze upon him, even if just for a single glance, you would understand what was called Divine Might.
It was an invisible, yet crushing pressure as heavy as a thousand tons. It wasn't an intentionally released killing intent, nor that kind of ostentatious domineering aura. Rather, it was the residual might naturally leaking out because Ouranos spent all year round in this underground altar, using his own divine soul as an anchor to pray to that bottomless abyss, suppressing the entirety of the constantly restless Dungeon.
It was like standing on an active volcano on the verge of erupting. Even if it was just a tiny bit of leaked aura, to mortals, it was a terrifying heavy pressure sufficient to make one's knees go soft and freeze their soul.
For example, Royman standing at the doorway right now. This Guild Master who normally commanded the wind and rain in Orario had his clothes completely soaked through with sweat long ago. That long robe stretched taut by his fat was currently plastered wetly against his body. Blown by that cold draft through the hall, it was truly a bone-piercing chill.
He couldn't help but shiver, his massive body jiggling out a wave. But he couldn't care about these things at all, not even daring to breathe loudly. He could only press his already bent waist even lower. He wished he could bury that face full of fat directly into his massive belly to escape the gaze cast down from that high throne.
Upon the high throne, Ouranos's half-closed, murky pupils slowly opened.
"You have come."
Ouranos's voice was hoarse, echoing within the empty pantheon, carrying overlapping reverberations.
"Because of you... In just this short span of one month, the Guild has already received no less than ten departure applications from Gods."
"There are even a few more cowardly fellows who, without even a word of greeting, directly chose to abandon the Familias they worked so hard to build in the Lower World, fleeing back to the Heavens."
These words made Royman, who was standing at the doorway, break out in cold sweat, his heart beating wildly.
As the Guild Master, of course he knew about this mess. Over the past month, the Guild had been battered and exhausted, working overtime to deal with those Familias that fell into chaos and even rioted after being abandoned by their Main Gods. Because of this, he had cursed out quite a few people's mothers.
But he absolutely never expected that the main culprit behind all this, the reason that made the Gods flee like they had seen the God of Plagues, would actually be related to the descent to the Lower World of this handsome, black-haired God?
Thinking of this, Royman's mung-bean-sized little eyes stealthily glanced at the black-haired God beside him who wore a placid expression, his heart filled with even greater turbulent waves.
Just what kind of heinous crimes did he commit back in the Heavens to be able to scare the Gods into fleeing in panic? Could it be that he specialized in eating Gods back in the Heavens?
"And so?"
Facing the questioning from this God who could be said to have the oldest seniority on this land, Haimer nonchalantly raised his eyebrows.
"Those fellows are cowards and wanted to leave, is that to be counted on my head too? Ouranos, if you specifically had this guy call me over to this gloomy, forsaken place... just to complain to me about these things..."
"...Then I suggest you go find Loki instead. That fellow not only loves listening to gossip but also loves drinking. She should be very happy to accompany you in this hole in the ground to chat about the jokes of those cowards."
The moment these words came out, it directly scared Royman at the doorway silly. His two thighs violently trembled, his entire person shaking like a pile of jelly about to fall apart.
Crazy! This is absolutely crazy!
Royman's pupils trembled, screaming madly in his heart. Listening to this conversation, Royman felt at this moment as if his heart was undergoing lethal stimulation every single second.
This was Ouranos! Even when Zeus and Hera were still in Orario, no God dared to speak to Ouranos like this!
At this moment, a sudden urge surged in Royman's heart to immediately cover his ears and then stick his head into the cracks of the floor tiles like an ostrich. He was just a Guild Master who was good for nothing aside from being greedy for money and having a bit of management ability. Why did he have to hear this kind of conversation that was enough to shorten his lifespan by ten years?!
Especially, what made Royman feel even more incredulous was, facing Haimer's thoroughly disrespectful behavior, Ouranos on the high throne did not have the slightest trace of anger.
"You truly have changed, Haimer."
"You are completely different from when you were in the Heavens."
Ouranos's voice unexpectedly carried a trace of complex emotion. It was like seeing an old friend who had left home for many years and undergone a drastic change in personality.
Hearing this, Haimer completely discarded his image and rolled his eyes.
"Life will always change with time."
"Even Gods cannot escape this law. I imagine you cannot refute this point now either."
"Perhaps."
Ouranos did not refute it; only a sliver of light flashed through his murky eyes.
"Perhaps you truly have changed, Haimer. However..."
"Even if you have no intention of stirring up the winds and clouds, the winds and clouds will ultimately rise because of you. Your very existence, to Orario which has finally achieved a hard-won stable structure, is an extremely unstable factor. Furthermore, your Familia, just like you, is full of miracles."
Ouranos gave Haimer a deep look.
"Therefore... Haimer..."
"Let us talk business, Haimer. I do not wish for you to become the fuse for Orario's destruction. So I can make a concession."
"As long as you are truly willing to promise me, that you will not actively destroy the existing order of this labyrinth city. And not touch those absolute bottom lines that cannot be touched—such as endangering the very survival of the labyrinth city itself. I will order the Guild to grant you and your Familia the greatest degree of support and convenience, whether it be in intelligence, resources, or preferential policies."
"Even..."
Ouranos's voice turned deep and low.
"I can tacitly approve of some of your little moves. As long as you are truly willing to promise me. As the administrator of Orario, I am willing to take this risk and trust you this once."
These conditions could not be called anything but generous. It was practically handing Haimer an officially certified free pass in this Orario full of rules and hidden agendas.
As Ouranos finally brought the topic onto the right track, that careless expression on Haimer's face also reined in a little, and he stroked his chin.
"Sounds not bad."
"If I have you, the local boss, as official backing, it will indeed save me quite a bit of trouble. As long as no one takes the initiative to provoke me, and doesn't reach their claws toward my Familia, I naturally have no interest in being an Evil God in the Lower World whom everyone clamors to beat up. This point, I can promise you."
Haimer spread his hands, smiling harmlessly.
"However. Since you are already being so generous and willing to offer help, then we might as well speak a bit more clearly right now."
Looking at Ouranos sitting upright on the high throne, a meaningful smile surfaced on Haimer's face.
At this point. As Haimer began to bargain with Ouranos.
The scene shifted.
Far away from the altar located beneath the Guild, the perspective returned to the surface.
Orario, East Main Street.
The time had already reached noon. The sun hung high, its golden radiance shining unsparingly upon the wide street paved with bluestone slabs, dispersing all gloom.
The bustling crowds, peddling vendors, patrolling guards, and those adventurers carrying weapons with faces full of expectation or exhaustion, together formed the vibrant picture unique to this city.
Two figures were walking side by side on the pedestrian path.
The one walking on the left was a petite girl whose body was nevertheless full of explosive power. She wore a crisp black short-suit, the black fabric tightly wrapping around her body that, although not fully matured, already revealed its contours. A bright red ribbon was tied around her waist, fluttering gently with her steps, making her look both capable and playful.
She also sported neat, short black hair, but wore an exquisitely crafted Hannya mask with a ferocious expression on her face. The mask covered more than half of her face, revealing only a pair of large eyes brimming with curiosity and a cute, perky little nose.
—Onigawara Rin.
And the girl walking beside her had a completely different temperament. A head of long silver hair, smooth as moonlight, was tied into twin-tails behind her head, swaying gently with her steps, the tips of her hair faintly glittering in the sunlight.
—Inaba Tsukuyo.
Even in Orario, which was full of strange and exotic clothing everywhere, the combination of these two girls still attracted quite a high turn-around rate from pedestrians.
At this moment, Onigawara Rin and Inaba Tsukuyo were both holding the snacks they just bought—candy apples wrapped in oil paper—strolling around the streets.
"Say, Tsukuyo. You're saying you can see things clearly now?! Is it true?"
Onigawara Rin took a bite of the candy apple in her hand, turning her head to look at her companion who, despite having her eyes closed, was already able to look around like a normal person, her tone full of surprise.
Hearing this, Inaba Tsukuyo's footsteps did not pause, her pace remaining light and steady. She only slightly tilted her head, facing Onigawara Rin's direction, a tiny arc lifting on her tranquil face.
"It isn't exactly seeing, Rin. It's just... After my level sublimated and I obtained the Development Ability that Haimer-sama called 『Mind's Eye』, everything around me, in my mind..."
"Has become different. It's like..."
Inaba Tsukuyo paused for a moment, seemingly searching for the appropriate words to describe this wondrous sensation.
"It's like outlines sketched out by countless lines. All the information gathers together, constructing a clear world within my mind. Although there are no colors, it is more real than before. It is the Grace bestowed upon me by Kami-sama that has opened another new path for me to better observe this world."
Having said that, Inaba Tsukuyo gently touched her own eyes.
"Wow..."
Although Onigawara Rin didn't quite understand the principles behind it, whatever lines and refractions, but just hearing this description made one feel profoundly impressed despite not fully grasping it.
She listened in a daze, her cheeks bulging, having even forgotten to chew the candy apple in her mouth.
"So amazing! Is this 『Mind's Eye』... In comparison, my 『Swordsman』 feels much more ordinary."
Onigawara Rin was somewhat envious. Then she touched the Hannya mask worn on her face, muttering somewhat dejectedly:
"I feel like other than it being smoother to cut people and having slightly higher damage, there doesn't seem to be any special feeling. Not even a special effect..."
Inaba Tsukuyo smiled slightly.
The two of them just walked and chatted like this, sharing their respective changes after leveling up. The sunlight was perfect, the breeze not too dry. Everything looked so beautiful.
However, this tranquility did not last for too long.
Just as they were passing by a slightly more secluded alleyway entrance, sandwiched between two tall buildings and appearing somewhat dark.
Thud!
A muffled sound of a heavy object hitting the ground suddenly rang out from deep within the alley, breaking the peacefulness of the street.
Immediately following that came a rough and clearly malicious male voice.
"Hey! Brat! Do you not have eyes when you walk?! Look at what you've done!"
"My weapon was bumped and broken by you! This is brand new goods bought just yesterday! Cost a heavy price!"
Immediately after, a tender, anxiety-filled voice carrying a crying tone came from the alley, making Onigawara Rin and Inaba Tsukuyo halt their footsteps at the same time.
"V... Very sorry... I... I didn't do it on purp... But... clearly... you..."
That voice trembled, seemingly trying desperately to defend herself.
"That sword... clearly looks... like it's been rusted for a long time... It's not... new at all... And... and just now, you deliberately stuck out your leg to trip..."
Slap!
Before the girl could finish speaking, an extremely crisp sound of a slap, even echoing in the alleyway, ensued, directly interrupting the girl's defense.
"Still dare to talk back?!"
After having his lie exposed, the man's voice became even more irritable, letting out a roar born from humiliation turning into anger.
"I think you're tired of living! Cut the crap! Either pay up! Hand over all the money on you! Or leave that garbage backpack of yours behind! Anyway, that's supporter gear issued by the Guild, selling it could fetch a few coins!"
This commotion was not small. Many of the pedestrians passing by the alley entrance heard it. Some subconsciously stopped their steps, curiously poking their heads in to take a look.
They saw inside the dark alley, several fierce-looking adventurers, wearing worn-out leather armor and reeking of alcohol, were surrounding a small, frail figure. That figure looked to be only a little over a meter tall, her small body carrying a backpack that was even larger than her own body and looked incomparably heavy.
At this moment, that tiny figure had been pushed down onto the muddy ground full of dirty water. The oversized red hooded sweatshirt on her body was covered in mud.
She was holding up one hand, which was pressing against her highly swollen cheek bearing a clear five-finger mark. Her entire person curled up in the corner, shivering.
"Tsk, those drunkards from the Soma Familia again... How unlucky... hurry up and go, let's not cause trouble."
When the pedestrians clearly saw the emblems on those adventurers' chests—that crescent moon emblem representing the Soma Familia—what little sympathy had originally risen was instantly diluted.
Everyone knew that the people from the Soma Familia had long gone crazy for a sip of that Divine Wine; they had absolutely no reason to speak of.
And so, the onlookers one after another pulled their necks back. Like avoiding the God of Plagues, they lowered their heads and hurriedly quickened their pace to leave, deeply afraid of being implicated.
Inside the alley, Lili, who had fallen in the mud, looked through the gaps between her fingers and saw those figures hurrying away.
That faint glimmer of light in her eyes was also extinguished bit by bit. With every footstep fading away, it was as if they were telling her:
No one in this world would save her.
She was redundant.
Her pain, in the eyes of others, was merely a troublesome nuisance. This sense of isolation of being abandoned by the entire world was enough to erode the mind and thoroughly crush a person's soul into powder.
Cold. So cold.
Lili's heart was no longer resisting. In those somewhat hollow eyes, the last trace of hope also vanished. She just silently loosened her hands that had been tightly guarding her pockets.
There was the tiny bit of money she had desperately worked to save from her own mouth over the past few days. She originally planned to save...
Forget it.
This is fate. She was used to it. This wasn't the first time, either.
However.
When Onigawara Rin saw this scene, she absolutely could not sit idly by and watch!
____
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