Lili's body stiffened, her amber eyes wide with dread. The warehouse was Chandra's personal domain, and Master Soma's workshop was the ultimate forbidden ground of the entire Familia. Aside from the Captain, no one dared to approach it.
As a bottom-tier member, she was even further removed from such places.
"But... I... I don't know where it is," she stammered, her small hands twisting together nervously.
After hearing her answer, Lynn's gaze shifted from her face to Chandra, who was still dry-heaving in the corner. He walked over and planted his foot firmly on Chandra's remaining unbroken hand.
CRACK!
Another crisp sound of bone shattering echoed, accompanied by a muffled groan forced deep into Chandra's throat.
"Where is the warehouse?" Lynn's voice carried no warmth.
Chandra was drenched in cold sweat, his entire body shaking. He looked at Lynn as if he were staring at a demon. He had no doubt that if he dared to utter another "no," the boy would crush his neck without hesitation.
"The... the basement... end of the left corridor..." he squeezed the words out through gritted teeth.
"You'd better stay put. You really don't want to find out what it feels like to be hunted by me."
Only then did Lynn move his foot. He turned to Lili. "Let's go. We're going to take a look."
This time, Lili didn't hesitate. She nodded heavily and turned to lead the way, her tiny back appearing unusually resolute in that moment.
They passed through the wreckage of the main hall and descended a flight of dark, damp stone stairs. A scent mixed with rust and mildew wafted toward them.
The so-called warehouse was even more dilapidated than imagined. Rusting, low-quality weapons, damaged armor, and various disorganized monster materials were piled in the corners. It looked less like a storeroom and more like a junkyard.
"Chandra usually just piles the things we turn in here. I don't know what he does with them after that," Lili explained softly, her voice tinged with long-held resentment.
Lynn said nothing. His eyes scanned the small space like a hawk. A Souls-player's instinct made him hypersensitive to any irregularity in the environment.
The cobwebs in the corners were thick, except for one area on the left wall near the floor. The dust there was noticeably thinner, and he could even see a few faint, fresh scratches between the stone slabs.
It looked as though something was frequently dragged across that spot.
He walked over, knelt down, and tapped the stone slab with his finger.
Thump, thump, thump...
The sound was hollower than the surrounding area. Found it.
He didn't bother looking for a hidden mechanism. He simply shoved his fingers into the gaps of the stone slab, his arm muscles bulging slightly.
CREEEAK—!
Amidst a grating sound of friction, he wrenched the heavy stone slab right out of the floor, revealing a pitch-black hole. A thick stench of blood and decay surged out from within.
Lili instinctively backed away two steps, covering her nose and mouth, her face full of shock. She had been here for years and never knew such a secret was hidden beneath this garbage heap of a warehouse.
Lynn jumped down without a change in expression.
The secret room was small, barely ten square meters. A dim magic stone lamp emitted an eerie glow. In the center sat a black iron chest.
Lynn stepped forward, glanced at the crude lock, gripped the hilt of the Bloodhound's Fang, and slammed the pommel down hard!
CLANG!
The lock snapped instantly. He flipped the lid open, and the sight inside made his gaze turn cold.
The chest was divided into two layers. The top layer contained a thick black ledger and a stack of letters wrapped in oilpaper. Lynn leafed through the ledger; the handwriting was scrawled and greedy, recording one filthy transaction after another.
This Chandra was actually conducting secret trade with the Dark Sect. So this is how they fence their stolen goods?
He picked up a letter. The bottom of the parchment was sealed with wax bearing a hideous emblem resembling a gaping Venus flytrap.
As expected.
Fury rose in his chest, but his expression grew increasingly calm. He removed the partition holding the ledger and looked at the bottom of the chest.
In that moment, even Lynn, who was accustomed to death, felt his pupils contract slightly.
Beneath were no gold or jewels, but a pile of relatively worthless personal items.
A broken silver locket containing a photograph of a young couple. A badge belonging to a small Familia, stained with dark red blood. A crudely woven child's bracelet that had clearly been made with great care. ...And a broken iron sword with the words "To my beloved son" engraved on the hilt.
Every single item represented a life consumed, a family shattered. Zoru hadn't been lying—they had done this countless times.
Lynn silently closed the chest, hoisted it with one hand, and leaped out of the secret room. Lili looked at his terrifyingly calm face, not daring to even breathe loudly.
"Where is Soma?" Lynn asked.
"On... on the third floor... the very end..." Lili's voice was trembling. The current Lynn was radiating such killing intent that even though she knew he wouldn't hurt her, she couldn't help but feel a surge of fear.
Lynn said no more. Carrying the heavy iron chest, he headed straight for the depths of the building.
The end of the corridor was a heavy door made of an unknown wood. Not a single sliver of light escaped from the gaps, yet a strange, refreshing, and mellow aroma drifted out.
Is this the scent of Divine Wine? It certainly lives up to its reputation.
A pity it was brewed with the blood and lives of countless adventurers.
Lynn didn't knock. Under Lili's horrified gaze, he kicked the door open.
BOOM!
The door gave way. The scene inside was completely out of place with the dilapidated state of the rest of the headquarters.
It looked like a high-precision alchemy lab. Inside massive glass distillation vessels, liquids of various colors bubbled under the heat of magic stone lamps. Complex pipes connected to labeled crystal bottles. The sweet aroma of wine in the air was so thick it was almost physical; a single breath made Lynn feel his mental energy sharpen slightly.
In the center of this precision equipment, a thin, small man in a white research coat—his hair a bird's nest of tangles—was hunched over a giant oak barrel. He held a glass dropper, his entire focus narrowed on a single drop of amber liquid.
He seemed to have missed the loud crash entirely. To him, the entire world consisted only of that drop of wine.
This was the god, Soma.
Lynn walked in step by step, the sound of his leather boots on the polished stone floor echoing clearly in the quiet workshop. It wasn't until Lynn reached his side, blocking the light of the magic stone lamp and casting a shadow over the barrel, that Soma seemed to notice something.
He slowly—agonizingly slowly—raised his head. It was a thin, handsome face, but his eyes were hollow and devoid of light, as if he had lost interest in everything the world had to offer.
"...Light..." a voice so faint it was almost inaudible drifted from his lips.
Lynn ignored him and slammed the iron chest onto the floor in front of him with a heavy THUD.
"Look at this."
It took Soma a full three seconds for his vision to shift from the drop of wine and focus on the chest. He blinked, as if trying to understand what this stranger was saying.
"Master Lynn! Isn't this...?" Isn't this too disrespectful?
Lili followed him in, her face turning pale at the sight. Even if Soma was indifferent, he was still a god. She couldn't even imagine if Lynn's behavior would provoke a divine wrath.
But when had Lynn ever feared a god? He raised a hand to stop her. Looking down at this so-called deity, he repeated:
"I said, look at what's inside."
Soma finally seemed to react. He crouched down slowly and opened the chest with hands scented with wine. He saw the ledger, the letters, and the pile of relics belonging to the dead.
A long silence fell over the workshop.
Soma stared at the contents of the chest, expressionless, his eyes still hollow. After a long while, he spoke again in that mosquito-like voice.
"...Ah... so that's how it is... no wonder... the money for ingredients... was always enough..."
His only focus was the money. He felt not a shred of emotion for the dead adventurers or the heinous crimes committed by his own Familia.
Lili froze, looking at her primary god in disbelief. She had always thought Master Soma was simply obsessed with brewing and knew nothing of the outside world. But now, it seemed he simply didn't care.
Lynn's fist tightened at his side, then slowly relaxed. That familiar urge—the desire to burn away everything irrational and unjust—surged from the depths of his soul. The embers of the Flame of Frenzy had never truly been extinguished.
He took a deep breath of the air mixed with wine and sin, forcibly suppressing his killing intent. If he weren't afraid of bringing trouble to Eina and Haruhime, he really wanted to see if the Bloodhound's Fang could take the head off this "god."
In that frozen silence, Soma finally moved.
He didn't look at the iron chest again, as if the mountain of evidence was less important than a speck of dust at his feet. He turned and picked up a silver long-handled spoon, ladling a cup of amber, dreamily glowing liquid from the massive oak barrel.
The scent of wine instantly became ten times stronger, even condensing into a visible pale gold mist in the air. Lili's throat moved instinctively, a flash of longing appearing in her eyes, only to be replaced by a deeper sorrow and resolve.
Soma poured the wine into a plain ceramic cup and spoke in his thin, thread-like voice:
"...Drink it..." He held the cup out to Lynn. "...If you can resist its temptation... I will listen to you... and reform the Familia..."
His eyes were still hollow, but in their depths lay a cold indifference that viewed all living things as playthings. He had performed this test countless times. Unfortunately, not a single person had ever passed.
Lili watched Lynn nervously, her small hand clutching the corner of his cloak. Lynn looked at the Divine Wine and suddenly laughed.
He didn't take the cup.
SLAP!
A sharp sound shattered the silence of the workshop. With a backhand strike, Lynn slapped the ceramic cup right out of Soma's hand!
The amber wine traced a beautiful arc through the air, splashing across the cold stone floor with a faint sizzle, as if it were burning the surface. The intense aroma exploded and then quickly dissipated.
For the first time, a ripple appeared in Soma's hollow eyes. He stared blankly at his empty hand, then at the shards on the floor.
"You really enjoy testing humans, don't you?" Lynn's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a bone-chilling coldness. "Sitting on your high horse, using the 'perfection' you created as bait, watching mortals go mad and fall for it just to satisfy your pathetic, boring divine arrogance?"
He took a step forward, glaring into Soma's lifeless eyes.
"Your children are oppressed by your Captain, living like dogs. Your Familia has become a den of filth and crime. Your Captain conspires with the Dark Sect, using money stained with the blood and lives of adventurers to buy your brewing materials!"
"And you knew nothing? No, you just didn't care."
"You aren't fit to be a god, and you certainly aren't fit to lead a Familia."
Lynn's words were like hammer blows to Lili's heart. Looking at this frail god, the last of her illusions shattered. Yes... Master Soma truly doesn't care.
Soma seemed to have short-circuited under the weight of Lynn's verbal assault. He opened his mouth, but couldn't find a single word.
Lynn stopped looking at him. He turned and took the hand of the trembling Lili. "We aren't staying in a place like this."
Then, he headed for the door without looking back. Just as he was about to step out, he paused and turned his head, speaking to the god still standing there in a tone of declaration:
"Soma, I've changed my mind. Reforming the Familia? Too much trouble. I don't have the time for that."
"In the name of my God, I challenge you and the Soma Familia to a War Game."
War Game!
The moment those two words were uttered, Lili jerked her head up, looking at Lynn's profile in disbelief. Soma's hollow eyes finally focused, truly seeing this audacious mortal for the first time.
"The stakes," Lynn's lips curled into a cold arc, "are everything you own. Your Familia, your assets, and you... you will be kicked back to the heavens, never to return."
"You... are mad..." Soma's voice finally carried a hint of emotion—the shock of being offended. "You have no Familia... and your God... is not even in Orario..."
Just as the words left his mouth, a sudden burst of divine aura erupted from Lynn's body. A crisp notification sounded only in his mind.
[Detecting host's powerful will...] [Connecting to Deity: Hidetaka Miyazaki... Connection Successful.] [Temporary access to "Grace of the Tarnished" System Divinity Level granted...] [Issuing War Game application to "Soma Familia" in the name of the God "Hidetaka Miyazaki"... Application details confirmed...] [Sending official document to the Orario Adventurer Guild Divine Management Terminal...] [Sent successfully!]
Lynn was stunned. He could see his system interface. The black-and-white portrait of the bespectacled, kindly-smiling Hidetaka Miyazaki—which had always been just a background element—seemed to flash with an imperceptible glint behind the lenses.
Holy crap? You're playing for real? Old Thief, you're actually there?!
At the same time, in the center of Orario, at the Adventurer Guild Headquarters.
In a quiet room dedicated to handling matters involving the gods, a half-elf clerk on duty was yawning of boredom. On the desk before him sat an ancient communication device made of divine-age metal and magic stone crystal. This machine usually didn't make a sound for a decade; it only activated when a formal oracle or notice needed to be transmitted between gods.
Suddenly.
A low hum echoed without warning. On the communication device, a blank crystal representing an unknown pantheon suddenly ignited with a brilliant white light!
The clerk's yawn was cut short, nearly choking him. He scrambled out of his chair, staring at the glowing crystal in disbelief.
It's active? It's actually active? And it's an unregistered new god?
He didn't dare delay. Following the operating manual, he initiated the information reception protocol. A light screen expanded above the device, and rows of universal divine script—constructed from divine power and radiating unquestionable majesty—appeared on the screen:
[WAR GAME DECLARATION]
[Proclamation] [Defendant Deity: Soma] [Defendant Familia: Soma Familia] [Stakes: The forced deportation of the Defendant Deity, Soma, back to the Heavens. All members and assets of the Soma Familia shall be transferred to the ownership of the Proclaimer.]
[Cause: Members of the Soma Familia orchestrated a cold-blooded ambush on the 15th floor of the Dungeon, intending to murder and plunder the sole Dependent of the Proclaiming Deity—Lynn. Furthermore, it has been established that this Familia has long engaged in the hunting of adventurers and trading with the Dark Sect. The Primary God, Soma, was aware but indifferent, condoning these crimes. His divinity is lacking. Therefore, this War Game is initiated to seek justice.]
[—Oracle of the God Hidetaka Miyazaki.]
The clerk read it word by word, his mouth hanging wider and wider. His expression shifted from shock to horror, finally turning deathly pale. When he finished the last word, his legs gave out, and he slumped onto the floor, his clipboard hitting the ground with a CLACK.
Something massive had happened!
A mysterious god without even a Familia had directly challenged a long-established deity to a War Game—with "Deportation to Heaven" as the stake! This hadn't happened in Orario for centuries!
How long had it even been since the last War Game?
He scrambled out of the quiet room, running toward the floor where his superiors were, his screams turning shrill with terror:
"Emergency! Emergency report! A god has initiated a War Game! The stakes... the stakes are the deportation of a god!!"
The scream was like a massive boulder dropped into a calm lake, instantly sending a tidal wave through the halls of the Guild Headquarters!
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