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Chapter 79: Sun God
The next day. The day of the War Game.
"It's getting lively."
"Of course it is. For the entertainment-starved Gods, there's no event more thrilling than this."
Reborn and Hestia had arrived at the 30th floor of Babel. Countless Gods were gathered here, eagerly awaiting the start of the War Game. In one corner, a betting pool had already been set up to wager on the victor.
"Gambling, huh? Think I'll join in."
"Hold on a second!! A baby shouldn't be gambling! More importantly, you don't even have any money!"
"I do."
Reborn reached into his suit and pulled out a small brown pouch. He untied the knot, slipped his left hand inside, and pulled out a single Valis coin to show her.
"W-Why do you have Valis!? Or rather, how!?"
"When I was wandering around Orario gathering intel, some people kindly donated to me."
"There are people like that? Wow, there really are kind souls out there."
"Yeah. They were some sketchy-looking guys hanging around a bad part of town, but after we had a little chat, they gave me every last coin they had while crying their eyes out."
"Hold on a minute!! No matter how you slice it, that's extortion!!"
Hestia had honestly thought some kind strangers had taken pity on a baby, but learning it was blood money he had essentially mugged off some thugs, she shrieked in protest.
"Relax. If I win the bet, I'll give half the winnings to your Familia. I owe you one for taking care of Tsuna."
"I don't want it!! I refuse to accept dirty money!!"
Even if they were a dirt-poor Familia, Hestia hadn't fallen so low as to accept money won by gambling stolen funds.
"The day has finally come, Hestia."
"Apollo..."
Suddenly, a blonde male God wearing a laurel wreath appeared before them. Hestia immediately glared at him.
This was Apollo. The head of the Apollo Familia and the mastermind behind this entire ordeal. Regardless of gender, once he set his sights on someone, he possessed a terrifying, obsessive tenacity to claim them, even if they fled to the ends of the earth. His twisted, overwhelming "love" had earned him the alias of Phallus—Tragic Love—among the other Gods. (For the record, he swung towards men).
"I'm so excited to finally witness the moment your Familia is trampled underfoot, and my beloved Bell becomes mine."
"We'll see about that. You won't know until we fight."
"I don't need to fight to know the outcome. It seems you've scraped together a few new members, but they're nothing more than a ragtag rabble. They are absolutely no match for my Familia. After all, we are on an entirely different level than you."
"Different level? That's big talk coming from a small-fry."
"What was that?"
Apollo's arrogant smirk instantly vanished at Reborn's words.
"It's the truth. The only people you ever target are members of Familias you know for a fact are beneath you. You don't have the guts or the resolve to pick a fight with anyone stronger. Simply put, you're just a cowardly, petty God who gets off on looking down at people weaker than you."
"...It seems this non-combatant of yours lacks proper education, Hestia. He clearly lacks the appropriate respect for the divine."
"Respect? Why the hell would I respect you? First of all, I ain't part of her Familia. And second, I have zero intention of ever serving under a God."
"You little brat..."
"What's wrong? If you've got something to say, spit it out. Aren't you on a 'different level'?"
"Fine. I shall educate you personally."
"Don't make me laugh."
"Gah!?"
As Apollo let his irritation show and stepped forward, Reborn lashed out with a vicious kick. Never in his wildest dreams did Apollo expect a mere baby—one who didn't even possess a Falna—to wield such absurd physical strength. Unable to react, Apollo was sent flying.
"I'll be the one educating you."
"W-Wait, what are you doing, Reborn!?"
Hestia screamed in panic. She hadn't anticipated Reborn would straight-up assault a God. The surrounding deities stared in wide-eyed disbelief.
"He ran his mouth about educating me. So I educated him back."
"That's not education!! That's just plain violence!!"
"This is how I do things."
Despite Hestia's frantic reprimands, Reborn showed not a single shred of remorse.
"Y-You bastard... Do you honestly think you can do this to me and get away with it...?"
"Huh? I can't hear you."
Apollo clutched his stomach and glared venomously at Reborn. Feigning deafness, Reborn cupped his right hand to his ear and leaned forward, prompting Apollo to repeat himself.
"Do you think you can do this to me and get away with it!?"
"You're too loud."
"Guh!?"
This is completely unreasonable!!
The moment Apollo raised his voice, Reborn mercilessly kicked him again. This time, his foot connected squarely with Apollo's face, sending the Sun God skidding across the floor once more. The Gods gasped in sheer horror as Reborn casually battered a deity for doing exactly what he asked.
"Gyaaaaaaaaa!!"
The agonizing pain was too much. Apollo lay face down, clutching his cheek as he writhed in agony.
"I told you, you're too loud."
"Gah...!?"
As a finishing blow, Reborn dropped from the air, driving his heel right into Apollo's solar plexus. The added momentum from the fall increased the strike's power, and even Apollo finally stopped twitching, falling completely unconscious.
"Alright. He's quiet now."
"Are you the devil!?"
"H-He knocked a God unconscious..."
"Hey, hey... even I can't laugh at this..."
"W-What the 'ell is with that kid... That's way too messed up..."
Witnessing a baby render a God unconscious right before their very eyes, Asfi, Hermes, and Loki were left utterly horrified and repulsed.
"Guess I'll just toss him in the Dungeon."
"Are you trying to commit Deicide!?"
Deicide was the ultimate taboo in the lower world. Strictly speaking, Gods couldn't die; if their physical vessel suffered fatal damage, their Arcanum would forcefully heal the body, but they would be instantly repatriated to Heaven, permanently banned from ever descending again. Thus, forcing a God to return to Heaven for any reason was tantamount to Deicide.
Even Ryuu, who had ruthlessly slaughtered the members of Evilus for revenge, had never dared to lay a hand on their patron deities.
Yet Reborn had not only knocked a God out cold, he was casually talking about feeding him to monsters in a room full of other Gods. Hestia felt genuine terror toward the infant hitman.
"You just don't get it, Hestia. It's not a crime if you don't get caught."
"Don't say something so outrageous! And you did it in front of a dozen Gods, you're already caught!!"
"Good point. Guess I'll have to silence the witnesses."
"Please, for the love of the Gods, just behave yourself!!"
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