Tsuna had emerged victorious against Argana and Bache. Watching the two strongest warriors of the Kali Familia fall, the remaining combatants lost all will to fight, paralyzed by overwhelming shock and fear.
"W-What is the meaning of this!?"
"Ho…"
At the top of the ruined grand staircase stood Ishtar, visibly trembling in disbelief at the sight of the unconscious bodies littering the floor below. Beside her stood Kali, who, in stark contrast, looked absolutely thrilled by the carnage.
"It seems we were too late, Ishtar. What a shame. We missed out on watching a truly entertaining battle."
"This isn't the time to be so carefree!!"
So she's Ishtar…
Seeing the Goddess angrily snap at her companion over missing the fight, Tsuna quickly deduced from their exchange that the tall, glamorous woman was Ishtar.
Is the other one from the Evilus…?
Tsuna shifted his gaze to Kali, theorizing that she might be the patron Goddess of the Evilus faction they had heard about.
When Aisha explained Ishtar's plan, Tsuna knew Ishtar had to be receiving outside help. Haruhime's [Level Boost] could only target one person at a time. Even if the Killing Stone allowed multiple people to cast the spell simultaneously, casting [Level Boost] twice on Phryne wouldn't jump her stats by two whole levels. The magic simply didn't stack that way.
The only logical solution was to forge an alliance with a Familia that already possessed stronger combatants, and then use the Killing Stone to [Level Boost] those fighters. A partnership with the Evilus made perfect sense—their mutual hatred for the Freya Familia perfectly aligned their interests.
However, Tsuna had only ever seen the masked members of the Evilus. He couldn't be entirely certain if this feral-looking Goddess was actually affiliated with them.
"You… do you honestly believe you can do something like this and walk away unpunished!?" Ishtar shrieked, glaring down at him.
"You have a lot of nerve…" Tsuna replied coldly. "You instructed a merchant company to issue us a fake Quest to lure us into the Dungeon, all so you could kidnap Bell. And you did it just to harass the Freya Familia."
"H-How do you know about my plan!?"
"You're a bit slow, aren't you? Isn't it obvious from the fact that I'm standing right here?"
"!?"
The meaning behind his words finally clicked. Ishtar realized exactly how her flawless scheme had been exposed.
"Where are my children!?"
"I took care of them all. They should still be alive."
"W-Why!! How could a nobody like you defeat my elites!?"
Learning that her entire Familia had been decimated by someone she considered a low-ranking insect, Ishtar's face contorted in pure rage.
Seizing the opportunity while Ishtar distracted him, Tammuz silently crept up behind Tsuna, preparing a lethal strike from his blind spot.
"Gah…!?"
But Tsuna had sensed Tammuz's presence long before he even moved. Without even looking back, Tsuna kicked off the ground, spinning mid-air to deliver a brutal roundhouse kick directly to Tammuz's face.
"D-Disappe—guh!?"
The sheer force of the blow blinded Tammuz momentarily. By the time he opened his eyes, Tsuna was no longer in front of him. A fraction of a second later, a sharp chop slammed into the back of his neck, instantly knocking him unconscious.
Damn it!! But…
Ishtar waited for the exact moment Tsuna looked back up at her. She activated her Divine Charm, intending to completely enthrall him. Her goal was to pacify him and forcefully extract exactly how he knew about the Killing Stone.
The Goddess of Beauty's Charm was absolute. The moment she desired to enslave someone, whether they were mortal or divine, they instantly became her puppet—even if they weren't directly looking at her.
"…It's useless trying to Charm me. Unfortunately for you, your powers have absolutely no effect on me."
"What!?"
Ishtar's victorious smirk instantly vanished, replaced by sheer panic as she realized her absolute authority had completely failed.
The moment Ishtar had smiled, Tsuna's Hyper Intuition warned him that she was attempting to cast her Charm. Having already heard from Aisha how Ishtar had permanently enslaved her through the very same power, Tsuna fully expected her to use it the moment they made eye contact. He was also entirely confident it wouldn't work on him.
Tsuna possessed the Sky Flame, whose core characteristic was Harmony. Harmony represented a state of absolute balance, devoid of contradictions or flaws. By applying the Harmony trait, Tsuna had perfectly neutralized the magical influence, completely nullifying her Divine Charm.
"Hand over the Killing Stone," Tsuna demanded. "If you turn yourself in to the Guild and confess your crimes, they might show you leniency."
"Don't you dare give me orders!! You filthy lower-tier vermin!!"
"…They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and they were absolutely right. You're exactly like your Captain."
"You dare compare me to that monster!? I am the Goddess who holds the absolute peak of beauty in this lower world!! How dare you say I am anything like that hideous freak!?"
"You both have incredibly high pride and absolute confidence in yourselves. But the moment things don't go your way, you refuse to admit fault and fly into a blind, childish rage."
"Pfft… HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
Hearing Tsuna's brutally honest assessment, Kali completely lost it. She clutched her stomach with both hands and roared with laughter, tears practically forming in her eyes.
"KAAAAAAALIIIIII!! YOU BIIIIIIIIIIIITCH!!"
O-Oops… I couldn't help myself…
Having her pride shredded not just by her enemy, but laughed at by her supposed ally, Ishtar lost whatever was left of her sanity. Seeing the Goddess of Beauty completely enraged, even Kali felt a slight twinge of danger.
"You have no one left to protect you, and your powers don't work on me. We've also secured Haruhime in a safe place. It's over, Ishtar."
…I have no choice but to unleash my Arcanum!!
With her Charm rendered utterly useless, Ishtar had only one card left to play: unleashing her divine authority, the Arcanum.
In the lower world, Gods were supposed to be omniscient but physically powerless. However, if a God ever unleashed their Arcanum, no mortal—no matter how powerful—could possibly resist it. They would be forced to bow in absolute submission. The only entity capable of opposing a God using their Arcanum was another God.
Using it, however, was a massive taboo. Any God who broke that rule would be scorned and ridiculed by their peers for centuries. Because of the severe social consequences, Gods practically never resorted to it unless pushed to the absolute brink.
"—Natsu!!"
"GURURU… GAOOOOOOOO!!"
""Guh!?""
Tsuna's Hyper Intuition screamed that Ishtar was about to unleash a catastrophic power. He instantly switched his flames to Mist. Natsu roared, releasing a blinding, concentrated flash of light that illuminated the entire hall with the intensity of a miniature sun. Ishtar and Kali instinctively squeezed their eyes shut, throwing their hands up to shield their faces.
By utilizing the Mist Flame's Construction ability to create a massive flashbang, Tsuna successfully blinded Ishtar, violently breaking her concentration and forcibly interrupting her Arcanum invocation.
"H-He's gone!?"
When Ishtar finally forced her eyes open, Tsuna was nowhere to be seen. She frantically scanned the destroyed room, but he had completely vanished.
Don't tell me he went after the Killing Stone!?
The realization struck her like lightning. Terrified that the Guild would uncover her grand conspiracy if he secured the stone, Ishtar abandoned everything and sprinted toward the vault alone.
I suppose this is the end of the line, Kali mused.
Instead of following Ishtar to protect the stone, Kali decided right then and there to completely abandon her.
Ishtar's petty, personal grudge against Freya had brought catastrophic damage not just to her own Familia, but to Kali's dependents as well. Furthermore, allying with a Goddess who made such colossal blunders purely out of spite carried absolutely zero benefits.
It is a shame to miss such a rare opportunity for battle, but it cannot be helped…
Kali knew that even if she had unleashed her own Arcanum, Tsuna's incredible instincts would have allowed him to blind her and escape again. If Tsuna secured the Killing Stone, their entire strategy against the Freya Familia evaporated. They wouldn't just lose the war; her entire Familia would be slaughtered. Kali lived for the thrill of battle, but she wasn't foolish enough to fight a war she had already lost.
Her alliance with Ishtar was strictly a business arrangement built on their mutual goal of fighting the Freya Familia. Whatever happened to Ishtar now was completely irrelevant to her.
Now that that's settled, we need to retreat immediately.
Having made her decision, Kali issued the order to fall back, and the remaining conscious members of her Familia quickly began preparations to evacuate.
If the Guild received the Killing Stone, the plot to annihilate the Freya Familia would be exposed instantly. As an active conspirator, the Kali Familia would undoubtedly face severe sanctions. Kali reasoned that if they fled Orario immediately and returned to Telskyura, they could effectively dodge the Guild's penalties.
The Guild strongly preferred to keep adventurers inside Orario, especially high-level ones and prominent Familias. The Kali Familia boasted Level 6 dependents. The only factions in Orario capable of forcibly stopping them from leaving were the Loki Familia, the Freya Familia, and the monstrous boy who had just defeated Bache and Argana. Kali knew full well the Guild wouldn't risk mobilizing such massive military assets just to hand down a penalty.
Still, Ishtar truly is an idiot. To be played so thoroughly by a human who hasn't even lived a fraction of our years…
─────
Meanwhile, Ishtar frantically raced toward the vault to secure the Killing Stone.
"—There it is!! It hasn't fallen into his hands yet!!"
She burst into the secure room where the Killing Stone was kept. The stone was heavily guarded inside an adamantium safe, known as one of the hardest materials in the world. She threw open the heavy doors to confirm its safety, finding the blood-red jewel resting peacefully inside.
It seems he didn't actually know where it was hidden…!!
She knew she could never beat Tsuna in a footrace. The fact that she had arrived first proved he didn't know the exact location of the vault. A triumphant smirk spread across Ishtar's face.
All I have to do now is take the secret passage and hide it in Knossos… Then the stone will never fall into his hands…!!
There was absolutely no way Tsuna could know the hidden internal structure of Belit Babili. Once she slipped into the secret passage, victory was assured.
And my plan can still proceed!!
Without the Killing Stone as hard evidence, the Guild couldn't act. Ishtar fully intended to play the victim, accusing Tsuna of unprovoked assault and kidnapping. By manipulating the narrative, she could forcefully reclaim Haruhime through official channels and proceed with her war.
Clutching her prize, Ishtar spun around to sprint toward the secret passage.
"What!?"
The moment she stepped out of the room, the Killing Stone abruptly vanished from her hands.
"—To think you'd fall for it so easily."
"Y-You!? H-How did you find this place…!?"
Ishtar stared in absolute horror. Tsuna was standing right there, the Killing Stone casually resting in his palm.
When Ishtar had prepared to unleash her Arcanum, Tsuna had used the flashbang to hide himself, anticipating her next move. Realizing she was the only one left who could secure the stone, Ishtar panicked and rushed to the vault alone.
And that was exactly what Tsuna had planned. By making her believe he had run off to search for it, he quietly tailed her through the palace, letting her lead him straight to the prize.
"The Guild will be handing down your punishment soon. You better prepare yourself."
Knowing he couldn't afford to let her try using her Arcanum again, Tsuna completely ignored her sputtering rage. He blasted his flames, vanishing from the corridor in the blink of an eye.
DAMN YOOOOUUUUU!! YOU DARE MAKE A FOOL OUT OF ME TO THE VERY END!!
Her Familia decimated. Her absolute beauty completely ignored. The Killing Stone stolen. Her grand masterplan utterly destroyed. Having her pride so thoroughly and systematically shattered drove Ishtar completely past the brink of madness.
If it comes to this, I'll use the Bull of Heaven intended for the Freya Familia and slaughter him myself!!
Ishtar's mind was completely consumed by a singular, blinding desire to murder Tsuna.
However, she was completely unaware of the true terror rapidly approaching her doorstep.
----
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