"Have you heard?"
"Recently, Orario seems to have produced a rather incredible newcomer..."
In an unknown shadowy place, a man's voice echoed.
"Aren't impressive rookies popping up like cockroaches crawling out of the sewers lately? What's there to make such a fuss about?"
"Hehehe! We're the sewer cockroaches, aren't we? But this one is different from the others!"
"They say this newcomer possesses strength comparable to a Level 5!" The man let out a strange laugh and continued, "A couple of days ago, I already arranged for some people to provoke those adventurers. Before long, the real show should begin!"
"Level 5?"
At the mention of that rank, the other voice immediately became more interested.
"Is there really a rookie that powerful?"
"No idea. That's why I sent people to investigate. If we count the time, they should be arriving about now, shouldn't they?"
An expression of eager anticipation spread across the man's face, as though he were looking forward to seeing that adventurer thoroughly beaten.
At that moment, a masked figure suddenly rushed in from outside and whispered something into the man's ear.
"What?"
"Those idiots actually weren't a match for her? Didn't a Level 3 and a Level 4 go as well? They still couldn't win?"
Only then did this member of Evilus truly realize the truth behind the rumors. The one called the Saintess of Scales might genuinely possess first-tier combat strength, just as the stories claimed.
"This is getting troublesome..."
"What's wrong?"
The man's tone grew disordered, as though he had suddenly thought of something alarming.
"That girl's Familia god is Astraea! The goddess of justice! Justice itself!"
"If her Familia develops, they'll definitely come after us! Justice will never tolerate our existence!"
"We have to act now! Before they have time to grow, we must wipe them out completely!"
"How many members does her Familia have...?" the shadowy figure beside him suddenly asked.
"Uh, two... no, three?"
"That's it?"
"But their strength is formidable! In the future, they'll be a massive threat! We have to eliminate them as soon as possible!"
The figure seemed to ponder for a moment before the corner of his mouth curled upward.
"Of course, I agree with you. And I would quite like to see it myself..."
"What Orario will become after losing its so-called justice. Hahaha!"
"Hehehe, then when do we begin?"
"No rush... our old friend still intends to continue cooperating with us. She seems rather displeased with that so-called justice as well."
The tone of the shadowy figure carried a hint of mockery.
"Despite sharing the same divine authority as the goddess of Orario's strongest Familia, one can gaze down from the heavens—while she can only remain on the ground..."
"Hahaha, we really ought to thank her. Without her, we wouldn't have developed so quickly."
"But..."
The man beside him seemed to recall certain events from the past.
Their dark faction had dealings with several Familias, the largest among them being the Familia of that beauty goddess.
Some time ago, an accident had occurred during one of their transactions. A follower of the beauty goddess had been killed, causing a rift between them. They had not interacted for quite a while since.
The man was worried that the beauty goddess might bear a grudge and secretly move against them.
"Hah! Do you think that even if nothing had happened between us, Ishtar wouldn't make a move against us?"
The implication was obvious.
They were Evilus. In Orario's eyes, they were like rats scurrying across the streets—targets everyone wanted to beat to death.
Ishtar might cooperate, but that was purely for profit. She could stab them in the back at any time.
"In that beauty goddess' eyes, we're just as detestable as the people of the city."
"Once she deals with Freya, her spear will probably turn toward us next, don't you think?"
"So we're still cooperating?"
"Of course we're cooperating!"
"Right now, Ishtar still needs us. With her pitiful Familia alone, how could she fight Freya? Even if she wanted to target us, who knows how many years that would take?"
Therefore...
The figure stepped out from the shadows. He appeared to be a gloomy male god.
"Go inform Ishtar. We'll be making our move soon and completely snuff out the budding sprout of justice!"
...
"This should be everything..."
The black-haired woman looked at the contents of her bundle.
Several knives. A change of clothes. A portion of valis.
"This is enough. I have nothing left worth clinging to."
"At the very least, in the end, I'll drag that so-called justice down with me..."
What was justice?
She didn't know. But her clan had already chosen its own version of justice.
To preserve ten, they abandoned one.
She and the people she loved had merely happened to stand in the position of that "one," and so they were discarded.
Fortunately, that goddess had spared her...
"Heh heh. In that case, I'll drag that justice to the grave with me!"
Recently, the girl had heard that a certain Familia was rising to prominence in Orario, gaining considerable fame.
The god of that Familia was said to be the goddess of justice.
Justice... justice...
If you call yourselves justice, then why do so many tragedies still occur?
Every time she uttered the word, veins bulged across her beautiful face as she struggled to suppress something boiling within her.
"Since that's the case, I'll be the one to shatter your justice!"
The girl came from the Gojou House, one of the Nine Houses of the Far Eastern court. Because her ancestors possessed an ability specialized in killing, she had inherited a portion of that power as well.
Monsters were one thing. But when it came to dealing with people, their abilities were overwhelmingly formidable.
She had already made up her mind. She would destroy the justice she despised.
Before leaving, she had studied the map. With her exceptional memory, committing it to heart was effortless. Besides, Orario was the center of the world—an ordinary person would find it difficult to get lost there even if they tried.
"Orario, is it...?"
The mere recollection of how people praised the justice Familia filled her with irritation.
They had never even met, yet she had developed an inexplicable hatred toward that Familia.
Not for any particular reason.
Simply because they were justice.
"Life or death doesn't matter anymore. I only need to complete this final task..."
And so, a demon unafraid of death, baring her fangs at justice, was born.
Her name was...
Gojouno Kaguya.