The deafening clatter of divine metal clashing against compressed wind elements continued to echo in the courtyard of Orario's southwest gate. The battle between Hedin Selland and Vena was not balanced in the slightest.
Wielding Dizaria, a giant rhomphaia whose weight and length demanded a wide range of motion, Hedin found himself trapped within his opponent's deadly rhythm. Vena continued to dance in the air with terrifying elegance. Using small wind vortexes as footholds through the manipulation of her Anemo Calyx and the absurd agility boost from Caelum Dominus, the Dark Elf girl attacked from blind spots. The slashes of her storm blades battered Hedin's defenses relentlessly, forcing the Freya Familia executive to constantly spin his sword to defend and step backward.
From the edge of the battlefield, Allen Fromel clicked his tongue. His black cat tail flicked restlessly. His killer instinct as the fastest adventurer in Orario flared up seeing his comrade pushed back to such an extent.
Allen knew exactly who the two Elf girls currently messing with Hedin's rationality were. The Dis Sisters. Seven years ago, when The Great Feud devastated the city streets, Allen saw for himself how those two Evilus executives slaughtered many elite adventurers from Orario familias before finally being taken down by Hedin and Hogni. Knowing how dangerous they were, Allen refused to just stand and watch.
"You're too slow, you Stupid Elf!" Allen cursed roughly, lowering his posture.
Wasting not a single second, Allen dashed forward. His speed broke the sound barrier, leaving a blurry afterimage in his original spot. His Crescent Silver spear was thrust straight ahead, targeting the neck of Vena, who was currently in mid-air. A sudden attack from that Level 6 adventurer should have been impossible to dodge for a fighter focused on another enemy.
However, before the tip of Allen's spear could even touch its target, a strong gust of wind forcefully cut off his path.
Dina, who had been merely standing silently observing her sister's fight all this time, stepped forward and intercepted the catman's running trajectory. The White Elf girl stared at Allen with a peaceful expression that sharply contrasted with the deadly situation around her.
"Your opponent is me, Mr. Cat," Dina said gently, her right hand raised summoning a wind current.
"Get out of my way, Evilus Trash!" Allen roared, his eyes flashing with pure hatred.
Hearing that term, Dina tilted her head slightly. The White Elf girl's facial expression implied genuine confusion, as if she had just heard a very strange accusation.
"Evilus? Excuse me, it seems you have a misunderstanding," Dina replied in a calm and flat tone. "Our Familia completely slaughtered that rotten group back where we came from."
Considering Dina's words merely nonsense to deceive him, Allen did not reduce his speed in the slightest. With deadly precision, he thrust the tip of his spear straight to pierce Dina's chest.
However, there was no sound of tearing flesh. There was no splash of blood spilling into the air.
Allen's eyes widened immensely as he felt the tip of his spear only pierce through empty air, without any resistance whatsoever. The figure of Dina he had just stabbed rippled like a water reflection in a pond hit by a stone, before finally fading and completely disappearing into thin air.
It wasn't pure speed. It was Phantasma Ventus.
A high-level illusion skill that had just bloomed when Dina managed to break through Level 4 in the Kaios Desert. Without needing a single syllable to chant a spell, Dina manipulated the density of air currents and light refraction through the Anemo Calyx on her chest to create a visual mirage. The illusion was so perfect that it could deceive the sharp instincts of even a Level 6 adventurer.
"Where—?!" Allen immediately pulled his spear back, trying to spin around quickly to locate his real enemy.
"Right behind you," whispered a voice from his blind spot.
Dina emerged from the air distortion. The girl was not holding a sharp weapon. She merely swung her palm, which was enveloped by highly compressed wind, and slammed it right into Allen's back with a smooth yet powerful motion.
BAM!
A shockwave exploded in the air. Allen was thrown forward, dragging several meters across the rocky ground before he managed to stab his spear blade into the earth to stop his momentum. A tremendous feeling of tightness hit his lungs, making him cough violently.
On the other side, the fight between Vena and Hedin also reached its peak. Hedin, running out of patience, tried to spin Dizaria in a full circular swing, unleashing a maximum-scale area-of-effect lightning wave to engulf the girl.
However, Vena predicted that desperate move perfectly. She utilized Caelum Dominus to shoot upwards, breaking through the upper limit of the lightning's reach, then swooped down like a cannonball. Vena concentrated all the storm energy from her Anemo Calyx into her right heel, creating a high-pressure wind vortex, and kicked the flat blade of Dizaria with full force.
CRACK!
The weapon's blade was pressed down heavily, fatally ruining Hedin's stance. Before the White Elf could correct his position, Vena spun her body in the air and launched a second kick coated with a pure wind blade straight into Hedin's chest.
Hedin was thrown backward. His back slammed into the city gate wall with a loud crash that made dust rain down.
Silence instantly choked the courtyard. Two main pillars of the Freya Familia—the lightning mage and Orario's fastest adventurer—were now in a cornered position against people from the past who were supposed to be dead, yet hadn't even broken a sweat.
Vena landed slowly, cushioned by the wind, staring at Hedin who was clutching his chest while coughing to endure the pain. The Dark Elf girl shook her head slowly, her facial expression implying absolute disappointment.
"Is this the limit of Hedin Selland's abilities in this era?" Vena's voice flowed melodiously, yet every syllable was as sharp as a sword blade stabbing straight into the solar plexus and pride of the White Elf. "Your defensive movements are incredibly sluggish and very easy to read. You are much weaker than the Hedin we knew from where we came from. This disappointment truly wounds my expectations of you all."
Those words pierced straight into the core of Hedin's pride. His hands gripped the hilt of Dizaria tightly, veins of anger popping out on his forehead and neck. He prepared to throw away the rest of his rationality to kill that girl. At the same time, Allen Fromel stood upright again, a pitch-black aura of killing intent beginning to wildly exude from his body.
Realizing that the situation would end in a full-scale bloodbath, the Gulliver Brothers simultaneously drew their hammers, spears, swords, and axes to assist Allen and Hedin.
On the other hand, Asfi Al Andromeda immediately reached into her cloak, ready to throw high-level explosive potions she always kept for emergency battles. Ryuu Lion also slowly lowered her sword, her eyes glaring sharply even though her hands slowly began to tremble slightly.
However, before they could take a single step forward, an incredibly heavy pressure suddenly fell upon the entire southwest gate area.
That pressure was not magical intimidation or the release of Mind energy, but pure physical dominance and the presence of an aura that was too massive. The air around them felt like it was shrinking, causing the breath of anyone intending to attack to get stuck automatically in their throats. Their bodies were forced to realize that taking a step further meant stepping into the jaws of death.
One of the tall, black-cloaked figures who had been standing silently behind Venti began to step forward. His metal boots clashed against the rocky ground, producing the sound of heavy footsteps that shook their courage.
"Hold your weapons, Kids. Attacking when emotions control your mind will only lead you to a foolish death."
That heavy, hoarse voice filled with absolute authority echoed from beneath the black hood.
Hearing that single sentence, the steps of the Gulliver Brothers stopped instantly like statues. Asfi's body stiffened, stopping her from throwing the explosive potion in her hand. Ryuu Lion lowered the tip of her sword back toward the ground, her eyes widening immensely as the waves of trauma now hit her much harder.
In another corner, God Hermes froze completely. His hand holding the brim of his fedora hat trembled finely without his control. As a god, his memory was incredibly sharp. He recognized that heavy baritone voice very well. It was the voice belonging to the strongest monster who had once eaten a behemoth itself at the edge of despair, and the voice belonging to one of the pillars of destruction who orchestrated the fall of Orario.
"Impossible..." Hermes whispered with pale lips, the blood seemingly drained completely from his face. "Even that monster too...?"
While panic and confusion struck the veteran adventurers, Syr Flova—the mortal form of Goddess Freya—remained standing silently observing the chaos with her sharp gray eyes. Behind her simple appearance as a tavern waitress, her Eyes of the Gods were at work dissecting the hidden layers of reality.
Freya furrowed her brow faintly. Her logic as a witness to history did not align with what she saw right now. Seven years ago, when The Great Feud tore Orario apart, Freya clearly saw the colors of Dina and Vena's souls. The souls of those two elf girls used to be incredibly filthy, shattered into pieces, and filled with the color of madness due to being brainwashed by the goddess of revenge.
However right now, the souls of the Dis Sisters glowing in her eyes radiated an incredibly beautiful, pure color, free from any shackles. There were no signs of damage, only peace and firmness.
Freya then shifted her gaze to the androgynous-faced bard youth god standing casually in the middle of the battlefield, as if this were all just a theatrical play. When staring at the youth's soul, Freya reflexively held her breath. The color of that youth's soul was like a boundless blue sky stretching endlessly, harboring an absolute freedom that could not be measured by common sense at all.
Furthermore, Freya's gaze fell on the two black-cloaked figures who had not yet revealed their identities. She recognized the glow of those soul colors very well. Those were the souls belonging to Zald and Alfia. However, there was one glaring difference that left the goddess of beauty astonished. The dirty black soot—symbolizing the poison of the Behemoth's flesh inside Zald's body and the genetic disease in Alfia's body—now looked very thin. Almost disappearing completely. Their condition was vastly different from the dying state she witnessed seven years ago.
Who exactly is this bard youth god? And what kind of crazy miracle is Bell Cranel hiding that he could bring these people who should be dead back with souls so intact and pure? Freya thought, a very dense sense of intrigue beginning to take over her mind.
Before the furious Hedin and Allen managed to gather the remainder of their resolve to launch a counterattack, a familiar voice stopped all parties.
"Enough!"
Bell Cranel stepped forward, positioning himself right in the middle between the Freya familia and the group. The white-haired youth spread his arms wide. There was no panic in his voice, no hesitation, and no weakness. His posture was upright, radiating a calmness that had been forged to a pulp by Alfia's hellish training for a full month.
"Please, stop this fight," Bell said firmly, looking at Hedin and Allen in turn. The voice of the youth who was usually nervous now carried a weight of authority that made Hedin frown in slight surprise.
Bell then turned towards his goddess. Hestia was still looking at him with remnants of tears of relief in her eyes.
"Kami-sama, Mr. Hedin, and everyone... Many things have happened that I cannot explain in an open place like this," Bell continued, keeping his tone calm and controlled. "This city is in a state of emergency, and we cannot provoke a commotion any further. Please lower your weapons. Let's talk at the Hestia Familia headquarters. I will explain everything truthfully there."
A heavy silence took over once again. Hedin clicked his tongue softly and slowly lowered Dizaria, although his gaze still glared sharply at Vena like an eagle watching its prey. Allen snorted roughly, twirling his silver spear and sheathing it back on his back. Venti merely smiled faintly and hummed a little tune, satisfied seeing Bell's maturity in taking charge of the situation.
Half an hour later, that tense atmosphere moved from the southwest gate to the main living room of the Hestia Familia headquarters.
The room felt incredibly cramped. Not just because of the number of adventurers and gods gathered inside, but because of the heavy atmosphere generated by suspicion and fear blending into one. Hestia sat on the sofa, gripping Bell's hand tightly as if afraid the youth would suddenly disappear. Behind them, Welf, Mikoto, Haruhime, and Lili stood stiffly and tense.
On the opposite side of the wooden table, Venti sat casually leaning back in a chair, crossing his legs. Dina and Vena stood tall behind him like personal bodyguards. Ryuu, Asfi, and Hermes occupied seats in the farthest corner of the room, instinctively keeping maximum distance from the group of guests. Syr chose to stand near the window, observing the course of the meeting carefully. While Leon Vardenburg and Nina leaned against the wall near the entrance, choosing to remain silent and leave the main stage to the bard god.
In the midst of all that, the two black-cloaked figures who were the source of the greatest fear stood towering wordlessly.
"Well," Venti began, breaking the suffocating silence, glancing briefly at the two cloaked figures. "I think the disguise joke is enough. We are now in Orario and in a closed room now. Take off your cloaks, the air is starting to feel hot, isn't it?"
Without uttering a single word of refusal, the two figures raised their hands simultaneously. They pulled down the thick hoods hiding their faces, then unfastened the clasps.
The black cloaks slid down, hitting the floor.
Ryuu Lion reflexively took a step back, her back hitting the wall hard. The elf's face paled instantly, her eyes widening filled with pure terror. Asfi Al Andromeda held her breath, unconsciously gripping the hem of her cloak tightly. God Hermes froze in place, his eyes staring in disbelief at the two legends of death now standing real and breathing before him.
On the left, stood a giant brown-haired man with an iconic slash scar across his face. Radiating an absolute physical pressure that felt like it could crush a mountain if he swung his greatsword.
And on the right, stood a silver-haired woman. Her heterochromatic eyes stared at the entire room with a silence as cold as an ice glacier. The Level 8 aura naturally exuding without her needing to force it was enough to make the air in the living room feel bone-chillingly cold.
Zald, the Gluttony. Alfia, the Silence.
"A-Alfia... Zald..." Hermes's voice came out like a desperate squeak amidst a storm.
Horror crept across all the walls of the Hestia Familia headquarters. The veterans who survived The Great Feud knew exactly that Dina and Vena were incredibly dangerous and troublesome executives, but Zald and Alfia were the embodiment of destruction itself. The four of them were the strongest core of Evilus who were confirmed to have died seven years ago.
Alfia's cold eyes swept across the pale faces in the room with an unreadable, flat expression, before the woman's gaze finally stopped completely on the face of her nephew sitting beside Hestia.
All eyes were now fixed on Bell Cranel. The same question swirled in the heads of everyone in that room, tearing their logic apart and begging for answers to a reality that had shattered to pieces.
What exactly is going on? And how is it possible that a Bell Cranel brought these Evilus top brass who were confirmed dead seven years ago back alive to Orario?
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P - Gem_Blanks
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