Let's go back a few hours.
In the Daedalus District, specifically in the slum area. The old buildings there would remind Eiji of the place the protagonist of Re:Zero visited while chasing a thief.
The point is, the atmosphere there isn't as bustling as on Orario's main streets or the area around the Tower of Babel.
The place was deserted.
As Artoria and the other members of the Seiya Familia walked through it. The locals couldn't help but glance at them.
After all, the group consisted of beautiful women, some of whom even looked like goddesses.
However, upon seeing the Seiya Familia emblem on their armor or clothing, not a single man there dared to approach the group or flirt with them.
Many of them also looked at the women with admiration. Because they were members of the Seiya Familia! A familia that had recently become very popular in Orario.
"Where exactly is that secret door?" Artoria asked everyone in the group.
Asfi was the one who answered, "Eiji only said that the secret entrance frequently used by the Ikelos Familia to smuggle in the Xenos is located in the slums of this district, hidden behind the walls of old buildings."
"There are a lot of old buildings here." Artoria said.
Asfi said awkwardly, "Sorry, I don't know exactly where the door is either. Should we split up?"
Hearing this, Artoria nodded. "That's a good idea. We should split up. If you find any suspicious people, don't hesitate to arrest them and interrogate them."
"I agree! Haruhime, come with me!"
Alise enthusiastically pointed to the blonde fox as her partner.
"Eh, okay... I'll be on the same team as Alise-san." Haruhime didn't object.
Asfi, Morgan, Scáthach, Medusa, Yuki, Kurumi, Daphne, Cassandra, Filvis, and Revis agreed as well. With that many of them, it shouldn't take long to explore the entire slum.
Not long after.
Kurumi spotted a blue-skinned woman being chased by two members of the Ikelos Familia. From the description of their target, she immediately knew that the woman was a Xenos.
Without hesitation, she leaped from the roof and landed in front of the three of them. The Xenos, Wiene, felt desperate; she thought the beautiful woman with bluish-purple hair in front of her was one of the members of the Ikelos Familia.
However, she seemed to have misunderstood.
"Who are you!?"
"This is Ikelos Familia territory; you'd better not... Wait, I think I've seen you before."
"Y-You're a member of the Hestia Familia, no... Now you should be a member of the Seiya Familia!"
The two members of the Ikelos Familia recognized Kurumi just by her appearance; they stared at her with wariness and fear in their eyes.
That was because they had also watched the War Game between the Hestia Familia and the Apollo Familia yesterday.
"You know who I am? That saves time. So, can you hand this woman over to me?" Kurumi asked indifferently.
One of the Level 3 members of the Ikelos Familia replied, "No way! That woman is our familia's monster."
"Even if you're from the Seiya Familia, you can't—"
Kurumi was too lazy to talk any further with those two. Since they refused, she had no choice but to force the issue.
She was a hero of the Hero Clan, but because Eiji had influenced her so much, she didn't hesitate to kill the two people in front of her.
Of course, that was because she knew they were evil people. Kurumi didn't bother drawing her sword; she simply commanded the wind spirit to unleash a wind slash.
The heads of the two Ikelos Familia members were instantly severed and fell to the ground along with their bodies.
Seeing that, Wiene was terrified. With her perception on par with a Level 5, she couldn't even see how Kurumi had attacked.
"P-Please let me go. I'm not an evil monster; I came here just to find my friends!"
In a voice that sounded human, she frantically explained to the woman in front of her why a monster like her was there.
Actually, she was quite confident in her strength and had been able to defeat the two members of the Ikelos Familia who had been chasing her earlier.
However, she didn't want to hurt humans or the people on the surface, and chose to flee when hunted.
"You've got it all wrong. I don't want to capture you; I actually came to save your friends. You're one of those creatures called Xenos, aren't you? I'm Kurumi Nonaka, a member of the Seiya Familia."
"Besides me, there are also other members of the Seiya Familia who are searching for the location where the Xenos are being held by the Ikelos Familia."
Wiene was surprised; she removed the black hood that hid her face and smiled brightly, "My name is Wiene! Is that true? Do you want to help save my friends?"
Kurumi nodded with a faint smile, "Yes, I'm not lying."
Wiene didn't look all that scary; even though she was a monster, she was quite pretty and had a humanoid body. Besides her bluish skin, she also had silvery-blue hair, golden-yellow eyes, a red gem in the center of her forehead, and a few scales on parts of her body.
Suddenly, Kurumi wondered if Eiji would be interested in this woman?
'That's impossible, right?'
Wiene had a naive and innocent personality; she easily believed what Kurumi said.
When Kurumi asked her to follow her, she didn't refuse.
Soon, Wiene also met the other members of the Seiya Familia in front of a secret door hidden behind the wall of an old building.
That place was discovered by Morgan.
Prior to this, she had captured three members of the Ikelos Familia who were roaming the slums and made them reveal where they were hiding the Xenos. She forced them with her magic, and then killed them.
Kurumi didn't do the same to the Ikelos Familia members she had encountered earlier; it was simply because she was certain Morgan or the other women would find the location they were looking for.
In an area within Knossos that no other adventurers had ever explored except the Ikelos Familia. Even Dionysus had never known such a place existed there.
At the end of the corridor, there was a huge room filled with many bars specially made to imprison the Xenos. Just like many parts of Knossos itself, all of it was built by the captain of the Ikelos Familia, Dix Perdix, a descendant of Daedalus.
*SLAP! SLAP!*
The sounds of slaps came from a whip striking a Xenos. Dix was torturing him while laughing, "Hahaha! Not only are you good for selling, but creatures like you are also great for relieving my stress!"
"Ughhh! Agh! Human, stop... Why are you doing this to us!? We just want to live in peace with the people on the surface!"
The Xenos groaned in pain and glared at the man in front of him with a look full of hatred.
Dix paused for a moment before laughing even harder, "Ahahaha! Monsters are still monsters; even if your kind can speak like humans, you can't be that smart. Who would want to live with ugly monsters like you? Idiots—if you aren't killed by adventurers, you'll just be entertainment for us!"
"You... Agh! Agh! Stop!"
The sounds of slaps continued, and Dix's sadistic laughter could also be heard frequently. The other members of the Ikelos Familia were already used to that sight.
They would pretend not to hear and not disturb their captain. At least until an emergency like this one arose.
"Captain! Captain! This is bad—our hideout has been discovered and we're under attack!!"
One of the Ikelos Familia members burst into the room, panic etched on his face.
Dix frowned; he shot the man who had delivered the news a annoyed look. "Who are they? We just need to kill them."
*Boom!*
Just then, one of the familia members who had just entered through the door was thrown back. That was because the door, made of high-quality material, had been blown up.
The sound of many footsteps could be heard; Dix and the other members of the Ikelos Familia finally saw the faces of the people storming their hideout.
Dix was startled, and his expression turned grim. He grabbed his spear and signaled the other members to follow him.
Soon, the two groups faced each other.
"What is the Seiya Familia doing here? This isn't your territory; you can't just barge in like this."
Just like the other members of the Ikelos Familia, Dix recognized Artoria and several women who were presumably from the Seiya Familia. He also recognized Asfi and even Alise; his gaze then fell on Wiene, but only for a moment before he glanced back at Artoria.
He cursed inwardly; even though he had a hunch as to why the Seiya Familia had come here with a Xenos, he remained calm and confident.
"We came here because we received a mission to save the Xenos who have been exploited. We don't care whose territory this is."
"The Seiya Familia is so arrogant! Just because some of you are Level 9 and 8, you don't take seriously who you're facing."
Veins bulged on Dix's forehead; he took off his glasses, revealing a pair of red eyes. In his left eye, there was a mark indicating that he was something special.
"...?" Artoria and many others in her group had question marks floating above their heads.
Asfi knew the letter in Dix's left eye signified that he was a descendant of Daedalus.
But what was there to fear?
The man was clearly overconfident and didn't realize just how terrifying Artoria and the women in front of him were.
"I am the captain of the Ikelos Familia and the only remaining descendant of Daedalus, Dix Perdix. This place and most of Knossos were built by me. I am the strongest here!"
"Oh." Morgan said indifferently, "From what I can see, you're nothing more than a barking stray dog. Are you ready to die?"
Dix's face darkened.
Alise stepped forward and drew her new sword toward the men of the Ikelos Familia, "Whoever you are, you have committed an unforgivable crime! Let me, the sword of justice, punish you all!"
"You'll regret this..." Dix said coldly and ordered the other members of the Ikelos Familia to attack.
As one of the creators of Knossos, he was also able to activate the special traps he had set using only his magic.
Numerous arrows and spears were fired from the ceiling of the room. All those weapons were coated with a deadly poison.
However, Artoria and the other members of the Seiya Familia didn't panic. Kurumi raised one of her hands, and instantly, a strong wind blew around their group.
She easily blocked the weapons fired by Dix, and even sent several members of the Ikelos Familia flying, killing them instantly.
After the wind barrier Kurumi created vanished, Dix tried to stay calm and ordered the people in his group to continue the attack. He also activated other traps and used his magic, Phobetor Daedalus, to confuse the members of the Seiya Familia so they would attack one another.
Unfortunately, the magic didn't seem to affect those women!
Their magic resistance was too high!
Wiene, who was among them, should have been the exception, but the golden light emitted by Artoria's sword, Excalibur, blocked every debuff cast upon her and her allies.
In a matter of seconds—
"Ahhh!"
"Gyaaaaa!"
"Please spare me, just take me!"
Many members of the Ikelos Familia died, and those who didn't die instantly screamed in pain or fear.
Artoria was still standing in her spot, but the rest?
Asfi, Daphne, Cassandra, Filvis, Revis, and Haruhime attacked the members of the Ikelos Familia with a speed that surpassed each of them.
Scáthach, Morgan, Yuki, Kurumi, and Medusa were even more terrifying. The members of the Ikelos Familia didn't have time to react before spears pierced their chests, their bodies were frozen and shattered into pieces, and their heads were severed from their necks.
Alise's killings were no less brutal; every swing of her sword unleashed a slash of fire powerful enough to turn the members of the Ikelos Familia to ash.
Dix was stunned; the calm on his face turned to panic. He glanced at Artoria, who stood by the exit with her sword planted in the ground, her gaze intense.
"Damn it! Don't underestimate me!"
He actually wanted to flee, but he had to get past the blonde woman in front of him first.
With Level 5 speed, Dix charged toward Artoria and unleashed a flurry of thrusts with his spear. That spear wasn't an ordinary spear; it was a Curse Weapon capable of inflicting incurable wounds.
However, Artoria didn't sense any danger at all. That was because Dix and his spear were no threat to her.
She easily blocked every attack with Excalibur, and not a single one managed to hit her or even touch her clothes.
Even when Dix suddenly used the machete at his waist to slash at Artoria's neck. The blonde knight simply shifted her body slightly and slashed at his hand.
"Gughhh!" Dix groaned just like Xenos, whom he had tortured earlier. His expression was contorted by pain and hatred. "My hand! Aaaahhh! You, you, how dare you cut off my hand!"
For the descendants of Daedalus, the hands are their most precious body parts. For without them, they could not continue the construction of Knossos as their ancestors had desired.
Artoria didn't change her expression; she raised Excalibur higher than her head and slashed at Dix's neck.
Dix didn't have time to react before his head was severed.
It wasn't a battle between two sides, but one side carrying out a massacre.
A man walked into the room and was stunned to see that Dix and the other members of his familia were dead.
He was Ikelos, the god of the Ikelos Familia.
The things his familia members did to the Xenos were, of course, done on his orders.
"From the aura emanating from your body... You must be the leader of these criminals. God Ikelos, right?" Artoria asked with a calm gaze.
The gaze from her and the women behind her gave off an oppressive aura that made Ikelos shudder.
"Ahaha... Yes, it's me. I know most of you are members of the Seiya Familia. I don't recall my familia ever offending you."
"You and your familia have never offended us. But Ouranos gave us a mission to protect the Xenos from the exploitation carried out by your familia."
"Did Ouranos have all the members of my familia killed just because of those monsters?" Ikelos felt the oppressive weight bearing down on him grow stronger; cold sweat drenched his back, and he hurriedly said, "I understand. I am ready to accept any punishment."
He didn't understand why Ouranos cared so much about the Xenos.
But now, he was powerless. The members of his familia had been killed, and the women of the Seiya Familia were simply too terrifying!
He didn't dare provoke them.
Otherwise, their god, Eiji, might actually kill him just as he did to Dionysus.
"As for your punishment, you can meet Ouranos face-to-face." Artoria glanced at Morgan as she said that.
Morgan understood and immediately teleported Ikelos to the prayer room.
"....."
"....."
Ouranos was surprised to see Ikelos suddenly appear before him.
But from Ikelos's grim expression, he realized that the Seiya Familia had successfully rescued the Xenos held captive by the Ikelos Familia.
"Ikelos, because of the crimes your familia committed against the Xenos. From now on, you are exiled from Orario."
"Ouranos, thank you for your kindness. At least you didn't send me back to heaven just because of this issue. But it would have been better if you'd threatened me using the Seiya Familia! That way, my familia members wouldn't have to die because I'd release the Xenos obediently!"
Ikelos complained.
Ouranos was stunned for a moment, "Are you that afraid of Eiji? I didn't know that."
"You... Did you do that on purpose!? From the very beginning, you wanted to drive me out of Orario!"
What god isn't afraid of a god like Eiji?
That man can use his power freely in the lower world!
Ikelos was on the verge of vomiting blood; Ouranos didn't answer the question because what he said seemed true.
He glared at the old man and snorted before leaving the prayer room. Since Ouranos had already ordered him to exile himself from Orario, he would leave Orario and never return.
However, he would remember this humiliation for a long time!
"Is it really okay to just let Ikelos go, Ouranos?" asked Fels.
"It's fine."
Ouranos didn't care if Ikelos harbored a grudge against him; he had long wanted to expel a god whose Familia frequently committed evil deeds in secret in Orario.
What the Ikelos Familia had done to the Xenos was an opportunity for him to expel them.
There was also Ikelos's fear of Eiji.
"It's a good thing for Orario since Eiji and some of the women in his familia came to this world."