'Oh, that's my magic scroll...'
The corners of Lioro's mouth twitched as he saw the captain of Apollo Familia, Hyakinthos Clio, using the magic scrolls he had randomly sold—against his own familia.
Knowing he was partly at fault, Lioro was just about to step in and help when he suddenly stopped.
He keenly noticed the unnatural movement of mana in the air.
'Is it Yorichii?.....what is he... damn! He's having a main character moment!'
Lioro blinked, then sat back down, deciding to wait.
Adventurers grow after facing difficulties.
So let them grow through this small challenge.
Anyway, with him here, none of them would die, so it was alright.
----
A burning flame enveloped Yorichii's body, melting the floor under his feet.
The flame elementals in the air started dancing in ecstasy, responding to his will.
Hyakinthos Clio, captain of Apollo Familia, stared at the scene in disbelief.
"How can a level 2 possibly have such terrible mana?!..."
Tightly clenching his sword, Clio felt a burning sensation spread across his body.
"Yorichii... the fastest adventurer to reach level 2... For my Lord Apollo... for his love... I will beat you!"
Clio raised his hand, summoning a golden rotating disk.
"Allow me! To show you the difference between a level 3 and a level 2!"
"Die! Aro Zephyros!" Clio shouted, waving his hand and sending the rotating golden burning disk cutting through the air straight toward Yorichii.
Aro Zephyros.
It was Clio's unique magic: a spinning disk made of flame, capable of causing devastating damage.
It was his strongest move.
His best magic attack.
Something even some level 4s would not want to face head-on.
That is why—
When he saw Yorichii grab the flaming disk with his bare hands and crush it...
Clio's mind blanked out.
On the other hand...
The mark on Yorichii's face started extending, taking on a more demonic, terrifying look.
Staring at the captain of Apollo Familia, Yorichii opened his mouth and said:
"This is the second time someone has made me angry..." He continued in a calm yet undeniably heavy voice.
"Prepare yourself."
The flame around Yorichii burned with fierce vigor as he raised his burning sword.
"To receive my wrath."
As he took a step forward, the entire marble floor underneath his feet cracked in a spiderweb pattern.
----
It happened so quickly.
With but one move, all of Clio's companions were blown away.
Strong, precise, sharp, and unavoidable.
That was all his mind could process as he stared at the incoming attack.
Clank!
Clio barely managed to raise his sword in time to receive the first strike.
Feeling the terrible burning sensation crash against his body, Clio clenched his teeth and endured it!
Surprisingly—he managed to withstand the strike.
Clio instantly regained his spirit.
It was working!
The attack wasn't as strong as he thought!
After all, Yorichii was a level 2 adventurer, and he was a bona fide level 3!
He could beat him!
Just as Clio was rejoicing—
Yorichii waved his sword again.
Seeing the upcoming attack, Clio smiled and moved his weapon to parry it.
'I have seen through your strength!'
Clank!
The second strike landed.
And Clio was forced to take four steps back.
'Huh?'
In confusion, he raised his head like a curious child.
'Why?'
He couldn't understand.
Why the strength had suddenly increased.
The flame danced and the third strike arrived.
Clank!
Clio was brought to his knees.
With half his body burned, Clio stared at Yorichii with trembling eyes and concluded in a hoarse voice:
"You're... getting stronger..."
The mark on Yorichii's face seemed to wiggle in response.
Yorichii raised his burning fist—
And smashed it down on Clio's face.
Boom!
Along with a loud noise, Clio was smashed headfirst into the concrete, embedding half his upper body straight inside.
Everyone in Orario was stunned.
Just what had they seen?!
Once!
Twice!
Thrice!
Three strikes to bring a level 3 to his knees!
By a level 2!!!
"How... wonderful..." Freya said, trying to control her hurried breath by biting down on her thumb.
Her eyes shone in deep fascination.
Loki clenched her fists, staring at Yorichii's dominating figure while also taking note of Freya's unusual movement.
Hephaestus unconsciously touched her chest.
Her heart was beating faster and louder, seeing a child breaking apart what should have been the norm of the lower world.
A level 2 beating a level 3!
It was a crazy, impossible feat!
The gods stared at Yorichii with fanatic eyes.
While everyone was going crazy, the flame around Yorichii started to burn even more fiercely.
His anger was still rising.
The mark on his face was still extending.
The images of his dead wife and young disciple kept flashing through his mind.
'It's all your fault!'
'Because you held back!'
'How many more will have to fall till you learn?!'
Yorichii tightly clenched his fist, a cracking sound echoing in the air.
Levi raised his hand to shield his face against the heat.
"Is he losing control?" Levi muttered as he grabbed Bell and quickly distanced himself from the spreading flame.
"Hestia Familia has won!"
The referee quickly announced the result.
Yorichii seemed not to have heard his voice, his gaze fixed on Clio.
Through Transparent World, he could tell the opponent was still alive.
In fact, Yorichii had never killed a human.
Whether in his original world or this one.
Born with extraordinary strength, he was always extremely mindful not to harm others.
Even in the entire battle, he acted quickly not only to avoid his familia getting hurt, but also to prevent anyone in Apollo Familia from dying.
That was why he knocked them out without killing them.
But now.
For a brief moment—
He wished to let go of reason.
And so—
For the first time—
He raised his sword.
To finish the job.
"W-wait! Hestia Familia! The match is over!"
The referee shouted in a hurry.
But Yorichii didn't seem to hear him.
And just as he was about to strike down—
A long blue-haired woman, wearing Apollo Familia's uniform, hurriedly ran forward, rushing straight toward Yorichii.
If it were the normal Yorichii, he would have instantly noticed the girl held no hostility; she wasn't even carrying a weapon.
Unfortunately, his mind was now filled with nothing but killing intent.
And the only thing he saw was the Apollo Familia's uniform she wore.
The dress of his enemy.
There was no hesitation.
With a clean movement, he shifted the trajectory of his sword and unleashed a terrifying attack, containing all his strength, straight toward the approaching girl.
The flame elementals concentrated on his sword, turning it crimson. The very air burned as the blade rushed toward her.
It was a devastating move—anticipating all her reactions through Transparent World, leaving her no chance to escape.
The girl couldn't even react—Yorichii's attack was too fast to comprehend.
Everyone held their breath.
The burning blade reached for her neck.
But just before it could connect—
A fair hand extended from the void and grabbed the burning blade, stopping it in place.
The space between Yorichii and the girl cracked—revealing a familiar figure.
A pair of blue and maroon eyes stared straight at each other.
For a moment, time seemed to freeze.
The scene was clearly displayed to the entirety of Orario.
The strike which seemed completely unavoidable...
Was blocked?! Using his bare hand?!
----
Inside Loki Familia's mansion, the brave Finn stood up from his seat, making everyone stare at him.
"Finn," Riveria said his name softly.
Finn noticed he had lost his composure and gave them a wry smile.
The members of Loki Familia present saw it, but none dared say anything—the scene in the mirror was simply too shocking.
Ais tightened her grip on her sword.
The wolf with a punchable face stood silently at the side, completely unlike his usual crazy self.
On the other side of Orario—
Inside the pleasure district—
Goddess Ishtar dropped her wine glass, shocking her familia members.
"What powerful children... that damn Hestia! How can she be so lucky?!" Ishtar said with intense jealousy and fanaticism plastered on her face.
----
Back in the castle.
The burning seemed to be stopped by an invisible barrier, unable to move forward.
Looking at the mark on Yorichii's face, Lioro opened his mouth and spoke in a neutral tone.
"Calm down."
Along with his voice, the mark stopped writhing and instantly receded back to its original state.
Seeing his sword being held by Lioro, Yorichii realized what he had done and immediately let go of the handle, taking a step back.
"I'm not so weak as to be hurt by this," Lioro said casually, brushing his hand across the burning sword, instantly extinguishing the flames before tossing it back to Yorichii.
Yorichii grabbed the sword and unconsciously inspected it.
There wasn't a single scratch on the weapon, even after burning it with such intense flame elementals.
Sheathing the sword, Yorichii bowed deeply to Lioro and said:
"Thank you."
If Lioro hadn't stopped him, he would have ended up taking an innocent life—something he could never forgive himself for.
Lioro gave him a nod, then turned to look at the blue-haired woman who had fallen on her back.
She was looking at him with confused eyes, as if she couldn't understand why he was here.
'Hm, I remember she was some sort of seer in the series?'
A useful ability—which piqued his interest.
He couldn't care less if Yorichii killed everyone in Apollo Familia, but this one was an exception.
That was why he had quickly used teleportation to appear between them and stop the strike.
Though he wouldn't deny he also wanted to act cool in front of everyone...
What's the point of having all this power if you can't even enjoy it?
Thus, the battle between Apollo and Hestia Familia came to an end.
With Hestia Familia's complete victory.
Shocking the entirety of the Dungeon City.
Inside the Tower of Babel.
"Apollo—as the victor, I banish you from Orario! Disband your familia and leave at once!" Hestia said in a resolute voice.
She originally planned to sent him back to heavens, but Lioro specifically told her to banish Apollo out of Oririo only.
Although she didn't know what plan Lioro had in mind, she trusted him enough to not ask any unnecessary questions.
"H-how could this be..." Apollo dropped to the ground with a devastated look.
The nearby gods looked at the scene with a variety of expressions. Some appeared saddened, while others gave Apollo gloating smiles.
As everyone was heading back, no one noticed that the pallum who called Elsa "frozen whore" suddenly vanished without a trace.
Anyway.
As the War Game ended, Hestia Familia's net worth skyrocketed.
Looking at the large mansion before them—several times bigger than their previous home—Hestia jumped for joy.
Within a few days, the entire mansion was renovated by Goibniu Familia.
Since they didn't have much luggage, everyone decided to move immediately.
Hestia grinned widely, standing in the wide open ground.
At the same time, her gaze landed on the mansion's front gate.
A large group of young, aspiring adventurers stood there, waiting for a chance to join her familia!
Hestia felt bubbling excitement inside her stomach.
With a big smile, she raised her hand and was just about to greet them—when a hand grabbed her head and pulled her back.
Lioro looked at the crowd before him and said in a calm voice laced with cursed energy:
"Scram."
With a single word, all the adventurers hoping to join the familia flinched in fear—before running away in a hurry.
Lioro ignored them. He wanted to create a familia of elites, not trash.
Even if the members weren't strong, they should at least possess some unique quality that could interest him.
'Just like her,' Lioro thought as he ignored the complaining Hestia and walked toward the steel fence of his familia, where two girls were causing a ruckus.
----------
Ps: Lioro >>> Yourichii, change my mind.