— — — — — —
"I SURRENDER!!"
The shout rolled across the night sky like thunder.
A lot of people who'd been watching seriously just… short-circuited when they heard that single line. They froze on the spot, completely at a loss.
"That's it? He surrendered already? Didn't the fight just start?"
Everyone who'd rushed over to watch the fight were utterly baffled.
Hermes and Ryo had clashed incredibly fast. Neither of them was going all out, but the speed alone was terrifying.
For anyone below the Four-Digit level, all they perceived was this: thunder roaring in the sky for a second or two, then… oh, Hermes surrendered.
Yeah, most people under Four Digits didn't even understand what had happened. They just heard thunder rumbling. "Oh, it's storming."
Then, in the very next moment, Hermes' voice, louder than the thunder itself, bellowed, "I surrender!"
Wait, what?
So that thunder just now was people fighting???
Question marks all over their faces.
However...
Those at the Four-Digit level who had been watching closely could at least make out a bit more. They could tell that someone suspected to be Ryo Yagami, the one controlling the lightning Lion and the Black Sword of Judgment, had engaged Hermes. The battle was fierce.
But before they could even pull out snacks, before their eyes could really lock in—
Oh wow. Hermes surrendered.
...
"What exactly happened?"
On the rooftop of an inn near Arcadia's headquarters, Sala Doltrake, acting leader of the Draco Greif Alliance, asked her strategist Garol Gundark.
Garol grabbed his feline face, his expression subtle and complicated. "That lion in the sky should be Four Digits. That sword carrying judgmental authority is probably around the same level. But logically speaking, they shouldn't be able to beat Hermes."
"Unless… unless Hermes used a relatively weak avatar. In that case…"
Garol didn't finish, but Sala understood.
Sending out a weak avatar just to provoke someone. What kind of galaxy-brain move was that?
...
At another inn.
Willa, whose beauty was almost unsettling, sat curled up on a sofa, hugging her knees as she gazed out the floor-to-ceiling window into the pitch-black night.
Beside her, Pumpkin Jack spoke in a rather nuanced tone. "Arcadia's leader is no joke."
More than "no joke."
Jack, whose Spirit Rank included Jack the Ripper and Spring-Heeled Jack, had nearly been scared out of his wits by that authority of judgment.
That black sword likely possessed an extremely exalted judgment-type divinity, and it was especially lethal against villains like him.
Hermes had probably raised his hands and surrendered precisely because of that.
Still… Hermes was a Three-Digit, wasn't he?
A weaker avatar going all out against a powerful enemy and displaying the dignity of a Three-Digit. Wouldn't that have been better?
This whole thing left Jack just as confused by Hermes' decision.
In the end, he could only console himself with the thought that maybe Hermes had deeper reasons.
At that moment, Willa glanced out the window once more, then calmly withdrew her gaze.
"Jack. Ayesha. Cancel our cooperation with the Commercial God's Staff."
"Huh? Willa-nee! Why all of a sudden?" Ayesha, completely out of the loop, froze.
Why cut off a partner who was basically handing them money? What was going on?
That was tens of thousands of gold coins every month. How could she just say stop like that?
Jack, on the other hand, didn't object to Willa's seemingly impulsive order at all. He nodded in agreement.
"Probably for the best. After this, the Commercial God's Staff is going to have a rough future."
A Three-Digit surrendering to a Four-Digit.
Because of freak Four-Digits, this wasn't unheard of, and since it was an avatar battle, people could more or less accept it.
But surrendering to someone who had just entered the Four-Digit level, a leader who hadn't even debuted yet and was planning to raise his community to Five Digits?
That was a slap to the face. A loud one. Over and over.
On a broader level, this dragged down the perceived minimum strength needed to defeat a Three-Digit.
Normally, losing to old Four-Digit monsters wasn't that embarrassing.
But you, Hermes, really went and surrendered to a Four-Digit rookie.
One person singlehandedly lowering the power floor. Impressive, Hermes. Truly impressive.
For commercial communities, growth depends on both strength and credibility, with strength being a major factor.
People who couldn't beat Hermes wouldn't dare provoke his subordinates. And yet, Hermes himself lowered the benchmark of "someone who can beat me."
It was hard to understand, but at least Jack was certain of one thing.
Doing business with the Commercial God's Staff was going to get a lot harder from now on. And if business was going to suffer, cutting ties was the obvious move. After all, they were the ones holding the initiative as product developers. They had confidence to spare.
...
"Did you see what really happened?" Mata asked, her expression strange.
"Without experiencing it firsthand, it's hard to say," Kenshin replied calmly. "But that avatar of Hermes was on the weaker side."
"I don't see it that way."
Mata smiled faintly, her gaze playful as she looked at the two familiars in the sky.
"I smell Leo and Libra. That makes things interesting."
"Whether it's legacy or authority, that alone puts the kid at least at elite Four-Digit level. More likely legendary. If it's authority, then it depends on compatibility."
Those who held sun authority were rated at least as legendary Four-Digits. And if their Divinity matched that authority extremely well, it wasn't impossible for a near-invincible, lower-tier Four-Digit freak to appear.
Mata leaned toward that possibility.
Without freak Four-Digit strength, how could someone be Lady Shiroyasha's little lover? But was he?
"Whatever. I've got tomorrow's headline already," Mata said, her expression turning teasing and sarcastic.
"'Is the minimum requirement to defeat a Three-Digit being a freak? Or a pure-blooded true dragon? Arcadia's leader tells you: all you need is an ordinary Four-Digit.' How's that sound?"
"Oh-oh. And Hermes is gay. I can't forget that. Hehe~"
"..."
Uesugi Kenshin sighed deeply. "Blatantly stepping on Hermes to climb higher. Will Greece allow that?"
"Isn't that exactly what they want?" Mata replied with a bright smile, looking up at the sky.
"This was a performance from the start, wasn't it? As Greece's agent, could Ryo really kill Hermes? No matter how you think about it, that's impossible… Ah?"
As she watched Hermes, whose entire head was smashed apart by the lightning Lion, Mata went blank.
Just now… what happened again?
Why does my face suddenly hurt so much?!
.
.
.