Chapter 0165: Let's Go All Out
"Who's there?"
"Ah—"
Those two lines were likely the last words these members of Evilus would ever utter in this world.
"Swish—"
Erina landed coldly on the ground, casting a look of utter disgust at these human scum who had been slain with a single sword stroke to the throat. With a flick of her long sword, she shook the blood off the blade onto the ground before sheathing it.
"Caw—"
The massive Corviknight flapped its wings as it landed on the ground, scattering the fallen leaves around and revealing the cold, damp soil beneath—frankly speaking, this kind of place was indeed suitable for murder and burying bodies.
Don't you agree, my Evilus brothers?
Oh, I forgot—you're already dead and can't speak anymore.
Hayashi rolled off Corviknight's back and jumped down, then walked over to Erina with a smile, comforting her, "Alright! Evilus was always just a group of psychologically twisted rats from the sewers. Getting angry over them isn't worth it at all."
"I'm not angry over these already dead people!" Erina snorted, then looked curiously at the completely unconscious and disoriented goddess. "Hayashi, I remember you told Hisako that in the original story, the goddess Astraea didn't die, right?"
Hayashi froze for a moment, then also looked strangely at the unconscious goddess, muttering, "That's right! But if we hadn't intervened just now, she would have definitely died, wouldn't she?"
Why did such a deviation occur?
At that moment, Hisako and Yunyun landed on the ground, dismounted from Dragonite's back, and came over to join the two.
'Forget it, no use thinking about it.' Hayashi shook off his thoughts and said to Hisako, "Hisako, please remove the abnormal status from the goddess."
Hisako nodded. She overlapped her palms and aimed them at Astraea, who was lying on the ground, softly chanting, "Tokiwa · Abnormal Status Purification! Tokiwa · Stamina Recovery! Tokiwa · Energy Recovery!"
After three consecutive recovery skills, Astraea's fingers twitched slightly, and she suddenly jolted awake, quickly scrambling to her feet and warily scanning her surroundings when she saw the corpses scattered around and the people surrounding her, she couldn't help but show a stunned expression.
'I remember being poisoned, but now...'
She tried clenching her fist and found no feeling of weakness at all, which made her eyes widen in disbelief as she murmured, "The poison in my body... it's gone?"
"Of course! Hisako is our team's proud priestess!" Hayashi put his hands on his hips, deliberately revealing information to the Goddess of Justice before him. "Removing a toxin that causes unconsciousness is a piece of cake for her, right?"
'So, these people saved me?'
Astraea let out a sigh of relief, brushed the fallen leaves off her clothes, and then bowed deeply to Hayashi and the others. "Thank you so much for your assistance. Otherwise, I might have met with disaster today."
"Hey, it's no big deal." Hayashi waved his hand dismissively and said confidently, "Anyone who saw such a beautiful girl surrounded by a bunch of obvious villains would lend a hand—right?"
Beside him, Erina couldn't hold back a smile and nodded, saying, "Hayashi is right. It was just a small effort."
"!"
They're good people, they're good people!
Astraea felt her "good person radar" going off like crazy—these people were definitely good people! The kind of good people you could give a "good person card" to!
"For you, this may have been a simple gesture, but for me, it is a life-saving grace." Astraea suppressed her inner "good person radar" and spoke with a hint of regret: "It's a pity the timing isn't right, otherwise I would have properly entertained you all."
She urgently needed to catch up with the children who had fled earlier, so she didn't have time to host Hayashi and his group—though Orario was currently in chaos, there were still places to eat.
"Timing isn't right?" Hayashi feigned confusion and asked, "Does this lady have urgent matters to attend to?"
Astraea nodded and said, "I've been separated from my companions and need to find them now."
Hisako, standing nearby, smiled and said: "In that case, why don't we help? Corviknight has very sharp eyes!"
"Caw!—"
Corviknight proudly flapped her wings—she had hawk eyes... no, crow eyes! She could easily count how many armpit hairs you had from thousands of meters in the air!
"Corviknight..."
Astraea looked at the frighteningly large avian monster with surprise and said, "Is this a monster you've tamed?"
"Something like that."
Hayashi nodded with a smile and said: "We'll help you find your companions, and after you reunite with them, you can serve as our guide and introduce us to Orario. How about that?"
'Are they outsiders?'
Having picked up certain clues from Hayashi's words, Astraea nodded gently and said: "Then I'll trouble you all."
In her view, Hayashi's group must have come to Orario from elsewhere and happened to save her by coincidence, now hoping she—as a local—would act as their guide. At the very least, with the life-saving grace between them, she wouldn't think of deceiving them.
...
...
Half an hour later, with the help of Cor(vid)viknight (the green-headed fly), Astraea successfully reunited with the little ones who had fled earlier in front of a cave.
Better say thanks to Brother Fly.
"Madam, thank you for extending help to our goddess—"
The adventurer named Lili bowed earnestly to Erina, her voice filled with gratitude as she said, "If not for your help, Goddess Astraea would probably have..."
No, not probably—she would definitely have been sent back to Heaven! At that time, how would newcomers like them, whose highest level was only Lv.2, survive in the current Orario?
Just imagining that scene made Lili feel chilled to the bone, her limbs going numb. She couldn't help but express her heartfelt thanks once more: "Really, truly, thank you so much!"
Erina reached out to help Lili up and said, "We've also claimed appropriate compensation—in the coming days, we'll still need you as guides to introduce us to Orario's local customs and culture."
Hayashi nodded beside them, smiling as he remarked, "But I never expected Astraea to be a goddess. I thought she was just an ordinary female adventurer—hiss, now that I think about it, are the customs in Orario this fierce? Openly surrounding and trying to kill a goddess?"
"..."
Lili twitched the corner of her mouth, then forced an awkward yet polite smile. "Sir, you might have some misunderstanding about Orario. Actually, Orario, uh, Orario, well..."
Originally, Lili had intended to explain things about Orario, but as soon as she thought about the city's current chaotic state, she couldn't help rubbing her forehead.
It felt like trying to tell someone, "Our Gotham citizens are simple and honest, harmonious and friendly!" while the supermarket downstairs was having a zero-dollar sale, the bank across the street was being robbed, and police cars were chasing down criminals on the main road.
If the other person actually believed that, they'd either be a Saitama or a Thanos.
"Orario wasn't originally like this—" Astraea walked over with a complicated expression and said, "Since you came to Orario because of its reputation, you should know what kind of city it is, right?"
Hisako nodded beside them and said, "Of course, it's a city where gods and humans coexist, right? The gods bestow blessings upon heroes, and the Familia serve their respective deities."
Astraea nodded, forcing a smile as she replied, "Naturally, Familia vary in strength. In the past, the two strongest Familia in Orario were the Zeus Familia and the Hera Familia."
"The past?" Erina deliberately showed a puzzled expression and asked, "You mean they aren't anymore?"
Astraea shook her head gently. "About two years ago, the Zeus Familia and Hera Familia joined forces to subdue the One-Eyed Black Dragon but failed. Both Familia were completely wiped out! After losing the deterrence of these two Familia, some villains within Orario became active..."
Hayashi said with "sudden realization," "So that's why. No wonder even a noble goddess like you would be surrounded and attacked by a bunch of petty scoundrels—it seems we've come at quite an inopportune time."
"Young master! You're mistaken about that—we've actually come at the perfect time!" Hisako cheerfully approached with a smile and said, "Has young master forgotten all the heroic tales we usually read? Orario is currently in a period of chaos. With young master and young lady's abilities, you're certain to make a name for yourselves—this experience might even be recorded as heroic tales for future generations to admire!"
Hayashi widened his eyes (he truly hadn't considered Hisako's perspective) and turned to look at Astraea, the "local expert," asking in surprise, "Goddess, is what Hisako said true?"
"Without a doubt it's true! The gods of Orario are particularly fond of heroes—" Astraea nodded emphatically and said seriously, "In fact, many gods descended to the mortal realm specifically to witness heroic tales unfolding before their very eyes."
Nearby, Erina said thoughtfully, "So if we can become heroes, does that mean we'll be able to speak directly to the gods?"
"More than just speaking! If you can truly make a name for yourselves in current Orario without joining any Familia..." Astraea paused for a few seconds, as if considering her words, "I estimate all the gods in Orario would line up to approach you, offering various conditions hoping you'd join their Familia."
Of course, some unscrupulous individuals would probably resort to underhanded methods—when that time comes, she would definitely teach those scoundrels a lesson to repay the debt for saving her life.
"Oh ho, that sounds truly fascinating!" After hearing Astraea's confirmation, Hayashi immediately rubbed his hands together eagerly and said, "Erina, Hisako, Yunyun, let's make this happen!"
Playing a hero game seems quite enjoyable, doesn't it?
After all, what man doesn't have dreams of being a hero?