A hint of doubt had just arisen in Noel's heart.
The next second.
A massive sword wound, diagonally traversing his entire chest, appeared out of thin air on his body!
Blood gushed out like a waterfall!
Noel fell to the ground powerlessly, a helpless sigh flashing in his eyes.
So fast...
He, who was known as "Bowstring Sword Leaf" by the world, could most directly experience the ultimate, despair-inducing speed of that last sword strike.
This guy... is he Lv.8? Or Lv.9?
How could such a terrifying monster-level swordsman suddenly appear in this world?
Cold sweat broke out on Finn's forehead as he tried to negotiate with a wry smile.
"Must we fight...?"
Rhode did not reply, only swung the long sword in his hand again.
Finn gritted his teeth, struggling to parry with his long spear.
After only a few exchanges, Finn felt like his 'good brother' could be chopped off at any moment, and cold sweat streamed down his face!
Does this guy have a grudge against me?!
Why does he only use one move against everyone else, but when facing me, he deliberately tortures me with a 'heir-cutting sword'...
"Finn! Get out of the way!"
Riveria's shout made Finn sigh with relief.
He roared, swung his long spear with all his might to push Rhode away, then leaped backward, landing beside Riveria.
The next moment!
"Burn everything, Sword of Surtr—My name is Alf!"
With a violent burst of sound, the massive magic circle instantly expanded, covering the entire Loki Familia's base in an instant.
Raising her silver staff, Riveria unleashed her powerful magic.
"High-level • Sword of Victory!"
Accompanied by a deafening explosion, countless thick pillars of fire shot up from the magic circle!
Crimson flames boiled, and the scorching heat, enough to melt steel, instantly swallowed Rhode's figure whole!
"...Did it work?"
Finn stared intently at the sea of fire, his hand, clenched tightly around his long spear, trembling slightly.
Just by taking a few of the opponent's casual attacks head-on, he could barely hold his weapon anymore.
Riveria's expression was incredibly solemn, her lips tightly pressed together.
"Although considering his astonishing speed, I deliberately used the widest-ranging area-of-effect annihilation magic. But..."
Her words were cut short.
Both of their breaths hitched simultaneously.
That black figure leisurely, as if strolling in his own backyard, stepped out from the fiercely burning pillars of flame, his black robe gently swaying with the inferno.
The flames, capable of destroying everything, seemed to part naturally for him, like subjects greeting their king.
Even the wise hero felt an unprecedented sense of powerlessness at this moment.
Physical attacks ineffective, magic having no effect... How is one supposed to fight this?
How could such an outrageous person exist?!
Even when facing the "Empress" and "Hero" who reigned over their era, he had never felt such absolute despair, completely unable to see any way to counter them.
Finn took a deep breath, a look of determination flashing in his eyes, and tightened his grip on his long spear.
"Magic Spear, ah..."
Bang—
Rhode withdrew the leg that had kicked him away, his gaze calmly falling upon Riveria, the only one left on the field, who was staring at him with stubborn eyes.
A mage caught in close quarters by an enemy is as good as dead.
However, she deliberately ignored this common sense, resolutely wielding her staff and charging towards him.
In all fairness, Riveria's close-quarters combat skills were by no means poor; it was just that this ability was overshadowed by her overly fierce, world-destroying firepower.
But there was an unbridgeable qualitative gap between the Elf Princess, currently only Lv.3, and Rhode.
Every one of her attacks failed to touch Rhode in the slightest; Rhode, with his hands in his pockets, nonchalantly dodged Riveria's repeated full-power swings.
"Even though no moves are working, you still won't give up?"
"If I give up now, then I'll be the useless one! I will never let anyone harm my companions casually!"
Rhode couldn't help but mutter to himself.
They really are mother and daughter, huh... So they were so similar when she was young?
The gentle, calm, and reliable Riveria of the future was actually a hot-headed, stubborn person like Ais when she was young.
However, it's a bit of a shame that her talent is limited by the Grace system.
The old guy from the neighboring set uses magic much more conveniently than her. How should I trick Loki into giving it to me?
Rhode suddenly pulled out his phone from his pocket and, facing Riveria who was charging over, took a "click."
The moment the flash appeared, Riveria thought it was some special magical weapon and instinctively covered her face with her arm.
As a result, she was precisely captured in a cute image, like a startled little rabbit, with her eyes tightly shut, full of a contrasting charm.
Rhode looked at the photo in his hand with satisfaction, revealing a joyful smile.
Good, good, when I return to the future, I'll share her mother's dark history with Ais.
Ais will surely love this gift.
"Alright, I'm tired of playing. See you next time~"
Riveria came back to her senses and indignantly prepared to swing her staff like a club again.
"Wait, wait...!"
However, Rhode's figure was already gone.
She stomped her foot in frustration, then quickly turned her head to look at her fallen companions, anxiously preparing to cast healing magic.
"Everyone! Are you alright!"
However, to her surprise, the Dwarf's robust voice came from the nearby ruins.
"I'm afraid I've disappointed you, favored Elf; I'm still breathing."
Immediately after, one, two... everyone shakily stood up from the ground.
Even Noel, who seemed to have the most severe injuries, actually only had superficial wounds.
"Haha! Riveria, if you don't cast healing magic on us soon, we might all be healed already."
Finn leaned on his long spear, struggling to walk out of the ruins.
"That guy... never had any killing intent from the start..."
Riveria came back to her senses and asked somewhat angrily.
"Then why didn't you warn me?"
She had just used her killing move almost without reservation!
If the other party actually had no hostility, wouldn't that mean she had done something wrong? What if... what if she really hurt the other party?
Finn rubbed his sore arm with a wry smile.
"Even if I said it, this battle was bound to happen, though I don't know why."
"And compared to holding back against us, he practically went easy on you."
Gareth adjusted his hat, holding fragments of his shield.
"Since we know he's not an enemy, who that guy is and why he's so strong... those questions can be left to those two Familia to worry about."
"What we need to consider now is... if we fight him again next time, what countermeasures do we have? At least... we need to have some ability to fight back."
The scene was silent.
After an unknown amount of time, Finn spoke, cutting off the sprouting lament.
"Swordsmanship, combat, level, speed, strength... let's first exclude those abilities we can't comprehend, and strive in the directions where we have hope of improving!"
"In any case, I'm sure about this!"
Everyone nodded slightly, an unwilling fighting spirit burning within them.
They tidied up the aftermath in twos and threes, and comforted the other members of the Familia who were agitated by the recent commotion.
Only Riveria held her staff, looking in the direction Rod had left, and pursed her lips.
Was it a magic effect... even after fighting, his appearance and voice couldn't be etched into her mind at all... Who exactly was he...
[Congratulations on completing Special A-rank Wish.]
[Mission completion: Normal. Wisher satisfaction: Exceeded.]
[Congratulations on obtaining Wish Points: 3000 points.]
[Congratulations on obtaining rewards: Dain's Shield Guard Technique, Bala's Close-Quarters Combat Technique, Noel's Blade Art.]
[Congratulations on obtaining Riveria's Skill: Elf King's Mark!]
[Effect:
Magic power ability enhancement, enhances kindred magic existing within one's own magic circle.
Converts the magicules consumed by kindred within one's own magic circle into mental power and absorbs them.]
[Congratulations on obtaining Gareth's Skill: Power Essence Fierce Punch!]
[Effect: High correction to strength.]
[Congratulations on obtaining Finn's Magic: Ferocious Demonic Spear!]
[Effect: Berserk magic. All abilities are greatly enhanced. Judgment decreases with the increase of fighting spirit.]
"Oh?"
Rod looked at the last system prompt, a little surprised.
"I actually got the Demonic Spear of the Fianna family?"
The negative effect of "judgment decreases" on the Demonic Spear in the panel only flickered for a moment before being immediately deleted by the BUG skill, Perfect Synchronization.
Now, it had become a perfect, powerful magic that could forcibly increase his level by one.
"Not bad."
Rod nodded.
He was quite satisfied with this harvest.
Of course, what he was most satisfied with was that precious black history photo of Riveria!
-
The location of the Hera and Zeus Familia was not difficult to find, it was in the seventh district of the northwest main street.
In today's Orario, it could be said to be quite high-profile and eye-catching.
However, Rod did not sense too many strong presences in the residence.
"Did they go on a Dungeon expedition....."
Rod thoughtfully surveyed the luxurious complex of buildings before him.
Ten years later, this place had almost become a desolate area, even once becoming a stronghold for the Dark Faction.
Rod's gaze suddenly lingered on a detached church building not far away.
"This church is..."
In the main story timeline of the original work, Hestia, after freeloading, was finally driven out by an exasperated Hephaestus, and that was where she lived.
Although by then it was already in a state of disrepair.
And according to the current timeline, living there should be...
The moment this thought arose, the system's prompt sound rang out again.
[S-rank Special Wish issued.]
[Issuer: Hera Familia]
[Content: Save Metria]
[Reward: Special reward, and a corresponding massive amount of Wish Points.]
[Note: This Wish will fundamentally change the direction of the entire world. Please choose the method of salvation carefully!]
Rod looked at the system's reminder and chuckled softly.
"Fundamentally change... doesn't that mean if I choose another path, a certain guy called the 'Egg of the Hero' won't be born..."
"System, do you think I'm the kind of person who would work hard to save someone, then play matchmaker to help others achieve good things?"
Rod strode directly towards the church, without attracting anyone's attention along the way.
As he was about to arrive, he suddenly saw a thin man stealthily trying to climb the wall in front of him.
"Damn it... Zeus succeeded in peeping into the adventurers' bathhouse outside the Familia before... why can't I do it..."
Rod narrowed his eyes slightly, and with a flick of his hand, he conjured a gust of wind, directly sending the man flying into the sky.
The thin man's rabbit-red eyes widened, and he screamed in pale terror.
"Ugh ah ah ah...! Wh-what's going on... Is this retribution...?!"
"But it's my first time and I haven't done anything... Ugh, at this height, I'm definitely going to fall to my death!!!"
Rod scoffed inwardly, expressionlessly.
Passing through the wall, Rod happened to see a beautiful girl struggling to push open a door, leaning weakly against the wall, panting heavily.
Her sickly, fragile, slender body, which could hardly be called plump, trembled repeatedly from violent coughing fits, even occasionally spitting out a trace of blood.
Just getting up from the bed upon hearing a strange sound and walking to the door had almost used up all the strength she had accumulated for several years.
..."Eh?"
She looked in surprise at the man who had appeared out of thin air in her courtyard using some magical means.
Her beautiful, snow-white silver hair swayed, and her pearl-like blue eyes sparkled with pure curiosity.
"You are?"
Rod thought for a moment and decided to be direct.
"A robber."
If he simply cured her illness and allowed her to continue living actively in this era, it might lead to many unnecessary troubles.
Therefore, Rod's choice was to simply pack her up and take her away!
The girl blinked, revealing a spring-like smile.
"Then... Mr. Robber, you should go to the Familia's warehouse. You've come to the wrong place~"
Rod walked up to the white-haired girl, lowered his head, and said indifferently.
"No, the most precious treasure of the Hera Familia is right in front of me."
"Eh... eh? Cough cough cough..."
Feeling the masculine aura of a man wash over her, the girl, who had always been well-protected by her younger sister and the main god Hera, blushed slightly.
In her haste, she couldn't help but cough violently a few more times, feeling dizzy and almost falling.
Rod took the opportunity to reach out and directly pulled the girl's light body into his arms, his brow slightly furrowed.
Too thin... almost like a thin piece of paper... as if a light touch would shatter her.
The girl leaned in Rod's firm embrace, feeling a little shy.
But then, a hint of regret and loneliness appeared in her eyes.
"Mr. Robber, you've seen it. I'm just a burden with a terminal illness, certainly not a treasure."
"Even the Grace that Hera specially gave me... had no effect at all..."
Perhaps it was because she had no expectations for her own life, even when facing him, this 'robber' of unknown origin, the girl didn't feel much fear, but rather more novelty and curiosity.
"Mr. Robber, can you tell me about the outside world? Cough cough... Oh, my name is Metria. What's your name? Oh..."
Amidst Metria's slight gasp, Rod gently picked her up by the waist and then pushed open the door.
"You should go see the outside world for yourself. Are all your things in this room?"
"Yes, that's right... But you..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Metria, held in Rod's arms, widened her beautiful eyes.
She saw all her personal belongings in the entire room vanish into thin air after a spatial distortion.
"This..."
Rod checked thoroughly, and after confirming there were no omissions, he lightly stamped his foot.
A horse with huge wings appeared out of thin air from the shadows.
Metria, held in his arms, couldn't help but let out another small gasp, even with a hint of excitement.
"This is... a legendary Pegasus...? Are you... the Prince Charming from fairy tales...?!"