Three feet of ice does not form in a single day. The feud between Bete and the Amazon sisters began almost the moment they entered the Familia.
Before coming to Orario, Tiona and Tione had changed Familias three times.
Relying on their Level 3 strength at a young age, they traveled happily, unbound by any restrictions. Not even the Gods could easily command them.
It wasn't until they encountered the Loki Familia and were impressed by their high-level strength that they joined.
In the past few years, Tiona and Tione experienced something unprecedented—a feeling called "family"—in this unexpectedly encountered Familia.
They met reliable elders like Finn, and they made friends with a charismatic but slovenly chief God like Loki.
At the same time, they met important friends in their lives, Lefiya and Ais.
However, in this harmonious family, there was always one figure who seemed out of place.
The Werewolf, Bete, from the very first day Tiona and Tione met him, had never shown a single hint of "goodwill" on his face.
He was like a perpetually cranky shrew on her period, expressing contempt for everything around him and subjecting people to malicious comments.
His attitude, as if he always stood on moral high ground, disgusted the two sisters from the bottom of their hearts.
But out of politeness and the rules of the Familia, they ignored the guy. When he mocked them, they would instantly retort, often leaving Bete speechless.
Especially when this guy buzzed around Ais like a smelly fly.
Tiona and Tione would always rush in to chase him away and express their scorn for his arrogant and rude chauvinistic style.
Over time, although their interactions seemed like minor squabbles on the surface, the accumulated dislike in their hearts never disappeared.
At least for Tione, this was true. She was different from her innocent sister—she was more volatile and held a grudge!
If others tolerated him, it was because they were magnanimous and well-mannered.
But I am an Amazon warrior!
How could she tolerate that foul mouth again and again!!
Boom!!
After suppressing it for so long, Tione's anger was finally ignited by Bete. And you can't expect a lit gas canister to act with any gentleness!
A fierce aura erupted from within her body. Tione, extremely rare for her, activated her rage state before the battle even began.
The inherent skill, rare even among Amazon warriors, caused her attack power to skyrocket as her anger climbed.
And this enhancement would provide her opening punch with unimaginable power!
I was wrong!
Bete was ready to apologize the moment he realized his malice had caused an unexpected disaster.
But the first time is always incredibly difficult. He had never bowed down to anyone in his entire life.
Although he felt apologetic in his mind, the words were stuck in his throat and simply wouldn't come out!
It was this brief moment of hesitation that caused his face to take the full impact of Tione's iron fist!
Bang!!
The heavy impact didn't sound like it hit a human body. The sound was like the dull, heavy thud of two stone slabs hitting each other!
"Guh!!" The Werewolf's figure, accompanied by a scream, plummeted violently toward the ground!
It was the first time in his life that Bete had been struck by such a punch. This wasn't a monster's claw, nor an enemy's sword.
It was the fist of an Amazon fighter, faster, stronger, and harder than all of those, fueled by pure rage!
He felt like his facial bones were about to shatter. This punch, delivered by a woman, caused him more pain than even the toughest giant beasts deep within the Dungeon.
Crack!
He barely maintained his stance, his feet crushing the ground. Blood simultaneously oozed from his mouth and nostrils!
He was bleeding! This meant the matter absolutely could not be settled easily!
The Werewolf's viciousness was roused as his anger rose. Bete's tiny shred of guilt was completely masked by the coppery taste of blood in his mouth.
He clenched his slightly loosened teeth. His previously surprised and flustered expression was now filled with savagery.
Wiping away a streak of blood, Bete's eyes became icy cold.
"This, you can't treat as a joke."
He looked at the fierce tigress hovering above him, still full of hostility.
Beneath his cold expression was a rolling, raging storm. Both were warriors, both were dedicated to fighting.
Beastly nature clashed wildly with beastly nature in this unexpected confrontation.
The "Furious Serpent" and the "Fierce Wolf," two figures whose prototypes originated from the two children of Loki in Norse mythology: Jörmungandr, the World Serpent, and Fenrir, the Demon Wolf. One of their common traits was that they both symbolized destruction.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
A whirlwind, gathered by the leakage of their auras, swept through the space between them, making an unnerving sound.
"Ptui!"
Bete spat out a mouthful of blood foam.
"You stinking woman, you really want to die."
"I won't stop until I tear that foul mouth of yours to shreds!"
Both roared at their "companion!" Immediately, a crimson flash of light and a silver streak of lightning leaped up, colliding once again!
Boom!!
A head-on clash!
Although Tione's strength and endurance were superior, Bete was wearing equipment! The force of his battle boots jarred Tione's teeth. Her power was slightly dispersed as a result.
"Ora!!"
Bete seized the opportunity and returned a punch! Whether male or female, anyone who provoked him deserved to die!
Slap!
Tione raised her arm to block, but she was still sent flying, slamming directly into the stone wall behind her, shaking loose large cracks.
Undoubtedly, Bete was also fighting seriously! In fact, this was more to Tione's liking! They had never fought for real inside the Familia. Today was the perfect time to decide who was superior!
Tione Hiryute's status was: [Strength] A824 [Endurance] B769 [Dexterity] B781 [Agility] B785 [Magic] G207.
Bete's total five status scores were around 3100. Tione's were over 3300, a small lead over him. With the rage enhancement, this gap would be even larger.
However, Bete had his battle boots and was proficient in leg techniques, giving him an advantage in battle compared to Tione.
Her weapons were twin knives, which she shouldn't pull out unless she intended to kill her opponent.
Though Tione herself was already blinded by rage and had forgotten about her weapons.
In addition, the most important factor was that Tione's mindset fluctuated drastically when she entered the berserk state.
In such a state, it was absolutely impossible for her to use magic!
Therefore, their advantages and disadvantages were incredibly close! The outcome of this battle was truly unknown!
Just then, a massive magical fluctuation surged in the distance. Tione immediately recognized it as Lefiya's aura.
However, this did not alleviate her anger in the slightest. Instead, it set a timer in her heart!
Three minutes... That's what Lefiya had said.
This meant Tione needed to be able to return to provide assistance before the chant was finished.
This left her with only two choices. Either go back now.
"Bullshit! No need to choose!"
Tione glared at the equally arrogant Bete, pushing the wild energy in her bloodline to the limit!
"I'm going to knock you down right now, you stupid dog!"
She slammed her foot down, kicking up a circle of dust. She engaged Bete, who was charging at her, in a real, life-or-death battle!
"Just take this, you—"
Tione clenched her fist, her muscles and bones crackling! Ignoring any potential counterattacks from him, she charged forward with full power, launching a violent blow toward the Werewolf's body!
"Eat dirt!!!"
Bete crossed his arms, trying to block the impact. But Tione's Strength score had clearly reached another level!
The force of this Amazon punch shook his internal organs! His body flew backward, his feet scraping a long distance across the ground!
"Ugh!"
Bete felt a burning sensation in his throat and nearly lost his footing. In that instant of his pause, Tione attacked again.
Boom, bang, crash!
The two fought fiercely, explosions of deafening sound erupting on the stone steps.
The mere residual shockwaves tore fine cracks into the thick stone slabs!
Two Level 5 beasts, mutually incompatible, mutually unforgiving!
...
And while the fierce battle was breaking out here, Ryuu had successfully landed on the ground. She originally wanted to meet up with Eugene, the "Ox."
However, she was blocked by the sudden appearance of the Man-Eater Plant horde.
No, rather, the entire town was in utter chaos now. In such a chaotic scene, it was too difficult to find one person without revealing her whereabouts.
Hiss, hiss!
Suddenly, Ryuu noticed an abnormal vibration coming from behind her.
She immediately turned around, raising her weapon vigilantly.
Sure enough, in the next second, a Man-Eater Plant's vine burst through a ruined roof.
Without any hesitation, the powerful tentacle smashed down towards Ryuu.
Ryuu's eyes narrowed. She didn't confront it directly, but easily sidestepped the attack.
Although she hadn't attended the Monster Feria, she had heard about the characteristics of these new monsters.
Of course, this was knowledge Eugene had intentionally or unintentionally disclosed to her.
Clang!
Ryuu swung her wooden sword, striking the giant-snake-like scales, but it had little effect.
Even a high-grade weapon wouldn't inflict effective damage without using full strength, and the effect of blunt weapons was drastically reduced.
"In that case..."
Ryuu withdrew her wooden sword, spread her feet, and crouched down.
Her delicate hand reached back to her waist, this time touching the hilt of a long, Far Eastern style kodachi.
Hiss, hiss!!
The Man-Eater Plant, having missed its strike, angrily prepared its next offensive. And just as it hissed and pressed its huge body down towards Ryuu.
Zing!!
A silver arc of light appeared from nowhere in Ryuu's hand!
Battoujutsu Slash!!
This fierce slash cut through the tough scales and thick root-stem as easily as if it were sliding through butter!
"Hah..."
"Thank you, Kaguya."
Ryuu let out a long breath and returned the sword to its sheath.
This pair of swords was named Twin Leave), also given to her by a companion in her Familia.
That girl's name was Gojouno Kaguya, a delicate-looking, gentle Far Eastern girl who was actually a bit mischievous.
She often bickered with Ryuu, and the two secretly competed to become stronger.
Yet, Kaguya had unreservedly passed down her family's secret techniques.
Such a Kaguya made Ryuu admire and miss her deeply.
Images lingering in the past always magnify their radiance in the heart. Not to mention, she was a genuinely bright and cheerful girl.
After a brief moment of absentmindedness, Ryuu immediately refocused. Her primary task was still to deliver the package.
She could have simply used the Flying Thunder God to teleport away.
But Ryuu was stubborn; she had to complete Eugene's request and would not question his underlying intentions.
She took out the pendant again, carefully observing the direction of the flashing light.
But just as she was about to take a step, a powerful collision sound erupted again from the stone steps behind where she had just been.
"What is that!?"
Ryuu instinctively thought it was Eugene the "Ox" fighting Bete.
She quickly leaped to a high point, squinting her eyes to check carefully.
But at the edge of her vision, the one constantly colliding with Bete was the Amazon woman from his own Familia!
What was this? Infighting at a time like this?
Ryuu was unaware of the reason, but judging by the intensity of their battle, they were fighting for real.
With every clash of fist and foot, there were visible shockwaves and countless shattering stones bursting outwards!
"...What in the world is going on?"
After watching for a while, Ryuu didn't spot any pursuers or anything similar.
She decided not to concern herself with their mess and redirected her attention back to the package transfer.
But just as her gaze shifted away from the battlefield of the two.
Whoosh.
A streak of pitch-black shadow silently flashed across the very top of her field of vision.
It was like a crow that had found the scent of death.
Or like a jet-black arrow shot toward an enemy.
In any case, the moment it appeared, Ryuu's pupils contracted!
As an adventurer, her survival instincts screamed a warning.
And at the same time, as a person trapped in the past, unable to move on.
The moment she witnessed that figure, it was as if lightning bolts surged through her body, and every pore tightened!
She stared blankly, her limbs unable to move, a sense of foreboding growing in her heart.
This feeling forced her to recall the darkest day of her life.
That day, her Familia was completely wiped out.
All her friends died one by one before her eyes.
Among them was the most dearest friend who guided her toward "Justice" and brought the first ray of light into her life.
Her mentor, her family, her comrade, and her like-minded partner. And also, her nightmare.
Her name was Artemis.
Alise Lovell.
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