The light of dawn had just swept across the Orario sky, leaving dew clinging to the city's stone walls. The morning air still felt cold, but in the corner of the industrial district where the blacksmiths worked, the rhythm of life was already beating fast. The clinking of metal and the hiss of steam began to echo, breaking the silence of the fading night.
Zald stepped inside the Goibniu Familia headquarters. His towering posture blocked some of the light from the entrance. The intense heat from the smelting furnace swept across his hardened face, but the veteran didn't flinch.
Before him, God Goibniu was standing, scrutinizing a parchment scroll of material notes on his wooden table. The forging god was an old man with long straight white hair and a dangling silver beard adorning his face. He was very short, but possessed a strong and healthy physique, a striking contrast to his age. His hands, covered in calluses and burn scars, held a magnifying glass, scrutinizing the details of the material order list.
"You arrived earlier than I expected, Zald," Goibniu rasped without taking his eyes off the parchment. His voice sounded like two rough stones grating against each other. He finally placed the magnifying glass on the table. "I read the order specifications you gave me last night. You want a black Greatsword capable of withstanding Level 9 physical pressure while also distributing your fire without melting the blade."
"So, can you make it?" Zald asked with his heavy and straightforward baritone voice.
The old god snorted loudly, looking at Zald with a sharp glare. "Are you doubting Goibniu? Of course I can make it. The requested specifications are indeed insane, the balance between destructive power and magic channeling is extreme, but it's not impossible. The problem is, the materials listed here aren't things you can buy on the surface. I need steel materials from deep-level monsters to fuse the metal so it doesn't shatter when you go on a rampage."
"I understand," Zald nodded slowly. He turned his head towards a row of finished forged weapons on a display rack. His eyes fell on a plain black steel greatsword with a fairly thick blade. He pulled it from the rack and swung it once with one hand, cleaving the morning air with a sharp hum. "I will take this sword as a temporary weapon. I will go down and hunt the materials myself."
"That's just an ordinary high-class sword, Zald. It won't last long if you force your full strength into it," Goibniu warned while crossing his frail arms across his chest.
Zald smirked faintly, a smile he rarely showed anyone in this timeline. "This is more than enough to clear the weeds in the deep levels."
Without saying much else, Zald placed a pouch of valis on the table as an advance payment. He turned and stepped out of the hot workshop. His destination was absolute: the Tower of Babel. He would plunge into the hell of the labyrinth at a speed Orario had never seen. He would harvest Excelia, tear through the Level 8 limit, and ensure he stood as the strongest shield for the Barbatos Familia.
While Zald began his hunt in the depths of the earth, two cloaked figures had slipped out of Orario's Main Gate quietly. They left the labyrinth city just before the morning bustle began.
They rode a closed carriage made of sturdy wood clad in light steel, pulled by two horses. These tough, high-stamina horses along with the carriage were bought by Venti the day before—of course, using Alfia's valis.
"Northeast route. We'll cut through the Alvs and Beol Mountains," Alfia said, sitting in the driver's seat on the outside of the carriage. She held the reins with one hand, her voice as cold as morning dew.
Inside the carriage cabin, Venti lay relaxed on a red velvet-lined seat while chewing a green apple, while Alfia took over the driving with the reflexes and visual acuity of her Level 8 status.
The Alvs and Beol Mountains were an area highly isolated from outside human civilization. The ancient forest was dense, with giant tree roots jutting up to the surface, and steep, near-vertical rocks. Alfia deliberately chose this route because the terrain was deserted and far from settlements.
However, a route safe from spies came at a high price in comfort. Even though it was pulled by horses, severe jolts inside the carriage cabin remained unavoidable every time the iron-clad wooden wheels hit rocks.
Barely nearing noon, Venti was already groaning while holding his waist.
"Alfia... can't you drive a little smoother? Or at least use a little of your magic to level the ground ahead? My waist and butt feel like they're going to shatter to pieces," Venti complained from behind the small window separating the cabin from the driver's seat, letting out a long sigh.
Alfia did not turn her head, her eyes remaining focused on the steep dirt path ahead. "Stop whining. You chose this route yourself. Besides, wasting magic just to level a road is a foolish act."
"But you are a Level 8, Alfia. Controlling these two horses should be as easy as flipping your palm," Venti smiled playfully, trying to coax the captain with a feigned pitiful tone.
"Sit quietly and enjoy the bumps, or I'll throw you out of the carriage to be mountain monster breakfast," Alfia replied flatly, pulling the reins slightly to steer the carriage away from a steep cliff edge.
However, behind her harsh words, Venti realized something. Since he first complained ten minutes ago, the carriage's pace had slowly become much more stable. Alfia had secretly emitted a little of her aura pressure to suppress the wild instincts of the two horses so they would run at a smoother and more measured rhythm, ensuring the god inside the carriage didn't suffer too much from the jolts. Venti merely smiled thinly, leaning back into his seat. He thoroughly enjoyed this form of warm attention wrapped in a cold demeanor.
Their journey took days, cutting through steep hills and nomadic territories without interacting with anyone. The green scenery slowly faded as the carriage advanced further north, replaced by a bleak expanse of ash and black rocks.
The carriage finally came to a halt on a vast, extremely barren plain. They had arrived at the Ancient Village Ruins area.
Venti and Alfia stepped down from the carriage to stretch their muscles for a moment. The air in the place felt suffocating and extremely dry, with almost no humidity at all. The foundations of ancient houses had melted into glass from unnatural heat, leaving behind timeless remnants of charcoal. This was a dead zone destroyed by a wave of ancient dragon attacks hundreds of years ago, long before the era of the gods descending to the lower world to distribute Falna.
Alfia's steps halted in front of a ruin that resembled the remains of a stone tower. Her eyes narrowed, staring at the destruction with a chest that suddenly felt tight. This sight of ash and despair forcibly dragged her back into her bloody memories. The memory of when the One-Eyed Black Dragon leveled the Zeus and Hera Familia replayed in her mind. She saw again how the apocalyptic fire turned her comrades, the strongest heroes of her era, into ash exactly like the ruins before her.
Alfia's body tensed stiffly. Her hands clenched so tightly her knuckles turned white, holding back a tremble that began to spread.
Suddenly, a warmth touched her shoulder. Venti stood right beside her, placing his hand gently to calm her.
"The dragons that did this... they were merely monsters driven by the instinct of destruction," Venti murmured in a steady, gentle tone. "What happened in your past will not happen again, Alfia. We are here to make sure that final stage has a different script. A script where you lose no one. After all, we are only kidnapping Aria in this timeline and not here to fight."
Alfia looked down, exhaling a long, slow breath to release the invisible burden pressing on her lungs. When she raised her face again, the look in her eyes had returned to being sharp and unwavering. She brushed Venti's hand away gently, though Venti could clearly see a faint red flush at the tips of her ears.
"Don't touch me carelessly," Alfia said in a forced flat tone. "Let's get back to the carriage. We don't have time to reminisce in a place like this."
The journey resumed. Forests and mountains completely disappeared, until a giant silhouette cleaved the horizon. At the absolute edge of the territory loomed The Great Wall of Aegis—a massive ancient fortress wall stretching from east to west piercing the horizon, separating the green human world from the absolute death zone in the north. This wall was heavily guarded by the School District military, and to cross to the northern side, every traveler had to undergo extremely complicated military interrogation and bureaucracy.
However, when Venti and Alfia's armored wooden carriage arrived in front of a secret military gate at one of the guard posts, no argument ensued.
The guard captain, who was leaning casually on top of the wall, peered down upon hearing the sound of horse hooves. When his eyes caught the silhouette of the silver-haired woman with heterochromatic eyes holding the reins, the captain nearly fell backward. His face went pale, cold sweat the size of corn kernels dripping from his forehead.
"O-open the gate!" shouted the captain in panic, his voice cracking from fear. "Pull the chains right now! Open it! Let the Silence pass!"
Without requesting documents, without interrogation, let alone resistance, the thick steel gate was slowly pulled wide open. Alfia drove her carriage in without bothering to glance even slightly at the elite soldiers who stood stiffly, holding their breath and bowing their heads at the side of the gate. From behind the cabin window, Venti grinned widely, thoroughly enjoying the absolute VVIP access facility granted by his familia captain's aura.
As soon as the carriage stepped out from the shadow of the giant wall, the world totally changed into a bleak, gray expanse.
They had officially stepped into the Black Wasteland, or the Dead Land. The ground was extremely barren, cracked, and filled with fissures in the earth that occasionally spewed hot steam. The air in this place was shrouded in a thick black fog swirling slowly, a deadly phenomenon called Dragma. Inhaling this lethal poison fog for just a second without high-level Purification Magic would melt a human's lungs.
Alfia did not stop the carriage's pace. Without needing to chant a long spell, her clear mind immediately triggered her ultimate skill.
"Aegis Harmonia."
Instantly, a transparent frequency wave enveloped the entire carriage body along with the two prime horses in front like a giant invisible dome. Aegis Harmonia manipulated Alfia's mental clarity into an absolute defense frequency, creating an 'infinite distance' based on sound waves. The deadly fog parted automatically as the carriage moved forward. Inside that frequency dome, the horses could breathe normally, and the air felt extremely clean, free from any corrosive particles.
The journey across the northern hell, which should have been a brutal, death-filled test of courage, had now turned into merely a quiet, exclusive tour.
Very quiet, almost boring even.
Venti rested his chin on the carriage window, looking outside. "You know, Alfia, I'm starting to think this land of death is overly exaggerated in the Guild's history books. It feels very boring. No dragons dare to pierce your shield, the air here is too quiet, and you keep ignoring me up there. How about I tell some jokes to kill time?"
"If you talk too much, I will pull this shield away from your face and let that poison fog burn your lips," Alfia threatened from the driver's seat, her eyes remaining vigilant looking ahead.
Venti laughed crisply. "So harsh. I just wanted to break the ice. Don't you feel this journey is a bit lonely without my music?"
"I prefer silence over your out-of-tune voice," Alfia replied, though her hands on the reins were much more relaxed than before.
After driving the carriage through the Dead Land without significant obstacles for a full day, the horses' pace finally halted. They stepped down from the carriage and stood at the lip of a giant black rock cliff.
Down below stretched the Dragon Valley.
The valley was extremely vast, its size nearly matching the entire city of Orario. However, no valley floor could be seen. The entire giant area was enclosed by a vertical, pitch-black hurricane tornado towering upward until it tore through thick clouds. The apocalyptic wind vortex roared with absolute ferocity, sweeping away anything that came near and creating a deafening, mechanical shriek.
That was Aria's Spirit Seal—the absolute wind prison enclosing the world's greatest threat inside, the One-Eyed Black Dragon.
Venti stood at the edge of the cliff, the strong wind battering his green cloak. His playful gaze vanished without a trace, replaced by the seriousness of a true wind ruler. He reached inside his cloak and pulled out a handful of pale green light. It was the small portion of Aria's pure spirit essence he had successfully secured earlier. He would use that light as both bait and a key to infiltrate inside without waking the dragon.
"The ultimate stage awaits," murmured Venti, smiling calculatively.
Meanwhile, in Orario, the sun was already shining quite brightly, illuminating the courtyard of Hearth Manor.
Inside the warm dining room, Goddess Hestia paced anxiously while biting her thumb. Bell Cranel sat leaning in a wooden chair with a confused face. Near the main door, Dina and Vena stood tall with polite posture and a measured, professional smile.
"You don't need to worry, Goddess Hestia, Bell," Dina said with a soothing tone of voice. "Lord Venti, Miss Alfia, and Zald set off this morning to take care of some business. They left a message for the Hestia Familia to just focus on enjoying a quiet day before we return."
"Aunt Alfia... did she go somewhere dangerous?" Bell asked worriedly. Even though Alfia trained him with brutal physical torture at the Orariopiad, the white-haired youth knew that his aunt did it solely to prepare him to face the world's threats.
Vena formed a faint smile that radiated an elite aura. "The only thing in danger in this world is anyone who dares to try and block Miss Alfia's path, Bell. Please relax peacefully."
After giving that slightly strange assurance, the two Elf sisters bowed their heads politely and stepped out of the Hestia Familia headquarters.
However, as soon as they stepped out of Hearth Manor's iron gate, their friendly aura changed instantly. Their destination today was not to relax or stroll around enjoying the city. There was a justice that had to be upheld, a debt of suffering from a toyed timeline that had to be paid in full by the mastermind. According to Venti's instructions last night, they walked in silence through the busy streets of Orario towards the Ganesha Familia headquarters area.
Their presence did not escape public notice. Every adventurer who crossed their path on the street automatically held their breath, lowered their gaze, and stepped aside to the edge of the road. No one dared to block the path of two Elves who radiated Level 8 destructive power when they resonated at the Orariopiad yesterday. Furthermore, their faces were identical shadows of the Dis Sisters, the symbol of Evilus Executive terror that once haunted this city's nightmares.
Upon arriving in front of the giant elephant statue monument that served as the Ganesha Familia headquarters, Shakti Varma was already standing waiting in front of the main stairs. The Ganesha Familia captain stood stiffly, tightly gripping her spear shaft. Shakti's feelings were mixed. In her eyes, Dina and Vena's faces were the faces of two demons who had taken the lives of her comrades-in-arms during the era of The Great Feud. However, seeing these two Elves behave so calmly, rationally, and absolutely radiating no killing intent or madness, forced Shakti's logic to clash violently with her past enemies.
"Shakti Varma," Dina greeted in a neutral tone when they stopped at the bottom of the stairs.
Shakti took a deep breath, suppressing her emotions with all her might. Her god had given an absolute command to bring them in, and as a professional law enforcer, she would obey it. "Follow me. God Ganesha is already waiting for you in his office."
Shakti turned around and guided them through the headquarters corridor illuminated by magic stone lamps. Behind her, Dina and Vena walked in suffocating silence, recalling the tactical briefing Venti had given last night.
"Ganesha has an incredibly eccentric and flamboyant personality," Venti had advised while swirling his wine cup casually. "You might find him strange with his silly elephant mask. But don't be fooled, behind his comical nature, he is very wise and noble-hearted. He is the most respected god in all of Orario because of his absolute dedication to justice, not just because of power."
Vena remembered her question from last night, "But in the lower world, killing a god is strictly forbidden. How could the god of law enforcement allow us to execute Goddess Alecto?"
Venti only replied with a sly grin. "The laws of the world indeed generally forbid it. But it's a different story if the execution is carried out under the direct supervision of another god as a form of punishment and balance. Just explain the situation to Ganesha honestly, he will definitely agree. Oh, one more thing, please keep it a secret that you forcibly sent Ikelos back along with Hedin and Hogni that time. He doesn't need to know that particular detail."
Shakti's steps halted in front of a large double door carved with an elephant emblem. She opened it, inviting Dina and Vena in with a hand gesture, then closed the door tightly again from the outside.
Inside the extremely spacious office room filled with stacks of documents, a muscular man stood with his back to them facing the window. Hearing footsteps, the god turned around suddenly. He spread both his arms wide into the air while thrusting his hips in a highly exaggerated theatrical pose.
"I am Ganesha!" he exclaimed, booming across the entire room.
Dina and Vena blinked, almost stepping back due to the sudden loud voice. Ganesha then slowly lowered his arms, glaring at them sharply from behind his elephant mask. His comical posture vanished instantly, swallowed by the air, replaced by a heavy authority. He evaluated Dina and Vena in silence for a few seconds.
"Is it true that you two want to see Alecto in the Guild's secret isolation cell?" asked Ganesha, his tone of voice now deep, hoarse, and incredibly serious.
Dina and Vena straightened their backs. There was no hesitation, no fear in their eyes when facing the ruler of justice.
"Yes, it is true," they answered in unison, locking eyes with Ganesha.
Silence took over the room. The atmosphere felt extremely tense, as if the tip of a sword was being placed against both their necks. However, what happened in the next second completely shattered any remaining rationality the Elf sisters possessed.
God Ganesha's shoulders suddenly trembled. The sound of sniffling and stifled sobs was heard before tears flowed heavily from the gaps of his elephant mask. The god suddenly stepped forward quickly and immediately pulled Dina and Vena into an extremely tight bear hug while crying.
"Sniff! I am Ganesha! And I have heard your highly tragic story from Venti!" he roared amidst sobs, his voice cracking with emotion. "The suffering you experienced in this timeline... ah, truly heartbreaking! Discarded, manipulated, tortured, and forced to become emotionless tools of murder and madness by the Goddess of Revenge! True justice will never close its eyes to unfortunate souls seeking peace! I will allow you to repay her!"
Dina and Vena froze stiffly in the embrace of the god whose tears had begun to wet their shoulders. Their brains instantly stopped functioning. The two could only exchange glances with blank stares filled with maximum-level confusion. In their hearts, they screamed asking the exact same question:
Actually... what kind of melancholic bullshit did God Venti invent to make the Orario god of justice cry sobbing like a little kid?!
----------------------------
"Like my work? Catch up to Chapter 144 over on my Patreon!"
P - Gem_Blanks
Thank you so much for your support — you make all of this worthwhile.)