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The magic crystal in the corner of the room glowed brightly.
Ouranos spoke to the entire city.
"The War Game is finished. The winner is Hestia Familia."
The streets of Orario erupted in loud cheers.
People threw their hats into the air.
They danced in the streets.
In the Gods' viewing room, Apollo hit the floor with his fists.
"It's a lie!"
Apollo screamed.
"He cheated! You all saw it! That red beam wasn't normal!"
Hermes walked over and looked down at him.
"You lost, Apollo. It was a fair fight."
"Fair?"
Apollo cried.
He grabbed Hermes by the pants.
"He wiped out my castle in one hit! A Level 2 can't do that. He's hiding his true status! He's hiding a cursed weapon!"
"The Guild checked him,"
He stood near the door, his arms crossed.
"He has no hidden falna. He's just better than your children. Accept your defeat."
"I demand a rematch!"
Apollo yelled.
He looked around the room.
He begged the other Gods.
"Help me! If he can do this to me, he can do it to you! We have to stop him!"
Nobody moved.
Nobody offered him a hand.
They just stared at him with pity or boredom.
"By the rules of the War Game,"
Ouranos continued through the crystal,
"Apollo will surrender everything. His wealth, his home, and his familia now belong to Hestia. Furthermore, Apollo is banished from Orario forever."
"No!"
Apollo wailed.
He curled into a ball on the soft carpet.
He had lost his money.
He had lost his children.
He had lost his pride.
Elias took everything from him in a single afternoon.
Apollo reached out and tried to grab Loki's boot.
"Loki! Tell them! You know this is wrong! Help me fix this!"
Loki kicked his hand away.
"Shut up, loser. Stop whining like a baby."
Apollo just laid there on the floor, crying.
Later that evening, Hestia walked out of the Guild building.
She had a massive smile on her face.
She held a large stack of papers.
They were the official deeds to Apollo's giant mansion.
"Going somewhere, Shorty?"
Hestia stopped walking.
Loki stepped out from a dark alley.
Finn and Ais stood quietly behind her.
"Move out of my way, Loki,"
Hestia said proudly.
She lifted her chin.
"I'm a very busy Goddess now. I have a mansion to clean."
Loki narrowed her red eyes.
She didn't smile.
"I just have one question. Who are they?"
"Who are who?"
Hestia played dumb.
"Don't play games with me,"
Loki hissed.
"That boy, Elias. And the girl who just sits around eating popcorn. They aren't normal adventurers. Where did you find them?"
Hestia hugged the papers tightly to her chest.
"They are my children. That's all you need to know."
"A Level 2 doesn't fire a beam of divine light,"
Loki said.
She took a slow step closer.
"Tell me the truth, Hestia. What are they hiding?"
"Find it out yourself,"
Hestia said.
She turned her head away.
"I'm not telling you anything. You're just jealous."
"Is someone talking about me?"
Loki jumped back in surprise.
Dee was suddenly standing right beside her.
Loki didn't hear her approach..
She smiled at Loki.
It was a cold, empty smile that made the alley feel freezing.
"You want to know a secret?"
Dee asked softly.
Loki stared at her.
"Who are you?"
Dee reached a hand into the empty air.
Space seemed to fold and bend like paper.
She pulled out a fresh bag of popcorn from nothing.
Loki felt a cold sweat run down her neck.
Her divine senses were screaming loudly.
The girl in front of her didn't feel like a human.
She didn't feel like a monster.
And she definitely didn't feel like a God from Heaven.
"I'm just a girl,"
Dee said.
She threw a piece of popcorn into her mouth.
"But if you poke your nose too deep, you might lose it."
"Are you threatening me?"
Loki asked.
She tried to sound brave, but her voice shook just a little bit.
Dee leaned in very close to Loki's face.
For a split second, Dee's eyes turned completely black.
Dee whispered.
"Run along now, little trickster. You're entirely out of your depth."
Loki stepped back again.
She understood now.
This girl wasn't a being of this world.
She came from somewhere else.
She came from the beyond, a place entirely outside the rules of the dungeon and the gods.
"Let's go,"
Loki told her children.
She turned around and walked away quickly.
She didn't look back even once.
The Hostess of Fertility was packed with people.
The noise in the tavern was deafening.
"To Hestia Familia!"
Welf shouted loudly.
He raised a massive wooden mug of beer into the air.
"To victory!"
Bell cheered happily.
He clinked his glass of juice with Welf's mug.
Lili was busy eating a giant plate of roasted meat.
"Lili is so happy! We are rich! We actually have a huge mansion now!"
Mia, the large tavern owner, laughed a booming laugh from behind the counter.
"Eat up, winners! Tonight is on the house! You put on a good show today!"
Ryu walked by their table.
She wore her green uniform.
She placed a fresh plate of warm food in front of Elias.
She didn't say a word.
But she looked at him for a long time.
Her eyes were full of questions.
Elias looked up at Ryu and gave her a small, polite nod.
Ryu's cheeks turned slightly pink.
She quickly looked away and walked back to the kitchen in a hurry.
The music in the tavern was loud.
Adventurers were dancing.
Hestia was bragging loudly to some customers at the next table about her amazing children.
Elias sat quietly in the corner of the booth.
He didn't drink.
He just watched the room.
Dee sat right next to him.
She was eating a strange, colorful dessert she brought out of thin air.
Elias leaned closer to her.
He kept his voice very low so the others couldn't hear him over the loud music.
Elias whispered.
"Tell me."
"Tell you what?"
Dee asked, licking a small silver spoon.
"What comes next,"
Elias said seriously.
"You know the story of this world. What is the next major event?"
Dee smiled.
She put her spoon down on the table.
"You really want spoilers? I thought you liked figuring things out."
"I want to be ready,"
Elias answered.
"I like surprises. But not when my friends could get hurt."
"Fine,"
Dee whispered back.
She rested her chin on her hand and looked at the ceiling.
"The red-light district is going to burn. A very ugly toad woman will cause a lot of trouble. A certain fox girl needs saving from a bad place."
Elias narrowed his eyes.
"Ishtar Familia?"
"Yes,"
Dee nodded.
"And after that, it gets very messy. Monsters that can talk and think. A dungeon that cries. A black dragon that isn't really a dragon. And a whole lot of boring dungeon politics."
"Do I need to step in and handle Ishtar?"
Elias asked.
"Only if you want to,"
Dee shrugged her shoulders.
"The little white rabbit is supposed to handle it. He is the hero here. But we broke the story. The story might change to adapt to us now."
Elias leaned back in his chair.
He looked over at Bell.
Bell was laughing a bright, pure laugh while Welf told a joke.
"Well, that is to be expected honestly."
Elias said quietly.
"I will let him grow. If he can't, I will step in."
"You are going to ruin the plot entirely,"
Dee giggled.
"I will break whatever gets in my way,"
Elias said firmly.
Dee picked up her spoon again and took another bite of dessert.
"I know you will,"
Dee said.
"That is exactly why this is so much fun."