"If we win, we're taking your follower, Bell Cranel!!"
"What!?"
"Was that your goal from the very beginning, you pervert!"
Hestia was thrown into a panic by Apollo's proposal of a War Game. Rage surged through her as she realized he had hosted this entire banquet just for this purpose.
"There's no reason to play along with such a cheap performance! I see no need to accept a War Game!"
"Ho? You'll regret this."
"As if! Let's go, Bell-kun!"
Refusing the offer without a second thought, Hestia grabbed Bell's hand and immediately marched out of the banquet hall.
Watching them go, Akumo briefly debated whether he should act. On the surface, this was merely a common dispute between Familias. As he weighed his options, Ottar spoke in his usual calm tone.
"For now, we have no choice but to watch."
"I suppose you're right."
'If I move here, it could be seen as an inter-Familia conflict. It would cause trouble for Loki as well.'
"If it becomes a real problem, that's when I'll intervene."
As the undisputed strongest figures in Orario, Akumo and Ottar could not easily jump into friction between Familias. Since Hestia had officially rejected the War Game, observing from the sidelines was their only pragmatic course of action.
Step, step—
"Oh my, do you still have business here?"
"Freya, I see you were at the banquet after all."
"Even knowing that, you still have something to say to me?"
"I didn't come here to provoke you. I simply have business with the [Pioneer] at your side."
"Is that so? You'd best not try anything foolish. Akumo-kun isn't particularly merciful."
Freya narrowed her eyes slightly, observing the situation with sharp focus as Apollo turned his attention toward Akumo, wary of whatever strange proposal he might be planning.
"Lord Apollo, what is it you want with me?"
"Akumo-kun. Did you see the massive crescent moon that rose over Orario recently?"
"....."
"When that crescent appeared, the Dungeon trembled and the monsters grew more ferocious."
Apollo looked at Akumo as he described the events that occurred in Orario while Akumo was conquering Elsos.
Akumo tried to read Apollo's intent, but the suggestive, predatory gaze the god had directed at Hestia was nowhere to be found.
"What is your point?"
"That was the divine aura of my sister, Artemis."
"That is..."
"Artemis is not a child who would release her divine aura so recklessly. Something must have threatened her safety."
Bowing low—!
"Thank you truly for saving Artemis, Akumo-kun."
As Apollo bowed his head in a polite gesture of gratitude, he seemed like an entirely different person compared to the one indulging in malicious whims moments ago.
"Are you surprised by the contrast?"
"To be honest... yes."
"What I did to Hestia just now was sincere, of course. It was born of my personal desires. But this... this is a formal expression of gratitude to the one who saved a fellow god."
Apollo delivered his intent in a dignified tone. Hoping he might be able to reason with the god, Akumo spoke up.
"...I didn't save her alone. Bell was there too."
"Is that so! That only makes the boy appear even more attractive!"
"You know that's a toxic habit..."
"The love I feel for the children of the lower world is real. That is part of who I am, just as the sincerity of this gratitude is mine. There are no lies in either."
"....."
Confronted by Apollo's genuine gratitude and his refusal to deny his own twisted methods, Akumo found it impossible to view him in purely positive or negative terms.
He felt the nature of a deity—one whose desire for entertainment and genuine affection for their 'children' existed in unsettling harmony.
"It is unfortunate if you and Bell Cranel are acquaintances, but this is my way. Do not interfere."
"Don't blame me if this ends in a catastrophe for you later."
"Haha! Are you suggesting my children could possibly lose?"
"The world is always a difficult thing to predict."
After offering his thanks, Apollo returned to his place, while Freya departed the hall with Ottar. Left alone, Akumo drained his glass, feeling a strange sense of frustration at his inability to act in this gray situation.
That was when a woman approached him.
Step, step—
"Um... Akumo-san?"
"Hm? You are..."
'[Mirabilis]...?'
"...Darkness will come soon. The most brilliant darkness...!"
Cassandra Ilion. She was a member of the Apollo Familia, bearing the epithet [Mirabilis].
Recently, she had been plagued by prophetic dreams she couldn't fully comprehend.
"What on earth is this..."
It was a vast, desolate plain.
Someone stood there.
Wielding a sword, then a spear, then a scythe, then an axe. Sometimes using magic, other times using curses.
As she drew closer, his form shifted continuously until he finally turned to look at her.
"..."
And then she saw it.
She saw the countless lights and the countless shadows that lay fallen behind him.
Every one of them had been a disaster, a hero, or an existence meant to shake the very foundations of the world.
Yet all had fallen before the being in front of her.
Thud!
"A-Ah...!!"
'Just what is this existence...!!!'
As the unknown entity began walking toward her, the strength left her legs, and she collapsed where she stood.
Step, step—
"D-Don't come any closer...!!"
Step, step—
"Please...!!"
The being stood before her, radiating an aura of absolute dominance.
Just as her vision trembled and a paralyzing chill seized her body—
Reach—
"Are you alright?"
"What...?"
'He's... worrying about me...?'
Flare!
She saw it then.
She saw the vast sky reflecting him, and a brilliant, radiant light.
He was undoubtedly darkness.
Yet he was also the light.
He was undoubtedly the light.
Yet he was also the darkness.
Jolt!
"Hah!!?"
She snapped awake. She was stunned by the overwhelming pressure she had felt—an intensity unlike anything she had ever experienced in her life.
"I-I have to tell him..."
'It will arrive soon...'
Returning to the present at the banquet hall, she delivered the contents of her dream to Akumo.
Knowing that neither mortals nor gods ever believed her prophecies, she hadn't expected much, yet a certain conviction took root within her.
"That's... how it was..."
"....."
"I-I know it sounds strange, but..."
"I believe you."
"Wait, really!?"
"I don't know exactly what's coming, but I've got a feeling I'll be dragged into some incident soon regardless. There's no harm in listening to you."
'I lose nothing by taking it to heart.'
As Akumo acknowledged her words, she felt a sensation she had never felt before.
"T-Thank you..."
"No, I should be the one thanking you for worrying about me."
"....."
'It really is him...'
Deciding to trust him, she resolved to tell him the most crucial part of her dream.
"Beware of yourself."
"....What?"
'Beware of myself...?'
Just as Akumo was about to question her further—
Grab!
"Cassandra! What are you doing to the [Pioneer]!?"
"Ah! Daphne... wait a minute!"
"Let's go before we get into real trouble!"
Daphne Lauros, terrified of what might happen if her friend bothered Akumo, hurried over and dragged Cassandra away, leaving only the cryptic prophecy behind.
"What in the..."
Akumo was left alone, deep in thought about the weight of her words.
The following morning, a violent explosion echoed through Orario at daybreak.
BOOM—!!!!
"What's all this noise in broad daylight-nya~?"
"That's...!"
"I smell a fight-nya."
"It looks like a conflict between Familias...!"
The sound originated from the dilapidated church that served as the Hestia Familia's home. Hearing the ruckus, Anya Fromel, Chloe Lolo, and Syr Flover ran out from the Hostess of Fertility.
They weren't the only ones drawn by the commotion.
"...I'll go and sweep them away."
"Don't use your Skills~"
"I know."
Alfia, her face hidden by a robe, headed toward the source of the noise with Akumo.
"I hope they came prepared to die."
"They've crossed the line."
Seeing the Apollo Familia members standing on the rooftops with drawn blades and active magic, Akumo vanished from his spot in an instant.