Slice—!!!!
—Uooooooh!!!!!!!!!
"Back off, you bastards!"
Akumo's blade rained down upon the Flame Men in a dozens-fold execution.
"Haap!"
Swoosh—!!
"Hup!"
Crash—!!
Immediately after, Ryu's green arrows and Hedin's concise slashes caused the Flame Men to vanish in an instant.
Boom—!!!
"Damn it...! This is just straight-up hell, isn't it?!"
However, the number of Flame Men seemed endless. Just as Aisha, Lili, and Haruhime were about to join the fray—
"O Flame!!"
Rumble—!!!!
"!!"
'That voice...!'
Rhea's fire incinerated dozens of Flame Men all at once.
"Everyone!? Why are you here...! You were strictly forbidden from leaving..."
"Was it to hide this hell from us?"
"....!!"
At Ryu's words, Rhea could offer no rebuttal.
She had deceived them, trying to hide the fact that this hell was right at their doorstep until the very last moment.
"We've already seen it. We know now, so start talking immediately!"
"What on earth are you people hiding?!"
Aisha's shout reached Rhea, and just as she was about to open her mouth—
""!!""
—Aaaaahhh!!!!!!!!
A single Flame Man lunged at Lili and Haruhime.
"Run!!!!!!"
Welf's shout echoed in that desperate moment.
"No!! Shion!"
Whoosh—!!!!
Rhea's cry coincided with a blast of fire.
Slash—!!
"!!"
The flames engulfed the Flame Man, and simultaneously, Akumo's sword qi cleaved through it.
"...Huh?"
The name that escaped Rhea's lips was one all too familiar to Lili and Haruhime.
—'Because I'm the big sister! I buy flowers for my little sister every day!'
The name of the girl who bought flowers in the city every single day.
"Shion....?"
"..."
"Lady Rhea... what... what did you just say....?"
"Why that child's name... why did you call out Shion's name just now...!!"
She had given that monster the child's name. No, she had addressed it as such.
There was no way Lili and Haruhime could fail to understand the implications of those words.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry...."
Only words of apology flowed from Rhea's mouth.
—Once the night passes and morning dawns. At the same time you usually meet that child.... please come back here.
Leaving only those words, the attack of the Flame Men came to an end.
Leaving only those words, Rhea vanished, her expression clouded with hidden sorrow.
Step, step—
"So this is where you were, Aphrodite."
Meanwhile, outside Olympia.
On a cliff where the sun was rising and Olympia could be seen at a glance.
Aphrodite stood there.
"Hermes? You've come again?"
"You've got some nerve, disturbing my morning time."
What exactly was Aphrodite looking at from there? Hermes was likely curious about that.
"Don't be like that. I went through quite a lot of trouble to find you. Asfi barely managed it with a magic item."
Step, step—
As Hermes spoke, Hephaestus and Asfi arrived at the cliff behind him.
"Ugh!? Hephaestus....! W-w-w-what is this!? Are you trying to stalk me persistently or something!?"
Snap—!
"I'm tired of that reaction. I'm just here to monitor you so you don't do anything strange. Hermes will be the one talking."
Hephaestus felt a vein pop in annoyance at Aphrodite, who kept trying to frame her as an obsessed woman.
However, since there were more important matters to discuss, she yielded the floor to Hermes.
"All alone in a place like this without an escort.... what exactly are you doing?"
Whish—!
"Can't you tell by looking? I was gazing at that impudent castle of Prometheus, the one they call the Divine Realm."
The wind blew coolly over the cliff.
Below them lay Olympia, filled with its usual bustling heat and energy.
"Then tell me, Aphrodite.... why exactly are you looking at that impudent castle?"
"What is your true intention in trying to bring down Olympia?"
Hermes, the God of Adventure, questioned Aphrodite seriously.
Just what was she seeing?
"Isn't it obvious? We have to do something about that [Distorted Realm]."
The Goddess of Beauty replied to her friend with a grave expression.
Chatter, chatter—!
".....It's the same. It's just as lively."
This was definitely the place that had been reduced to ashes during the battle last night.
"Is this really the right place...?"
"Yes, there's no mistake.... This is Miyako Square, where we've enjoyed sightseeing several times.... and where that terrifying battle took place last night..."
"It's as if I've had a dream...."
Those ashes had been restored, and the square was bustling with energy as if nothing had happened.
Click—!
"....! Lady Rhea! What on earth is going on... please tell us quickly..!!"
Rhea appeared before Lili, and though Lili immediately demanded an explanation—
"For that role... I believe that child is better suited than I..."
With a bitter face, she merely pointed at 'Shion,' who was running through the streets holding flowers.
"That person is.... Shion?"
"W-what.... she's safe! Lili thought Shion had turned into that monster..."
Shion was running along just like any other day, as if nothing had happened.
Seeing this, Haruhime and Lili approached Shion with relieved smiles.
"....Hedin."
"I know...."
Grip—!
However, to Akumo and Hedin, who had realized the truth, that sight looked like nothing less than a horrific nightmare.
"We meet again! Are those flowers for your sister today as well?"
"I'm bringing flowers for Siate!"
Click—!
"Bringing flowers every day, I'm sure Siate will be pleased. What kind of flowers are they today?"
Ignorant of the underlying tragedy, Lili and Haruhime asked Shion a different question than usual.
"She's sick and can't get out of bed!"
".....Pardon?"
"I'm the big sister! I'll do anything for Siate!"
"But you said that exact thing last time...."
As if programmed, Shion spat out the exact same words.
"Lili, Haruhime. Get away from that child."
Akumo had no choice but to pull the children away from what used to be a child.
Static—!!
"I'm Shion! These flowers, you see, are my little sister Siate's favorites!"
Glitch—!
"I'm bringing flowers for Siate! She's sick and can't get out of bed!"
Static—!!
""....!?""
Like a broken machine or a madman, Shion repeated the same words over and over.
No, it was an unknown 'something' in the shape of Shion.
"It was the worst-case hypothesis...."
Step—
Chatter, chatter—!
"Always the same scenery, always the same words."
None of them were real.
They were merely a mirage, mimicking a beautiful scene—a scene that was beautiful—over and over, for all eternity.
"....Yes, the citizens of Olympia repeat the same time."
"""""!?"""""
"The fire-shaped aberrations that appear at night are the end result of those who were humans... consumed by the [Contaminated Flame]."
The horrific truth was delivered to them.
"This country ended a long time ago. The citizens are all dead... only a small number of troops remain to protect Prometheus's will."
"W-why...."
"The [Heavenly Flame]."
"!!"
Power that falls suddenly from the heavens does not function normally.
"We called you here to resolve that."
"The flame that fell from the perfect Celestial Realm to the imperfect Lower World gradually became turbid..."
Eventually, it gave rise to a self-corrupted blaze that destroyed Olympia.
"Just how long has this...."
"Who knows? If it's from the moment Prometheus started struggling... roughly 300 years?"
Just how long had this horrific repetition continued?
"The disaster occurred just as a normal day was ending...."
"The [Heavenly Flame] incinerated fifty thousand citizens of Olympia."
At that overwhelming number, Aisha shouted in horror.
"Fifty thousand...!? That's impossible!"
"It is the truth. The flames erupting from the earth burned everything."
Clench—!!
"Only a tiny fraction survived. On that day, Shion and Siate were also completely swallowed."
The few survivors had taken on the management of the flame, continuing their lineage until now.
"In other words, the Flame Men are the walking dead?"
"....Similar, but those are souls that are still burning even now."
"Burning.... souls?"
"Their bodies burned away long ago, but their souls burn incessantly, existing in a loop of life and death."
Their repetition of time was merely a fragment of the remaining flame.
They simply repeat that brilliant day, and even if you kill them, they never truly die.
"The situation is.... more serious than I thought..."
As long as the Contaminated Flame remained, those monsters would not die.
"Monsters that increase in number and grow stronger as time passes...."
"Master Akumo is correct... as the endless repetition continued... we grew exhausted."
"And just as you were reaching your limit.... an oracle was handed down to call for Lady Hestia?"
"....That is correct."
Several questions that had existed within Akumo were now resolved.
The doubts they had, the sense of incongruity from the city, and the influence the flame exerted.
"But...."
"Then why did you hide it?"
However, not all questions were answered.
"The reason you stubbornly refused to tell the truth.... is because you have a guilty conscience about something."
Aisha immediately pressed Rhea for the rest of the story, driven by unresolved doubts and the anger-tinged assumptions blooming within her.
"The Celestial Flame that swallowed fifty thousand souls in an instant."
"Is that something that can be purified with the power of a single god?"
Next, Ryu's cold observation pierced their ears.
"What is Lady Hestia... putting on the line to purify the [Contaminated Flame]?"
Finally, Akumo's calm words reached the climax of the interrogation.
"Is it sacrifice.... or perhaps a sealing...."
The guilt that had constantly lingered on their faces.
Ilia's behavior—intentionally avoiding forming bonds to ensure she wouldn't be missed.
"I'm sorry...."
Rhea's sincere apology.
It was the evidence confirming that the worst-case scenario Akumo had envisioned was correct.
"....It's about time we started moving as well."
"Yes, Freya."
Simultaneously, two goddesses took their seats overlooking the chessboard.