"Filthy, unsightly flames...! You have no right to look up at the sun! Begone!"
Slash—!
Hyakinthos Clio, wielding a crimson longsword, cleaved through the Flame Beasts in a single stroke.
"S-Strong...! To take down that many Flame Beasts..."
"He's much stronger than he was during the War Game... Could it be, a Level Up!?"
Watching the display, the rest of the group—unable to join the fray—could do nothing but remain under his protection.
Clang—! Clang—!
"If you're not going to fight, get out of the way! You're an eyesore!"
Just as Lixus said, they were currently nothing more than a hindrance in this battle.
"....! [...Grow, O Great Power, according to the vessel...]"
At those words, Haruhime attempted to recite her chant, but...
"[Grow, O Great Power!], [Uchide no Kozuchi]!"
—...
"Ugh...!? My magic....!"
"My movements are sluggish too... Damn it! Can we really do nothing!?"
They were currently in a state where they could receive neither magic nor any blessing.
Even their strengths as 'Unknowns' from the lower world were unusable now.
—Groooar!
"D-Damn it!?"
At that moment, one of the Flame Beasts lunged at Welf and Lili. Just as they were about to be struck—
Slash—!
"Mikoto-sama!?"
"I will engage!"
"You...?"
Though her Falna was gone, she was still a warrior to the core.
"Even if Hestia-sama's Falna is absent, I still possess the techniques bestowed upon me by Takemikazuchi-sama!!"
—Rooooar!
Whoosh—!
"Ugh...!!"
Mikoto desperately countered the Flame Beast with the proud techniques passed down from her God of War.
Clang—!
"....!!"
'It won't cut at all...!!?'
However, technique is merely a factor to compensate for a lack of strength.
In the face of an 'overwhelming' deficit in power, it was nothing more than a minimal means of clinging to life.
'My body won't follow the techniques I've envisioned! To think I was relying on the power of Falna this much....!'
—Graaaar!
"....!?"
Before she could even process her panic over her physical state, the Flame Beast lunged. Just as her body was about to be torn apart by the flames—
"You're in the way."
Slash—!
"...!! Hyakinthos-dono....?"
Hyakinthos shoved her aside and decapitated the Flame Beast in an instant.
"Those movements... has your Patron Deity's blessing been sealed?"
"!!"
"Hmph, so this is the end for dependents abandoned by their god. Then don't act tough. Right now, you aren't even an adventurer."
"T-That's...!"
"What can you protect with those makeshift martial arts? Don't get ahead of yourself, you slug. Realize that you're nothing but a burden."
"Ugh...! I...."
Hyakinthos's stinging criticism hit home.
However, it was a precise assessment of Mikoto's current situation.
—Rooooar!
"Wait!! Before you criticize Mikoto-sama, do something about this side too!!?"
The Flame Beast's fangs loomed over the other companions once more.
"....!!"
'I have to move....'
Drip.
"I have to move.... but...."
Would moving even change anything? Perhaps staying still is—
—'There's no way that's the best option, is there?'
"....!?"
'Akumo-dono....?'
Never stay still. If you've realized that something of yours can still work.
If this is a place where everything seems prepared for you, and even someone to save you is provided.
—'It's fine to be shameless, isn't it?'
"....."
—'That is what an adventure is, and that is what greed is.'
Those were the words he would have said to her.
—'There. Look there.'
"...Yes."
Responding to the voice beside her, Mikoto watched the Flame Beast charging at her friends.
—Graaaaa!
The beast lunged with ferocious momentum.
But the moment she focused her gaze on them despite that pressure—
Mikoto closed her eyes. she recalled everything she had learned in her adventure.
'The techniques of my God... the courage to not fear a powerful foe...'
Do not ignore the enemy just because they are small fry, and do not focus on your own weakness.
Snap! Her eyes flew open.
"Haah!"
Whish—!
"""!!"""
Like the Supreme Sword Strike she had witnessed that day, even if it was an immature movement that barely mimicked it.
Slash—!
"Haah...! Haah...!!"
It was undoubtedly a magnificent strike, filled with respect.
—'Well done, kid.'
"Thank you....!"
"Ardee-san! Are you safe?"
Flutter—!
"R-Ryu-sama....!? And Asfi-sama, even Aisha-sama...!"
They had flown in using the Talaria.
Thanks to Asfi's magic items, they were able to rejoin Lili's group without delay.
"Regardless... that just now was certainly...."
'Her Falna should be sealed...'
Even Ryu, who had just dispatched several Flame Beasts at once, could tell that the strike Mikoto just showed was far from ordinary.
'It resembles... Akumo's stance...'
"....It is a technique that is still far from complete."
Grip—!
"Ryu-dono, I believe it would be best to move first!"
"Save the talk for later! Let's finish them off and get out of here!"
Setting aside their questions, they had to deal with the Flame Beasts and immediately move to a safe zone.
"What on earth is going on? Why is Apollo-sama here..."
Even after reaching safety, the situation remained bewildering.
Apollo's sudden participation, the sealed Falna of the group, and the missing Akumo and Bell.
"I see some unexpected faces. My... this is so far beyond my predictions that my jaw won't close..."
Step, step—
"Hermes-sama.... and even Hephaestus-sama...!"
The gods approached from a distance, as if they had already arrived.
"I told [Perseus] to drop me off right in front of the battlefield.... Setting Aphrodite aside, why are you here, Apollo?"
"Hahaha!! The sun must always rise to illuminate all things! In other words! It is no problem no matter where I appear!"
Despite Hephaestus's questioning, Apollo only laughed heartily in response.
"That explains absolutely nothing...."
"I'm sure we all have much to say. I also wish to share information, but... it will soon be [Night]."
"...! Do you know about the Flame People!?"
"Of course. We set foot on this land much earlier than you. We've fought those aberrations several times."
While the details would require a long explanation, it seemed the Apollo Familia had experienced various incidents outside.
"As much as I want to go find Akumo and Bell right now... it can't be helped. Let's return to the village for now."
The only silver lining was that their appearance was by no means a bad thing.
Step, step—
How long did they walk?
"O lost lambs!! I have returned!"
Ta-da!
With Apollo's grand declaration, they successfully arrived at a base that appeared to be a village.
"Everyone, Apollo-sama! Apollo-sama has returned!"
"Apollo-sama~!"
Commotion—!
Even more surprising was the sight of the residents joyfully welcoming Apollo.
"W-What is this... I have a mountain of questions... but why is Apollo-sama so loved!?"
"Is that your first question... well, I suppose I understand..."
As Lili and Asfi expressed their doubt, Lixus kindly provided an answer.
"Those people are the original inhabitants of Olympia who were living outside the city."
"After Apollo-sama arrived in this land, he saved the people threatened by the polluted flames and brought them to safety. This place is, quite literally, a sanctuary."
"Eeeeh!?"
To reiterate, even if he appeared strange, his love for children was genuine.
"Bwahahaha!!! As long as I don't meet my fated one, I am an extremely normal god!"
The annoying part was that he was all too aware of it himself.
"Even so, saying that with your own mouth doesn't look good..."
Even Hyakinthos had to admit that much.
"Apollo-sama, thank goodness...! If you hadn't returned..."
"Where would I go and leave you all behind?"
"Apollo-sama, please, the people of the western village too...! My sister's family is there... Cough, cough!"
"You've only just recovered from your illness, so rest. I will handle the rest."
He was truly a benevolent god; it was impossible to think of him as the god who had once subjected them to malicious harassment.
Patter—!
At that moment, a young, cute child approached him.
"Apollo-sama! Thank you for always helping us!"
Grin—!
"Not at all! Protecting a fresh and adorable child like you is my mission, Young Fruit-kun!"
His true intentions were leaking out the moment he spoke.
"....?"
"What is it, Artemis-sama?"
"No... for some reason, I just had the urge to punch my brother."
"Uh.... that doesn't sound like something we should just brush off...."
The irritation arising from that dissonance was also being transmitted to a certain goddess of the moon.
The Apollo Familia. They had wandered the world since being exiled from Orario.
"You have no idea how much I suffered because I couldn't forget Bell-kun!"
"We're being serious right now!? No unnecessary talk!!"
In any case... while wandering the world, they had heard information about [Olympia] and headed there.
"Wait... surely information about Olympia should have been restricted...?"
"That is true. That's why we entered via land, not sea. Through a secret path Aphrodite had opened."
"A secret path....?"
Even in Olympia, there were the Three Great Quests, the stories of Zeus and Hera, and information on Bell.
"There are always informants who go in and out. It seems Aphrodite charmed one of them to gain passage."
"So a gap in the neglected barrier became a secret path..."
"I appreciate your understanding. Now, it's your turn."
Apollo's expression turned serious once more as he finished his part.
"I understand roughly what happened... but there's a part that's an absolute mystery, you see?"
They must have traveled here with the grown Bell.
Furthermore, based on their words, they should have been accompanied by Orario's strongest adventurer, Akumo, and Hedin Selland of the Freya Familia.
"So, what on earth happened...?"
Even the Sun God asked with a tense expression, wondering what could have occurred.
"....That is."
The story was by no means short.
By the time the tale concluded, it was already time for the dark night to fall.
"Impossible.... That [Pioneer] was...!?"
"So you let your own Patron Deity be offered as a sacrifice, and in the end, you pushed the responsibility onto someone else only to be rejected...!!"
Lixus and Hyakinthos were horrified that Orario's strongest adventurer had been helplessly suppressed, and at the same time, they did not look kindly upon the group who remained relatively unharmed.
"Stop it, Hyakinthos! Even if I were Hestia, I would have made the same choice. Could you still say that then?"
"...!! My apologies. I overstepped...."
Apollo immediately restrained Hyakinthos, but his own face was far from pleasant.
".....Hermes."
"That's right, Apollo. You must have seen it recently too?"
"Of course. The dragon of [Black Flames]..."
The black dragon flames that Akumo had created that day.
"Setting aside the fact that those flames were taken, to think his condition was that bad..."
"The situation is worse than expected... Hestia is one thing, but even Akumo-kun..."
"As expected...!? What are you saying right now...!!"
Thud—!
"Welf... let's rest for now. Everyone... is in no state to move anymore."
However, the children reacted even more strongly to the fact that the gods already knew this would happen.
"But Hephaestus-sama...!!"
".....I'm sorry. I can only ask you to trust me."
Grip—!!!
"....!!"
Welf tried to voice his confusion to Hephaestus as she stopped him.
But seeing Hephaestus's hands trembling visibly after hearing the news of Akumo and Hestia—
Welf was forced to swallow his words.