Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka - Volume 7 CHAPTER 7 GODDESS WAR

Screams of agony filled the Night District.
What had once been bustling streets fully equipped to meet the exotic desires of its many clients was
an assemblage of smoldering framework. The lucky buildings had massive holes and long gashes in their
outside walls; the rest were nothing but piles of rubble at this point. Even the red-light district had been
torn to shreds. The air was thick with the eerie residue of spent magical energy. The surviving ajura trees
bent and swayed in the waves of heat coming from the nearby flames. Gusts of wind carried the sparks in
and among their blue petals. Devoid of human activity, the prostitutes who hadn’t escaped in time were
being held by the invaders at blade point in an open courtyard.
Other areas of the Pleasure Quarter were still in chaos; the shrieks of terrified prostitutes and the clash
of swords never ceased. The flames of war spread throughout Orario’s third district, getting ever closer
to the palace at its center, Belit Babili.
“Wh-what happened here…?”
Hestia whispered to herself. Their group had finally forced their way into the main hall on the first
floor of the palace. The young goddess forgot to breathe as she saw with her own eyes the extent of the
damage.
Chunks of the white stone floor and walls were missing, decorative pillars collapsed and laying on the
floor like fallen trees. The bodies of badly injured Amazonian warriors were mixed into the debris.
Judging by their position, Hestia thought the Amazons hadn’t stood a chance against their attackers. Battle
was still raging outside the building. Chigusa and the rest of Takemikazuchi Familia were too stunned to
speak. Lilly gulped down the air in her throat before saying as calmly as possible:
“Most likely a raid. But what familia would attack…?”
Hestia listened intently to her follower thinking out loud. Takemikazuchi looked down at the goddess
with a grim expression. She met his gaze and both reluctantly nodded.
They’d seen the attackers on the way in—more specifically, they’d seen the crest engraved on their
weapons and armor. Hestia knew there was no denying it.
“Freya, she made a move…!”
The sound of a blade piercing armor, closely followed by blood splashing on the floor, echoed through
the higher floors of the palace.
“H-help…m…!”
Gravity pulled her body off a black blade. Separated from her team, a single Berbera fell to the floor.
The dark elf didn’t listen to her pleas, silently watching as a pool of blood spread out at his feet.
“Hegni, no killing,” came the sharp voice of an elf just down the hallway. The bodies of more Berbera
lay on the floor behind him, twitching in pain or completely motionless. One of them struggled to stand,
her injured body refusing to cooperate. The elf spun around, thrust out his hand, muttered an extremely
short trigger spell, and mercilessly sent a powerful bolt of lightning into her chest. The spell hit with so

much force that her convulsing body went through the wall, leaving behind a gaping hole. Jagged burn
marks appeared on the floor and walls as soon as the dust cleared.
“The F-Four Knights of the Golden Flame…Bringar…?!”
On a different floor, four javelins pierced each limb of a terrified Amazonian warrior.
The heels of four boots collided with her torso a moment later, knocking loose the javelins and
sending the Level 3 adventurer crashing to the floor. Four prums, each equipped with body armor and
helmets, split up to engage their remaining targets. The rest of the Amazons were launched through walls,
slammed into the floor, or bounced off the ceiling in a matter of seconds. None of them could stand her
ground.
The four advanced to a stairwell at the end of the hall that led to an outside passageway. One of them,
carrying over his shoulder a war hammer that stood taller than he did, grinned. SLAM! CRASH!! The
stairwell was nothing more than a heap of wood and stone in the back of the hallway when the dust
cleared.
“Every set of stairs in the back of the palace up to the twentieth floor has been demolished.”
“Any fighters still on their feet are next. Take away Goddess Ishtar’s options.”
The four prums convened to confirm their strategy before splitting up. They disappeared into separate
hallways, streaks in darkness.
Ishtar’s remaining forces inside the lower half of the palace couldn’t hold their position, their screams
of pain spiraling through the halls of Belit Babili like strokes of the clock.
“—Hey, big guy! We goin’ the right way?”
“Hell if I know! Every staircase is in pieces!”
On a different floor, Welf and Ouka raced through room after room with their weapons drawn.
Just like in the Pleasure Quarter, the two gawked at the level of destruction as they cleared the way
through the palace with the others in tow. Grateful that the mysterious invaders hadn’t paid any attention to
them, they cut through the chaos and panic that had taken over Belit Babili.
“?!”
“A Berbera!”
One of the warrior prostitutes appeared in front of Welf and Ouka. They’d managed to avoid
encountering enemies since entering the main building, but their streak of luck had come to an end.
However, the Amazon had already seen a great deal of battle. Blood leaking from fresh cuts all over
her body, she held a long club in her left hand while her right clutched the side of her chest. Breathing
staggered and ragged, she stood just in front of the entrance to the next room.
“Wa—AWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
Her bloodshot eyes flashed open as she charged forward, a nightmarish mix of power and desperation.
She swung the club over her shoulder like a tiger bringing its claws to bear. Ouka managed to absorb
the blow using his ax as a shield. However, he couldn’t keep his feet and staggered backward.
“Big guy!”
“This one’s Level Three!”
The pain shooting through Ouka’s hands nearly made him drop the ax. Welf jumped forward to protect
him but was knocked to the floor by the Amazon’s next swing.
Welf had exhausted his supply of materials making magic swords for the War Game. There hadn’t been
a chance to restock and make more after the move. “Dammit!” he cursed, wishing that he had some way to
overcome the difference in level staring him in the face. The Amazon’s mere presence was overwhelming
—but suddenly, a nearby wall exploded outward.
“!”

Ouka, Welf, and their opponent each watched in surprise as the splinters of wood and chunks of stone
flew into the middle of the room.
One Amazon slid to Welf’s feet among the debris.
“You aren’t worth my time, whore.”
A catman appeared behind the hole in the wall, glaring at the woman’s body on the floor.
Fresh blood dripped from the tip of the long spear in his right hand, short fangs bared in a sneer. The
short-stature adventurer quickly noticed the conscious Amazon frozen in the middle of the room.
“HYE—HYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”
She threw her club to the side and made a break for the exit. But the catman was faster.
He became an elusive blur to Welf’s and Ouka’s eyes. One moment he was outside the hole in the
wall; the next, the dull end of his spear was sending the Amazon through a different wall. It was exactly
what had happened moments before, just this time they got to see how it happened. The humans blinked a
few times in disbelief.
The catman’s eyes shifted in their direction.
“So, what are you?”
His aura was so intimidating that neither of them could open their mouths to speak. He focused on
Welf, and judging by his equipment and the air about the young human, correctly guessed that he was a
smith. The catman was not pleased.
“Smiths belong in a forge…Go swing your hammer, peon.”
“Wha…Say that again, you piece of shit!”
Welf’s pride as a smith drove him into a rage. The catman ignored him, didn’t even look his way as he
left the room.
Only the first of his soft steps could be heard as the catman disappeared through the newest hole in the
wall. Welf was seething with rage, but Ouka was awestruck.
“Level Six, ‘Vana Freya’…Allen Fromel.”
The name of the top-class adventurer belonging to Freya Familia spilled out of Ouka’s mouth.
A feeling of helplessness overtook Welf as he staggered forward and punched the wall with a strong
thud.

“N-no…Inconceivable.”
Ishtar let go of the balcony railing, refusing to believe what she had just seen. Recovering from the
shock, she raced back inside.
The sight of their aggravated goddess sent a wave of fear through the guards still in her chamber.
“Where is Phryne? Is the ritual finished yet?”
“Th-there has been no word! None of the messengers have come…!”
The first guard in her line of sight gave a knee-jerk response. This served only to irritate Ishtar even
further as she desperately searched for answers.
Just why was it that Freya chose now to attack?
Even if Hermes had alerted her to the presence of the Killing Stone, there was no way the messenger
could’ve known about Haruhime’s sorcery—the Level Boost should still be a secret. Freya attacking
preemptively made no sense.
“…Bell Cranell, is it?”

Was the silver-haired Goddess of Beauty really that attached to the boy?
Attached to the point that kidnapping him was something for which she’d go to any lengths, including
war, to punish her?
“That vixen is doing this for…one child?!”
—That’s insane!! Absolute nonsense!!
Ishtar’s fists shook as her heart screamed out in disbelief. She’d been playing a prank, trying to be a
thorn in Freya’s side, and yet that joke had struck the wrong nerve. However, it was far too late now.
What to do, what to do? The wheels in her mind turned, going faster and faster. Should she hide the
Killing Stone and Haruhime, and then meet up with Phryne and the others for protection? Or should she
escape from her ruined home—no, from Orario entirely? She didn’t know which way to go.
Ishtar was so caught up in her own dilemma that only now did she notice the lack of battle cries
downstairs.
“Huh? Wh-what’s wrong?”
The Berbera whom she had the most affection for, the ones who should be defending her in this time of
need, were silent.
Ishtar made her way to the top of the grand stairwell on the thirty-first floor. Looking down at the very
spot of her second encounter with Bell Cranell, she leaned over the railing and called out to them.
Her voice echoed through the uneasy stillness surrounding the ornate pillars that decorated the wide
chamber below.
Until…ker-tap, ker-tap.
High heels on stone announced the presence of another goddess.
“No…”
Ishtar’s amethyst eyes opened as wide as they could go as locks of silver hair and an ominous smile
came into the light.
Two unblinking silver eyes were locked onto her. Freya pulled her long silver bangs back behind her
ear.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Ishtar? Since the last Denatus, I believe? Have you been well?”
“F-Freya…?”
“I hate to be rude, but there’s something we need to discuss. No—more like a final good-bye.”
Ishtar choked on her own words. The smile didn’t leave Freya’s lips as she made her intentions
known.
The goddess was alone, her escort nowhere to be seen. Seeing this, Ishtar roughly turned to her own
guards and shouted at the top of her lungs:
“S-seize her! Make that woman kneel before me! Both of you!”
She ordered the last of her personal guards, male and female humans, to attack.
The two had been silently waiting at attention, keeping their eyes down. Both rushed forward,
descending the staircase in a heartbeat.
Freya was already in the middle of the chamber, vulnerable from all sides. Ishtar’s guards drew their
weapons and charged forward—and slowed down.
“?!”
The man was the first. His body quivered the moment he set eyes on the silver-haired goddess, and he
fell to his knees.
The deity grinned as the female guard wobbled in place, like a drunk person trying to insist there was
nothing wrong. Freya calmly walked up to the young woman and whispered something in her ear. Every
joint in the human’s body gave way as she collapsed like a rag doll.

The male guard made every attempt to stand up, but his legs just wouldn’t obey. He grew more
desperate with each passing heartbeat. Freya walked up to him and gently ran her fingers down his cheek.
The man’s body shivered before he fell face-first onto the floor.
“M-my children…!”
—They had been Charmed. Ishtar couldn’t even finish her own sentence.
The same scene must’ve played out many times. Flashes of light coming in from outside revealed a
long trail of motionless bodies behind the silver-haired goddess, each of them Charmed into submission.
Male or female, it didn’t matter. None of Ishtar’s followers could prevent Freya from melting their
hearts.
“They’re all very cute, Ishtar.”
“Hyeeeee…!”
Turning her back toward the fallen guards, Freya made her way to the foot of the staircase.
Ishtar could no longer hide the fear threatening to take over. A pitiful squeal escaping her lips, she
made a break for the thirty-second floor.

“Burning…?”
The Amazonian warrior whispered weakly as she gazed down at the battlefield from the edge of the
Floating Garden.
Almost no time had passed since she heard the first explosion. Now the smoke was closing in on her
like the oncoming tide. They were already surrounded, and their home was now under siege.
Each scream of pain by one of their kin in their territory felt like a blade through the heart for every
Berbera still on the roof.
“Wh-what do we do, Aisha…?”
A young Amazon with her long hair wrapped with many bands asked Aisha in a trembling voice on the
verge of tears.
“We can’t reach Lady Ishtar…No one’s made it to her in one piece.”
Aisha frowned as another of the Berbera wailed in despair.
All the Amazons waited on the edge of the garden for their leader’s next words.
“…Ishtar Familia’s as good as dead. Lena, lead the others outta here.”
The fact that Freya’s army had invaded first all but sealed their defeat.
Her declaration hitting home, the Berbera hung their heads in silence.
“The others…What about you, Aisha?”
Lena’s thick ponytail swung around her waist as she rushed up to her beloved leader.
“Me? I’m stayin’ here.”
Aisha broke off eye contact with the girl and cast her gaze toward the altar.
Haruhime was still lying there, unconscious on the stone floor.
“I got a score to settle.”
A heavy metal clang rang down from above. Every Berbera looked up at the roof of the main palace
far overhead.

Yet another clash of metal on metal shrieked its way toward the dark-blue sky. The moon lit up the wispy
clouds like a lamp behind many intricate shades.
Two figures collided on awnings, roofs, and the outside wall of the palace, destroying bits and pieces
along the way.
A grand battle-ax sliced through the air until its momentum was stopped by a rising broadsword. An
explosion of sparks erupted every time the weapons smashed into each other.
“Gwah!!”
“NuRAAH!!”
Bell and Phryne’s duel had arrived at the highest point of Belit Babili. There was nothing between
their battle and the heavens above.
Ishtar had fitted the tallest point of her fortress with many exotic plants and an extravagant water
feature that included a fountain. It was, without a doubt, a space fit for a goddess. Her quarters stood in
the middle of a space that rivaled the Coliseum in size. Now it was nothing more than the eye of the storm
as the battle raged around it.
Bell absorbed another downward strike of the ax and guided it safely to the side with the broadsword.
Bracing his muscles to withstand the impact, he spun forward toward his opponent and brought the blade
back up toward her chest.
Phryne easily knocked the weapon out of the way and swung her own. Bell’s broadsword made it back
in position in time to block her counterattack.
“GE-GE-GE-GE-GE-GEH! Dance for meeeee!”
The gash on her cheek opened a little wider as a crazed smile grew on her lips. Phryne’s eyes never
blinked.
Unrelenting rage coursing through her veins, the massive Amazon moved in for another attack with a
joyous bloodlust in her eyes.
“Isn’t it amaaazing~~~~!! Haruhime’s sorcery?”
Thanks to her Magic, Uchide no Kozuchi, Bell was able to keep up with Phryne blow for blow. The
Amazon was right, Haruhime’s Level Boost granted incredible power.
However, it wasn’t perfect. While Bell’s speed was on par with her, she still had every other
advantage.
Even with the assistance of an enchantment that should be illegal, Bell couldn’t overcome the wall that
separated him from top-class adventurers.
Bell gritted his teeth as he desperately tried to use his elevated Status to hold back the onslaught of
attacks coming from one of Orario’s most powerful fighters.
“With that kind of power, Level Six doesn’t mean nothinggg!! Makes the Kenki a mere giiirl!”
“!”
Only Bell’s swift combination of steps allowed him to protect himself against Phryne’s attacks.
Frustration boiling over, the Amazon launched into a verbal tirade while keeping up the pressure.
Her eyes and lips twitched with each wave of anger building to a crescendo.
“That little rag doll, Orario’s most beautiful adventurerrr? Like hell she is!”
“…!”
“The way you fight, it’s pissing me off more and more every second! Her shadow’s in every dodge!”
Just as Ishtar held a grudge against Freya, Phryne had the same kind of ferocious spite toward Orario’s
strongest female knight.
The raging fire within her had two sources: the girl’s blond hair and golden eyes that could pass for
those of a deity and the fact that the puny human had ascended past her to Level 6. It was no surprise that

she could see the effects of Aiz’s teachings in Bell’s movements. Phryne’s jealousy fueled her fury to the
boiling point.
“With that power, I could stomp the VARMINT INTO DUUUUUST!!”
Grabbing her ax with both hands, Phryne unleashed the swing with every intention of crushing the
visions of Aiz—along with Bell.
He jumped to the side at the last second, and stone debris exploded from the spot where the ax came
down. Ignoring the new massive hole in the floor, Bell instead looked at his opponent.
The girl he held in the highest esteem, his idol, had just been insulted. A new fire burned bright within
Bell as he screamed at the top of his lungs, charging his enemy blade-first.
“UWWAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
“Nuh!”
Bell’s surging wave of attacks forced Phryne into a defensive position for the first time.
She raised her ax to protect herself against his stolen weapon moving in from every angle imaginable
among the flashing beads of light surrounding the boy. Her large frame shook every time their blades
collided.
Bell focused all his strength into one diagonal slash to inflict as much pain as possible. A wide-eyed
Phryne spun out of the way in the nick of time but lost her footing as a wave of debris washed over her.
“—No getting cockyyy!”
“!”
She knocked Bell’s follow-up attack out of the way. The next moment, her body was a blur.
His weapon above his head, Bell’s chest was completely exposed. Phryne buried her foot between his
ribs with a powerful front kick.
“GaWAH!”
Despite getting his knee up in time to prevent a fatal blow, Bell was launched through the iron-grated
fence that surrounded Ishtar’s private garden. The barrier crumbled under the sheer force of impact. With
nothing to break his fall, Bell tumbled off the edge, toward the ground far below.
“GE-GE-GE-GE-GE-GE-GE-GE-GEH!”
Croaking laughter filled the air. Phryne was ready to jump after him to deliver the final blow.
The sound of someone calling out to her reached her ears just before she could.
“Ph-Phryne! Lady Ishtar’s in trouble—save her!”
“…A-AhhNNN?”
The Amazon turned around just as two Berbera emerged onto the roof from a stairwell.
Out of breath, the two panicking Amazons rushed to her side. Exhaling through her nose, Phryne
ignored them. Turning her back, she caught a glimpse of the Pleasure Quarter for the first time and froze in
place.
“What the hell is going on…?”
Many columns of smoke emerging from the city below reflected in her bulging eyes as she somehow
chained her rage.
Phryne finally noticed that something very bad was happening around her home.
“There you are! Where have you been?”
“Watch your words, varmint. Now tell me—what’s all that?”
“O-our territory, the Pleasure Quarter, was invaded…!”
Phryne listened in disbelief as the two Amazons brought her up to speed.
They fell silent as all three women felt the presence of another on the roof.
“…?”

It came from the opposite side of the garden. The Berbera stood on the east side of the roof; the
newcomer emerged on the west side.
Moonlight blocked by passing clouds, the newcomer was shrouded in darkness.
“—So this is the highest point.”
A low male voice came from a hulking frame.
He had at least a head over the two-meder-tall Phryne. The three Amazons watched the muscular
newcomer quietly walk through the heavily damaged garden.
Judging from the outline of the shadow…he was an animal person.
“D-dammit, dammit all…!”
“Ha-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
Phryne watched him with suspicion. The Berbera, however, launched themselves at the newcomer in
desperation. Whether it was the Amazonian blood in their veins or the dire situation that drove them, the
two warriors charged the mysterious figure at full speed.
The muscular shadow watched the two armed adventurers rush toward him and calmly swung his right
fist.
“ ”
BANG!
The fist hit the first Berbera with the force of an explosion, her unconscious body hurtling through the
air.
Tumbling through the piles of stone like a cannonball, she didn’t stop until her back slammed into the
water fountain. Even Phryne didn’t see the blow. She could only stand and watch with trembling eyes as
the newcomer reached out with his left hand and grabbed the face of the second Berbera, like a hawk
snatching a fish from a lake.
His grin spanning from ear to ear, the shadowed figure lifted her up like a sword before slamming her
onto the floor.
“—KAH—”
A crater in the shape of her body appeared on the stone surface as every bubble of oxygen was
expelled from her lungs. All four limbs fell limp at her sides. Water rained from the sky a moment later,
soaking the area. It had come from the fountain, the impact causing the water to jump several meders into
the air and come back down like rain.
Phryne gawked as the clouds parted, revealing the identity of the newcomer.
Her eyes nearly jumped from their sockets as the boarman warlord came into view.
“O–Ottar?!”
Short, rust-colored fur and the ears of a wild boar.
Bones as solid as iron, with a towering body built like a sheer cliff.
He turned his foot toward the Amazon, a look of stoic, fearless determination glued to his face.
“Phryne Jamil…the last one.”
Ottar’s monotone yet overwhelming voice filled the air.
Phryne’s fingers trembled. Part of it was awe, but mostly fear.
“Wh-why are you here?!”
Her voice shrieked as she comprehended the severity of the situation at last.
Freya Familia hadn’t waited for Ishtar Familia to declare war, and they’d attacked first.
Cold beads of sweat rolled down her fat cheeks. She struggled to clear her throat.
This was inevitable—picking a fight with Freya Familia meant that they would eventually have to
deal with Ottar. Therefore, they already had a plan in place.

Phryne and the top Berbera, boosted by Killing Stone shards, would have used various types of anti-
Status Magic and curses to make him as physically weak as possible. Trying to engage this man in combat

without doing so was the same as suicide. They didn’t stand a chance against him at full power.
Even if the Level Boost gave her the strength to surpass the Kenki, Aiz Wallenstein, it would do little
to protect her against the warlord.
He wore no armor and carried no weapon but still overpowered his opponents by his very presence.
The very top of Freya Familia.
Orario’s strongest adventurer.
The Labyrinth City’s one and only—Level 7.
The Zenith.
Oujya “Warlord” Ottar.
“Guh…gahhh…ge-gih…!”
His genuine power was stifling. Phryne gripped the handle of her ax in terror, each digit soaked in
sweat.
It was the same feeling as standing in front of a floor boss in the deep levels of the Dungeon.
The horrifying knowledge that the moment she showed her back, it was all over.
The only option on the table for the Level 5 Phryne Jamil was forward.
“GEH-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
Howling with all her might, Phryne took the fight to the enemy.
Raising the grand battle-ax high in her right hand, she decided to use all her momentum to drive the
weapon into his shoulder.
“…”
Ottar knew exactly why she had been given the title “Androctonus, the Man Slayer,” as thousands of
male adventurers had fallen to her blade. The same blade that was coming at him at this very moment.
But he silently stuck out his left arm.
“?!”
He stopped the attack—by grabbing Phryne’s right hand and the ax handle with his left.
Complete protection. The silver blade of the ax didn’t come anywhere close to his skin. Ottar’s
boulder-like hand completely enclosed his opponent’s meaty fist.
As for the collision, a slight bend in his elbow was enough to absorb it without his feet budging in the
slightest. Phryne’s attack had come to an abrupt halt.
Rust-colored eyes narrowing in a frown, Ottar clenched the muscles in his left hand.
“GIEE—GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
Many snapping sounds shot out from beneath Ottar’s grip. The weapon handle broke, along with most
of the bones in her hand.
Her scream pierced the night air. Phryne bent backward in pain the moment the powerful man released
her.
The blade of the grand battle-ax hit the floor at her feet with a clacking thud. At the same time, Ottar
stepped behind the still-reeling Phryne.
“~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!”
The Amazon was grasping her disfigured appendage as the boar hooked his arm under her shoulder
and threw her to the ground. Her round body slid and rolled through the piles of stone built up on the
surface of the floor. Dust rose, making a small cloud as she came to a stop on her stomach at the base of
the fountain.
Writhing in pain, Phryne caught a glimpse of her reflection in the water.

Her tan skin was covered with hundreds of cuts, most of them bleeding.
Her face, unequaled by anyone in the world, was caked in blood and dust.
“My…My beautiful…MY BEAUTIFULFACE~~~~~~~~~~~~~!”
She howled at the sky, eyes turning deep red. Wet black hair was plastered to her skin. Fury unleashed
once again, she launched herself at Ottar.
Her target: his throat. Both hands, intact or not, were wide open and yearning to squeeze the life out of
him.
“DIE, BOARMAN! DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”
More stone tiles broke beneath her feet as the Amazon rampaged forward. Ottar brushed her left arm
to the side.
“Too much noise.”
Then he drove his own fist directly into her path.
“GeHEE!”
Landing squarely in the middle of her face, Ottar’s punch propelled Phryne skyward.
Whistling through the air, the frog-like Amazon’s large frame arced over the side of the garden and
toward the ground.
The whistling grew louder, loud enough to hurt her ears, as she plummeted.
“GIHEEE…!”
Taking the impact of landing on her shoulder, Phryne rolled to a stop in the front garden.
Despite falling from more than forty stories above the ground, her Level 5 Defense, far stronger than
the average Dungeon monster’s, kept her alive. Blood gushing from her broken nose stained her hunting
gear a deep red.
Phryne grabbed her face with her good hand, tears pouring down her cheeks.
“Uh—uHEE!”
The boarman warlord followed.
Jumping down the decorated exterior of the palace, he bounded a few times before his two feet
shattered the stone path through the front garden upon impact.
Phryne was still planted on her rear end and desperately tried to shimmy backward—but the two were
not alone.
From the front, from the side, from all directions…
Eight figures united. A catman, dark and white elves, and four prums appeared.
Looking at the faces of the adventurers surrounding her, all the color drained from Phryne’s skin.
“Vana Freya, Level Six Hegni and Hedin, and even the Gulliver Brothers, Bringar…!”
All the fight left in her vanished in an instant with the knowledge that the most powerful members of
Freya Familia were closing in on her from all sides.
After completing their mission to incapacitate enemy personnel, the group had reunited to take on
Ishtar Familia’s most formidable member.
Ottar was directly in front of her, his ring of allies preventing her escape.
“HYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! S-SPARE MEEEE!”
Supporting her head with one arm, she looked from one person to another and started begging for her
life.
“What did I ever do to youuu? Surely nothing that would deserve thisss?”
“The fact that you’re still breathing is sin enough,” came a sharp retort from the catman, but Phryne
never heard him.
“I-I’ll do anything! Anything for the one who spares me! O-OH! THAT’S IT! My body, I’ll pay with

my body! I’ll lay with you, so please LET ME GOOO!”
“UGH!” came a unified snap of disgust from the top-class adventurers.
“No woman could ever hope to rival me! NO ONE! Even goddesses can’t handle my beauty! And you
can ravage meeee, do whatever you will! You can’t pass that uuuup!”
Each of the top-class adventurers was glaring at her with the eyes of death itself, but Phryne was too
focused on talking herself up to notice.
The face of every Berbera around her was blank, completely devoid of emotion. Ottar cracked his
neck before looking at the ground at the Amazon’s feet.
Then—an ominous smile grew on Phryne’s lips as she made her final bid.
“Even that Freya looks ugly next to me!”
With that…
The boar looked up.
“UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Ottar lost it.
“GHEE!”
“You have soiled the name of a goddess most sacred!”
Red light shone like magic-stone lamps from behind his eyes as he roared with unimpeded fury.
Allen and the others donned similar looks of outrage, each seething with anger as veins throbbed and
muscles twitched.
“There is only one fate worthy for the likes of you.”
“Death, death, death!”
Ottar’s voice grew as his allies chanted around him.
Phryne’s face turned a ghostly white. The ring of adventurers was closing in in unison, step by
terrifying step.

Ignoring every plea, eight dark shadows fell over the large Amazon.
“UW—UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
A chilling scream echoed through the smoky skies of the Pleasure Quarter.

“…She’s not coming after me?”
Bell regained his bearings during the fall and landed safely on the roof of a midsize brothel behind the
palace. He looked up toward the top of the tallest tower, wondering why he didn’t have company.
Bell stood with the broadsword ready, beads of light still flashing around his body. There was no
movement coming from the highest point of the palace, so Bell slowly, cautiously lowered his weapon.
That was when Bell noticed that he was surrounded by a black shroud of smoke emerging from the
Pleasure Quarter. His battle with a top-class adventurer had prevented him from seeing any of the flames
or picking up on any of the magical energy residues hanging in the air like static electricity. It went
without saying that this view was about the last thing he expected to see.
That could explain why Phryne dropped her pursuit—she’d gone to deal with this new threat.
In that case…Bell thought to himself as he jumped off the roof.
He could use this chaos and confusion to rescue Haruhime. Landing on the outside of the main tower,
he set his sights on the stone bridge.
Taking advantage of every smidgen of the strength and speed boost of his temporary Level 4 Status, he
jumped from awning to awning and used the stones that jutted out from the tower’s exterior to ascend to
the bridge that extended from the fortieth floor of the tower. While his ears registered the sounds of battle
surrounding him, Bell focused all his energy into making it across the stone bridge as quickly as possible.
The Floating Garden was dead silent the moment he arrived.
All the injured Berbera, who had been lying motionless on the floor, were gone. An uneasy stillness
had settled in under the night sky. Even the blue cloud of light emanating from the stones had become thin
and wispy. Either too many of the lunatic light–infused stone slabs had been destroyed or too much of the
moon’s light was blocked by the cloud cover to maintain a constant glow.
Bell took a few steps into the scarred battlefield. Charred fragments of stone were scattered all over
the place and large swaths of the floor were missing. The boy weaved his way through the debris until…
There she was, lying at the foot of the altar, alone.
“…So you’re here.”
A single Amazonian warrior stood up from behind the altar. Aisha’s long hair swayed around her
shoulders as she turned to face Bell.
Haruhime lay right next to her. Unconscious, she had been positioned comfortably against the stone
altar.
It was almost as if Aisha had been waiting for Bell, knowing he would return. The boy didn’t say
anything, only continued to walk toward them. Lifting his heavily damaged broadsword into position, he
came to a stop a few meders in front of Aisha and Haruhime.
The tip of Aisha’s wooden blade had been thrust into the floor, sticking straight up. Aisha stood next to
it, arms crossed in front of her chest as she listened to Bell’s decree.
“I’m taking Haruhime with me.”
There was no hesitation in his voice. Aisha narrowed her eyes and cocked an eyebrow.
“…Now that’s more like it.”
The face of a man with conviction—Bell finally had the look of a determined male, a hero.

Aisha couldn’t have been happier.
“But, you know, I can’t just say ‘go ahead’ and leave you to it.”
She curled her lips into a dauntless smile and put her hands on her hips.
Aisha’s long black hair and minimal dark-purple clothing shook from side to side as she dug her heel
into the floor.
“Rules of the familia must be obeyed, it’s in our blood…You know what I mean?”
“…”
The power of a god’s Blessing, ichor, flowed in their veins. It also prevented them from easily
escaping from the will of their god.
No matter how much pain the group caused them, no matter how many outsiders tried to assist them,
the chances of successfully breaking free were almost nil. Aisha reminded Bell of that fact.
Bell knew, but there was nothing to say.
“Oh yeah, never got a chance to ask. Why did you go this far? Got a thing for her?”
A bit of humor was laced into her voice. Aisha grinned again and waited for Bell’s next words.
The boy’s gaze fell to the ground, but he’d opened his mouth to speak.
“…Being a prostitute was too painful for Miss Haruhime. So I decided to help her.”
“…Don’t know what gave you that idea, but she’s a virgin who doesn’t know her way around a man.”
“Eh?”
Bell blinked a few times, wondering if he’d heard that right.
“She’d always pass out right before the main event. The sight of male skin made her lightheaded, the
dimwit.”
“…”
“Even just the other night, she keeled over onto the chest of a customer. Totally killed the mood and the
guy didn’t pay.”
Bell had a feeling he knew exactly what she was talking about.
The night they first met, the same thing happened when she saw his muscles…
“B-but she said she’d given herself many times…to many different men.”
“Maybe she was having some frisky dreams after passing out. Horny li’l fox.”
Aisha was growing bored. Bell couldn’t say anything more as he cast his gaze on the unconscious girl
lying next to the altar.
“…Or perhaps she’s been through so much that she can’t tell the difference between a dream and
reality anymore.”
“!”
Kicked out of her own house and forcefully removed from her homeland.
Brought into a city where she didn’t know anyone or anything and sold to the highest bidder.
Haruhime’s life had been a series of tragedies one after another.
Unwillingly becoming a prostitute, exposing her skin and being touched.
She had always been oppressed. Losing everything she knew in an instant and trapped in a cycle of
darkness, Haruhime would have been consumed by despair.
Her life was a living nightmare.
With no escape, it was plausible she’d forgotten the difference between dream and memory.
All the more reason to save her from this.
To remove from the lineup the girl with eyes longing for the outside world.
“—She’s worth a lot, even as a crappy prostitute.”
Aisha’s tone changed once again as Bell’s determination grew by the second.

“Say she did leave this familia, others would eventually learn what she can do and try the same ritual.
She’s better off with us than some other dirtbags…Lady Ishtar’s curse keeps telling me, don’t let her go.
So you know.”
Aisha cracked the knuckles in her right hand as she spoke.
All the while, her eyes were asking one question: Can you protect her?
Plucking her sword out of the ground with her right hand, Aisha pointed the tip of the weapon directly
at the still-sparkling Bell.
“Brace up. When a man rescues a woman, it’s gotta be by force.”
Bell could tell by Aisha’s smile; he had no choice.
Just as his opponent wanted, Bell gripped his broadsword with both hands and took a defensive
stance.
Bell and Aisha stared each other down, the distant sounds of roaring flames and screams wafting up
from the Pleasure Quarter below.
“One minute.”
Aisha said out of the blue.
“I didn’t just look after Haruhime around here, she’s been in my battle party. I know that magic like the
back of my hand. Trust me, you’ve got only one minute.”
She could tell just by looking at the flickering lights around the boy. Uchide no Kozuchi was about to
wear off.
The lights were fading out one by one. She’d seen it and experienced it herself more times than she
could count in the Dungeon. Haruhime might have poured all of her Mind into casting the Level Boost on
Bell, but it wasn’t going to last much longer.
Bell looked around at the lights that bathed his body in warmth.
“Attack right now, and you’d wipe the floor with me before saving yer girl.”
Aisha jerked her chin toward Haruhime.
Bell kept his eyes trained on Aisha but only lifted the broadsword to protect himself. His feet stayed
firmly planted in place.
Moments passed in silence.
“Such a moron…”
Aisha arrogantly narrowed her eyes, clearly put off by Bell’s righteousness.
The light around Bell’s body faded even further as the two of them locked eyes. The air around the two
adventurers was so thick, even the breeze slowed to a crawl.
A loud crack came from the damaged stone pillar behind the altar. The last of the beads of light faded
out of existence at the same moment that a piece of stone fell from the pillar and crashed to the floor.
The opening bell. The two warriors charged forward, weapons flashing in starlight.
“But—I don’t got a problem with it!”
Wood and metal slammed together; Aisha’s grin reflected off the broadsword.
Bell kept his eyes, burning with resolve, locked on his opponent.
More echoes pierced the night as the warrior prostitute and the white-haired boy exchanged blows at
high speed.
“HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!”
Their bodies overlapped, weapons clashed. Aisha couldn’t contain her excitement as she drove her
own weapon forward and laughed at the top of her lungs.
The endless collisions and eruptions of sparks brought her a feeling of joy she hadn’t felt in a long
time.

“This! This is why I can’t keep away from real men!”
Blades pressed against each other, Aisha leaned in and smiled from ear to ear in front of Bell.
“Arrogant, violent, strong…!”
Bell’s body, Bell’s glare, Bell’s power—she took it all.
Joyous ecstasy made her entire body shake with anticipation.
“Only real men can get a woman’s blood boiling!”
Aisha shouted as she raised her weapon high above her head and brought it down with tremendous
force.
Bell stepped out of the way and paid no attention to the debris flying past his face as he stepped into
his own counterattack.
She flipped away, and Bell kicked off the floor to pursue her. Picking up speed, the two traded even
more blows as they raced around the Floating Garden.
Until finally, Aisha’s elation reached that point at which her body couldn’t stand the heat swelling
within her.
“—Come, reckless conqueror!”
And she started casting.
Panicked footsteps rushed up the last set of stairs. Quick, hurried breaths echoed inside the thin
stairwell.
Cool air caressed her sweat-covered body, distant flames illuminating her silhouette in the night.
A view of the red shell of the Pleasure Quarter opened up beneath her as she ran through the aftermath
of an epic battle.
“How far are you going to run, Ishtar?”
“F-Freya…?!”
Ishtar’s terror-filled eyes looked over her shoulder and saw the first strands of Freya’s silver hair
emerge from the eastern stairwell right behind her.
The moment the goddess’s piercing silver eyes met hers, Ishtar’s grudge against the goddess faded
away and was replaced by fear.
Her territory in ruins, entire familia scattered, everything she’d worked so hard to create was being
pulled out from under her by this extraordinary deity. Tripping over chunks of stone, getting back up,
running, looking over her shoulder again and tripping, Ishtar repeated the cycle over and over in a
desperate attempt to escape from Freya’s wrath. The garden she knew had been torn to shreds by an ax
and broadsword. She darted her way toward her private quarters, her last possible safe haven at the
highest point of her palace’s tallest tower.
“No…!!”
She discovered a fatal flaw in her plan.
The path that would lead her to safety wasn’t beyond her trees and water features. That part of the
garden had been completely destroyed. Only a stark cliff remained in its place. Ishtar had no way of
knowing that it was Phryne who put it there.
She froze in place, looking down at the incredibly long drop below. Ker-tap, ker-tap. Freya had
arrived.
“Thus ends our game of tag. Enough is enough.”
“HYEEEEEE…!”
Turning to face her pursuer, Ishtar struggled to control the scream of fear escaping from her lungs.
There was another crater directly behind Freya in Ishtar’s line of sight. Bell had created this one

toward the end of his mad rush.
Ishtar and Freya stood face-to-face, no more than ten steps between them.
“I-it was just a little tease, Freya. I had no idea you cared so much for that boy…I-I won’t do it again,
I swear.”
None of her followers remained inside the palace. Ottar’s team had wiped them out.
Without any of her pawns to play, Ishtar resorted to asking for forgiveness.
A light breeze blew between them, making Freya’s silver locks dance around her wicked smile.
“Ishtar? Your little pranks up until now have been laughable…but this went over the line. You will not
be forgiven.”
Freya’s eyes showed no emotion, and yet her smile grew.
“I will make that boy mine.”
Flares of anger flashed through her silver pupils, but she kept smiling.
“I will not forgive any woman who tries to take what is rightfully mine.”
Freya’s desire to have sole possession of Bell had been brought to bear. Ishtar was lost for words.
It was as if she were looking into a mirror. The same fires of jealousy and hatred that burned within
Ishtar were now looking back at her in the form of Freya’s obsession with Bell.
Eyes narrowing, Freya’s lips started moving once again.
“This—is your final hour.”
The knowledge of her fate made Ishtar’s face turn white as a ghost.
“—Concurrent Casting?!”
Bell couldn’t contain his surprise as his ears picked up the unmistakable melody of the trigger spell
between the constant collisions of their blades.
“Masculine warrior, strong soldier, greedy and unjust hero!”
Every word was clear, pulsing with controlled magical energy as her lips moved in rhythm with her
stride.
Slicing forward with her wooden sword, meeting Bell’s broadsword head-on, all the while not
missing a beat of her trigger spell, Aisha was pulling out all the stops.
Offense, movement, evasion, and defense—not a single attribute of her fighting style suffered. It was
as if Antianeira were giving a street performance, dancing and singing for an audience. Mastering the
complex and dangerous Concurrent Casting was proof that this Berbera was indeed stronger than
Hyacinthus.
“Prove your desire for the Empress’s throne!”
—Not good. Bell’s mind raced.
Willing his arms to move faster, Bell upped the pressure on Aisha. While he did manage to slice off
the very end of her ponytail, none of his strikes hit home. He couldn’t even force her onto the defensive.
Her long legs kept Bell from entering point-blank range as she led him back to the center of the Floating
Garden. He pursued her to the best of his ability, but several hours of running for his life and intense
combat were taking their toll.
“Satisfy my body, penetrate and kill it to show your worth!”
At this rate…?
Every syllable of her trigger spell made another bead of sweat roll down his face.
He was in danger of being caught up in her Magic. Becoming even more desperate, Bell raised the
broadsword high and brought it down in a large arc, only to have it rejected by Aisha’s heel. The Amazon
kept spinning, jumped into the air, and nailed Bell in the face with the same foot.

“Gwah!”
Bell was knocked backward on impact.
“My famished blade is Hipporyute!”
Aisha completed her trigger spell as the space between the two fighters opened for a few vital
seconds.
Bell regained his feet, eyes on his opponent. Having never seen the spell before, he had no idea what
was coming his way. He shifted his weight to dodge the attack—when he realized where he was in the
Floating Garden.
The very center, in front of the altar, right in front of the unconscious Haruhime.
If he avoided Aisha’s spell, Haruhime would take a direct hit.
His eyes snapped back to Aisha, unsure if she would actually use the spell knowing that Haruhime was
in the line of fire. Bell forgot to breathe once he saw the look in her eyes.
Show me you’re can protect her.
Bell could feel it in her gaze.
If you’re gonna take her, then prove you can.
Seeing the determination in Aisha’s eyes—Bell knew what he had to do.
“!!”
“Argonaut.”
He started the charge in the face of an attack he could not avoid.
White specks of light started to swirl around the broadsword in preparation to stop Aisha’s full
power.
“P-please, I beseech you!”
Freya took a step forward. Ishtar shifted backward as far as possible, heel against the cliff, and
screamed with everything she had.
Eyes open wide, Ishtar caught a glimpse directly behind the other Goddess of Beauty of the scar in her
garden created by Bell.
Suddenly, smack! A hand appeared from beneath and took hold of the outer layer of stone. Next, the
head of the badly injured but handsome young man with tan skin popped above the surface.
It was Tammuz. Despite his still-bleeding wounds, no doubt inflicted by someone in Ottar’s battle
party, the faithful servant had returned to his mistress in her time of need.
There was hope! Ishtar hid the joy in her heart and desperately tried to buy him some time.
“Freya, I’ll tell you something interesting!”
Tammuz was now halfway onto the roof.
“That child, Bell Cranell, is immune to our Charm! Don’t you want to know why?”
Freya’s thin shoulders jumped in surprise. Just behind her, Tammuz’s second foot landed squarely on
an intact slab of the garden’s stone floor.
“Should that be true, it makes him even more alluring. Now I want him even more.”
Freya’s eyes smiled, getting caught up in her own fantasy for a moment. Meanwhile, Tammuz held his
breath as he quickly but silently snuck up behind the goddess.
“However, there is no need for me to hear it from you.”
Freya took another step forward. Tammuz chose that moment to strike.
I win! Ishtar screamed to herself, a malicious smile on her lips.
Just as Tammuz’s hands were a mere heartbeat from Freya’s neck—she calmly turned to face him like
she knew he’d been there the entire time.

Ishtar’s poor follower was hit by the full force of Freya’s beauty. Taking it all in at once, Tammuz
came to a sudden halt.
Ishtar watched in horror as Freya stepped toward her prized child, slid her fingers down his cheek,
and smiled back at him.
“Ah…ahhh…!”
Tammuz collapsed to the floor.
Cheeks blushing and slack-jawed, the human looked up at the silver-haired goddess with glistening,
quivering eyes.
The man who had received every bit of love Ishtar had to offer had been Charmed by Freya in the
blink of an eye.
“Would you give us some privacy?”
Nodding over and over at Freya’s request, Tammuz climbed to his feet and drifted away from the two
deities as if walking on a cloud.
Time stood still for Ishtar.
Her man had just been stolen. It happened right in front of her eyes.
He had sworn loyalty to her, been overwhelmed by her beauty, and still that woman had been able to
nullify her love. Tammuz had been Charmed to the point he should have been her devout servant. There
wasn’t enough humanity left within him to be Charmed by another.
Despite all that, Freya stole him.
Her Charm had been overwritten.
In other words, it was undeniable proof that Freya’s beauty exceeded her own.
Ishtar’s pride snapped, crumbling into nothingness.
“……hhy.”
Whispered sounds weren’t strong enough to become words.
Fingers clenched into fists; molars ground against each other.
Her tan skin, her luscious, curvy body, every feature of her face shook with anger and humiliation.
“WHY?!”
Ishtar howled at Freya, her skin flaring red.
Men who prized beauty above all else went to Freya, not her.
Just a moment ago, she had seen her own Charm erased. She could steal anyone from her.
They were both Goddesses of Beauty, so why was this possible?
Freya took another step closer, causing Ishtar to lash out once again.
“You and I—just what the hell is the difference?!”
“Essence.”

A clear assertion.
“ ”
Petrified, Ishtar fell silent while Freya laughed at her in jest.
“Nothing else makes sense now, does it?”
A moment of silence.
Followed almost immediately by one deity’s tormented scream.
“UHH—UwwAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
Her mind burning white, Ishtar charged Freya with all the ferocity of a wounded bear.

The image that triggered Argonaut, the hero Issen Douji.
Despite his small stature, the legendary samurai from the Far East had fought a horde of over a
thousand ogres in order to protect one little girl.
Gathering strength using one of Haruhime’s favorite heroes, Bell braced the broadsword against his
shoulder.
“HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”
Directly in front of him, Aisha’s war cry ripped through the air as she slammed her massive wooden
sword into the stone flooring at her feet.
The gallant female warrior used every muscle in her body to trigger her Magic.
“Hell Kaios!”
An immense crimson shock wave emerged from the point where the tip of her weapon pierced stone.
Magical energy poured down her sword and followed the shock wave onto the battlefield. The energy
spike grew larger, like the dorsal fin of a colossal shark emerging from the surface of the sea. Crimson
wave engulfing the Floating Garden, the blade of energy careened at Bell.
Bell met it head-on. It had grown to twice his size by the time it came within range of the glowing
broadsword. Bell stepped forward and put his entire body into one overarching swing.
A five-second charge.
The chimes of Argonaut filled the air as Magic collided with Skill.
“GEH—UUAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
Crimson energy and white light detonated at the point of impact.
Flashes of crimson and white illuminated the Floating Garden under the moonlit sky.
—The charge wasn’t enough.
Not enough power, not even close. Bell’s feet were pushed backward by the crimson onslaught.
The heat of the magical energy singed his skin. CRACK! Several lines snaked their way through the
blade of the broadsword.
Bell’s eyes shot open as wide as they could go—but he refused to give any more ground. Thinking of
Haruhime, he gritted his teeth and started to push back.
Mikoto had entrusted him with her mission. He had promises to keep, the resolve to see this through.
And there was a girl’s smile he wanted to see.
Power flowed back into his limbs. His spirit bellowed. His Status flamed to life.
Bell drove the broadsword through the crimson blade with all his body.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!”
BOOM! A blinding flash filled the night.
The two energies offset each other, dissipating into flickering specks of light as they faded into
nothingness.
“Canceled it out…?!”
Aisha spat in anger as she watched her Magic disappear. However, the right corner of her lips was
still curled in a smirk.
Hell Kaios dissipated along with Argonaut’s energy. Only the moonlight and the soft glow of lunatic
light illuminated their standoff. At the same time, the explosion had triggered a burst of wind and a thin
cloud of smoke—through which the white-haired boy charged with all the speed he could muster.
“ !!”
The broadsword overwhelmed by Argonaut’s energy, Bell threw the broken weapon to the side as he
closed the distance.
The sight of an empty-handed opponent rushing toward her made Aisha’s smirk turn into an all-out

grin. Tossing aside her own weapon, the Amazon set her feet.
—Too slow!!
The toll of Argonaut.
Executing the Skill required a great deal of physical and mental energy. Mind and muscles taxed to
their limit, the boy’s body was a far cry from peak condition.
Aisha could see it. She carefully watched his movements, including the absurd amount of sweat flying
off his body. She saw her chance and prepared to unleash a reverse roundhouse kick.
In range.
“GIEH—”
The incredible reach of the Amazon’s leg allowed her heel to hit Bell on the side of the head before
the boy had a chance to defend.
She felt the impact, his head bending down. Her grin opened wider, feeling his hair on the back of her
foot—slide under.
The boy was still moving forward.

Bell’s momentum carried him even closer to Aisha.
Bell hadn’t tried to defend. Instead, he focused all his remaining strength into attacking.
All the energy not sapped by Argonaut, all the energy left in every cell of his body, was poured into
this strike.
Aisha watched helplessly as Bell’s fist had a clear shot at her exposed stomach.
Ruby-red eyes shining with determination, the boy put everything he had into one punch.
“UWAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!”
The white rabbit’s “vorpal fang.”
“GuUUH!”
Aisha’s body bent under the force of the blow to her gut.
Although her feet left the ground for a moment, her Defense was strong enough to withstand the hit.
However—
Bell wasn’t done.
“FIREBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLT!”

Point-blank range.
“GAHHHhh!”
A bolt of magical energy surged forth from the fist still buried in her abdominal muscles.
Aisha’s body was launched skyward by several flaming lightning bolts.
Bell had committed his entire store of Mind to unleash every ounce of firepower his Magic could
produce. The backlash in this explosion of energy through his weakened body erupted into the air as well.
A quick flip, and he landed on his left hand and feet, sliding backward in a cloud of dust.
The boy’s right hand was burned to a crisp, smoke still rising from his clenched fist.
The jagged electrical burn marks jutting out from Aisha’s stomach were much more severe. Wide eyes
hidden by her long bangs, a small smile grew on her lips as she fell through the air.
A smoking comet over the moon, the Amazon landed flat on her back and remained silent.
She had been defeated.

“UhhUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
The roar of a Goddess of Beauty echoed through the dark evening sky.
A sudden gust of wind ripped through her private garden as Ishtar launched herself at Freya, her face
warped into a visage unbecoming of a deity. As for Freya…
…she calmly stepped out of the way with a small twirl.
“?!”
Long locks of silver hair and the silky white skin of her opponent’s shoulder blades flashed before
Ishtar’s eyes. Her momentum carried her past her target like a boat riding a raging river past its dock.
The steep cliff behind Freya came rushing into view. The pupils of her eyes shrank to nothing but dots
as Ishtar slammed her feet into the stone flooring in a desperate attempt to stop herself. A small cloud of
dust rose into the air at her feet as she came to a halt with less than a celch to spare.
However…ker-tap, ker-tap.
“HYE—”
Thin high heels echoed behind her. Panicking, she spun around, only to feel a hand hit her square in the
chest.
Freya stood there, ice in her eyes, and gave Ishtar a push.

Her heel was off the edge. There was nothing between her and the cliff. Nothing to save her.
Ishtar stretched up her body in a desperate attempt to avoid falling into a dark abyss that spread out
beneath her at the base of her palace.
“Wai—”
Wait, Freya.
Those words were abruptly cut short.
SLAP.
Freya’s hand left a red imprint on Ishtar’s cheek.
“—a.”
A silent plea that fell on deaf ears. Body twisting, Ishtar lost her balance and fell off the edge.
Freya peered over the side and watched from the very top of the palace as the other deity became
smaller and smaller.
She enjoyed every moment of the look on her former rival’s face before she fell out of sight. It brought
a smile to her lips.
Until finally—THUD!
The cracking of divine bones shattered the silence.
Arcanum activated at the moment a fatal wound had been inflicted on an immortal body.
Ishtar’s divine power sprang to life in the form of light more beautiful than anything ever before seen
on Gekai—which violated the rules of their game.
Freya watched with glee and snapped her fingers the moment that Arcanum’s light reached her eyes.
A heartbeat later, countless glowing orbs descended on the spot where Ishtar fell—BOOOM! A new,
deeper explosion shook the Pleasure Quarter. A pillar of light took over the night sky.
A bridge of light that signaled a goddess’s return to Tenkai.
Any deity who lost the game could never return.
A cruel smile appeared on Freya’s lips as she watched her rival on Gekai meet a permanent end.
“Hopefully you’ve learned not to antagonize your superiors. Either way, it’s too late now.”
With one last grin, Freya turned her back on the pillar of light.
The score was settled.

With Aisha defeated, Bell stumbled his way toward Haruhime, kneeled, and braced her upper body
against his knees.
A sudden pillar of light rose to the heavens right in front of his eyes, the sonic boom pushing against
his skin.
“What is that…?”
No way, he thought to himself as he looked upon the celestial light in awe.
A deity had been sent back to heaven.
The boy had never seen anything like this colossal beacon in his young life. He wasn’t the only one to
behold it for the first time, either. Other citizens of Orario looked out their windows with their own eyes
to see the gigantic pillar dominating the landscape.
The songs of fairies that had been passed down through tales of heroes and mythical stories, or
perhaps the roars of ferocious monsters that shook the land under his feet, were the only things that could
rival the mythical light before him at this moment. All were seared into his memory.
Bell’s breathing slowed as he watched the pillar part the clouds and continue on beyond the sky. It was

as if this new light were illuminating the whole world at once. The shaking that accompanied the pillar
suddenly stopped like the stillness after an earthquake. A sense of calm descended over Gekai.
Putting his arm around Haruhime to support her shoulders, Bell sat in silence for a few moments.
His mind wandered as he looked off into the distance. Gaze shifting, a certain divine being came into
view.
“…A goddess?”
She was standing on the roof of the main tower.
The Floating Garden wasn’t quite as high as the main tower, but Bell could clearly see the deity
standing close to the edge.
Even at a distance, the goddess’s perfect body was mesmerizing. There was a different aura to it,
compared to Ishtar’s beauty gone too far. Yes, a tranquil beauty that he could look at until the end of time,
almost magical. Her silver hair flowed in the breeze, sparkling like the stars in the night sky.
The goddess turned to face Bell, who had lost all concept of time as he stared up at her. That’s when
the boy realized she was smiling at him.
And also, he felt a jolt!
A foreboding wave of cold sweat ran down his spine.
He knew this feeling. He’d felt it many times before. The feeling of being seen—a gaze that didn’t
hold anything back.
The boy was speechless as his eyes registered the deity’s lips moving. While her voice didn’t reach
him, their meaning washed over him like rolling thunder.
“I love you.”
Each one of the silent syllables echoed through his mind.
—It’s her.
Bell was sure of it. Every time he’d felt the strange twang of an intense stare, she was the one behind
it.
The nervous beating of his heart pounding in his ears, Bell stared in fascination at the being looking
down from above…when she suddenly disappeared. As if awakening from a dream, Bell took control of
his quivering lungs and came back into the moment.
“Nhh…”
At long last, the eyes of the girl in his embrace started to flutter.
Her green pupils emerged moments later and she looked up toward his face.
“Master Cranell…?”
Her green eyes met Bell’s ruby-red gaze.
The girl was slowly but surely waking up. Bell watched her eyes clear for a moment before he
gathered the girl’s long golden hair and laid it over his right arm. Ignoring the surprised look on
Haruhime’s face, the boy put his right hand behind her head and pulled her close into his chest.
Haruhime’s fox ears and tail twitched nervously, her cheeks blushing bright pink.
With Haruhime’s body braced against his, both of Bell’s hands were free. His fingers ran down her
thin neck.
And slipped beneath the black collar still attached to her. CRICK! He grabbed both sides of the magic
item and pulled. SNAP!
“Ah…”
Realizing what just happened, Haruhime cautiously brought her right hand up to her neck in disbelief.
The black curse of a leash that had restrained her for years had finally been lifted.
Her eyes jumped up to the boy’s face. Just one look at his bloody, wound-riddled visage told her all

she needed to know. Tears flooded her eyes, making them sparkle in the moonlight.
What are you supposed to say at times like this again…?
Supporting the sitting Haruhime with both his arms, Bell’s mind went to work.
Thinking through all the heroes the girl liked, Bell desperately searched for the right words.
Then…in the end…
He found the simplest, right words to say:
“I’ve come to save you.”
The first tear rolled down Haruhime’s cheek, followed closely by a smile as radiant as a beautiful
flower blooming in the early morning sun.
The distance was gone. Her real smile had finally surfaced. One look at her and Bell couldn’t help but
do the same.
“Thank you…my hero.”
Those words made Bell’s cheeks turn pink. A carefree, almost childlike smile grew on his lips.
Bell shared a moment of joy and happiness with the crying yet smiling renart.
“BELL!”
“Mr. Bell—!”
The two basked in each other’s warmth until the boy’s family came to meet them.