The battle unfolded on a smaller scale than expected.
Neither the combatants’ level nor the range of their attacks could be called small, but the result was shaped by the fact that Arphia disliked moving, while the intruder insisted on holding his ground.
It was a clash of merciless bombardment.
Whenever [Gospel] threatened to sweep the area away, a lightning barrage intercepted it.
The exchange was terrifying, but the structure itself was simple, and that simplicity created room to breathe. In that brief opening, Zald, having recovered, began observing the battlefield.
*Who... is that?*
It was the question on everyone’s mind.
A monster of talent. To stand against Arphia—who was said to rival even the [Empress] and the [Great Figure]—and do so by weathering her assault with magic, no less, was a sight that was hard to believe even with one’s own eyes.
Zald was also Level 7, but against Arphia at the same level, he still fell a step short. And yet, the intruder was boldly countering Arphia’s signature magical onslaught with magic of his own.
Cold sweat broke out at a feat Zald knew he could never accomplish. If he had been the one standing there, he would have resisted with everything he had, even if it meant risking open conflict.
[Gospel] and the lightning barrage collided once more.
In terms of raw power alone, [Gospel] far surpassed the lightning.
And yet, astonishingly, the intruder was opposing [Gospel] with the absurdly brute-force method of firing off dozens of lightning strikes.
What was more, he was even breaking through [Gospel] and landing attacks on Arphia herself. Beyond the issue of conflict, Zald could only feel pure admiration at the result.
To launch long-range attacks at Arphia... how many people in all of Orario could possibly manage such a feat?
At the very least, it was absolutely impossible for him.
*Arphia doesn’t seem to be going all out either, though...*
Given the location, a mage who relied on large-scale attacks would have trouble fighting at full strength.
But the same applied to the other side.
Considering how strangely little damage the surroundings had taken, it was likely that the opponent was also deliberately suppressing the scale of his attacks, just like Arphia.
Even taking that into account, it was still an absurd exchange.
*Who is he, really? He doesn’t look like one of those Evilus bastards.*
There was no way an Evilus member would care so much about the surroundings. That meant he had to be an adventurer...
*...I can’t think of anyone.*
No matter how hard he thought about it, he had never seen a mage of that build firing lightning like that.
If he were strong enough to stand against Arphia, word should have reached him, even if he didn't want to hear it.
“Old man, what are you plotting?”
That was why it was only natural for Zald to suspect Zeus.
Most of the trouble that happened in situations like this was usually the work of that rotten old man.
But unexpectedly, the old man—Zeus—didn’t even glance at Zald, his expression indifferent.
“I don’t know.”
“...What?”
Zald could not hide his shock at those words.
Of all things, this was not the kind of thing the old man would hide.
In fact, he usually pushed things through with shameless confidence in moments like this, so Zald had assumed he would do the same now...
“I really don’t know who that is. I’ll have Hermes check later.”
“No, wait. Then that guy—he wasn’t sent by you? He really just popped out of nowhere?”
Impossible. That couldn’t be.
Such an obvious thought shattered against the reality being shoved in front of him.
“No matter how well he’s hiding himself, there’s no way someone like that would have never made a single rumor until now!”
“Stop shouting.”
“How am I supposed to not shout when I’m about to lose my mind?! Then how do you explain that guy!”
Zald pointed at the ongoing magical battle.
The silent, violent clash between Arphia and the intruder.
“If someone like that had been in Orario, there’s no way either I or the captain wouldn’t have known!”
“Yes, there’s no way.”
“Then why...?!”
“Who knows. Maybe he came from outside the city.”
There was certainly the unknown beyond the city. Zald knew that much.
But even so, was it really possible for a human that strong to be born somewhere other than Orario?
Under normal circumstances, he would have said absolutely not.
But now? With the clearest proof of all, reality itself, being shoved into his face?
The answer was already decided.
“Impossible.”
It was certainty beyond doubt.
Even if reality was shown to him, Zald’s conclusion remained firm.
“Yes, impossible.”
And Zeus readily agreed.
At that, Zald felt a strange sense of relief. Even if he was certain, the approval of one’s patron god was on a different level entirely.
“But the lower world has always turned the impossible into possible.”
And just as quickly as he felt relief, his unease deepened.
“The word ‘impossible’ proves nothing at all.”
Zeus stared at the intruder with oddly bright eyes.
It was a strange thing indeed, for this male god to look at a man—not even a beauty—with such a gaze.
“...Let’s think about it differently, old man. Couldn’t he be a secret weapon prepared in hiding by another Familia?”
“Zald, how do you expect to convince anyone with a theory you can’t even convince yourself of?”
Zald flinched, then trembled and fell silent.
It was a desperate excuse he had squeezed out, but even he thought it might be a bit much.
No matter how one tried to hide it, there was no eternal secret in this world.
Much less hiding a strongman like that. That would be impossible even for them or the Hera Familia.
Besides, someone as strong as he was could recognize strength by scent alone.
The scent of the strong could not be hidden.
“Well, he certainly doesn’t seem to have come from outside Orario.”
“...Then?”
“Who knows. It’s not like I know everything.”
“...What kind of answer is that? Use your divine power like you always do and figure it out.”
“I can’t.”
Zeus’s gaze had remained fixed on one thing throughout the conversation.
Not the beautiful Arphia, who was so lovely one might absentmindedly shove a hand into her chest—but the intruder wrapped tightly in a black coat.
It was a shame for a man to have his eyes fixed on another man instead of a woman, but no matter how hard he tried, Zeus could not look away.
*I can’t feel anything.*
Yes, nothing at all.
Godly intuition. Divine insight.
What kind of fate this child carried.
What kind of character he had.
Whether he would become someone great, someone clever, someone who handled money well, or what he was thinking right now.
Ability, character, future, thought.
Different for each god, but all of them possessed those naturally known fragments of information.
A sliver of omniscience, loosely called divine intuition.
That intuition, which he had never doubted for even a moment, was now obscured.
Like his eyes had been covered, like he had gone blind, nothing came to mind when he looked at that intruder.
That only made him more curious, and he could not look away.
*Vesta...*
What came to mind was the face of the goddess in the heavens.
Her name had somehow ended up in that man’s mouth, despite her being a cute-looking yet utterly unappealing shut-in spinster goddess.
*It shouldn’t be time yet.*
Of course, he did not know every detail of the heavens’ schedule, but he knew her fairly well.
There should still be a long time before she descended.
*Then how...?*
He did not think it was merely a miraculous coincidence.
His power of insight was acting strangely, but divine intuition was still clearly alive.
*And I can feel a familiar presence.*
Though obscured, an oddly familiar feeling leaked from the intruder like a lingering scent.
Was it Hestia’s power? No, that didn’t seem right...
*Interesting.*
It had been a very long time since he had felt that way about a man.
Yes, just like when he first saw that Dorowa fellow.
***
“Kuh...”
As the fight dragged on longer than expected, I started to feel a little impatient.
*She’s stronger than I thought...*
That wasn’t just about raw power.
Attack speed, timing, control of pace, and the seamless linkage into the next strike.
And even the defense that so effortlessly blocked the attacks I managed to slip through.
As my [Mind] gradually dwindled, it began to gnaw away at my mental stamina as well.
Of course, it wasn’t like I was in immediate danger.
My magic was efficient to begin with, and this level of spam was still easy for me right now.
The problem was what came after this.
*I can’t find an opening to run...*
I could feel [Mind] gathering around me little by little.
I wanted to get away quickly because it felt like she was plotting something, but that barrage of [Gospel] kept getting in the way.
*Was this how the people I fought felt...?*
I could finally understand why everyone said fighting me was such a pain.
I wasn’t sure if it was no-chant magic, or something close to it, but the rapid-fire casting that could honestly be called a blitz was like a cage.
A cage built by hunters to trap a rabbit. It felt like my breathing was being slowly squeezed shut, and that made me feel strangely unsettled.
*I’ve bought enough time...*
The promised five minutes had already passed. I wanted to pull out now, but...
*...Looks like she has no intention of letting me go.*
For someone who had been talking about chasing after her little sister just a moment ago, her gaze was fixed on me—well, her eyes were closed, but still.
It didn’t look like she planned to let me leave quietly.
“...Um.”
“Talking during battle? You seem to have some room to spare. [Gospel].”
Boom—!
I dodged the newly fired [Gospel] instead of intercepting it.
Arphia’s eyebrow twitched slightly.
Ignoring that, I brushed the dust from my hands and made her an offer.
“I’ve already bought the time I promised. I’d like to get out of here now, if that’s possible.”
“...What?”
“You said you wanted to find your younger sister, and I want to run away from you because I’m scared of you, so I thought our interests were aligned...”
I thought it was a reasonable proposal, but the woman apparently did not.
“...I see. So I’ve been underestimated too.”
Just from the way her mana suddenly swelled with chilling force, I could tell.
*...I’m screwed.*
The ominous rise in mana made that thought slip out before I could stop it.
Master, what exactly did I do wrong?
-Existence.
That’s harsh, seriously.
“L-look, I don’t know what’s bothering you so much, but I’ll apologize first, so—!”
“No questions. No answers.”
“Wait! If you fire that mana off, the whole area’s going to get blown apart!”
“[The curse of blessing, the curse of birth. I, who have taken the demigod’s—]”
She wasn’t listening to a word I said?!
This is exactly what the Hera Familia is—a bunch of crazy psychos...!
Now was not the time for such pointless thoughts. A warning bell was ringing so loudly inside me it felt like it might burst.
Just like when I had faced the Black Dragon, it foretold an unavoidable calamity descending upon me.
*I have to stop her!*
There was no time to think about what came after. I had to stop that spell no matter what.
Jingle. A small bell rang.
And then I exploded.
The acceleration lasted less than a second. But its effect was anything but small.
The body wrapped in a robe turned into light. How many people here could possibly track that speed with their eyes, even if only barely?
...One person probably could, but that was fine. That one person wasn’t Arphia.
*When dealing with a mage, go for the throat...*
No matter how skilled a mage was, if they couldn’t chant, it was meaningless.
Even my own [Firebolt] couldn’t activate unless I shouted it, so what about other mages?
Just by choking the throat, a mage loses their greatest weapon.
So it was only natural that my hand went for her throat.
It wasn’t as if I intended to break it. But I was prepared to squeeze it shut.
At this point, it was no longer the time to worry about whether I was touching a woman or not.
I didn’t know whether her defensive magic was a barrier or a grand spell, but if she couldn’t activate it, it was meaningless.
That was what I thought...
“...Huh?”
Just before my hand could seize her throat, an invisible barrier stopped me.
It was sound. For some reason, I could tell that much.
*This is... no way...*
At that moment, one chilling hypothesis flashed through my mind.
If this barrier was the same defense she had been showing all along...
*...A sustained type?*
A defensive spell that is activated in advance and maintained as a barrier.
It wasn’t unheard of. Riveria’s magic had something similar too.
But the problem was how it was used.
[Ataraxia]
The tiny incantation I had heard each time she defended. Based on that sound, I had unknowingly mistaken this defense for an active-type spell.
No, that wasn’t a mistake. I had been led into it.
Could this situation be the same?
A chill ran down my spine, but it was still fine.
By my estimate, it would take about two seconds to physically break through this. That was certainly a fatal opening, but my opponent was a mage in the middle of chanting. I was still faster—?!
Mocking that naive prediction, the woman stopped chanting, seized my wrist, and when I came to my senses, I was already upside down, plunging headfirst toward the ground.
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