How had it ended up like this? In a situation so utterly chaotic it was beyond belief, I alone stared blankly down from the building.
The gray-haired woman stood on the battlefield like a noble queen.
...And around her were the many pitiful men who had been swept aside by her power.
Among those men, I spotted a familiar, long-missed face.
*Grandpa...*
I had already known that the grandfather who raised me was, in fact, Zeus.
"—I’m so proud of you."
*...*
And yet, despite everything, he had treated me as his own grandson.
To me, he wasn't the god Zeus; he was simply Grandpa.
But what about now?
Even if I still thought of that god as my grandfather, to Zeus, I was nothing more than a stranger who had suddenly appeared.
Being a god, there was a chance he might understand, but I didn’t want to cause him any unnecessary worry. I pulled the hood of my cloak even lower.
I kept my face hidden as much as possible, hoping to evade the intuition of a god.
Even through the deep shadow of my hood, I could feel sharp gazes piercing through.
The wary looks from the captains of the two factions.
The curiosity in the eyes of the two gods.
And... that gray-haired woman glaring at me as if she wanted to kill me.
*Her name was... Arphia, right?*
According to Materia, she was her older sister.
Materia had mentioned how proud she was that her sister had become such an outstanding adventurer, unlike herself.
*Lv. 7...*
I hadn't expected her sister to be Level 7.
*How is she this strong...?*
As the years passed, I had grown and evolved as an adventurer.
I felt that growth most keenly when facing an opponent directly.
It was the warning of intuition, forged from countless battles and sharpened senses.
It was the scale that told me whether the person before me was stronger or weaker, and exactly how threatening they were.
An adventurer’s instinct is a foundation in itself. While different from a god’s intuition, being able to grasp that indescribable "something" is what defines a true adventurer.
Even for me, who had moved past my immature days to become a seasoned adventurer, that warning still rang true.
And right now, that warning was screaming...
*Damn... she's on the level of a captain?*
Her oppressive presence was no less than that of the two heroes watching from afar.
She radiated an aura so powerful that I wondered why a hero of her caliber had left no name in my era.
*Lv. 8? 9?*
At the very least, that was the benchmark I had to use. She was likely a Level 7 honed to the absolute limit, similar to Otaru.
No, judging purely by the aura, she felt even more formidable than Otaru did at Level 8—though we had never actually fought.
The warning bell, which hadn't rung once since that day, was now tolling loudly. It was a stark reminder not to let my guard down.
"Move. I’m in a bad mood."
"Ahaha... then I really can't move aside."
Cranel—whose name was the same as mine, which felt strangely uncanny—was already fleeing with a tearful, miserable expression.
Considering the power he possessed, he was fast. He was certainly quick when it came to running away.
*Honestly, I wanted to run too...*
I had suggested that I just grab both of them and bolt, but Materia had refused.
"I’m sorry. But my body can’t endure a speed faster than Cranel-san’s."
It was a subtle answer, but I let it go. Cranel’s expression had been equally strange; he probably didn't take it as a compliment either.
In short, she meant that going too fast was a no-go, so she would stick with Cranel's "moderate" speed. Consequently, I was left to buy them enough time to escape at that manageable pace.
Roughly five minutes. If that was impossible, she said three minutes would suffice...
*Can I really manage that...?*
She appeared to be a mage. Judging by the shockwaves earlier, she was a combat-oriented mage who used short or ultra-short incantations for rapid bombardment.
Even Otaru's magic was of that caliber, but this was a pure mage—Level 7, effectively Level 8—unleashing continuous artillery. Honestly, I wasn't confident I could block everything.
*Saving my own skin is easy.*
But I had to protect two frail people who could be killed by the aftershocks alone!
To be honest, I wasn't confident.
Confident that I would lose.
*Still, I'm basically the natural enemy of mages.*
No matter how fast her incantations were, they couldn't be faster than my magic.
If I intercepted the incoming spell and cut off the chant, it would be over. Unless she had guided magic like Lefiya, I should be able to buy a little time.
"I owe your younger sister a favor."
"...A favor?"
"Yes. So, I was asked to hold you back until the two of them could escape, and I had no choice but to step in."
I didn't strictly need to explain, but I laid out the situation anyway.
I didn't want any lingering grudges from this clash, and since I'd heard she cherished her sister, I hoped these words might make her back off willingly.
As expected, the expressions of the other members softened slightly.
They had likely been wary because an intruder had barged into their fight—or rather, their prank.
"I see."
Surprisingly, she accepted the explanation easily. Huh? Was this going to end more simply than I thought—
"So you’re just another bug clinging to my little sister."
*When you start hoping, that's when you get betrayed.* For some reason, that thought echoed in my mind.
Simultaneously, formless mana crushed the surrounding air. The tremendous pressure threw the members of both factions into an instant panic.
This was dangerous. At that moment, just as the captains of both factions attempted to move—
"[Gospel]"
The witch was faster.
"What?"
At the same time, my instincts screamed at their peak.
I couldn't see anything, but something was definitely coming.
Following that instinct, I thrust out my hand and, for the first time in ages, invoked my magic.
"[Firebolt]!"
The launched flame lightning collided with something invisible.
The male god witnessed it.
The clash between the searing flame lightning and the merciless [Sound].
The two spells, each attempting to devour and repel the other, finally exhausted their strength and swelled outward in one final, desperate struggle.
Heat and shockwaves swept across the area.
*
The aftershock of the impact rushed toward the intruder.
It was proof that [Sound] had held a slight advantage.
This fact came as a fresh shock to many of those watching.
"It was neutralized? Arphia’s magic?!"
"More importantly, what was that just now?! Did he even chant?!"
"No incantation? But Arphia’s magic requires a chant!"
*So noisy.*
Amid the clamoring crowd, Arphia remained calm.
No, perhaps that wasn't the right word.
After that single clash, Arphia had become "composed."
*Power-wise, I have the edge. But speed-wise, he is faster.*
Her own magic, launched first, had been neutralized. She had to conclude that the opponent was faster.
From that brief exchange, Arphia had realized several things.
The most significant was that the man before her was not someone to be taken lightly.
*Who is he?*
She remembered everyone connected to Materia. That was why Arphia was confused.
Materia had never mentioned anyone with that build.
Was he a follower of the Egyptian gods? If not, he possessed a level of strength that shouldn't exist.
But no matter how far she searched her memory, no one matched him.
Not just among Materia’s acquaintances—not among anyone in Orario.
*At least Lv. 7.*
He was clearly a top-class mage of the city. There was no way she wouldn't know such a person.
And yet, no one fitting that description came to mind.
Then there was only one possibility.
*That rotten god...*
Arphia’s gaze shifted toward a certain male god. The only person capable of managing such a powerhouse in secret was that irritating old man.
*Hm...?*
But the god himself was staring at the intruder with eyes as bright and curious as a child's.
Arphia was puzzled by how genuinely unfamiliar he seemed with the man.
She had never intended to believe a word that god said, but this expression was impossible to mistake for a lie.
*Could I be mistaken? But then none of this makes sense.*
*Those vain Egyptian bastards wouldn't be the type to hide a trump card like this...*
Arphia’s contemplation ended abruptly. Now was not the time for thinking.
She watched the intruder as the smoke cleared and his figure was revealed once more.
The man was wrapped in a jet-black coat. She didn't know the material, but seeing as there wasn't a single scorch mark on it, it was clearly crafted from top-grade materials.
By build, he was quite small for a man. A small frame, rarely seen among the burly members of the Zeus Familia. He vaguely reminded her of that "bug," but that bug had never possessed this kind of strength.
Her confusion deepened as his identity remained a mystery. But that was no problem. If she was curious, she could simply capture him and find out.
But first.
"Move. You’re in the way."
"Haha... I’d like to, but I can’t."
The man replied in a voice that sounded a little weary.
His voice was quite clear, too. Was he a child after all?
"I don’t understand. Why are you going this far to stop me? What does this have to do with you?"
"I told you. I made a promise."
"You’re going to fight me over some trivial promise?"
"No, of course not. I’m just going to buy some time and then run."
"...You’re impossible to talk to. I’ll ask again: why are you going this far?"
"What are you talking about...? A promise with a woman is something you’re supposed to keep even if it kills you, isn’t it?"
With that one line, every question vanished.
Arphia’s mind cleared instantly.
That was it. No doubt about it.
That manner of speaking, that way of thinking, that sheer shamelessness.
This guy was a Zeus Familia bug.
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