Looking at the Twilight Manor in front of her, Hestia clung to Akira like a child on her first day of school.
"Akira-kun, I don't want to go."
"Hestia-sama, this has already been decided. I can't do anything about it." Akira had purposely placed her here. Compared to Folkvangr and the Guild, where Freya and Ouranos were far above other gods in the priority list, her chances were at least higher with the Loki Familia.
"You don't know, Akira-kun. If she finds out I'm here, that 2D-body Loki will never let me forget this debt. I refuse to be under her debt!" Hestia clung tighter to his shirt.
'Just this small debt, We already have to pay Loki two hundred million,' Akira thought while trying to convince his goddess.
"Hestia, you should stop acting like a child." Hephaestus peeled Hestia away from him. "Akira-kun, you should go. I'll take care of her."
"Thank you, Hephaestus-sama." Akira patted Hestia's head. "Don't fight with the other gods, and listen to Hephaestus-sama, will you?"
Hestia got annoyed by his teasing and asked Hephaestus to let her go, but Hephaestus only smiled and waved Akira goodbye.
After leaving Hestia, Akira went to his requested position. It was the third ring of defense around Babel toward the east side, with Daedalus Street behind him.
All around were high-level adventurers, as this was going to be the front line. The only new Level 2 present was him, though no one else knew about his level.
With an umbrella, he sat on a rooftop, arranging his inventory for the upcoming fight.
'I should've packed more before traveling. I should look for clothes for my cosplaying skill,' he thought, looking at the rows and rows of movies, food, and electronics.
'First is the outfit I used when training under Scáthach. This could count as cosplay, but I'll have to dye my hair blue if I want it to be accurate enough to gain more strength from the skill. I'll also need to do something about this right eye.' Touching his eyepatch, he adjusted it.
'Second is Urahara's costume. I don't have blonde hair dye, so only Shikai might be available, but the Hadō that comes with it could be useful.' He placed it second. After that came potions for health, mana, even some blood replenishment, and the Three-Colored Pills from the Naruto world. He pushed the large pile of destroyed items from the first fight to the bottom.
Tap! Tap!
He had company on the roof. Looking back, he saw his favorite elf. Her green, flower-shaped hood protected her green hair from the rain. She had covered her nose and mouth with a green cloth, and her favorite wooden sword, Alf's Lumina, rested at her waist.
"Should I call you Gale when you're in this form, Ryuu-san?" Akira asked.
"I… did you know?" Ryuu sounded worried.
"Well, I've always had a knack for knowing things I shouldn't." Akira stood and walked toward her.
"Then you know what I did…" Ryuu hesitated to ask the main question.
"Yes, I know all the things people say about you." Ryuu looked into his eyes as he came closer. "But there are many things about Ryuu-san that I don't know. I hope you'll tell me someday."
He held his umbrella forward, shielding her from the rain. "The thing I do know is that the Ryuu-san standing in front of me is kind, strict, honest, and altogether a beautiful person. And nothing you might tell me will change that."
"But…" Ryuu was a little taken aback by his words.
He tapped her forehead with the umbrella's shaft. She looked up at him as he said seriously, "I'm very stubborn, so nothing can change my mind."
"But I…"
Akira covered his ears and began repeating, "I'm not listening~ I've made up my mind…"
Seeing his antics, Ryuu felt relieved. She smiled, unfortunately the cloth covering her mouth hid it. "I also hope I'll be able to tell Akira-san everything someday."
Akira stopped covering his ears and smiled. "I hope that too."
With the heavy stuff out of the way, they talked about various things. Ryuu told him how it was Shakti who had come to her to ask for help. One thing led to another, and now all the waitresses were guarding the Guild while May helped the staff. What surprised Akira the most was that Mama Mia had gone to Folkvangr with Ottar.
Since the appearance of the tower, Akira's instincts had been warning him of impending doom, but he'd ignored them, thinking it was just because he was Level 2 that the threat felt so great. Now that even Ottar had called Mia Grand out of retirement, Akira had to reevaluate.
Something that even a Level 7 Ottar felt threatened by wasn't something he could possibly compete against.
"Akira-san, you should relax and calm yourself. You're strong, but only when you're calm can you use that strength properly." Ryuu could feel he was nervous, thinking it was related to his previous team's fate.
Akira felt there was nothing he could do with the current information. He nodded. "I understand, Ryuu-san."
"Hey, Lion! Go to your position. It's about to start!" Shakti ordered her.
"See you later, Akira-san." Ryuu wanted to ask one more thing but decided to save it for later.
"See you later, Ryuu-san." Akira waved goodbye as she jumped down to join the second line of defense.
-----------------------------------
From the top of the Tower of Babel, Finn looked down at Orario. Under the cover of a heavy downpour, the lights of magic tools burned bright.
In the east, the Amphitheatron shone in all its glory. The stadium, normally used by the Ganesha Familia for Monster Feria, was now filled with people.
In the west stood the Guild — housing only guild staff and gods, no civilians. It was also the second most secure place at the moment.
In the south, the safest place of all — Folkvangr, Freya's home — a castle atop a mountain. The braziers burned brightly, housing the most gods and second only to the Amphitheatron in civilian population.
In the north, the Twilight Manor stood as a shining beacon of hope in these dark times. At least, Finn hoped it would be, but...
Finn bit his thumb to ease the ever-increasing pain in it. He had tried thinking through every strategy, but the pain didn't lessen. In the end, all he could do was focus on minimizing casualties.
"Now we can only believe in the strength of Orario," Riveria commented.
"Hmmm." Finn was worried about survival — but even more worried about what would come after the fight.
"Did Loki-sama meet Ouranos-sama?" Riveria asked.
"No, but she said she met Hermes-sama, who came to an agreement with Ouranos-sama. She didn't tell me what they discussed, only that it would be a 'big surprise.'" Finn sighed, remembering Loki's smile — knowing that the deal could mean nothing good.
"At least we have the support of the Freya Familia," Riveria said, glancing at Hedin Selland, who was checking every inch of the clock tower for any faults. Behind him, Hogni Ragnar struggled to find words to describe the magnificence of the structure.
"Yes, that's a good thing," Finn nodded.
-----------------------------------
In the basement below, the great god Ouranos sat in his room of prayers. He held a strange crystal — one of a set made by Fels.
"Ouranos-sama, we are ready at the 19th floor. Still no abnormalities," a voice spoke from the crystal.
"The Dungeon's Champion?" Ouranos asked.
"It's sitting at the entrance of the 19th floor."
"Avoid it as much as possible. Lead the Xenos in the fight, Fels. Always remember, this is their first group battle," Ouranos instructed.
"I understand, Ouranos-sama," Fels replied, ending the transmission, while the Xenos readied their weapons.
Ouranos could feel the Dungeon's readiness and its hunger for battle. Ever since that anomaly crossed into their world, he had been able to sense the Dungeon's mood more clearly. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, he did not know.
-----------------------------------
At the Guild gate stood Asfi. The entire Hermes Familia was there, guarding the Guild and their god. As for Hermes himself, after delivering some urgent first-class weapons to the Guild, he was now enjoying drinks and food with the rest of the gods gathered there.
"Hermes, isn't it time to start?" Ishtar asked, sipping her wine.
"No, no, I can only start after the first trial," Hermes replied, drunk on wine but clearly eager for the show.
DING!!! DING!!!
A loud bell echoed throughout Orario.
"Looks like it's time," Ishtar said with a charming smile.
"Of course." Hermes stood up and released his Arcanum. "With permission from the great god Ouranos, I present to you—the Tower of Trials."
A large number of screens appeared throughout the gathering places in Orario.
The image showed the top of the Babel Tower, where five individuals everyone in the city knew stood: Riveria Ljos Alf, Finn Deimne, Ais Wallenstein, Hogni Ragnar, and Hedin Selland.
Riveria stood in the back, chanting her magic, while the others stood before her, protecting her. In front of them loomed the Frevius Clock Tower, its bell ringing with an ominous tone.
[The First Wave Begins]
[Detected: Wide Scale Surveillance Magic…]
[Calibrating…]
[Calibrating…]
[Calibrating…]
This time, the tower's announcement came from everywhere, as if thousands were speaking in unison. Hermes lowered his Arcanum, debating whether to cancel the vision.
[Magic is considered to be of Non-Interference Type…]
[Permission Granted…]
[Adding Ranking List for Additional Clarity…]
Beside the viewing screens, another appeared showing the rankings:
Rank — Name — Kill Score — Achievements — Total Score
1 — Akira Akatsuki — 0 — 1000 — 1000
2 — Ottar — 0 — 800 — 800
3 — Allen Fromel — 0 — 300 — 300
…..
Finn didn't know he was being watched — not that he cared right now. The instant the bell rang, he felt it in his bones — something sinister had awakened. He ordered Riveria to start chanting.
The bell stopped ringing. The only sounds that remained were the rain and Riveria's chant. Finn waited patiently, though the calm only heightened his vigilance.
BURST!!!
From the corner of his eye, he saw a black geyser erupt from the ground in the entertainment district. He turned to see many more bursting throughout Orario. Inside the black substance, he could make out small red glowing lights, but couldn't tell what they were. He didn't have to wait long for the answer.
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
He turned and shouted orders: "Everybody, get ready to jump! Ais, pick up Riveria! Riveria, blast the tower!"
They were all experienced adventurers, so they followed his orders without hesitation, running toward the ledge without looking back. Only Riveria — carried princess-style by Ais — kept looking at the tower while continuing her chant.
Crash!!!
Through the walls and from the floor of clock tower poured a wave of armored mice. With their glowing red eyes, they swarmed everywhere — thousands covered the Babel Tower's roof, and thousands more poured out of the clock tower. They had only one mission — to satiate their hunger.
............
(A/N: Which cosplay do you think the first one is of?)
You can Support me on p@treon: [email protected]/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
I mainly translate other fanfics on there.