"Enough! Are you trying to disrupt our sacred ritual again?"
Tione remained silent.
But Argana was furious beyond measure.
For adventurers from the Kali Familia, combat was sacred—a divine ceremony to determine the greatest warrior, inviolable in its sanctity.
Yet time and again, members of the Loki Familia had interrupted their rituals. Just when they thought they could finally settle things decisively, another disruption had occurred.
"Let me correct one more thing, Tione."
Finn's gaze shifted from Tione to Argana.
But his eyes gradually turned icy.
"The reason we came here as a group wasn't just to rescue you all—it was also to vent our pain!"
The Loki Familia had just lost comrades.
Taking their companions away at such a time was practically the same as touching a dragon's reverse scale!
"The Kali Familia is one of the culprits behind Line and the others' deaths. No matter what, they must be judged. Even I'm finding it hard to stay composed."
Finn's expression was cold.
An oppressive chill emanated from Riveria and the others around them.
"Anyway, that's how it is, Tione-chan. Come back with us!"
Even the goddess Loki herself appeared among the crowd.
Her trademark playful grin, which usually annoyed Tione, now brought her immense relief.
"Isn't this getting a bit out of hand?"
The petite goddess Kali stood at the edge of the training grounds, trembling with fear as she thought to herself.
"Where's Eiji?"
The golden-haired girl scanned the training grounds but still couldn't find the person she was looking for, unable to hold back her question.
"He's done for!"
Argana snapped impatiently, her tone filled with irritation.
"Left alone in a room with Ishtar—the outcome is obvious!"
What?
The girls of the Loki Familia froze in shock, glaring at her in fury.
Almost everyone had heard the rumors about Ishtar.
Ais clenched the slender sword in her hand, her knuckles turning white.
Just the thought of Eiji becoming Ishtar's possession made her feel intensely uncomfortable.
But then—
Boom—!
A massive white pillar of light shot into the sky.
The holy radiance reflected in everyone's eyes.
"Well, looks like he's fine."
Finn gazed in the direction of the Temple of Sacred Prostitutes, his tense expression gradually easing—though his face soon twisted into something more peculiar.
"No way..."
Riveria couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.
"Hahaha! Now that's something else!"
Gareth stroked his thick beard, laughing in amazement.
"...He killed a god?"
Ais was stunned.
"Lady Ishtar?!"
"How could this happen?"
"Oh no, our Falna...!"
The Amazons, who had just quieted down, erupted into chaos once more.
Some mourned Ishtar's return to Heaven, while others stared at their powerless arms in horror.
When a god returns to Heaven, the Falna they bestowed loses its effect. The adventurers of that Familia revert to ordinary humans, requiring another deity to grant them new Falna to regain their strength.
At this moment, every single one of the hundreds of Amazons in the training grounds had lost their power.
"Hey hey, you're kidding me, right?"
Kali couldn't help shrinking her neck, her eyes darting around as she searched for an escape route.
"Let's put an end to this incident."
Finn stepped forward from the crowd.
He walked onto the training ground and threw Tione aside.
"If you say the ritual is sacred, then let it continue—but this time with a different participant."
His short stature stood before Argana.
"Your opponent is me."
"A mere Pallum!"
Argana flew into a rage.
Pallums were widely recognized as the weakest race, with almost no notable strengths, inferior even to humans. Argana felt deeply insulted by his actions!
Without a second thought, she charged at Finn.
"I assume you wouldn't want to defile the sacred ritual either, so allow me to go all out!"
A cold smile spread across Finn's face.
"—O demon spear, take my blood and pierce the brow!"
Fierce Magic Spear!
Finn's berserk magic, trading sanity for a massive boost in abilities!
BOOM!
With a deafening roar, the entire training ground shattered into ruins in an instant!
Finn dodged Algana's attack and delivered a direct punch!
A dark figure was sent flying like a cannonball, smashing through several walls before finally crashing into a distant building, leaving no trace of movement.
Argana—defeated in one hit!
"Haa…"
Finn exhaled lightly, the madness fading from his eyes as his expression returned to its usual calm.
"Captain! I knew you loved me!"
Tione burst into tears, overwhelmed with emotion.
"Not at all."
Finn chuckled.
"The captain's amazing!"
"Even though Argana was already badly injured, I never expected the captain to take her down in one punch!"
The members of Loki Familia laughed in relief.
"I'll go help Tiona."
Ais turned her gaze to another training ground.
"Seems like your help won't be needed."
Riveria's lips curled into a faint, dazzling smile as she nodded toward the distant sky.
Meanwhile.
Tiona and Bache's battle was still ongoing.
Fists and kicks clashed like thunder, each impact reverberating through the air.
"Good, much more focused now!"
Bache's fighting spirit burned even brighter.
"I'll defeat you, Bache!"
Tiona roared, disregarding her injuries as she unleashed a ferocious punch.
Steam rose from her body—the sign of her skill, "Berserk," which increased her attack power based on the severity of her wounds!
At the edge of their battlefield, a silver-glowing sword rippling like water was embedded in the ground.
It had flown over from the distant sky during their earlier exchange.
"Eiji said not to worry about him, so I just need to defeat Bache!"
Tiona, who had previously lacked fighting spirit, now poured all her focus into the battle against Bache, blood splattering through the air.
She possessed an incredibly overpowered skill.
Its name—"Intense Heat"!
A skill that drastically boosted her abilities when near death!
With both skills active, Tiona became a warrior who grew stronger the longer she fought and the more injured she was. Unless defeated in a single blow, her opponents would inevitably fall before her!
But the prerequisite was pushing herself to the brink of death!
Tiona charged straight into Bache's attack, deliberately putting herself in peril time and again, step by step pushing herself to the brink of death.
But at that moment, a perfect parabola suddenly traced across the sky.
Its target was precisely this training ground!
Both combatants noticed the whistling sound and simultaneously dodged away from the center.
BOOM!
Amid billowing smoke, the training ground shattered into pieces under the tremendous impact.
"Don't so casually dance with death."
A youth emerged from the dust.
He pulled his sword from where it was embedded in the ground and turned to face Bache, whose alarm bells were ringing loudly.
"This fight... I'll be taking over!"