Bell and Lili had been climbing the tower they had entered for quite some time now. Floor after floor had passed as they steadily made their way upward through the structure. Along the way, they had encountered many enemies while searching through every room they came across.
However, despite the many encounters they had fought through, none of the rooms they had entered so far had Hyakinthos present within them.
They continued to scour the floor they were currently on. Moving carefully, they went from room to room, opening doors and checking every possible space they could find. Unfortunately, their efforts yielded no results.
After some time had passed, the two of them stopped inside one of the rooms for a brief moment to catch their breath.
"So far, nothing," Bell said to Lili as he looked around the quiet room. His doubt was beginning to grow as the search continued without any sign of success. "Maybe Hyakinthos isn't in this tower, Lili. We could search a different tower. Or even some place in the other buildings."
Lili immediately reacted to Bell's suggestion.
Seeing what she interpreted as Bell's unwillingness to search the tower thoroughly, she scoffed in response.
"Don't be ridiculous, Sir Bell," Lili said with a slightly retorted tone in her voice. "We haven't even checked the last floor of this tower yet. Who knows if we might meet Hyakinthos on that floor?"
Bell nodded slowly as he listened to Lili's reasoning.
Although his earlier thought could still be correct, considering that there were plenty of places to hide within the castle, Lili's point also held just as much weight. They had not yet finished searching the tower, and there was still a possibility that their target could be waiting at the very top.
After all, the chance of encountering Hyakinthos on the final floor might be low, but it certainly was not zero.
Deciding to push aside his doubts for the moment, Bell accepted Lili's reasoning.
"Okay, Lili."
Lili nodded back at Bell, appreciating that he understood the point she was trying to make.
With that settled, the two of them prepared to continue their search. Their plan was simple, head toward the final floor of the tower and check it thoroughly before deciding their next move.
However, before they could leave the room, something unexpected happened.
Suddenly, they were approached by seven people.
Bell and Lili immediately turned their attention toward the newly arrived group. From the way they had appeared and surrounded the path ahead, it was clear that these individuals were enemies participating in the War Game.
As Bell and Lili looked more closely at their faces, however, they quickly realized something.
These faces were already very familiar to them.
It did not take long for them to remember exactly who these seven people were.
They were the same group that had ambushed them earlier at the open space in the ruined city district of Orario.
Five of them were already known to Bell and Lili from that encounter. Among them was the ginger-haired male elf, the pink-haired human woman, and three prums. Two of the prums were male twins with brunette hair, while the last one had raven-colored hair.
Each of them had their own role within the group.
The ginger-haired elf served as the swordsman, the pink-haired woman functioned as the tank, the twin prums were spearmen, and the raven-haired prum acted as their mage.
The remaining two members of the group were also familiar faces.
They were Daphne and Cassandra.
Both of them, of course, were members of the Apollo Familia.
Bell and Lili looked toward the group with caution. However, despite the seriousness of the situation, neither of them appeared as tense as they should have been. Both of them remained standing where they were, and neither of them had taken a proper battle stance yet.
For a brief moment, the two sides simply stared at one another in silence.
After a short while, Lili decided to break the tension.
"Look," Lili said, speaking calmly as she tried to get straight to the point, "just tell us where Hyakinthos is, and we'll be on our merry way. You people seem like genuinely good people, and both of us don't want to hurt you."
Bell nodded toward his prum comrade, silently agreeing with her words.
A week earlier, when they had been ambushed, both Bell and Lili had fought against these same seven individuals. From the battle they had experienced back then, the two Hestians had come to understand something about the people now standing before them.
They were not bad people.
Rather, they were individuals who had simply been forced into their current circumstances.
However, Daphne was not someone who would easily back down.
Even though part of her understood that letting the two Hestians pass might be the wiser decision, giving up such important information, especially when their side still appeared to have the advantage in numbers, would be extremely foolish.
Of course, what they did not realize was that their chances of winning had been close to zero from the very beginning.
But as the saying goes, what you do not know does not hurt you.
"You want to know the whereabouts of my captain, Hestia Familia?" Daphne said firmly, rejecting Lili's proposal without hesitation. "Then you have to fight us for it first."
With those words spoken, the seven of them immediately prepared themselves.
Cassandra moved toward the back of the group, positioning herself safely behind the others. This left Daphne standing at the front alongside the five members of the Plutus Familia.
Bell and Lili quietly observed the formation that their opponents had taken.
The pink-haired human woman stood at the very front, holding her shield firmly as she guarded the others behind her. From the way she stood, it was clear that she was ready to block any attack that came toward her comrades, almost as if she were facing powerful monsters rather than two adventurers.
Daphne and the elf stood slightly behind her on each side.
Meanwhile, the twin spearmen positioned themselves beside Daphne and the elf, creating a formation that covered a wide area from the sides.
At the very back of the formation stood Cassandra and the prum mage.
From their positions, it was clear that they were fulfilling their roles as the group's ranged damage dealer and healer.
Bell and Lili remained where they were, standing quietly as they continued observing their opponents carefully.
Despite the battle-ready formation placed before them, the two Hestians still did not move into their own fighting stances.
For some reason, they did not seem to be treating the situation with the level of seriousness one would normally expect.
The seven opponents looked at them with confusion.
From their perspective, Bell and Lili appeared strangely relaxed. Even though a battle was clearly about to begin, neither of them seemed to be preparing themselves to fight.
After what felt like an eternity of standing still and watching each other, Lili finally spoke again, breaking the silence that had formed between the two sides.
"Thalion," Lili called out.
Her voice was directed toward the elf standing among the group.
The elf, now identified as Thalion, shifted his attention toward her upon hearing his name.
Lili then spoke once more.
"Would you like to join our Familia after the War Game is over?" she asked. "You, alongside your comrades. Daphne and Cassandra too."
The seven individuals reacted with visible surprise upon hearing Lili's words.
For a brief moment, none of them spoke.
However, as the meaning behind her proposal settled in, their expressions slowly changed. Their surprise faded into frowns as they processed what she had just said.
Thalion then decided to respond.
"Why is the reason for this sudden proposal, Liliruca Arde?" he asked, questioning the prum's unexpected offer.
Lili did not falter in the slightest when faced with the question.
She already understood the implication behind what he was asking.
"Well, simply put," she replied calmly, "I understand you. All of you."
All seven of them stared at Bell and Lili in confusion. Lili's words had clearly caught them off guard, leaving them trying to understand what she truly meant by what she had just said.
"What do you mean by that?" Thalion asked, his voice carrying genuine curiosity as he sought clarification.
"Well," Lili began, replying calmly to the elf, "I understand very well the oppression of the situation that you're in. I understood the environment of your familia. Even with that much wealth, it doesn't make any difference if you have an absurdly greedy god who hoards everything for himself, leaving his familia children to rot."
As she spoke, Lili's gaze softened. She looked toward the seven individuals with a sympathetic expression, clearly taking pity on them.
Slowly, she raised her left hand, as if extending an offer toward them.
"So, what do you say?" Lili continued. "Join us, and all of that would be gone. Your days as adventurers would be something to look forward to."
The seven of them fell silent.
None of them spoke immediately, as each of them took a moment to process and contemplate the offer being presented to them.
After a brief pause, Thalion made his decision and stepped forward slightly.
"I'm sorry," he said. "We appreciate the offer, but we admire our captain too much to leave him for another familia."
With his answer given, the five members of the Plutus Familia adjusted their stances, becoming more serious as they prepared to uphold their decision. Their expressions hardened, showing their resolve.
Daphne and Cassandra, seeing the shift in the others, followed suit and readied themselves as well.
Lili, after hearing the elf's response, slowly lowered her hand.
"Is that so?" she said quietly.
Now that the Plutus members had declined her offer, her demeanor shifted. Her stance changed, and the sympathy she had shown moments ago faded into something more composed.
"How noble."
Bell and Lili then moved at the same time, both of them entering their battle stances as they prepared to strike.
"Though," Lili continued, her voice steady, "we're not asking anyway."
The moment she finished speaking, Bell moved.
He rushed forward with blistering speed.
All seven of them were shocked as they saw the white-haired rabbit close the distance in an instant. His sudden burst of speed far exceeded what they had experienced beforehand.
Before any of them could properly react, Bell was already standing directly in front of the pink-haired tank.
"?!"
In a frantic attempt to defend herself, the pink-haired woman quickly raised her shield to block the incoming attack.
However, it proved to be futile.
Bell struck with force, kicking straight through the defense. The impact sent both the shield and the woman flying backward. Her body was thrown through the air before she crashed onto the ground, rolling across it as she lost her grip on her shield.
Seeing this, the rest of the group instinctively stepped back, creating distance between themselves and Bell.
Cassandra, in particular, rushed forward toward the fallen tank.
"Hilda!" Cassandra called out as she approached her. "Let me help you get up."
Cassandra reached down and helped the pink-haired woman, now known as Hilda, back onto her feet.
"Thank you, Cassandra," Hilda said, expressing her gratitude as she steadied herself. "I'll be going in front no—"
Her words suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
Something felt off.
Hilda's body tensed up as a strange sensation spread through her. Her movements became unsteady, and she began to tremble slightly.
"Hilda?" Cassandra called out, concern immediately appearing on her face. "What's wrong?"
Hilda did not respond right away.
Instead, her body began to shake even more. She struggled to maintain her balance as her legs weakened beneath her.
Slowly, she raised her right hand and stared at it.
It was trembling uncontrollably.
A moment later, her vision began to fade.
Without warning, Hilda lost consciousness.
Her body collapsed, falling to the ground as she passed out.
Cassandra, who was standing right beside her, immediately panicked.
"Hilda?! HILDA!"
Her voice rang out as she called desperately to her fallen comrade.
The rest of the group looked on in shock at what had just happened.
The idea that someone could be struck, even while properly defending with a shield, and still be rendered unconscious so easily made no sense to them.
It completely defied their expectations.
"That's unexpected," Bell said, appearing confused himself after the small stunt he had just pulled off. He looked at his hand for a brief moment, as if trying to gauge the strength he had just used. "Maybe I put a little too much power into that punch. Oh well."
After saying that, he shifted his posture and returned to a proper battle stance, ready to engage his opponents once more.
Lili, upon seeing this, could only shake her head slightly.
'I thought Sir Bell would know to hold back a bit against them,' she thought, feeling slightly taken aback by what had just happened. 'Though, I understand that he wants to go all out. It is a War Game, after all.'
Pushing those thoughts aside, Lili also moved into her battle stance, steadying herself as she prepared for the fight ahead.
Without wasting any more time, both Bell and Lili rushed forward, aiming to defeat the remaining six opponents and obtain the information they needed regarding Hyakinthos's location.
Bell immediately set his sights on Thalion.
Deciding that the elf posed a significant threat, he chose to eliminate him first.
In the blink of an eye, Bell dashed forward. His movement was so fast that it appeared as nothing more than a blur to the male elf.
Thalion could only watch in panic and fear as Bell closed the distance between them almost instantly. He had not expected the white-haired Hestian to move at such speed.
'How is he moving this fast?' Thalion thought in shock. 'The last time we fought, he wasn't this fast, nor was he THIS strong.'
Before he could even process another thought, his mind was interrupted.
Bell had already swung one of his swords toward the right side of Thalion.
Acting on pure instinct, Thalion raised his weapon to block the incoming strike. However, his reaction was barely enough.
Without the necessary strength to fully parry the blow, the impact sent him flying backward.
His body shot across the large room at a speed that would have been terrifying to ordinary citizens and even third-class adventurers.
A moment later, he crashed hard into the wall.
Cracks spread across the surface upon impact.
Then, his body slid down before collapsing onto the ground, completely unconscious after taking the full force of the attack.
The three prums from the Plutus Familia witnessed the entire exchange unfold before their eyes.
Shock immediately filled their expressions.
However, before they could even react to Thalion's sudden defeat, Lili had already made her move.
She rushed forward, aiming directly for the prum mage positioned at the back, swinging down her spear.
Before she could land her attack, however, the two male prums and Daphne quickly intervened, stepping in front of her target to block the strike.
CLANG!
The sound of weapons clashing echoed throughout the room.
Daphne and the two prums successfully blocked Lili's attack, but only barely.
It had taken all three of them working together just to stop her.
Even then, they struggled.
Their arms trembled slightly as they tried to hold their ground, finding it difficult to keep up with the sheer force behind Lili's strike. Her strength was simply too much for them to block comfortably.
In contrast, Lili herself remained calm and composed.
Her expression did not change as she maintained her stance.
Reaching Level Three had granted her the strength and reflexes necessary to overwhelm the Level Twos she was currently facing. The difference in power between them was undeniable.
Even when considering how her stats would normally appear, just like when she had leveled up to Level 2 a month prior, her growth was already exceptional by standard measures.
Still locked in that position, Lili continued to apply pressure.
She pushed forward relentlessly, not giving the prum mage even the slightest opening to act.
However, as she kept the three defenders occupied, something unexpected happened.
The prum mage at the back suddenly began preparing a spell.
But there was something unusual about it.
There was no chant.
No incantation was spoken.
The magic was formed instantly.
A sphere of energy materialized in front of the prum mage, growing rapidly in size until it became larger than her own head.
"?!"
Lili reacted immediately, her eyes widening slightly in surprise at the sudden appearance of the magic.
Without hesitation, the prum mage hurled the energy sphere toward Lili.
The attack traveled at high speed, cutting through the air as it headed straight for its target.
At the same time, the three defenders quickly pulled back, creating an opening and allowing the attack to pass through toward Lili.
With no time left to dodge, Lili raised both of her arms in front of her body to block the incoming strike.
BOOM!
____
The magic made impact, resounding throughout the room with a loud boom. The force of the explosion shook the surroundings as smoke and dust rapidly spread, rising into the air until it covered almost the entirety of the room.
The four defending members instinctively raised their arms to shield their eyes from the thick smoke that had formed after the impact. Their vision was obscured, and for a brief moment, they could not see what had become of Lili.
After a short while, the smoke and dust began to settle slightly.
Slowly, they lowered their guards and removed their arms from their faces, trying to regain a clear view of the battlefield.
"Did we do it?" one of the prum twins asked, his voice filled with uncertainty as he tried to determine the result of such a powerful attack.
However, the prum's words did not come into fruition.
Suddenly, the lingering smoke and dust were forcefully pushed away by a strong wave of wind.
The air cleared.
And there, standing in the centre of where the explosion had occurred, was Lili.
She stood completely upright.
Perfectly fine.
Only a few minor scratches could be seen on her arms.
Daphne and the three prums stared at her in wide-eyed shock.
Among them, the prum mage was the most shaken.
Seeing that her magic had failed to significantly affect the Hestian caused her confidence to waver even further.
"H-How?" the prum mage stuttered, unable to believe what she was seeing as fear slowly began to seep into her voice. "I-It should have d-damaged you like before t-this. So… h-how?"
Lili, appearing completely uninterested in the outcome of the attack, casually brushed off her arms, removing the dust that had settled on them.
She then lifted her gaze and looked toward the four remaining opponents. Her expression remained calm, as if nothing significant had just happened.
"I forgot that you could do that," Lili said, recalling the prum mage's abilities from their encounter a week ago during the ambush. "I'm being honest with you, I was utterly shocked that you could conjure magic without chanting the first time. Now, however, it doesn't seem that threatening anymore."
With those words, Lili adjusted her stance once again, preparing to continue the fight.
"Well," she added, "I'll be getting to know you more soon enough after this War Game."
The moment she finished speaking, she moved.
Lili rushed forward with blinding speed, heading straight toward the twin prums.
In an instant, she closed the distance between them.
"?!"
The two prums reacted in alarm at her sudden approach.
However, they had no time to properly defend themselves.
Lili struck swiftly.
With precise movements, she delivered chopping blows to the backs of their necks.
The attacks were clean and decisive.
Both prums immediately lost consciousness and collapsed onto the ground.
"Bran! Brom!" the prum mage cried out in distress as she saw the twin spearmen fall.
Cassandra and Daphne both watched the scene unfold in shock, a trace of fear beginning to show on their faces as they realized just how overwhelming Lili's strength was.
Cassandra, who had been crouching beside Hilda throughout the entire exchange, quickly made a decision.
She stood up, intending to assist her remaining conscious comrades.
However, before she could act, something unexpected happened.
She suddenly felt a presence appear behind her.
The sensation was abrupt and overwhelming.
Before she could even turn around to identify who it was, her vision began to fade. Her consciousness quickly slipped away as darkness took over.
Her body fell limp.
However, she did not hit the ground.
She was caught.
The one who had appeared behind her was Bell.
He had struck Cassandra at the back of her neck, using a similar motion to how Lili had incapacitated the prum twins. After knocking her out, he carefully lowered her body to the ground, placing her down gently.
Now, only two remained.
The prum mage and Daphne.
Both of them looked on in horror as they realized they were the only ones left standing.
Reacting quickly, the prum mage conjured another sphere of energy, preparing to launch it toward Lili.
But before she could release the attack—
Lili was already beside her.
The speed of her movement left no room for reaction.
Without hesitation, Lili struck the prum mage with the back of her spear, hitting her from behind and rendering her unconscious instantly.
The mage collapsed to the ground.
Now, only one person remained standing.
Daphne.
She stood there in silence, her eyes fixed on the two Hestians before her.
Bell and Lili, after taking down almost all of the opponents present, turned their attention toward Daphne. The two of them stared her down, but unlike before, they no longer held an aggressive stance. Instead, they gradually lowered their guard, showing no intention of continuing the fight against the last remaining attacker.
"It's over, Daphne," Lili said calmly. "It's time for you to tell us where Hyakinthos is, and we'll leave you be."
Daphne remained silent for a brief moment after hearing Lili's words.
Then, letting out a small breath, she gave in.
"I guess there's no point in fighting any longer, huh?" she said, acknowledging the situation she was in.
Without resisting any further, Daphne raised her hand and pointed upward toward the ceiling of the room.
"He's directly above this room," she explained. "But I'll warn you, he's guarded by some Level Threes."
Lili nodded in response, accepting the information without hesitation.
"Alright, thank you," she said.
With that, Lili began walking toward the centre of the room, carefully positioning herself at a spot that was far from all the unconscious bodies scattered across the ground. Bell followed closely behind her, matching her movements without question.
Daphne, however, was left confused by their actions.
Seeing the direction they were heading, she couldn't help but question them.
"What are you two doing?" Daphne asked. "The exit of this room is in the opposite direction of where you're going."
Bell and Lili came to a stop at the centre of the room.
Lili then turned her head slightly, glancing back at Daphne.
"Isn't it obvious?" Lili replied. "We're going to your captain's location."
After saying that, Lili shifted her gaze toward Bell and gave him a small nod.
Daphne, still confused, watched the brief exchange between the two Hestians.
However, it didn't take long before realization began to dawn on her.
Her eyes widened slightly as she understood what Lili had meant.
At that moment, she noticed something.
One of Bell's swords began to glow white.
Flames started to envelop the blade, flickering intensely as the energy gathered around it.
Bell raised the sword, preparing to strike upward.
His stance steadied.
Then, without hesitation, he swung.
"[FIRE BOLT]!"
BOOM!
The attack struck the ceiling with immense force.
In an instant, the ceiling shattered.
The explosion tore through the room and continued upward, blasting through the structure above.
The entire top of the tower was engulfed in the destruction as the impact resounded throughout the area.