"Well then—have you ever seen me at full power?"
The moment Liang Yue raised his white, eerie left hand—bound by chain limiters—gripping his second short blade, Hyacinthus's twisted grin hardened into solemnity.
He didn't know what that white demon hand of Liang Yue's had endured before, but the feeling it gave him was one of ominous, alien dread.
The earlier battles had ended far too quickly.
And recalling carefully—this opponent had fought all along with just one hand on his sword.
Could it be… Liang Yue had never fought at full strength from the very beginning?
That thought alone made Hyacinthus's body instinctively retreat, even before the fight had truly begun.
The pressure Liang Yue exuded had already taken on tangible weight.
There was no turning back.
With all of Apollo Familia's strength at stake, carrying the hopes of Lord Apollo himself—
Hyacinthus knew he had no choice but to win.
His eyes never left Liang Yue as he gave the cold order:
"Proceed with the plan."
"Delay him."
The idea was simple—
Liang Yue's Draw Blade Slash must consume immense stamina.
If they could prepare in advance, they might avoid it.
And with his own magic's homing properties, he could suppress and counter.
As long as Liang Yue couldn't finish the fight instantly—Hyacinthus believed that even at great cost, victory was possible.
But sometimes, plans were only dreams.
The moment Apollo Familia spread out in formation, Liang Yue was already preparing.
None of their faces mattered to him.
The only familiar one—
was the so-called "Sun's Favorite Child," Hyacinthus, a Lv.3 adventurer.
His strength was nothing to scoff at in Orario, especially his magic Different Law: Zephelos, a spell that created homing, explosive sun-wheels.
But it required time to chant.
According to the "original" tale, Bell would've used a charm given by Syr and finished things with a Friendship Punch.
Liang Yue thought differently.
"If I awaken properly…"
"…Wouldn't Extreme Ghost Swordsman: Tempest Style end this even faster?"
As Apollo Familia finished preparations, Liang Yue only felt a trace of regret—
since he preferred the fastest, most brutal method.
Rather than wait—
he compressed his Selfless Sword Qi into both short blades.
The weapons hummed with a sharp vibration, as if rejoicing in anticipation.
The instant he swung—
two arcs of radiant sword qi swept out, crossing each other to tear across the arena.
A single slash could be dodged.
But two intersecting strikes?
That was enough to wreak havoc.
This wasn't a turn-based fight.
The moment the twin slashes carved forward, Liang Yue's legs burst with force.
No cooldown.
No restraint.
Consecutive Breaking Army Rising Dragon Strikes propelled him forward, each lunge eating up distance.
His target was clear:
Hyacinthus.
The grand arena was wide, but his chained charges closed the gap in an instant.
The pressure fell squarely on Apollo Familia.
Even having witnessed Liang Yue's Draw Blade Slash before, facing it directly was another matter.
Especially when two slashes struck at once, with no visible chant, no forewarning.
"We can't block that!"
The first teammate to fall had already proven it—resisting meant death.
So they chose survival.
Mages threw themselves flat to the ground.
Agile Lv.2s leapt aside desperately.
Their perfect formation shattered in seconds.
Exactly as Liang Yue wanted.
Skills like Draw Blade Slash worked wonders against monsters.
But against prepared adventurers, dodging was always possible.
Still—
three consecutive Rising Dragon Strikes had already broken through the line.
Now his blades aimed for Hyacinthus.
Hyacinthus realized in that instant—
things were not as simple as he imagined.
The twin sword strikes had already broken his formation, leaving him face-to-face with Liang Yue's relentless advance.
Yet, he stood firm, chanting under his breath.
"My name is Sin, the envy of the wind. Call forth a violent gale upon me—!"
"Cast the fire wheel! Come forth, Western Wind!"
"Akekas!"
A blazing sunwheel spun into existence, glowing with searing heat in Hyacinthus's palm.
With a sharp swing, he hurled it at Liang Yue.
The homing disk blazed through the air—
if nothing else, it could slow him down.
Hyacinthus's heart raced, his eyes dark with killing intent.
Yes. There was a chance.
If it struck true—victory was possible.
But then…
Liang Yue didn't dodge.
He gripped both short blades tightly, their arcs expanding into invisible afterimages, building into a storm of strikes.
Phantom Sword Dance.
Though not yet mastered, his training in crushing gravity zones, stacked with countless buffs—
was more than enough to recreate a raw version.
Sword qi blazed forth, layered cross-slashes colliding with the sunwheel midair.
"Bang!"
The spinning ring of heat shattered instantly.
The explosion echoed—
but Liang Yue's sword storm tore through unscathed, streaking directly toward Hyacinthus.
His proudest magic—
broken in an instant.
His eyes widened, blank with disbelief.
No hindrance.
No delay.
Only despair.
He instinctively leapt back, scrambling to dodge—
but Liang Yue was already upon him.
Three chained strikes carried him into melee range.
A horizontal slash came faster than Hyacinthus could react.
Desperation forced him to lift his short sword—
but the clash only tore his hands open.
Even the blazing Sunflame Sword, a first-rate weapon in Orario, cracked under the crushing force.
Then it shattered completely.
Hyacinthus's heart sank into despair.
The last thing he saw was Liang Yue's calm face, murmuring softly—
"It's over."
The blade fell.
His body split cleanly in two.
The strongest of Apollo Familia was no more.
And with him—so ended the War Game.
The battle ended in an instant.
Apollo Familia's remaining adventurers froze.
Their strongest had fallen.
Their faith collapsed.
When Liang Yue turned toward them, calm eyes sweeping coldly across the survivors—
terror bloomed from the deepest core of their beings.
What use was fighting now?
If Hyacinthus, a Lv.3, couldn't survive a single exchange—
what chance did they have?
"...I surrender!"
"He's a monster! Why did we provoke him?!"
"I surrender too!"
One after another, they dropped to their knees, sliding forward in terrified surrender.
Even Liang Yue was mildly surprised.
He had expected Hyacinthus's death to inspire resistance—
but instead, it shattered their will.
The killing intent in the air had vanished.
All that remained was pure fear.
He could keep killing, add more corpses to his blade—
but he didn't care.
For Orario's future, keeping his image intact mattered more.
Besides, none of these small fry could ever threaten him.
So he turned his gaze upward, to where a god sat in despair.
Apollo.
With an easy smile, Liang Yue asked lightly:
"Tell me, Lord Apollo—does this War Game still have any point?"
Apollo sat in silence.
His eyes fixed on the youth below.
There was no anger.
No hatred.
Only—acknowledgment.
Defeat.
He had never expected this.
The intelligence said Liang Yue had only registered as an adventurer twenty days ago.
And in a supposedly advantageous arena match, no less!
Everything should have favored Apollo Familia.
Yet the result—
was a crushing, undeniable defeat.
Liang Yue's strength could no longer be measured by mere Lv.3 standards.
And then, his gaze caught the eerie white demon hand beneath Liang Yue's cloak.
It was vile.
Cursed.
Ugly beyond words.
He hated it.
But more than that, he questioned himself—
Was this really worth it?
His strongest had fallen.
Continuing would only slaughter those he once called his beloved children.
And there was only one option left.
As a god, he could not end the War Game.
But he could surrender.
Apollo rose to his feet.
Taking the microphone, his voice rang out, heavy and complex:
"I concede this War Game."
"Please… end this meaningless killing."
"I will fulfill all the loser's conditions. Apollo Familia's assets will belong to Hestia Familia—"
"Including my adventurers."
It was the last thing he could do for them.
But Liang Yue only waved his hand.
"No need for that."
Familia growth was important—
but cramming in every stray adventurer was not.
The only ones who caught his eye—
were Daphne, the strategist.
And Cassandra, the girl of prophetic dreams.
"…"
Seeing that Liang Yue meant what he said, Apollo's heart twisted.
Before gods and mortals alike, he made his final declaration:
"Then, as you wish."
"I will disband Apollo Familia."