For the spectators who had purchased tickets to the Colosseum, and for the gods watching from above, their greatest curiosity could be summed up in one question:
Was the strongest rookie adventurer, the so-called "Sword Soul" Liang Yue, truly worthy of his title?
At the start of the War Game, he had crushed Apollo Familia's first adventurer cleanly with a bizarre form of magic.
His combat speed was so fast it was nearly impossible to follow.
If things developed step by step, as long as he controlled his stamina, there shouldn't have been much doubt he would eventually win the match.
That was the outcome countless gamblers—who had bet their life savings on Liang Yue—were hoping to see.
But then.
No one expected what came next.
Perhaps unwilling to drag things out, perhaps because Apollo Familia wasn't sending anyone else onto the field—
Liang Yue directly challenged the entire Apollo Familia!
There was no exchange of insults, no dramatic trash talk.
Apollo Familia, instead of rejecting, accepted under the momentum of the situation.
Some members chose to abstain.
But even so, their overwhelming numbers, combined with their captain—Lv.3 adventurer Hyacinthus—meant they still had the advantage.
The crowd expected the battle's direction to become suspenseful.
But reality—once again—shattered all expectations.
When faced with the encirclement of Apollo Familia, Liang Yue unleashed two massive, sweeping Draw Blade Slashes.
The attack tore their formation apart instantly, and his target was clear: the strongest adventurer present—Hyacinthus.
The outcome was already decided.
Though both sides employed magical techniques, Hyacinthus's proud spell was utterly crushed by Liang Yue's unfathomable power.
Countless glowing slashes obliterated the golden sunwheels—
and without hesitation, Liang Yue cut Hyacinthus down on the spot!
With their strongest felled, the remaining adventurers surrendered one after another, unwilling to be slaughtered.
…
It wasn't until Apollo himself announced his defeat and declared the disbandment of his Familia that the crowd finally understood what had happened.
The Colosseum fell into deathly silence.
And then, breaking the quiet, came the voice of a spectator:
"Wait… if I'm not mistaken, this Sword Soul Liang Yue only reached Lv.2 not too long ago, right?"
The words hung in the air—
before the realization set off an explosion of cheers.
In this War Game, where the difference in numbers and power had been vast, Liang Yue had fought as a one-man army.
And in the end—
He had won!
A crushing, flawless victory!
Even on a global scale, this was a feat unheard of.
Not only had he defeated Apollo Familia, one of Orario's mid-tier powers—
but he had slain Hyacinthus, the long-famous "Sun's Beloved," with a single decisive strike.
The man hadn't even managed to fight back.
"How… how did he do that?"
Among the thunderous cheers, even powerful adventurers in the audience fell into self-doubt.
To crush a higher-level opponent so overwhelmingly—
this was something no one in Orario had ever seen before.
Especially when their eyes fell on Liang Yue's cursed white demon hand, marked by the Kazan Syndrome, and his absurd, unprecedented fighting style.
There was no chant.
No sign of magic.
It had to be some kind of special skill.
Whatever the case—
Liang Yue, once criticized as "fast but not truly strong," had silenced every voice of doubt through this War Game.
At the announcers' booth, Ganesha was the calmest of all.
Speaking to Uranos, he said plainly:
"He has the potential to be the one who defeats the Black Dragon Calamity in the future."
With every ability value pushed to its theoretical limits, even at Lv.1 he had annihilated Soma Familia.
Defeating Apollo Familia's captain was nothing more than proof.
Had the War Game continued, it would only have become a meaningless massacre.
Now that Apollo had conceded and disbanded his Familia, it was time for the referee to make the final call.
Ganesha rose from his seat, stepped forward, and pointed directly at the youth standing tall in the arena.
With no attempt to hide his admiration, he declared:
"Orario's strongest rookie adventurer, Liang Yue, has not yet reached the end of his miracles!"
"Against impossible odds, the Sword Soul has swept away Apollo Familia with his own strength—"
"And stands now as the final victor of the War Game!"
"All of you here today—witnesses of this miracle—let your voices rise in the loudest cheers for our strongest rookie!"
The Colosseum shook with unending applause and roars, marking the conclusion of the War Game.
"What a complete and utter genius."
Loki, who had no expeditions at the moment, had naturally come to watch once she heard Apollo and Hestia were clashing.
Though she and Hestia didn't get along, their relationship wasn't irreparable.
And besides—whether out of interest or pure mischief—she wasn't about to miss this spectacle.
"Unexpected, yet perfectly reasonable in the end, huh?"
Her contact with Liang Yue was limited, but what drew her interest was the fact that Ais herself had once mentioned him.
The fastest-rising rookie adventurer.
As the head of the Loki Familia, her loyalty was of course to her own children.
But the undeniable truth stood before her:
In swordsmanship—Ais had finally found a rival.
A mere Lv.2 adventurer had crushed Hyacinthus, someone considered "decent" in Orario.
When Liang Yue rose further in level—
the stage of Orario itself would belong to him.
Her thoughts turned conflicted as her gaze drifted toward Hestia on the stage, holding tight to her child.
"What rotten luck…"
"To think such an extraordinary child ended up under her care."
Impossible, she thought, not to feel a stab of envy.
If Liang Yue had started with a higher foundation, the strength he showed today would likely have been even more monstrous.
"The strongest rookie continues his miracle—defeating Apollo Familia single-handedly."
That was enough entertainment for today.
Casting a glance at Freya, who was also in attendance, Loki stood and waved her hand with her usual boyish flair.
"Thanks for the VIP seat. The miracle's done, and the fun's over. If nothing else is happening, I'll be heading back."
…
Freya, seated elegantly in her black gown, silver braid draped over her chest in a dangerously seductive fashion, smiled softly.
Her radiant eyes, which could see through souls, were fixed on only one thing: Liang Yue.
More precisely—his eerie white demon hand.
Brutality, slaughter, ill omen—
a soul stained with filth and corruption.
And yet, even burdened by such a tainted essence—
Liang Yue was carving his own epic.
"So then… just what kind of existence are you?"
Even with her divine sight, she could not unravel the truth behind that cursed hand.
The mystery surrounding Liang Yue only deepened her curiosity.
As for Hestia, standing proudly at his side—Freya regarded her with only mild wariness.
Nothing more.
Everything had gone as she expected.
There was never any chance that someone who had soloed a floor boss like Goliath would lose to Apollo Familia.
Turning her gaze, she smiled gently at the white-uniformed boy beside her.
"What do you think of this battle?"
…
Bell had come with anticipation the moment he heard Hestia Familia was facing Apollo Familia in a War Game.
In his heart, he never once thought Liang Yue would lose.
And the result had proven him right.
But compared to when they first met in Goliath's chamber—he now felt Liang Yue's strength had grown even further.
Faced with Freya's gentle eyes, Bell blushed slightly.
Looking at the figure standing tall in the arena, his eyes shone with admiration.
"I think… this feels perfectly natural," he said, scratching his head with a shy smile.
"Liang Yue-senpai is like a hero straight out of a storybook—writing his own epic!"
…
What Bell didn't say aloud—
was that he had once thought reaching Lv.2 would bring him closer to Liang Yue.
But he hadn't considered—
that Liang Yue was also growing stronger.
And at a speed beyond anyone's imagination.
Freya's smile softened.
Compared to Liang Yue's corrupted soul, Bell's pure one was what she truly desired.
"Don't worry," she said warmly.
"I believe in the future—you too will reach such heights. Just take Liang Yue as your goal."
Back on the arena floor, Apollo Familia had dispersed.
Even the stench of blood had been carefully covered up.
Liang Yue's mood was excellent.
From the moment Apollo tried to recruit him, through the pursuit in the Dungeon, everything had led to this War Game.
All the effort he'd invested had borne fruit.
Now, with a legitimate victory, Hestia Familia had gained Apollo Familia's home, their wealth, and every asset outside their members.
The economic crisis was solved at once.
They could skip the hard beginnings and move straight into steady growth.
"The results are good," he murmured.
"Now it's time to reap the rewards."
He hadn't expected his ability values to grow much from such one-sided fights.
His next steps were clear: settle Apollo Familia's assets, rest, push his stats to the theoretical limit, and prepare for a level-up—
And perhaps even "Awakening."
Weapons would need to be custom-made as well.
If there was one regret, it was that he hadn't had the liquid funds to exploit the betting odds at the casino.
But his thoughts were interrupted by the figure of a girl rushing toward him.
Turning, he saw Hestia in her white dress, bounding across the arena.
Behind her came Mikoto in full gear, and a smiling Liliruca.
"Liang Yue!"
Even before the countless spectators, Hestia leapt into his arms, clinging tightly around his neck.
From nervousness at the start, to hope when Apollo Familia hesitated, to the climax of Hyacinthus's instant defeat—
her heart had been a rollercoaster.
Now that it was all over, she felt dazed.
Finding no wounds on him, not even the chance to use the potions she had prepared, her bright eyes brimmed with pride.
"With the strength of a Lv.2, you swept Apollo Familia…"
It was nothing short of a miracle.
She had many words to say—but in the end, they all condensed into one gentle phrase.
"You've worked hard, Liang Yue."
"This wasn't hard at all."
Smiling under her gaze, Liang Yue only thought how effective the duel format had been.
With Apollo Familia's morale broken early, all he had needed was to cut down their strongest.
The rest was just a matter of time.
"It's you who will have work to do now."
"Leave the status update and level-up to me," Hestia said, puffing her chest proudly. "That's my duty as your god."
"…I was actually talking about taking over Apollo Familia's property—headquarters, funds, all of it."
He cast a look at Liliruca, decisively dumping the work on her.
Mikoto, as a warrior, didn't mind Hestia's closeness with her child.
Her only emotion was relief.
Witnessing Liang Yue's overwhelming strength with her own eyes, she could only feel joy.
Her only small regret—
was that all her careful preparations for the War Game had gone unused.
And that her meager savings had meant her bet on Liang Yue earned barely ten million valis.
Spreading her hands, she said with a wry smile:
"If I'd known you could handle it so easily, I wouldn't have bothered with this gear. I should've pawned it and bet everything on you!"
"I could've made a fortune!"
Meanwhile, Daphne, now free with the disbandment of Apollo Familia, stood at the edge of the arena with Cassandra.
Her eyes lingered on the boy at the center of all this—the undisputed strongest rookie.
And then she looked at her pale-faced friend.
A bold thought arose in her heart.
"What will you do now?" she asked softly.
"If we're going to join a new Familia… isn't the best choice already standing right before us?"