The destruction of the Ishtar Familia had undoubtedly sent shockwaves throughout Orario.
Of course, this event couldn't be hidden.
After all, just last night, a brilliantly conspicuous golden column of light had shot into the sky—signifying that a deity had vanished from the mortal realm.
On top of that, the once lively Pleasure Quarter… or rather, the Ishtar Familia stronghold, had been mostly reduced to rubble. Any observant person who glanced inside could immediately infer the scale of the devastating conflict that had occurred there.
And then there was the notice posted by the Guild:
"The Freya Familia instigated a familial war without authorization. Fine: 1 billion."
Anyone with a shred of sense would know that this "fine" was just a token gesture from the strongest familia.
In other words: the Freya Familia could destroy whoever they wished, and not even the Guild could—or dared—to intervene.
At most, both sides tacitly agreed on a reasonable excuse for the outside world.
Thus… the notorious reputation of this strongest familia gained even greater intimidation.
But the culprit behind this series of events was currently…
"everyone, have you made a decision?"
In a secluded meeting room, Renjiro sat at a round table with three familiar faces.
Thanks to Ningguang and Keqing's efforts, some of the area had been rebuilt with various architectural styles.
Renjiro now found himself in a tea house designed in a traditional style.
The building was little more than an external frame; the interior decoration was almost nonexistent.
A round table sat in the middle, surrounded by a few stools.
Extremely simple.
As for the three familiar people present…
"Zhongli, Xiao, and… Venti."
Renjiro placed a Western chess piece embedded with a colorless crystal on the table.
"Who among you is going to use this?"
Indeed, this was the new skill Renjiro had awakened last night—a type of vessel for his abilities.
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Grand Hestia
By obtaining a portion of divine power, one can create a Heart of God.
The Heart of God can only be possessed by Teyvat's Archons.
Its holder (Earthly Regent) can use mana to create a Vision.
The holder can also deactivate the Vision's functions at will.
Through the Heart of God and Vision, one can observe all occurrences surrounding the holder.
Both the Heart and Vision are indestructible and can communicate over long distances.
=======
It was clear that the very existence of this skill was extremely sensitive.
A quick analysis would reveal the truth:
If Renjiro or one of his own truly killed a god without resurrecting them, he could obtain a Heart of God.
Thankfully, the only deity aware of this was Syr.
Otherwise…
"Though I've mentioned this before, you absolutely… absolutely cannot reveal this skill."
This was Syr's solemn warning.
Renjiro understood the gravity and accepted the advice graciously.
"I have no lands to guard here,"
Lumine said bluntly, refusing to participate.
"If you need my help, I can intervene, but for now… I'm sitting this one out."
No sooner had she spoken than…
"I retired long ago."
Zhongli shook his head.
"In this world… even the gods are becoming more human. My interference as an outsider isn't necessary."
The former gods of Lightning and Rock voiced similar opinions: in short, they just wanted to slack off.
Finally…
"Then I'll just play with it myself~"
Venti held the Heart of God in hand and looked at Renjiro.
"I also don't plan to interfere with the future development of humans—or intelligent races in general."
"But I am very interested in those special groups you previously called 'Heretics.'"
"They seem to yearn for freedom, so… I want to personally investigate. If possible, I may grant them Vision."
"Is that okay?"
Hearing this from the wind god, Renjiro nodded.
Truth be told, with all his recent busyness, he'd nearly forgotten about the 'Heretics.'
He had even asked Lumine and the Loki Familia to recount the story of Demon Slayer for their context.
If Venti can really integrate with these 'Heretics,' perhaps… hmm, I should discuss with Syr whether we can create a 'Venti Familia' composed solely of intelligent monsters.
With that thought, Renjiro's interest immediately peaked.
"By the way," he clapped his hands, "in half a month, the Ganesha Familia will hold the annual Monster Feria."
"If by then the situation with the Heretics is settled, we can announce the founding of the Venti Familia."
"So…"
Renjiro turned to a certain playful figure.
"Venti, you can contact the Heretics. I… along with Lumine, will try to establish connections with the Fels and Ouranos."
"But before that…"
He clenched his fists.
"The Ikelos Familia has to be wiped out first."
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Back then, Lumine had mentioned the "one from each familia" plan to the members of Freya Familia.
Now, it had already annihilated the Ishtar Familia—the largest visible power.
The remaining three Familias were no less formidable.
Both the Ikelos and Thanatos Familias housed First-Level Adventurers, backed by the artificial labyrinth Knossos, holding terrain advantages.
For anyone else, eliminating them would have been extremely difficult.
But Renjiro was different.
With Paimon and Mona around, traversing the artificial labyrinth was effortless.
Moreover…
"This must be the 'key' to open the entrance to the artificial labyrinth."
At the Freya Familia headquarter, last night's god-slaying Lumine held a tennis-ball-sized object, examining it closely.
It contained a real eyeball—blood-red, with a faint pattern resembling a capital D.
Lumine knew this must be from a previous member of the Daedalus family.
Since the labyrinth's top-tier gates only reacted to such eyeballs, the eyeball itself was the key.
"Ishtar really did leave me a great gift."
Lumine's gaze sharpened.
"With this key… heh~"
"Soon enough…"
From afar, Renjiro replied in real-time,
"I'll be able to acquire two more Hearts of God myself."
…..
Completed version available on [P]atreon.[c]om/Veltoria [remove brackets]