"Bang—!"
Chifuyu's fist collided with the Black Blade of Supremacy, actually sparking like metal striking metal.
Ottar's tiger's mouth went numb, and he nearly dropped his weapon again.
"How is this possible! This little girl's fist can actually be so hard…"
A tumultuous wave surged in Ottar's heart.
He had never imagined that such a small and cute girl could unleash such terrifying power.
Chifuyu's movements were so fast that she almost left afterimages.
She nimbly weaved through Ottar's sword light, each punch precisely hitting the blade, forcing Ottar to continuously retreat.
"Hey~"
She let out a delicate shout, her right fist carrying a whoosh as it struck the blade.
"Damn it!"
Cold sweat beaded on Ottar's forehead. He felt a tremendous force, and his weapon was almost shaken out of his hand.
Facing Win-ping was one thing, but now he was being pushed to such an extent by a bare-handed girl.
From a certain spot in the stands, Hermes's jaw almost dropped to the floor: "That lovely Miss Chifuyu… is she really that strong?!"
Freya's nails dug deep into her palms, her purple eyes filled with disbelief: "Just what is that girl's background…"
Loki's expression was even more spectacular. She clutched the railing tightly: "Are you kidding me! Where did Hestia find these monsters?!"
In the audience, Bete was completely dumbfounded: "That girl… is her strength perhaps even more terrifying than Win-ping's?"
Finn's expression was more serious than ever before: "No… she should be a little weaker than Win-ping, but even so…"
Riveria finally showed a bitter smile: "Then, do we still need to fight them in the War Game?"
Ais's eyes shimmered with an unusual light. She stared unblinkingly at the red figure in the arena: "So strong…"
"Boar Manifestation!"
Ottar finally roared, his muscles suddenly bulging, veins popping out.
After beastification, all his abilities were greatly enhanced. His aura instantly surged, reaching an unprecedented height.
"This is Ottar's signature skill, equivalent to directly increasing his level by 1!"
Riveria exclaimed: "He now has at least LV8 strength!"
However, this level of strength was naturally far from enough to contend with LV21 Chifuyu.
"Eh~ She can even transform, completely becoming a pig-headed person!"
Facing the terrifyingly transformed Ottar, Chifuyu instead showed an excited smile.
Her movements suddenly accelerated, her punches and kicks even producing huge sonic booms!
"Boom!"
A straight punch landed squarely on Ottar's chest before he could react, sending his massive body flying off the ground!
"Wh—"
Ottar felt a sweetness in his throat, spitting out a mouthful of blood, his eyes filled with shock.
First Win-ping, and now his proud defense was like paper in front of this girl!
"It's not over yet!"
Chifuyu's figure appeared like a ghost in mid-air, executing a beautiful spinning kick!
"Thud"
Ottar, still in mid-air, crashed to the ground like a meteorite, causing the entire arena to shake violently!
When the smoke cleared, Ottar was seen kneeling on one knee, his Black Blade of Supremacy deeply embedded in the ground, supporting his body.
His armor and clothes were completely shredded, his face was bruised and swollen, and blood constantly seeped from the corner of his mouth.
Chifuyu landed lightly and clapped her hands: "Do you want to continue?"
The entire arena was silent.
Everyone was stunned by this scene that defied their understanding.
Orario's strongest adventurer had been defeated again, by an unknown but beautiful young girl?!
"I… surrender…"
Ottar struggled to utter these three words, his eyes filled with humiliation and unwillingness, but even more so with awe for her strength.
Although he still had magic he hadn't used, he knew it would be useless against this girl.
Chifuyu showed a brilliant smile, turned, and made a victory sign in Win-ping's direction: "I won, yay~"
"The winner, Hestia Familia's… uh, what's your name please?"
As Ganesha announced the results of the match, all of Orario erupted in cheers.
The name of Hestia Familia would, from this moment on, resound throughout the entire Dungeon City!
One day later.
Inside the meeting room of Babel, lights were ablaze as the gods held an emergency meeting late into the night.
"This won't do, how… how can we fight like this?"
A male god wiped cold sweat from his brow, pointing at the documents on the table: "Both the Hestia Familia's captain and that girl can overwhelm Ottar, and the others' strengths are unknown. So, the War Game…"
"We must change the rules!"
Another god, who was on good terms with Loki, slammed the table and shouted, "At the very least, we must give Loki Familia the greatest advantage!"
However, as everyone racked their brains to design various rules favorable to Loki Familia, they discovered a cruel truth—
In the face of absolute disparity in strength, any rules were meaningless.
"How about allowing Loki Familia to seek any external aid? No limit on numbers."
"Useless. The entire Orario cannot find anyone who can contend with those two, unless all Familias unite, but that's impossible."
"How about limiting the number of Hestia Familia members who can participate?"
"That captain, Win-ping, could probably sweep Loki Familia by himself…"
"Then just don't let him and that child named Chifuyu participate!"
"Are you drunk? That would be too unfair to Hestia Familia!"
The gods started arguing, and finally had to announce to the public: the War Game would be temporarily postponed.
This was not good news, but at least it gave Loki Familia some breathing room.
At the Loki Familia's headquarters, the usually bustling Twilight Manor was now shrouded in a heavy, oppressive gloom.
"Bang!"
From the main god's room on the third floor, the sound of a shattering wine bottle echoed once more, followed by Loki's hysterical scream:
"Get out! All of you, get out! Don't bother me!"
After being scolded, several Familia members responsible for delivering meals fled downstairs in a panic, their faces extremely pale.
"She's started her drunken rampage again…"
"This is the third time today…"
In the hall, Familia members gathered in twos and threes, whispering.
"I heard the Guild has decided to postpone the War Game."
"What's the use of postponing? We'll have to fight eventually, and if we lose, Lady Loki will become Lady Hestia's slave…"
"Shh! How about… we find an escape route in advance?"
Such conversations quietly took place throughout the manor.
Fear and unease spread like a plague within the Familia.
At the end of the third-floor corridor, Ais leaned quietly against the wall, her golden hair falling, obscuring her expression.
"Sword Princess, this is all your fault, you traitor!"
Suddenly, a male adventurer rushed up to her, angrily pointing his finger at her nose: "If you hadn't threatened to convert to Hestia Familia back then, how would Lady Loki have agreed to that War Game?!"
Ais looked up, a flicker of pain in her amber eyes, but it quickly returned to calmness.
"I…"
"What 'I'?! Now the whole Familia is going to be ruined because of you!"
"Enough!"
Elf Lefiya, the Thousand Elf, rushed over and forcefully pushed the adventurer away: "Wasn't the situation made clear at the time? Miss Ais was also trying to—"
"Trying what? To get stronger? Is that a reason to betray us?"
Another voice interjected sarcastically, "I think she's probably been completely infatuated by that man, hasn't she?"
"Shut up!"
The Amazon sisters Tiona and Tione simultaneously slammed their hands down, their eyes burning with anger.
"What right do you have to talk about Ais? Do you want to fight?!"
"Come on! As if we're afraid of you!"
The people in the hall immediately split into several groups, the atmosphere instantly becoming extremely tense, on the verge of internal conflict.
"Everyone, calm down and stop!"
A commanding shout came from the staircase.
Finn, Riveria, and Gareth stood there, their faces terribly grim.
"Look at yourselves! What a sight!"
Riveria's long elf ears trembled slightly with anger: "The War Game hasn't even started, and you're already fighting amongst yourselves?!"
Gareth snorted heavily: "Anyone who dares to cause trouble again, don't blame me for being impolite!"
Captain Finn's gaze slowly swept over everyone, finally resting on Ais.
His eyes were complex, holding both blame and understanding.
Gareth stroked his beard with a sigh, then shouted in a deep voice: "Listen up, you brats, pull yourselves together! It's not time for Loki Familia to surrender yet!"
"Now, everyone, return to your rooms and calm down. Tonight at 8 PM, everyone will gather in the main hall."
Under the deterrence of the three leaders, the commotion subsided, and the crowd gradually dispersed.
Ais raised her head, a complex light flickering in her amber eyes: "Finn… I…"
Finn waved his hand, a weary smile on his face: "No need to explain, Ais, this matter actually has little to do with you."
"But…"
Ais's expression was filled with a hint of struggle and regret.
"The Hestia Familia's people were targeting you and Loki from the start."
"Even if we didn't start a War Game, that Win-Ping probably wouldn't have given up easily."
"He'd probably find all sorts of reasons to provoke and retaliate against Loki, because there's already a conflict between Loki and Hestia," Finn analyzed, biting his thumb.
"It's Loki-sama's own fault for being so arrogant and always bullying Hestia-sama. This is karma," Gareth sighed, shaking his head.
"The most important thing now is that the incident has already happened," Riveria interrupted him.
"We must find a way to overcome this crisis, or our Loki Familia will truly be completely devoured by the Hestia Familia."
Gareth finally spoke a thought he had held in his heart for a long time: "He who tied the bell must untie it."
"If it really comes to it… how about we take Loki-sama and go together to beg Hestia-sama to cancel the War Game?"
"Essentially, we don't have much conflict with them; everything started because of Loki-sama."
These words silenced everyone.
The Loki Familia, once so dominant in Orario, had now fallen to the point of considering begging for mercy!