Ishtar knew it clearly—there was no escape this time. She would definitely be sent back to heaven.
Her schemes, her ambitions, her intricate plan to dethrone Freya… all of it was crumbling before her eyes. She hadn't even made a proper move against Freya yet, and already she had been intercepted here.
All of her careful preparation, laid out over so many years, was thwarted in an instant because of one man—Leon. The bitter taste of failure was unbearable.
"I'm not done yet…!" She seethed internally, but her struggles were in vain.
"Go ahead, Leon!" Loki said coldly, not bothering to waste another breath on Ishtar. Her disdain was clear—this was the end of the line.
Leon said nothing. His gaze was icy, unwavering.
The next second, he tightened his grip.
Crack.
Without hesitation or remorse, Leon increased his strength, his fingers pressing into Ishtar's throat like a guillotine of divine judgment.
That was all it took.
The dying goddess instinctively activated the divine contract she had signed before descending to the lower world. Her Arcanum exploded outward in a desperate, automatic defense—divine power flaring like a dying star.
Then, it happened.
A pillar of dazzling light erupted through the roof, slicing through the night sky and soaring into the heavens like a blazing beacon.
It was the unmistakable sign of a god's forced return.
The beam of light pierced the clouds, shaking the air with its sheer presence. Divinity surged in every direction, stirring the heavens and awakening the slumbering gods across Orario and beyond.
In the distant Melen, Njord, the god of the sea, stood at his window, stunned into silence. He gazed at the column of divine light with a trance-like expression, his hand resting on the sill.
"…What in the seas is that?"
Meanwhile, far beneath the city streets, in an underground sanctuary, Kali's crimson eyes snapped open behind her ceremonial mask. She looked at the disoriented members of Ishtar's familia—each of their Falna glowing faintly, then fading into darkness.
Falna, sealed.
"…Tch. Waste."
Kali's voice cut through the hall like a blade. Her scorn was unmistakable. There was no need to investigate. From that column of light and the sudden loss of falna among Ishtar's followers, the truth was plain as day.
She had failed.
Back in Orario, gods stirred from their beds, one after another. Silhouettes appeared in balconies and at windows, all drawn to the divine pillar soaring into the sky.
"That's Melen, isn't it?"
"That divinity… could it be Njord?"
"Don't tell me that idiot got sent back."
"Could it be Evilus again?"
"Damn those sewer rats… still crawling around…"
Suspicion ran rampant, and many turned their gazes southward, whispering of conspiracies and hidden battles in the shadows.
Evilus, resting quietly in their dens, would bear the blame once again—unaware of the disaster that had nothing to do with them.
But none of that mattered to Leon.
Without sparing the pillar of light another glance, Leon activated veins of light and traced them through Melen.
His mind was clear. He remembered well: during this secret meeting between Ishtar and Kali's factions, Haruhime had also been brought out from the shadows.
Ishtar had fallen. That meant only one thing—Haruhime had to be taken back.
Taken back to Hestia, where she would be safe.
Veins of light quickly revealed the location of the Ishtar Familia's base of operations in the city. There, Leon sensed the Kali Familia members as well.
"Loki, I'll leave the cleanup to youm" Leon said without looking back, his tone calm yet resolute.
Then, without waiting for a reply, he entered Tenseigan Mode.
In the next instant, Leon took to the skies, flying straight out of the broken window like a comet of divine justice.
In the underground hall of the Ishtar Familia's temporary base, chaos reigned.
The loss of their goddess had immediate, devastating consequences.
The falna that once flowed through them vanished like smoke. Their strength, their magic, their status—gone in an instant.
Only a tenth of their former power remained.
Without their goddess, the Falna became dormant.
Combat techniques still existed in muscle memory, but their magic and skills were sealed. For adventurers who relied on divine blessings, it was like being crippled overnight.
"…So this is what it means to lose your god." Argana muttered, eyes narrowed at the weakened warriors around her.
"Aah~ that's why you all have to protect me wellm" Kali chimed in cheerfully.
Her grin, though playful, sent a chill through the hall. "Or else you'll end up just like them."
"Yes, Kali-sama!" The warriors shouted in unison, their voices sharp despite the tension.
"What the hell just happened…? Why was Ishtar-sama sent back to heaven?!" One of the Ishtar Familia members cried out in disbelief.
A large figure rampaged across the room—Phryne the Toad, slamming furniture with wild abandon as her fear turned to violence.
Only one person remained calm.
Aisha.
Her golden eyes held a hint of weariness, but her mind was already racing. It had only been half an hour since she separated from Ishtar.
How had it come to this?
What did Ishtar do? And why had she left them behind?
"Aisha-sama… What do we do now?" Haruhime asked nervously, clutching her white cloak tightly. Her small frame trembled beside Aisha.
"It's fine." Aisha said softly, ruffling Haruhime's hair.
"Ishtar-sama may have ascended, but it's not the end for us. I'll take you to another Familia—somewhere safe."
"Yes… Aisha-sama…" Haruhime whispered, her fear subsiding. Wherever Aisha went, she would follow.
Aisha had always protected her.
They were family.
"Say, you two." Kali's amused voice echoed across the room, her eyes gleaming with interest. "How about coming to my side?"
Her gaze lingered on Aisha.
In the eyes of most, the fall of a Familia spelled doom. But Kali could see it—Aisha was different. Steady, capable, unshaken.
And Haruhime… there was potential there too. Ishtar had called her a trump card. Kali wouldn't mind testing that claim herself.
Aisha was briefly stunned by the offer, but quickly recovered. She bowed slightly, her expression respectful but distant.
"Thank you for the generous offer, Kali-sama." She said softly. "But please allow me some time to consider."
She already knew the answer.
Kali Familia was blood and steel, war and slaughter. It didn't suit her. It certainly didn't suit Haruhime.
They needed a better place. Somewhere warm. Somewhere they could grow.
Her mind turned to a single figure.
Yes… perhaps that was the answer.
Kali merely shrugged and waved her off with a chuckle.
BOOM!!!
A blinding flash of white light shattered the calm.
The entrance to the underground hall exploded into fragments, debris scattering across the stone floor.
A single figure stood in the doorway, bathed in the glow of the moonlight and his own divine aura.
Leon.
"Nice to see you again, Kali Familia" He said with a relaxed smile. "And greetings to everyone from the Ishtar Familia."
The room fell into stunned silence.
"…Leon?!"
Aisha's eyes widened in disbelief. She hadn't expected to see him so soon—especially not like this.
"Y-You… You're the reason Ishtar-sama ascended, aren't you?!" Phryne roared, eyes bloodshot with fury. Her brain finally made the connection.
Leon didn't answer. He didn't need to. His silence said everything.
Phryne's wrath ignited, and she forgot, just for a moment, that she no longer had her falna.
***
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