The moment Levi began the Heroic Spirit Summoning.
--BOOM!
In Orario, on the surface, a thick, white pillar of light suddenly shot up.
The gods, who had been excitedly discussing the upcoming War Game between the Hestia Familia and the Apollo Familia, were now, at this very moment, all frozen in place.
They turned their heads to look at the location of the pillar of light, their faces showing expressions of either confusion or astonishment.
"What is this light?"
"Did some unlucky fool get sent back to Tenkai?"
"No, that's not it!"
One of the gods realized.
Loki, while sipping divine sake, watched the distant pillar of light grow brighter and brighter. Her eyes, usually narrowed to slits, opened slightly. "A god descending to the lower world? And landing in the Dungeon, of all places?"
Reaching this conclusion, she couldn't help but slap her thigh and let out a joyous laugh. "Hahahahaha~ How interesting! The lower world is just too interesting!"
As the Goddess of Trickery, Loki, of course, couldn't believe that any of her foolish kin would intentionally send themselves into the labyrinth.
No matter how 'mischievous' the gods were, there were certain unwritten rules, tacitly agreed upon by all, that everyone would honestly follow.
But precisely because of this, the goddess with her red hair tied in a ponytail reacted almost instantly. The cause of the current scene couldn't possibly be a god, but rather, a child of the lower world.
As for who it was, and how they did it...
Loki didn't know, but she wouldn't mind one bit finding that 'little rascal'.
Clearly, she wasn't the only god with a similar idea.
The 'absolutely neutral' Hermes; Apollo, who wanted to collect everyone he fancied; Dionysus, who was scheming something; and Ouranos, sitting in the depths of The Guild, suppressing the Dungeon's activities with his divine authority...
Whether out of curiosity, for the sake of entertainment, or simply to get the situation under control in advance, they all dispatched members of their Familias.
And among these gods, the most twisted was undoubtedly Freya, who, with the aid of her divine mirror, instantly saw the 18th floor of the labyrinth—or more precisely, the scene in the area where Levi was.
"Ahhhhh~~~"
The gray-haired goddess couldn't stop caressing herself, a breathy moan that was part chant, part lament escaping her lips.
"Levi Bright, I haven't seen you for a few days, and your soul has indeed grown even more brilliant."
"Not only that, but you can even defy the laws of this world and summon the souls of the long-dead back to the lower world?!"
"Hahahahaha~"
"We truly are a match made in heaven."
"You can summon souls, and I can see them."
If before, Freya had only shown a slight interest in Levi...
...and it was her mischievous nature that made her want to possess the boy...
...then with the further purification of Levi's soul, coupled with the reveal of more [Unknowns], the Goddess of Beauty's thoughts had changed completely.
She would snatch the boy in the divine mirror away from Hestia.
She would make him her 'Odr', belonging to her and her alone!
Of course, as an elegant goddess, Freya couldn't possibly take the stage herself—mainly because she feared Hestia's hysterics.
Thus, after only a moment's thought, she called out a name:
"Ottar."
"I am here."
'The King' emerged from the shadows beside the divine throne, bowing respectfully.
Freya toyed with her fingers. "Within two weeks, I want to see the captain of the Apollo Familia reach Lv.4. Then, arrange for Hedin and the others to join the upcoming War Game as external support."
She said it as if it were a trivial matter. In fact, for the Goddess of Beauty, whose Familia had a large number of high-level adventurers, including a Lv.7, helping a Lv.3 accumulate the excelia for a great feat to reach Lv.4 was troublesome, but not impossible.
In fact, the reason Apollo had targeted Hestia was due to a little push from Freya behind the scenes.
Before, it was out of a mentality that 'the one I have my eyes on must shine brilliantly,' wanting to push the self-isolating Levi into the spotlight.
But now, Freya was getting serious.
"Yes."
...
If the Goddess of Beauty who reigned over Orario had discovered Levi's little movements at the first opportunity through her labyrinth-scrying divine mirror...
...then the goddess Astrea, far away in another city, discovered it entirely because of the divine blood she had once infused into her children.
In the Sword-Making City Zolingen, within the residence of the Goddess of Justice.
The girls chatting with their goddess suddenly noticed she had frozen on the spot.
Then, a complex expression mixing shock, joy, and worry appeared on her face.
"Lady Astrea, what's wrong?" asked a girl with a blue ponytail.
The goddess with long brown hair scattered freely and a near-perfect figure snapped back to her senses. She wanted to tell her children that she was fine.
But she couldn't bring herself to say the words.
After several seconds of silence, she finally replied slowly, "Just now, I suddenly felt... the Falna of your seniors, who were supposed to have already died."
At these words, the girls in the hall were instantly stunned.
One of the more impulsive ones subconsciously retorted, "How is that possible?"
"I know," Astrea nodded. "Summoning the souls of the dead from the cycle of reincarnation in Tenkai back to the lower world... this fundamentally violates the laws of the world. It is a [Miracle] that not even the gods can truly perform."
A pallum girl, after a moment of silence, asked, "So, Lady Astrea, are you planning to return to Orario?"
The brown-haired goddess nodded.
"I can't just leave that child alone."
Astrea didn't know what had happened in Orario, much less the situation of her child who had been pulled back to the lower world.
Whether out of her convictions as the Goddess of Justice or for the sake of reuniting with that child, she could no longer remain in Zolingen.
Of course, Astrea hadn't forgotten the new members who had joined her Familia over the past five years.
"Do you want to come with me? If not, I can arrange a transfer for you."
The girls looked at each other upon hearing this, then responded one after another:
"Wherever Lady Astrea goes, of course we'll go too~"
"That's right, that's right."
"Waaaah (fake crying)~ Lady Astrea, you can't abandon me! We promised to be a Familia for life~"
...
Seeing the girls were still in the mood to joke around at a time like this, Astrea couldn't help but smile.
She was just about to say something in response.
But in the next second, she felt yet another Falna, one that should have long since vanished, re-establish its link with her.
And the holder of that Falna was...
Astrea closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and as she slowly exhaled, her expression became calm once more.
"As much as I'd love to joke around with you a little longer, it seems we have to leave immediately."
______
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