Protected by the Ganesha Familia members led by Shakti, Roy and Ryuu successfully returned to the surface.
The concept of time inside the Dungeon was blurred. Playing hide-and-seek with the Rudra Familia and engaging in the decisive battle on the tenth floor had unknowingly taken seven or eight hours.
When the two emerged, the night sky had already enveloped the dome. The stars shone brightly, and the cool night wind blew past their faces, restoring a sliver of clarity to their dazed eyes after the fierce battle.
Over a thousand people were still at the scene, having waited anxiously to be the first to know the results of this highly anticipated War Game.
The moment they saw Roy and Ryuu walk out, everyone froze. They vaguely realized the outcome of the War Game, but a thread of disbelief remained.
"I am Ganesha... Shakti, what happened?" Ganesha rushed forward.
All eyes focused on Shakti.
Shakti pursed her lips. "The Rudra Familia encountered an accident in the Dungeon and was completely annihilated."
The Rudra Familia was completely annihilated, with no survivors!
The spacious plaza, packed with thousands of people and over a hundred Gods, fell into a deathly silence. Looking across the crowd, everyone's facial muscles seemed frozen in disbelief.
Almost no one thought the Astraea Familia would win. At best, they were expected to be defeated, protected by the Ganesha Familia, and flee the Dungeon shamefacedly.
Who could have predicted this result?
"How did they do it?"
A single question surfaced simultaneously in everyone's mind.
Even the Gods couldn't fathom it. It was 152 people against 2. Even with Gale's LV.4 strength, it couldn't compensate for such an absolute numerical disparity!
"What happened in the Dungeon?" People grabbed the Ganesha Familia members who had just emerged from the hole.
The Ganesha Familia members opened their mouths, unable to describe what they had seen.
The spacious cavern on the tenth floor, the new type of monster larger than Goliath, the horrifying manner of the Rudra Familia members' deaths—everything seemed utterly bizarre.
Shakti stepped forward to shield her Familia members. "The matter is complex and cannot be explained in a few words. We will submit a detailed report to the Guild afterward. If you wish to know, please inquire there."
Successfully deflecting the matter to the Guild, she managed to appease people's curiosity slightly. But one key figure could not be so easily dismissed.
Rudra's confident demeanor was completely gone. His face twisted as he stared fixedly at Roy and Ryuu, demanding, "What did you do?!"
It was impossible to lie in front of the Gods, so the two simply remained silent, quietly returning to Astraea's side. The rest was for the Goddess to handle.
Astraea said, "There's no need for further words. We won this War Game!"
"Goddess-sama, please!"
Roy smoothly handed her a sharp dagger. Astraea gave him a strange look; he seemed quite eager.
Astraea didn't dwell on it. She took the dagger and tossed it towards Rudra. A commanding aura emanated from her flawless face. "God Rudra, execute yourself!"
The dagger landed at Rudra's feet.
Everyone present stared blankly at God Rudra. He was a God, and he was being ordered to execute himself!
Conversely, the other Gods looked intrigued.
Rudra picked up the dagger and tested its sharpness with his finger, easily slicing his skin.
Gods possessed pride, and rarely reneged on their word. Furthermore, with countless Gods watching, if God Rudra chose not to leave honorably, the Gods had countless ways to ensure he did.
"Hmph, you won!"
Rudra snorted. He plunged the dagger towards his chest. The blade pierced his clothing and skin, sinking toward his heart.
When a God in the lower world sustains a fatal injury, their divine power automatically triggers, healing their body while simultaneously violating the Gods' covenant, resulting in their forced return to Heaven.
Boom!
Divine power was unleashed. White light erupted from Rudra, and an endless, majestic force surged skyward, forming a massive pillar of light reaching toward the heavens.
This was the divine radiance, blindingly bright, and one of the most awe-inspiring sights in this world.
The people in the plaza, no, the people of the entire city of Orario, stopped what they were doing and looked up at the magnificent white pillar of light in the distance.
Roy was no exception. His pupils reflected the pillar formed by divine power. This was what he wanted to see.
No one was unaware of what the pillar of light signified: a God was being sent back to Heaven.
The Rudra Familia was completely annihilated, and along with their God, they would only exist in people's casual conversations from now on.
The news quickly spread throughout all of Orario.
People wore expressions of sheer disbelief.
Adventurers who had gambled their entire savings on the Rudra Familia let out wails of despair.
Those who had bet on the Astraea Familia cheerfully walked away with large bags of Valis.
Of course, none of this concerned Roy and the others.
Goddess Astraea was summoned to the Babel Tower to attend the Symposium. The Gods wanted to know from her how Roy and Ryuu had managed to annihilate the entire Rudra Familia.
Roy had no worries about this, as Goddess Astraea genuinely had no idea. The Gods were destined to be fruitless tonight.
Roy and Ryuu returned to the Starry Sky Garden.
The Elven girl, who had just finished washing, had golden hair that shone like wheat in the light. Her two long, pointed ears were translucent white with a pinkish hue, and a trace of moisture added a soft beauty to her look.
That is, until you saw her fully geared up.
Ryuu came up to Roy. "Continue!"
Just like that moment, exactly like this moment. There was a cycle to everything. This familiar scene reminded Roy of the moment he first asked her to continue running the instances.
The killing intent in the Elven girl's sky-blue eyes hadn't diminished in the slightest. She was murderous. "There are still other Dark Factions, as well as the merchant guilds colluding with them..."
"No!"
Roy covered his ears, immediately refusing. They had just finished a major battle. She wanted to seek trouble with other Familia and merchant guilds? Was she rushing to be reincarnated?
"You?" Ryuu glared at him with her beautiful eyes.
"Alright,"
Roy said, "Let me put it another way. Do you think the Astraea Familia should continue to exist from now on?"
This soul-searching question stunned Ryuu.
Roy stared at her calmly.
In the original timeline, Ryuu had crushed twenty-seven organizations, including merchant guilds and mercenary groups composed of thugs. Four Gods from the Dark Factions, or those clearly colluding with them, were sent back to Heaven. So, her revenge was certainly not complete.
Annihilating the Rudra Familia, citing the prior annihilation of her own Familia as the reason, was justifiable.
However, massacring an entire Familia, even if they were wicked, didn't garner a good reputation. If they kept playing this game, the Astraea Familia would be indistinguishable from a terrorist organization in the eyes of others.