In the Loki Familia, Riezel’s popularity had always been quite high.
Even though he had been a rookie who had joined the familia less than half a year ago, his potential was immense, and he had quickly become a First-Class Adventurer, earning the recognition and trust of the members.
As a companion who had fought alongside them, they had also more than once witnessed Riezel’s battle posture, which resembled that of a hero. Furthermore, his personality was also good—unlike Bete’s harsh temperament, he treated everyone with calm composure, allowing many members to relax in his presence instead of becoming tense at the sight of a familia executive.
As a result, not only did Lefiya and Anakitty, who had once been saved by Riezel, become his fans, but many other members also began to view him in a different light.
It couldn’t be helped.
Everything stood out through comparison.
Among the executives, Bete was rough-tempered, Gareth was somewhat sloppy and aged, Raul always carried himself like someone lacking ambition, and, coupled with the familia having far more female members than male members due to Loki’s tastes, this resulted in a severe shortage of quality male members—one could even say there were none.
Against such a situation, Riezel naturally became the ideal man in many people’s eyes, especially among the female members, making those who admired and revered him certainly not limited to Lefiya and Anakitty.
It could be said that, within the Loki Familia, aside from Finn, whose popularity surpassed Riezel’s, no other male member could compare to him.
As for Finn, there was no helping it.
He was not only intelligent, calm, and easy to get along with, but also powerful, and despite already being over forty years old, he still possessed the face of a boy, so his appeal and ’market value’ among the female members were simply too strong for ordinary people to rival.
Even so, Riezel remained one of the most popular figures in the familia, with no shortage of admirers.
Now, however, Argana had made such a blatantly lustful remark in front of everyone.
Not only could Ais and Anakitty not tolerate it, but the other female members also erupted—every single one of them began cursing Argana in anger.
Unfortunately, Argana did not even spare them a glance.
"You—do you dare accept my challenge?"
Argana spoke in a tone of provocation, like a snake flicking its tongue, directing her words at Riezel.
In response, Riezel did not even change his expression.
"You’re not my opponent."
He stated it plainly, his face devoid of emotion, yet Argana did not become angry and instead revealed a meaningful expression.
"Hm, that’s not necessarily true."
===
Meanwhile, in another corner of the city wall, while everyone’s attention was drawn to the confrontation between the Loki Familia and the Kali Familia outside the city gate, no one noticed that a group had arrived.
Like the amazonesses of the Kali Familia, they all possessed bronze skin and alluring, well-proportioned figures, stimulating male hormones to such an extent that anyone who looked at them would unconsciously find their breathing growing heavier.
Needless to say, another group of amazonesses had appeared, but these amazoness warriors did not belong to the Kali Familia.
They surrounded and supported a goddess, escorting this goddess, who radiated an extraordinary sense of beauty, to this place.
"Riezel Brynhart..."
Staring fixedly at the young man within the Loki Familia, the Goddess of Beauty, Ishtar, had her flawless face slightly twisted.
Yes, the one who had arrived was none other than Ishtar.
At this moment, the way she looked at Riezel was filled with anger and hatred, even revealing a strong trace of malice.
Recalling how she had been ignored by him in Knossos, how she had been humiliated, and how her pride—the power of ’Beauty’—had been completely ineffective against him, Ishtar felt both disbelief and fury, along with deep resentment.
Ishtar had never imagined that her charm would fail against a mere child of the Lower World, and even now, she still found it difficult to believe that her ’Beauty’ had not worked in the slightest.
Such a fact made the narrow-minded goddess feel as though her charm had been disregarded, as if she had been reduced to something no different from a common street woman, causing the hatred in her heart to surge uncontrollably.
Without exaggeration, everything Riezel had done to Ishtar had shattered the pride of this goddess, who had always held herself in the highest regard and believed herself to be the most beautiful of all.
Combined with the cold, harsh truths he had spoken to her in Knossos, as well as the fact that he had attacked her without hesitation, it came as no surprise that Ishtar had come to hate Riezel.
"How dare you humiliate me, a Goddess of Beauty—I will make you pay the price!"
Consumed by hatred, Ishtar appeared exceptionally ugly at this moment, though she herself remained completely unaware of it.
"Haruhime!"
Ishtar turned her head and issued an unquestionable command toward the cage surrounded by her servants.
"Cast your sorcery on that snake woman!"
It was the agreement Ishtar had made with the Kali Familia.
To take revenge on Riezel, after learning of the Kali Familia’s actions, Ishtar had immediately made contact with Argana and the others and had promised them that, when they fought that detestable man, she would support them with level-boosting magic.
"You saw Liberator’s strength in that Man-Made Dungeon. You have absolutely no chance of defeating him without our help."
With these words, Ishtar had persuaded Argana to enter into cooperation with the Kali Familia once again.
"Hurry up! Use it now!"
Ishtar had already lost her composure, none of her usual lofty demeanor remaining, as she shouted irritably at the renard woman inside the cage.
"...Yes."
Haruhime’s delicate body trembled slightly as she gave a strained reply.
She couldn’t help but recall what had happened in Man-Made Dungeon Knossos, then the gentle voice she had heard before losing consciousness and the sincere gaze that had been fixed upon her, causing a wave of sorrow to rise within her heart.
Truthfully, she did not want to harm that man, but she could not resist her familia, could not resist her goddess, and could not resist her own fate.
’As expected, I’m just a witch who only brings disaster...’
With her heart subdued, Haruhime trembled as she began chanting in the darkness.
"Grow—"
"That power and that vessel. Breadth of wealth and breadth of wishes. Until the bell tolls, bring forth glory and illusion."
"Grow—"
"Confine divine offerings within this body. This golden light bestowed from above. Into the hammer and into the ground, may it bestow good fortune upon you."
"Grow—"
This was both the chant that awakened the greatest miracle upon the earth and the cursed song that the girl detested, the source of her misfortune.
"Uchide no Kozuchi!"
Like a cry, Haruhime completed the magic, and thus a golden nebula manifested.
===
*Buzz—*
When the air began to tremble for no clear reason, a mist-like nebula composed of magical energy appeared above Argana’s head.
"That’s—?!"
At the sight, everyone from the Loki Familia reacted at once.
"That damn bitch!"
Loki immediately understood what was happening and cursed under her breath.
"W-What’s that?"
"Magic?"
"That magical energy... it feels kinda powerful."
The surrounding onlookers, meanwhile, began murmuring in confusion and uncertainty.
"Oh?"
Riezel, who had originally been expressionless, raised his brows slightly and narrowed his eyes.
Under these circumstances, the nebula dispersed, causing particles of light to fall like rain and envelop Argana’s entire body.
"Ah..."
Argana could not help but let out a soft moan, clenching her fists as she revealed an intoxicated, almost ecstatic expression.
"So this is a higher stage... the power of Level 7?"
Having obtained the miracle known as ’level boosting,’ the strongest female warrior of Telskyura, who had originally been Level 6, underwent a complete transformation and stepped directly into the highest realm of the current age.
"Now, I’m qualified to challenge you, right?"
Argana, now a Level 7, smiled—her smile wild and bloodthirsty.
"Interesting..."
Riezel finally showed some interest and turned to Finn.
"...Go ahead."
Finn pondered for a moment before nodding.
A trace of caution had already risen in the pallum captain’s mind.
The first reason was that the Kali Familia, having obtained the miracle of level boosting, was now strong enough to threaten them.
The second reason was that, besides the Kali Familia, the Ishtar Familia was undoubtedly present, hiding in the shadows.
If that were the case, were Enyo and the servants of the Corrupted Spirit also lurking nearby?
With this thought in mind, Finn licked his slightly throbbing thumb and decided not to act rashly, choosing to observe for the time being.
Riezel, understanding Finn’s intent, nodded and removed Fool from his waist, handing it to Ais.
"...Be careful."
Ais accepted the sword Riezel handed over, holding it in her arms as she gave a quiet reminder.
"I know."
Riezel replied indifferently, then stepped out of the crowd and came before Argana, who had also walked forward.
"Fall back first."
Seeing this, Riveria immediately issued an order for the members of the Loki Familia to fall back.
"We’ll pull back as well."
Bache, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke, instructing the amazonesses of the Kali Familia to retreat in unison.
Both sides cleared a large area, forming a simple arena along with the surrounding spectators.
In the next moment...
"Se wehga! (Thou art the true warrior!)"
"Se wehga! (Thou art the true warrior!)"
"Se wehga! (Thou art the true warrior!)"
Every amazoness of the Kali Familia began shouting in unison with fervor, as if cheering, startling quite a few people present.
’Se wehga’ was a unique phrase used among the amazonesses, found only in Telskyura, which meant ’Thou art the true warrior.’
Whenever a Telskyura ritual began, the amazonesses would shout and cheer like this without pause, pushing the atmosphere of battle to its peak.
In fact, as the amazonesses of Telskyura chanted in unison like this, the air itself seemed to vibrate, and the fighting intent and spirit in their hearts spilled out across the entire area, instantly creating a charged atmosphere of conflict.
Many people were startled, but quite a few also felt their blood stir, becoming involuntarily excited.
"Go!"
"Start fighting already!"
"Teach that cocky woman a lesson!"
"Don’t let us down, Liberator!"
Grinning and cheering, the gods’ nature of enjoying a spectacle without concern was fully unleashed—some climbed trees, while others perched on people’s shoulders.
Most of the onlookers also developed a strong interest in this battle, and the one they were most interested in was obviously Riezel.
After all, Riezel had risen far too quickly, and aside from that one time during Monster Feria, he had rarely displayed his strength in public. Only a small number of people had been fortunate enough to witness him fighting monsters in the Dungeon.
Because of this, many people were curious about Riezel’s strength.
’This is a good opportunity.’
’Orario’s strongest magic swordsman, that monster rookie people keep saying can even fight across levels...’
’Lemme see if this Loki Familia monster rookie is really as strong as everyone says.’
Many high-ranking adventurers in Orario shared this thought, including the six members of the Freya Familia watching from the city wall—all of whom were watching this scene intently.
"When he was Level 5, he could already fight that muscle-headed brute to a standstill. Now that he’s reached Level 6, just how much stronger has he become?"
Hedin murmured in a calm, rational voice, prompting the dark elf holding a sword and the pallum quadruplets beside him to fix their gazes firmly on the ground below.
Under the attention of countless eyes, Riezel set aside his main weapon and, unarmed, faced the amazoness whose body was enveloped in particles of light.
"You’re not using your sword?"
Argana looked at Riezel, whose hands were empty after handing his sword to Ais, and asked, her brows raised.
"You’re unarmed too, aren’t you?" Riezel replied calmly. "So yeah, I won’t use my sword."
"It’s not the same," Argana said, shaking her head in denial. "A swordsman without a sword is like a tiger without teeth—no threat at all."
Indeed, Riezel was a swordsman, and the combat techniques he had trained in were almost entirely swordsmanship. He even possessed the development ability Swordsman, which only took effect when equipped with a sword, enhancing all aspects of the user’s status.
Once he lost his sword, the impact on Riezel’s strength was significant.
In contrast, Argana excelled most at unarmed combat, and she was extremely formidable when fighting barehanded using the hand-to-hand combat techniques passed down through Telskyura.
Even if Ais, Orario’s strongest swordswoman, were to face Argana without a sword, then, even if Argana had not used Uchide no Kozuchi, making them both at Level 6, Argana would be able to defeat Ais within several dozen seconds.
Now, Argana was in her optimal condition, while Riezel had lost his main weapon and primary combat method, so the outcome was easy to imagine.
Not to mention that Argana had undergone countless Telskyura rituals up to this point, so her unarmed combat techniques were already reaching their peak. If she were to settle in Orario, she would undoubtedly be Orario’s strongest unarmed fighter.
Facing such an opponent, for Riezel to fight without a sword was undeniably risky.
However, Riezel merely lifted his gaze.
"Even though I’m a swordsman, it doesn’t mean I can’t still throw hands."
As his breathing rhythm shifted, invisible currents of air wrapped around Riezel’s hands and feet, and the wind around him grew restless.
===
[A bonus Chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
[Support me and read next Chapters early at: /VALRRR]