Orario, Entertainment District.
Tonight, the Entertainment District was as brightly lit as ever, filled everywhere with the heavy scent of cosmetics and an atmosphere of indulgent decay.
Scantily dressed prostitutes stood in front of establishments glowing with suggestive lighting, luring in customers—at times they giggled sweetly at passersby, and at times they reached out directly, pulling people into their shops, leaving those men who came seeking pleasure completely disoriented, wearing loose, vulgar expressions as they obediently allowed themselves to be dragged into roadside brothels to spend their money.
Especially the gods, who showed no regard for how precious the hard-earned money of their own familia children was, squandered wealth recklessly here, in exchange for bright gazes and flattering laughter from many prostitutes, giving off the distinct impression of being easy marks.
However, this scene stirred slightly when a certain individual stepped into the district.
"H-Hey…"
"Isn't that Liberator?"
"It's actually him?"
"H-He comes to the Entertainment District?"
Whether they were customers seeking pleasure or shopkeepers conducting business, the people along the street were all stunned when they saw the young man strolling forward as if for a casual walk.
Riezel had arrived here, walking leisurely down the street alone, appearing no different from the men who came seeking pleasure. He wore no equipment, only a black set of casual clothes, with nothing but a sword at his waist, giving the impression of being completely unguarded.
He did not seem to have any particular destination, merely wandering aimlessly while drawing numerous gazes. Among those gazes were surprise, confusion, and some that carried a kind of understanding shared only between men, though it was not something he particularly needed.
Of course, there were also some people whose expressions changed immediately upon seeing Riezel, and these people were, without exception, the berberas belonging to the Ishtar Familia, most of whom had darker skin, and the majority of whom were amazonesses.
As soon as they saw Riezel, they grew alert and uneasy.
"...Why would he come here?"
"Is he here to have fun?"
"No way. A guy like him wouldn't come here for fun."
"If he was gonna come, he would've done it way earlier. Why wait till now?"
"But I heard he showed up once not long ago with that High Novice from the Loki Familia..."
"…No, something's off—wait, he's heading toward Yuukaku!"
"Right! T-That's the way to Yuukaku!"
"Quick! Tell Goddess Ishtar!"
Seeing the direction Riezel was walking, the berberas began to panic.
Only they understood what kind of resentment their familia—or rather, their goddess—held toward him.
One should remember that just recently, the Ishtar Familia had taken action against the Loki Familia. Although the matter did not lead to punishment from the Guild due to a lack of evidence, the Loki Familia itself was well aware of it.
Now that the other party had suddenly appeared in their territory, there was no way they would believe nothing was going on.
Immediately, the berberas discreetly sent someone to Belit Babili to report the situation.
Riezel, however, seemed entirely unaware of all this.
Even though he appeared to be wandering aimlessly, he was in fact slowly moving in a particular direction—the direction of a red, Japanese-style building.
It was the very place Riezel had visited not long ago—Yuukaku.
===
At this moment, Ishtar was venting her fury inside her familia home, Belit Babili.
"Level 8? How is that possible?!"
Ishtar smashed a vase, her face twisted as she cursed.
"Why?"
"Why does that vixen get all the good things… while I end up like this?"
"What do they mean by not losing to the Zeus Familia and the Hera Familia? Why does she get that kind of glory?"
"Why?!"
Ishtar's furious state completely ruined her beauty, causing the male attendant Tammuz, who stood nearby, to tremble, looking pitifully afraid of being caught up in his goddess's anger.
"Damn it all!"
After venting, Ishtar could only bite her nails, pacing back and forth within the room.
"That bastard Thanatos entrusted Gugalanna to me, but it's already been taken down by that damn brat."
"And those fools from Telskyura are now all in Loki's hands, reduced to prisoners."
"Not a single one of the cards I prepared worked, and that woman's servant has instead grown even stronger..."
"Level 8… Damn it!"
Ishtar was extremely agitated.
Originally, she had planned to take action against the Freya Familia in the near future, but now Gugalanna was gone, and the Kali Familia—who were supposed to assist—had recklessly provoked the Loki Familia and crossed their bottom line, resulting in their entire group becoming prisoners, making them unusable.
As for the remnants of Evilus, it was uncertain whether any of them were even still alive.
Now, the well-prepared Ishtar Familia had, because of a single operation in the Man-Made Dungeon Knossos, fallen into complete isolation.
"If I had known, I shouldn't have agreed to Thanatos's request to go to the Man-Made Dungeon and cause trouble for Loki."
Ishtar began to feel a faint sense of regret.
If she had not gone to Knossos and had not been mobilized by Evilus, then Gugalanna would not have been lost.
If she had not been there, Phryne would not have been defeated by the Sword Princess, nor would she have been humiliated there, her dignity trampled by Liberator.
Moreover, without her involvement, the remnants of Evilus would not have had a way to enlist the Kali Familia, and the Kali Familia would not have ended up in their current state.
If she had simply not participated in the Knossos affair, she could have launched a lightning attack on the Freya Familia before the return of King and Vana Freya, flattening the battlefield in one stroke, driving that detestable goddess out of Orario, or even sending her back to Heaven.
By that time, even if King and Vana Freya returned, the situation would already have been decided, and there would be nothing the two of them could do.
"It's all Thanatos's fault!"
"I never should've fallen for his lies!"
"Why does every bad thing happen to me?!"
Ishtar smashed several more vases, her furious expression making her completely unworthy of the title Goddess of Beauty—instead, she looked more like a witch of evil.
After a long while, Ishtar finally calmed down.
"Right now, the only card I have left is Haruhime."
"If that plan can be completed, then aside from Phryne, everyone else can also receive level-boosting magic."
"With the sealing magic curse added in, it might even be enough to threaten King."
Yet, even as she said this, Ishtar herself lacked confidence.
It couldn't be helped.
It was, after all, Level 8.
Only the Zeus Familia and the Hera Familia had ever reached Level 8.
And what were the Zeus Familia and the Hera Familia?
They were the true familias of the Lower World, ones that had thrived since the very earliest era when the gods first descended, maintaining their legacy for a thousand years without decline. Only those two familias, with their thousand-year inheritance, had ever possessed a Level 8.
And now, such a level had appeared within the Freya Familia—how was anyone supposed to fight that?
But not fighting was not an option—it never would be.
For Ishtar, the Freya Familia had to be destroyed, and Freya had to disappear.
Whether it was the title of the strongest or the most beautiful, such honors belonged to her alone.
Needless to say, jealousy had made Ishtar reckless and even more stubbornly determined.
"After eliminating Freya, Loki is next!"
"Liberator Riezel Brynhart, I will never let you go!"
"As long as Haruhime is here, as long as that plan succeeds, anything is possible!"
"Heheh… Hahahaha—!"
Ishtar let out a cold laugh, the chill and madness in it making Tammuz tremble once again.
He had seen many sides of Ishtar that others never knew, but this was the first time he had witnessed her so deranged, so utterly unreasonable. Her hatred for Riezel and her jealousy toward Freya had completely corrupted this narrow-minded goddess into an evil goddess.
It was easy to imagine that, if no one stopped her, Ishtar would drag the entire Orario down with her by any means necessary, turning the whole city into a battlefield. A woman's jealousy and resentment were already extremely terrifying, and a goddess's jealousy and resentment were even more so.
However, just as Ishtar was contemplating various sinister schemes with a cold expression, Tammuz received shocking news from a berbera who rushed in hastily.
"L-Lady Ishtar…"
Tammuz approached Ishtar nervously.
"What?"
Ishtar had already noticed someone entering, but did not even turn her head as she spoke.
In the next second, her expression changed abruptly.
"S-Someone has spotted Liberator arriving..." Tammuz reported with his head lowered, sweat dripping down his face. "It's said he's heading toward Yuukaku."
Ishtar spun around sharply.
'He came again?'
This was her first thought.
'He still dares to come?'
This was her second.
'Yuukaku?'
However, the third thought that followed turned her anger into alarm.
'His target is Haruhime?!'
This answer was both correct and incorrect.
Correct, because Riezel was indeed searching for Haruhime.
Incorrect, because his true objective was not Haruhime, but her—Ishtar.
===
Inside Yuukaku, a heavy, intoxicating fragrance filled the air, making people feel as though they had inhaled a sedative, their minds growing hazy.
Like drunken guests, they walked unsteadily through the Japanese-style corridors, either supported by women in kimonos or smiling as they wrapped their arms around a woman's waist, silently slipping into the rooms along the hallway.
Amid such surroundings, Riezel, with a sword fastened at his waist, strode forward briskly—his calm, almost leisurely demeanor made him stand out as an anomaly, drawing countless gazes.
Riezel ignored every single one of those looks and continued forward with a composed expression and a clear destination—one of the rooms within this place.
"About time they showed up..."
Only now did Riezel murmur softly after entering the Entertainment District.
In the next moment—
"Stop!"
Sure enough, a voice called out to him, accompanied by the sound of many approaching footsteps.
Hearing that voice, a faint smile tugged at the corner of Riezel's lips.
Finally, the show was about to begin.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
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