Aisha's magic, in short, was a red slash wave.
When she finished her chant and brought the greatsword in her hands, crashing down onto the ground, a red slash wave burst forth from the weapon like a shockwave. Like the dorsal fin of a shark cutting through water, the red slash shockwave surged forward across the ground, destroying everything in its path.
Hell Kaios was a purely offensive magic, where, by channeling magical energy through a weapon, it released a destructive slash that tore through anything along its trajectory.
It was not rare, but its power was far from negligible, so when the red slash shockwave tore through the corridor and struck Riezel, it continued unabated, rushing along the ground and slamming into the wall at the side of the hallway, which shattered instantly, destroyed by the red slash wave, exploding into countless fragments of stone and debris that were carried outward along with a roaring cloud of dust, scattering beyond Yuukaku.
"S-Some adventurers are fighting!"
"Run!"
"Who the hell is it? Causing trouble in Ishtar's territory of all places?"
On the streets, countless people and gods who had been alarmed began shouting one after another. Some hurried away from Yuukaku in panic, while others, drawn by curiosity, rushed toward the scene to watch.
"Hahh... Hahh..."
In the corridor where the wall had just exploded, Aisha still maintained the posture of having fully swung her greatsword, breathing heavily.
Under normal circumstances, casting a single magic should not have left her this exhausted, but she clearly understood the gap between herself and Riezel, so she knew that half-hearted attacks would do nothing to him.
For that reason, Aisha had poured most of her mind into this single magic, unleashing an attack with extraordinary power, which caused the power of Hell Kaios to increase several times over. Not to mention Level 4—even a Level 5 First-Class Adventurer would not come out unscathed if struck.
"Ugh…"
"Big Sis…"
"Big Sis Aisha…"
Around Aisha, the berberas who had been knocked down groaned as they struggled to rise, attempting to move closer to her.
"Don't come over!"
Aisha shouted sharply at them, stopping them in their tracks.
Ignoring her heavy breathing and mental fatigue, she widened her eyes and stared fixedly ahead at the shattered wall.
Over there, dust still filled the air, and fragments of stone fell like rain—just like the sweat running down Aisha's face.
"Why is there no feeling of it hitting…? It didn't hit?"
Aisha murmured with an extremely grim expression.
What answered her murmur was a calm voice.
"No, it hit."
From within the drifting dust, an indifferent voice emerged.
"If I hadn't swung my sword at the last second, I probably would've been blown straight out of here by now."
As these words were spoken, the swirling dust gradually settled.
Holding the unsheathed Fool, Riezel slowly revealed himself from within the haze, showing that aside from some dust on the hem of his clothes, he was completely unscathed. On the unsheathed sword in his hand, traces of red magical energy still flickered.
Clearly, that was not Riezel's magic, but the residual power of Aisha's magic.
Seeing this, and recalling what Riezel had just said, Aisha's entire body began to tremble.
"You... deflected my magic?"
Aisha's voice came out dry and strained.
Riezel lifted his gaze and looked at her.
"To be exact, I redirected it."
He spoke as if stating a simple fact, his tone utterly calm.
"…You're kidding, right?"
"Deflecting magic with a sword?"
"I-I don't buy it!"
"How's that even possible?!"
Realizing what had happened, the berberas cried out in shock.
Only Aisha bit down on her lip, desperately trying to stop her trembling jaw.
"You... monster…"
Aisha forced these words out of her throat.
"Monster, huh... Haven't you all been calling me that? 'Monster rookie' and all..." Riezel tilted his head a bit, looking at Aisha across from him, then suddenly smirked. "Fair's fair—since you took a swing at me, I'm gonna return the favor. Yeah, just like how you messed with us before, now I'm gonna mess with you."
As soon as these words were spoken, Aisha's grip on her greatsword tightened instinctively.
"So you really came to—!"
Aisha tried to say something in agitation, but in the next instant, she could not utter another word.
Because what unfolded before her eyes left her frozen in terror.
"Come, champion of the savages."
An all-too-familiar chant echoed through the now-ruined corridor, yet the one chanting it was not its true master—but its true master's enemy.
"Manly warrior, strong hero, greedy and unjust hero."
Riezel raised the now-sheathed Fool in his hand, gathering surging magical energy upon it.
"Show your worth if you desire the girdle of the empress!"
On Fool, the magical energy began to take on a crimson hue.
"Satisfy my body, penetrate my body, kill my body, and prove your worth!"
A terrifying aura spread from Riezel's body.
"My starving blade is Hippolyta!"
A chant that should never have come from another's mouth was now recited flawlessly by Riezel.
Feeling the overwhelming aura—one she herself could never produce—and watching as red magical energy gathered around the sheathed sword, forming visible waves, Aisha's body trembled uncontrollably once more.
"H-How... How could that be?!!!"
"Impossible!"
"Big Sis Aisha!"
Finally realizing what magic it was, the berberas cried out in panic.
"Run!"
Yielding to the fear in her heart, Aisha roared at everyone around her.
"Hell Kaios!"
Unfortunately, the man, who had already become no different from a demon in their eyes, finally completed the final chant in his eerily calm voice.
In the next moment, he brought down the sheathed sword in his hand, unleashing a crimson slash wave within the corridor.
*BOOOM!*
Amid a deafening explosion, Yuukaku—of which only a single wall had been destroyed before—was utterly blasted apart.
At least a hundred times more powerful than before, the terrifying slash wave surged forth like a crimson storm, destroying everything in its wake. If Aisha's Hell Kaios had been like a shark's fin cutting through water, then Riezel's Hell Kaios was like a colossal mythical beast roaring as it split the sea itself.
Riezel's storm-like crimson slash wave cleaved through the corridor, tore apart one room after another, and finally split the entire building in two, causing the whole Yuukaku to collapse as though it had been cut apart by a massive crimson blade.
"WAAAAHHH—!!!"
"HELP!"
"SAVE MEEE—!!!"
"I'M GONNA DIE, I'M GONNA DIE, I'M GONNA DIE!"
"AAAHHHHHHHH—!!!"
Inside the collapsing building, every person and god who had failed to escape staggered in panic—some clung desperately to pillars, others pressed themselves against walls, all crying out as they fell along with the structure that had been split in two, crashing toward the ground.
"H-Hurry, save them!"
"TAKE MY HAND!"
"SAVE THEM!"
Fortunately, the high-ranking adventurers fared somewhat better.
Although shocked and horrified, they relied on their superior physical abilities, leaping through the collapsing ruins to rescue the crying gods and the weaker individuals one by one.
*Rumble—!*
Before long, the entire building caved in completely, turning into a field of rubble.
Dust spread through the air, and the surrounding crowd stood there in a daze, staring at the scene like onlookers at a disaster site.
Some screamed, some gasped, while others frowned with grave expressions, turning the area into a chaotic uproar.
"Ugh…"
"Ah…"
Most of the berberas of the Ishtar Familia had failed to escape and now lay scattered among the rubble, groaning weakly in a semi-conscious state.
"Riezel… Brynhart..."
Aisha, also buried beneath the debris, with only her dust- and blood-covered head and one arm exposed, stretched her arm toward a certain direction before finally going limp after a moment.
In the direction she had reached toward, Riezel stood atop a high mound of rubble.
"Did you see?"
Riezel reattached Fool at his side, then smiled faintly at Aisha lying in the ruins as he spoke.
"That's how this magic's supposed to be used."
Unfortunately, no one was able to respond to him anymore.
It was not until some time later that a series of hurried footsteps echoed across the ruins.
"RIEZEL BRYNHART!"
Ishtar arrived at last, leading members of the Ishtar Familia, headed by Tammuz.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"
Looking at Yuukaku now reduced to rubble—and at the man standing alone atop it—rage surged through Ishtar's chest.
Hearing Ishtar's shout, Riezel, seeming to notice her arrival only then, slowly turned to face her.
Because of his elevated position, Riezel looked down at Ishtar from above. Coupled with a gaze that carried a sense of condescension, it was as though Riezel were a god, while Ishtar was merely a mortal on the ground, small and insignificant.
Realizing this, Ishtar's expression twisted, making her wish she could release the seal on her Arcanum and strike him down right here and now.
Only then did Riezel speak.
"You shouldn't be asking me that. You should be asking your cute kids," Riezel said with a shrug, playing innocent. "I mean, they attacked me first, so it's just self-defense. Plenty of witnesses here can back me up on that."
"Self-defense? Haha..." Ishtar let out an incredulous laugh, pointing at Aisha and the others lying in the rubble. "You call this self-defense?!"
"What else would you call it?" Riezel still had a faint smile, but there wasn't a single hint of humor in his eyes. "If the Great Goddess Ishtar can stand in front of the Guild and say she did nothing, why can't I say I was just defending myself? At least I've got witnesses."
Riezel's words made Ishtar's chest heave violently, showing that the hatred in her heart surged along with her anger.
If she could, she would have scattered Riezel's ashes on the spot to vent her fury, but the man before her was known among various gods as Liberator—a Level 6 who could rival Level 7, and someone who had single-handedly slain Gugalanna, a monster even stronger than the Monster Rex Balor.
In Ishtar's view, even Ottar would not have been a match for Gugalanna, yet Riezel had defeated the monster alone.
Clearly, such strength could not be ignored.
"...Where is Haruhime?"
Suppressing her fury with great effort, Ishtar stared at Riezel and demanded Haruhime's whereabouts. Compared to the lives of Aisha and the others buried in the rubble, this was clearly what concerned Ishtar the most.
In a sense, Aisha had been right.
Haruhime was the trump card of the Ishtar Familia—the asset Ishtar valued above all else.
To Ishtar, Aisha and the others could die, Yuukaku could collapse, but Haruhime absolutely could not be harmed. If anything happened to Haruhime, then both her plans against Riezel and against Freya would become little more than empty hopes.
And now, that crucial Haruhime had been inside the collapsing Yuukaku.
If Riezel had not still been standing there, Ishtar would have already ordered a search through the ruins instead of wasting time arguing with him.
Of course, despite her thoughts, Ishtar already had a bad feeling.
Ishtar believed that Riezel had come specifically for Haruhime, so if that were the case, how could he have simply allowed her to be caught in the collapse?
Yes.
Riezel had indeed done something to Haruhime, who had been hiding in one of the rooms not long ago.
What had he done?
He had teleported her away.
However...
"I don't know where she is."
Riezel stated plainly, looking utterly nonchalant.
"YOU THINK I'D BELIEVE YOU?!"
Ishtar shouted angrily, her fists clenched.
"Whether you believe me or not, you can see for yourself," Riezel said indifferently, meeting her gaze directly. "Even I can't lie in front of a god. Don't tell me you can't tell if I'm actually telling the truth."
Ishtar instantly fell silent because it was true—Riezel genuinely did not know where Haruhime was.
It was only natural, for when teleporting Haruhime, Riezel had not chosen a destination and had simply teleported her at random.
However, barring any accidents, someone would find her, and once that happened, the conflict between that party and the Ishtar Familia would formally begin.
Unaware of this, Ishtar continued staring at Riezel before finally speaking through gritted teeth.
"I'll remember this..."
After leaving behind this threat, Ishtar immediately turned around and hurried off with her people, clearly intending to search for Haruhime.
Watching Ishtar's departing figure, Riezel's eyes remained cold.
"Sure, go ahead and remember it..." Riezel muttered softly. "You don't have many days left anyway."
Right after saying this, he glanced at Aisha lying in the rubble and activated his magic.
"Middle Healing."
Soon enough, after casting healing magic on all the berberas in the ruins and restoring their injuries, Riezel vanished from the spot in a flash.
===
Meanwhile, in a narrow alley of the Entertainment District, a golden-haired young renard woman trembled at her sudden freedom.
Not far from her, a white-haired, red-eyed human young man moved cautiously through the Entertainment District, like a rabbit that had wandered into a den of wolves, his body trembling.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
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