"Hedin, what's got you down in the dumps like that?" Hogni asked, in a rare moment where his chuunibyou side vanished.
"I- I'm thinking about something."
"Like that wasn't obvious." Allen grumbled from off to the side, leaning on his spear.
"The Loki familia is already suffering from this terrible defeat. But I'm curious…" Hedin lifted his head and walked over to the Astrea familia's gathering. "Scarlet Harnel, you're the one who defeated Ottar, I have to ask, why did you openly bring these four with you? It doesn't seem like you'd need them at all."
"That's an easy one, because I could." Alise smiled. "They deserve justice for what your familias did to them. Your actions robbed Bell of his father, while he was a baby. And the torment that came from seeing her uncle killed after learning that all of her family she'd ever known, was killed in the fight against the Black Dragon…"
Hedin looked at Bell, and Meda… His gaze wasn't soft, nor hard, just, studying. He finally let out a sigh…
"Alright, then explain why Meda didn't do anything during the war game."
"She's here to show all of you, just how full of folly you were. I defeated Ottar, but she… well, when Ottar gets back you'll see…" Alise then began to ignore Hedin, and continued the girl talk with her familia.
It was several minutes later when the brute had managed to stumble his way over to the gathering of people. His gaze, fully serious, and full of burning desire. "It's been a while since I felt such a drive. I'll grow stronger for sure." Ottar spoke to himself as he approached.
Allen was the first to notice. "Well so, what happened to being able to beat her?"
"She's stronger than I thought. It was almost like I was staring down the Empress herself."
"You can't be serious."
Ottar remained silent, and then moved to ignore Allen. His eyes laid upon the boy who'd managed to put pressure on him, despite the small form he had.
Alise noticed this and clapped her hands together, loud enough to really bring everyone to attention. Everyone, from all the familias and even the few guild workers looking to manage the situation were drawn towards the sound.
"Everyone, you're probably a little upset about your loss, but you wouldn't have won anyway. If brother Shurry hadn't wanted us to beat you up, we could have ended you much more easily, and not to mention quickly." Alise spoke, her smile only compounded the sense of discomfort her words held.
"What do you mean by that, Alise?"
"You'll see soon… alright Meda, are you ready? Go ahead and show off what you've got."
Meda's face took on an expression of absolute excitement. "Are you sure!? Can I really do it?! Uncle said I shouldn't but… I really want to."
"Yeah, it's fine. He just didn't want you to use it during the war game. Only the guilty should suffer punishment. And that spell doesn't really discriminate."
Meda stood up, and looked at the remnants of the castle. Her back began to glow, slowly spreading over her whole body, a pure, radiant white light that seemed to burn and cool at the same time. She began chanting her magic, a spell so long, it made Alfia's ultra long chant seem short by comparison… the air began to tremble, and then… the flash of a wide column of light filled their view…
The silence was deafening, earth shattering, and ultimately breathtaking. The spell utterly broke the minds of some who witnessed it. And yet, it was there… plain as day, an impossible feat…
"It's as if heaven itself has come down to exact punishment upon earth."
Many from the Loki and Freya familias fell to their knees, or used their weapons to help them continue standing. The Astraea side of things just watched, loving this sight since they've seen it a few more times.
"It's truly something impressive."
"Shurry did say it reached well into the 10th level."
"And even it still can't even give him a scratch." Kaguya mentioned, loud enough that everyone should be able to hear.
The light began to fade, and Meda returned to her normal self, letting out a heavy breath, and relaxing. Bell ran up to help support her weight.
"That was amazing Meda! It's a lot stronger than before."
"That was fun! I do see now why Uncle said not to use it for the war game. It would have killed all of them."
"I would have been upset if you killed them too, you know. Ottar is my target."
"Pfft, I know!"
Bell and Meda grew closer and closer together. All while a particular girl from Loki familia watched. Seemingly beginning to feel an odd emotion welling up from beneath the surface. She ended up running over to the two.
"Bunny boy! Let me pet your hair!"
The sudden childishness coming out completely shook everyone from the Loki familia, especially Riveria, she had spent so much time trying to get the girl to open up, but there she was opening up without even trying, and that was after the sight of overwhelming power…
The area that had once been a castle, was now a massive crater, and would serve as a freshwater reservoir for the nearby town in times of emergency… once it filled up from the rain.
An hour after the battle ended, the guild's transportation arrived, to remove all of the contestants in as quick order as they could. There were a lot of members in the Freya and Loki familias. It didn't really matter though since the guild had been prepared long in advance of this war game. Though… Royman was currently reeling from the knowledge of what happened to the castle, it was completely destroyed. An ancient landmark now completely gone, likely for good.
The next day came, and everyone returned to their original familias to take a break. Though, Alise was rather insistent upon getting Shurry to wash her hair. A few more days passed by while Hathor, Astraea, Zeus and Hera all discussed what they wanted from the Loki and Freya familias, Idunn was included in this discussion since she provided a different perspective.