The two stopped in front of Ryota.
Freya's gaze landed squarely on him.
As always, her look held that undisguised "desire"—a hunter's craving mixed with possessive lust.
Ryota felt a chill run down his spine and asked, "Lady Freya… you haven't left yet?"
In the original story, Apollo had instigated a War Game to steal the "saintly silver-haired boy" Bell. After losing, he was forced to disband his Familia and ultimately left Orario.
In fact, when a god's Familia is disbanded, they almost always choose to leave the city and start over elsewhere. Even if they aren't formally exiled, they usually leave on their own and vanish quietly.
As for when they might return?
Maybe hundreds of years later. Maybe thousands.
By then, when the world has forgotten their names, they reenter Orario under a different guise.
After all, the one thing the gods have in abundance… is time.
"Leave? Ryota, is your memory really that bad?"
Freya covered her mouth with a soft laugh.
"I said I wouldn't leave. Orario still has someone I want to keep watching. Why would I go?"
Ryota went silent for a few seconds, his eyes flickering before he looked at her and asked, "So what did you come to me for?"
As he spoke, his gaze unconsciously shifted to the man standing behind her—Ottar.
This was the same man who'd gone head-to-head with him in the War Game and ended up getting one-shotted by Ryota's Susanoo-enhanced punch.
Now, the guy stood there tall and steady, not a scratch on him. Not even his aura seemed the slightest bit off.
What the hell? This guy recovers way too fast.
That punch was full power—he hadn't held back!
Then again… even if Freya Familia was disbanded, this LV.7 powerhouse was still a top-tier force.
The Guild must've stepped in to help.
That was Ryota's guess.
"As you can see, I kept my promise. Freya Familia has disbanded."
"But… there are still some followers, like Hedin and the others, who refused to leave me."
Freya spoke slowly.
"Though they're no longer part of my Familia, they're still willing to follow my will."
"So…"
She paused, staring at Ryota. After a few seconds, she continued,
"I'd like the Loki Familia to take them in."
Ryota: ???
That completely threw him.
Since when did the losing side try to shove their people into the winner's camp?
And what kind of logic was that—"they still obey my will, so I'm giving them to Loki Familia"?
Was this some DanMachi version of Infernal Affairs?
Freya seemed to see right through his thoughts, and her smile deepened.
"Relax. I'll make sure they wholeheartedly follow the Loki Familia. Besides…"
"I'm only making this request because of you… not because of Loki."
Ryota stayed quiet and kept listening.
"You're all about to head out on an expedition, aren't you? These people are elites, veterans who've survived deep-floor battles."
"You of all people should know exactly how valuable they are."
Freya wasn't wrong.
Those were warriors who'd made it back from the fiftieth floor—and even deeper.
Any Familia would break the bank to get their hands on assets like that. The problem was—
How could Freya say, with a straight face, "I'm not doing this for Loki, I'm doing it for you"?
Just as Ryota was about to say, "This isn't my decision to make," Freya suddenly added,
"Also, there's something else."
Her expression grew a bit more serious, prompting Ryota to raise an eyebrow.
Freya spoke softly,
"I want to go with you."
"Huh?! What did you just say?"
Ryota's head was practically swimming with question marks.
"Not as Freya, the goddess," she clarified. "But… as a bystander."
Her tone was uncharacteristically serious. Even the usual smile had vanished from her face.
"A god who simply wants to witness your journey."
"…?"
Ryota's expression froze.
"Hold on. Hold on!"
"You're saying… you, Freya, want to come with me?"
"A god wants to be my tagalong??"
The hell?!
—Was this some DanMachi spinoff called 'The Goddess Became My Sidekick'?
This plotline was getting out of hand!
"Well, I wouldn't call it 'tagalong.'"
Freya's signature smile returned.
"As for the Dungeon and such, I'll leave Ottar to accompany you. I'll wait here in Orario, at Twilight Manor, for you to come home."
"F—"
Ryota couldn't hold it in anymore and let out a full-on curse.
His face was practically broadcasting "I don't get it but I'm utterly shook."
Instinctively, he looked up at the sky, like he was checking if the sun was rising backwards in Orario today.
A goddess as a tagalong. A Level 7 as a bodyguard?
This wasn't "ridiculous." This was "the world's gone mad."
He wouldn't even be surprised if, in a few days, gossip spread through Orario that Ryota seduced Freya and took Ottar with him too…
Without a second thought, Ryota waved his hand and refused.
"Whatever's going on with those followers, it's not my call."
"I'm not a god. I don't get a say."
"And you know full well that when someone leaves a Familia, they can't join a new one for a year."
"Who's to say your people won't switch sides in that time? If something goes wrong, I'm not taking the fall."
"As for that whole 'goddess traveling with me' thing…"
His eyes sharpened, and his tone turned crisp and decisive.
"I refuse."
With that, Ryota didn't give Freya a chance to respond. He turned and walked away without even a glance back.
Freya stood silently at the entrance of Twilight Manor, watching Ryota's retreating figure. Slowly, the corners of her lips curled up.
It wasn't a disappointed smile.
It was the kind of smile that said, "I knew I chose the right one."
"So cold, Ryota."
"But… that's exactly the kind of man worth falling for."
She didn't chase after him. She didn't call out.
She simply lifted a hand and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
Standing there, Freya looked every bit like a gentle maiden, quietly waiting for her beloved to come home.
"I'll be right here… waiting for you to come home."
Meanwhile, footsteps followed behind Ryota.
He tilted his head slightly and saw Ottar's stone-faced expression, silently tailing him.
"Why are you following me?"
Ottar paused for a moment and answered,
"Freya told me to protect you."
"…You really take orders, huh?"
"I only listen to Freya."
Ryota: "…"
Forget it. Not worth arguing.
Once they got into the Dungeon, he'd find a way to ditch the guy.
Worst case, he'd use Susanoo to tie him up and toss him out.
And so, the two of them—one ahead, one behind—headed toward Babel Tower.
…
Adventurer's Street was bustling with noise.
But the moment Ryota and Ottar appeared, the lively street went silent, like someone hit a mute button.
The hush didn't even last three seconds.
Then—
"Hey—isn't that Ryota?! And who's that behind him?"
"Are you stupid? That's Ottar! Captain of Freya Familia, a Level 7 monster!"
"Holy crap! Seriously?! Ottar?! But I thought Freya Familia disbanded! Why's he still tagging along?!"
"Don't tell me… Lady Freya had second thoughts? Sent Ottar to off Ryota in the Dungeon?!"
"…"
Within moments, voices exploded on both sides of the street.
Ryota's mouth twitched.
He could feel it now—nine out of ten gazes were filled with "epic battle incoming" anticipation.
Pausing in his steps, Ryota turned and muttered under his breath,
"Ottar, could you… maybe walk a little ahead? Stop sticking so close?"
Ottar shook his head.
"My mission is to guard, not to follow."
Ryota: "…"
"Do you have any idea how creepy that sounds?!"
And so, under the wide-eyed, tension-filled stares of everyone on Adventurer's Street—
Ryota and Ottar, in a "pre-battle" formation, descended the spiral steps into the Dungeon's first floor…
The moment Ryota stepped into the Dungeon, he didn't hesitate.
His right eye spun, activating the Mangekyō Sharingan in an instant.
The next second—
"Kamui."
The air twisted faintly, and his entire body vanished from the spot.
"?!"
Ottar halted, scanning the passageway.
But it was empty. Ryota was nowhere to be seen.
Frowning slightly, he murmured,
"That technique again?"
He thought for a moment, looked around at the empty tunnel, then glanced down at the ground and remained silent.
Finally, this Level 7 warrior stood tall, turned toward the entrance, and expressionlessly declared:
"…I'll just wait here for him to come back."
And so, aboveground, Freya sat on a small stool in front of Twilight Manor, waiting for Ryota to "come home."
At the Dungeon's entrance, Ottar stood with arms crossed, silently guarding the threshold, also waiting for Ryota to "come back."
The scene was so bizarre that Ryota honestly didn't know where to even begin complaining.
…
Seventeenth Floor of the Dungeon, near the Wall of Grief,
From Kamui's pocket dimension, Ryota drew a kunai, his fingertips glowing gold as he inscribed the Flying Raijin formula on the handle with practiced ease.
Before him stood a tiger beast—roughly as strong as a Minotaur.
Ryota raised his arm and with a whoosh, hurled the kunai forward.
It sliced through the air in an arc, only for the tiger monster to dodge it with an agile sidestep.
The monster let out a contemptuous roar, as if mocking Ryota's pitiful attack.
But the next second—
Ryota whispered,
"Flying Raijin Slice."
Flash—!
A streak of yellow light.
Before the monster's roar even ended, Ryota had already appeared behind it like a ghost.
The Kusanagi Sword slid from its sheath.
Shhk—!
No time to struggle.
The monster that mocked him one second became black ash the next.
Ryota stood still, gazing at the kunai etched with the Flying Raijin formula on the ground. He murmured,
"Mark, lock-on, teleport, kill—"
"I've been using this exact sequence since Floor One."
"It's no exaggeration to say I'm just as proficient with this jutsu now as its inventor, Tobirama."
"And…"
Ryota flipped his wrist, and three more kunai appeared in a flash.
"Flying Raijin: Level Two."
He casually flicked one, and the kunai streaked through the air toward a shadow 4.2 meters ahead.
Before it even landed, Ryota's figure had already flickered and reappeared there.
Flawless execution!
Crouching down, he retrieved the kunai and embedded it into the rocky wall.
"This floor's done too."
He muttered to himself, scanning the area to ensure the kunai was hidden well enough to avoid being damaged.
He'd repeated this process over a dozen times already.
From Floor One to Floor Sixteen, he'd selected a hidden spot on each level to plant a kunai engraved with the Flying Raijin formula.
This wasn't just about setting up tactical points.
It was the quiet formation of a massive spatial teleportation network throughout the Dungeon.
In his mind, each kunai lit up like a star, layer by layer, stretching from the surface all the way to the Seventeenth Floor.
With a single thought, he could arrive anywhere instantly.
This was the true purpose of the Flying Raijin Jutsu.
Ryota had turned Floors 1 through 17 of the Dungeon into his personal war map.
"From now on, when I say I'm going home… I can actually go home."
Dusting himself off, Ryota continued toward the safe zone on the Eighteenth Floor.
Meanwhile, on the Northwest Mainstreet aboveground…
The goddess Kali had arrived in Orario, curiously taking in the city's sights with two voluptuous Amazon girls in tow.
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