Sent flying by the sudden ambush, Alice managed to defend herself using her own magical energy. She controlled her momentum with a brief burst of flight, adjusted her posture mid-air, and landed gracefully on the ground.
To any onlooker, it appeared as though Alice had instantly reacted to the sneak attack, darting forward before spinning around with elegant poise. Two puppets materialized by her side almost immediately.
To Hyakinthos, it certainly felt like his kick had connected with something solid—but the sensation was all wrong.
No matter how tough a human might be, even if they were hardened like steel, the feeling underfoot should never resemble actual metal. Especially not a girl who looked as delicate as Alice. Yet when his sneak kick landed against her back, the resistance was unmistakably like steel—no, even harder. The impact reverberated painfully through his foot.
In other words, while it seemed like the girl had been sent flying by his attack, the truth was she had deliberately created distance herself. The pain in his foot was likely a form of counterattack, though for now, he couldn't quite figure out her methods.
"Alice the Puppeteer," Hyakinthos said coldly, his gaze fixed on her. "Yesterday, Lord Apollo discovered you and became deeply fascinated. But in the end, thanks to the Loki Familia and Lord Hermes's smooth talking, he didn't even get a glimpse of your face—only the brilliance of your soul."
"Yet even that glimpse was enough to captivate Lord Apollo completely."
"After returning to the familia, he ordered us to gather every piece of information about you overnight."
"In the end, we discovered that you are the puppeteer Hephaestus has been searching for high and low. Am I wrong?"
Hyakinthos had stayed up all night tracking down leads on Alice.
He eventually found information about her on the black market—at a steep price.
He learned what he could: that the Loki Familia had once spent a fortune searching for a puppeteer girl named Alice, and that the Hephaestus Familia had also inquired about the maker of Alice's puppets.
There wasn't much about Alice in the black market's records. But since two major familias in Orario had taken such a strong interest in this mysterious puppeteer, other factions might want information on her as well. So the black market had begun collecting and organizing intel on her.
In the end, the Apollo Familia paid three million valis for just a handful of details:
Alice was a puppeteer whose creations were valued on par with top-quality gear from the Hephaestus Familia. She had once intended to join the Loki Familia, but after a clash with the "Fenris" Bete Loga, she left. Her race was unknown, suspected to be some kind of magical being with mastery over multiple spells. She wasn't part of any familia, was believed to possess powerful bloodline abilities, and her strength was estimated to be around Level 3.
She currently lived with a Pallum from the Soma Familia in the ruins of the Zeus Familia's former base, next to the goddess Hestia.
If Alice had actually joined the Loki Familia, Apollo might have hesitated to move against her.
But Hyakinthos was another story.
Every familia in Orario had its own way of handling relations between gods and their children, but in most cases, the bonds were fairly close. Loki, for example, got along quite well with her members.
But the relationship between Hyakinthos and Apollo was… unusual, to say the least.
Apollo was infatuated with Hyakinthos and had once confessed his feelings. Hyakinthos, in turn, held deep affection for Apollo.
However, a god's love is boundless—especially Apollo's, which overflowed freely. Aside from Hyakinthos, Apollo loved all his children dearly, and was also drawn to other beautiful people, regardless of gender.
Hyakinthos didn't mind much. He believed he alone could truly win Apollo's heart.
Even when Apollo ordered him to dig up information on Alice—showing intense interest in a girl whose face he hadn't even seen—Hyakinthos didn't feel particularly threatened.
Instead, he was angered by the "insults" Alice had drunkenly hurled at Apollo. He planned to find her, teach her a lesson, and then present her to his god.
But now…
Hyakinthos felt killing intent toward Alice.
Because he had seen her face.
Even he couldn't deny her beauty—and that was precisely what alarmed him. While other adventurers might be captivated just by looking at her, Hyakinthos—who had devoted himself entirely to Apollo and remained indifferent to charm—understood better than anyone how Apollo would react if Alice appeared before him.
She was a sorceress capable of ensnaring even a god.
'I must never bring this woman before Lord Apollo. Even if she belongs to the Loki Familia, I have to eliminate her.'
Hyakinthos's gloved hand clenched tightly as he recalled the intelligence gathered from the black market.
"Killing intent?" Alice's eyebrow rose slightly. An unfamiliar aura radiated from Hyakinthos.
She had sensed killing intent before—countless monsters in the Dungeon possessed it, and the three adventurers she'd killed had also radiated hostility. But what she felt from this man was on a completely different level.
"I'm not sure what I said to make you want me dead so badly," Alice said calmly, "but since you've made a move against me, I won't just stand by and do nothing."
Shanghai and Hourai had already been summoned from the Gap the moment Hyakinthos launched his sneak attack.
"Aren't there peacekeepers in Orario?" she continued. "Attacking someone on the street—I wonder what kind of punishment the Apollo Familia will face."
Hyakinthos showed no reaction to her words.
He exhaled slowly, tightened his fist, and settled into a fighting stance.
"If my earlier ambush was meant to teach you a lesson," he said coldly, "now I am resolved to kill you, even if it costs me my life."
"Your existence is too dangerous—for the gods, and for Lord Apollo."
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