A day had passed since the battle against the remnants of Evilus...
Atop Orario's city walls, the sounds of combat rang out as several figures clashed at high speed, their movements blurring to the point that it almost seemed as if they were teleporting.
Belle, wielding her brand-new Hestia Knife, slashed forward... only to hit empty air.
In the next instant, Alfia appeared behind her and drove a kick straight into her side.
"Kwargh!"
The impact rattled Belle's ribs, sending her flying before she hit the ground and was knocked out cold.
"Die!"
A wild scream echoed across the walls.
Without even sparing him a glance, Alfia raised her arm and caught the leg that had been aimed at her head.
"What the hell are you doing?"
She said coldly.
"Screaming right before you attack is basically giving your opponent a heads-up. Are you an idiot?"
Her words dripped with disdain as she shot Bete a sidelong glance, her gaze filled with open contempt.
Bete flinched, momentarily pushed back by Alfia's oppressive aura.
Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to snap out of it.
"Shut up!"
He shouted as he struggled to break free.
Alfia merely exhaled.
With a sharp motion, she lifted him by the leg and slammed him into the ground.
"Noisy."
It didn't end there.
She hoisted him up again and repeatedly smashed him into the ground, over and over.
"A mutt should know when to stop barking."
Once Bete finally went limp and had passed out, Alfia tossed him aside like discarded trash.
Shiing.
The sound of a blade cutting through the air rang out.
Alfia simply sidestepped, neatly avoiding the sudden thrust from Ais.
At the same time, Judas appeared from her flank and threw a punch aimed squarely at her head.
To his dismay, she slipped aside with effortless precision, causing his strike to miss entirely.
In one fluid motion, Alfia grabbed the backs of both their heads and slammed them together.
Bonk.
Judas felt his skull rattle violently, dizziness washing over him as blood trickled down his face.
Before he could recover, Alfia drove a punch into their midsections, sending both of them crashing into the ground.
"Grrk!"
A groan of pain escaped his lips as Judas struggled to remain conscious.
Staring up at the sun hanging high in the sky, he realized it was already close to noon.
His thoughts drifted back to earlier this morning, when he, Ais, and Bete had arrived for Alfia's training session.
"I heard about what happened," she had said, arms crossed.
"I'll excuse your absence yesterday, since it couldn't be helped."
Then, after a brief pause...
"However, to make up for the time lost... today, I'll be tortu—ahem—I'll be extending your training time."
Alfia added, as everyone silently agreed not to bring up the fact that she had almost said "torture" in the middle of her sentence.
...
"Hmm... looks like we're finally finished."
Seeing that everyone was completely spent, unable to move a single muscle, Alfia announced the end of the training session.
After a few minutes of rest and recovery, everyone could finally move again without feeling any pain.
As Judas poured a bottle of water over his head to cool off, he caught sight of Belle walking toward him from the corner of his eye.
"Judas, I heard there was an attack last night. Can you tell me what happened?"
Bell asked as she sat beside them.
Staring into her crimson-colored eyes, bright and brimming with curiosity, Judas hesitated, wondering how much he should really tell her.
The rampage of the plant monsters had only reached as far as the northern district, thanks to the combined efforts of the Loki Familia and the Ganesha Familia, who had managed to contain the threat before it could spread any further.
The Abandoned Church, located on the western side of the city, had remained completely untouched.
Naturally, to prevent panic from spreading among the citizens, Finn, the Ganesha Familia, and the Guild had worked together to ensure that the truth of Evilus' re-emergence was kept from the public.
The Dark Age was a period most of those who had lived through it desperately wanted to forget.
If word were to spread that Evilus was still active, even the possibility of another Dark Age would have been enough to unsettle the entire city.
Instead, the Guild had released a carefully crafted public statement to serve as an explanation.
According to it, the Loki Familia and the Ganesha Familia had cooperated to crack down on a rogue evil Familia involved in smuggling monsters into the city.
Cornered, the criminals had unleashed those monsters in a final act of revenge... only to be defeated by the heroes of Loki and Ganesha.
When the announcement spread, the citizens responded as expected, showering both Familias with praise and admiration.
Still, the more perceptive among them had noticed small inconsistencies in the Guild's account.
But with every involved party having sworn an oath to keep silent, those doubts never grew into anything more.
Judas weighed his words carefully, revealing just enough for her to grasp the situation while keeping the truths Finn had instructed him to conceal.
"I wish I'd been there to help you guys."
Belle said, her crimson eyes blazing with determination.
Judas shook his head, a wry smile forming at her enthusiasm.
Given her personality... and her longing to become a hero... Belle was exactly the type to rush headfirst into danger without a second thought.
A shadow fell over them as Alfia approached.
"My disciple... about that knight in armor. Did he... "
She stopped mid-sentence, her expression tightening for a brief moment.
"...You know what. Never mind."
With that, she reached out, grabbed Bell by the back of her neck, and left abruptly.
Judas blinked a couple of times, staring at the spot where his 'master' had been standing just a second earlier.
'That was weird.'
He frowned slightly, then shook his head and decided not to think too much about it.
...
Inside Loki's bedroom, now that the mansion had been fully repaired, a soft blue light filled the room as Judas stood still, his back exposed while the divine script of his falna shimmered into existence.
"Damn! Hey Judas, you are going to love this one."
Loki grinned, making a few practiced gestures with her index finger as she locked his falna.
The glowing letters faded from his back, and she immediately grabbed a parchment, pressing it against his skin as the updated status imprinted itself onto the page.
"Here you go."
She handed the status sheet to Judas without ceremony.
========================================
Judas Spade
LV 2
STR: SSS 1188 ---> EX 1999
END:SSS 1197 ---> EX 1999
DEX: SSS 1118 ---> EX 1999
AGI: SS 1090 ---> EX 1999
MAG: SSS 1353 ---> EX 1999
Mage - I
SKILLS: [The Blessing of the World Tree]
[Elemental Master]
[Eternal Persistence]
[The Venerated One]
[Penitent Executioner]
MAGIC: [Otherworld Thaumaturgy 5th-Tier]
[Body Reinforcement]
========================================
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