"It isn't over yet."
Takumi's voice rolled across the battlefield, snapping adventurers back to their senses. The Dark Faction's foot soldiers jerked as though woken from a trance—and those who hadn't detonated yet made the immediate, frantic choice to trigger their charges.
They never got the chance. Before any hands could clench, the same luminous tide cascaded down again.
"[Restore]!"
"[Restore]!"
…
Wave after wave of healing—mending flesh, steadying hearts—hammered the Dark Faction's morale into dust. Realizing they weren't going to die, the adventurers surged forward like they'd been shot up with pure courage. Because they knew—Takumi was here.
The fight on this front tipped hard in a single direction. Even Ais felt space open up around her blade; standing still for a heartbeat, she looked toward Takumi.
"How did you get this strong?"
With her cool, almost expressionless face, she asked in a clear, bell-like voice. Curiosity shone in her golden eyes—tinged now with a soft flicker of awe. After returning to her familia earlier, she'd learned more about him and discovered he really was a new adventurer; that alone had made her curious. Now, the way he'd descended like a god to pull a city back from the brink drove that curiosity to its limit.
What Takumi was showing utterly outstripped Level Five, Level Six—outstripped every frame of reference she had for an adventurer's power. The only words that rose in her mind were "hero" and "god."
Facing the pure, inquisitive sword princess, Takumi smiled. "The battlefield's not the best place for that kind of question. If you want the short answer: I was born this way. But I can make other people stronger. Maybe not to my level—but enough to catch up to my pace. If you want to ask more… wait until this is finished, Miss Ais."
Leaving that promise, he pivoted and ran toward where Ryuu and the others had fallen.
Reaching them, Takumi braced his feet and hauled each one out from the debris. "You all right?"
He slapped dust from their clothes with a care that felt almost domestic. Ryuu's cheeks lit up at the closeness. She reached for her mask by reflex—only to realize there was no mask left, and even her cloak had been blown away. Pale, luminous skin showed in places; that exquisitely beautiful face was flushed rose. She'd never had physical contact with a man; flustered, she lowered her head and murmured, "Th-thank you. I'm fine~"
She looked out at the staggering figures around them—people getting to their feet who should have been dead—and gratitude welled up. "We owe you as well. Otherwise… I can't imagine how many would have died, and Adi—"
"Right! If it weren't for Takumi-san, I'd be an actual corpse," Adi—breathless—came pelting over and traded hurried words with Ryuu.
"Exactly. Good thing Takumi was here—unlike a certain useless elf who could only wallow in self-pity." Kaguya couldn't resist: while thanking Takumi with a half-smile, she tossed a barbed aside at Ryuu.
"Who're you calling useless!"
Ryuu actually fumed, looking ready to grapple on the spot. The pint-sized Lyra cut in quickly, slicing the argument cleanly in two. "Enough. Emergency's still ongoing. We can't slack off. We have to capitalize on the time and advantage Takumi won us!"
Alise stepped forward at the same instant and lifted her sword. "Right—partners of justice, move out! Don't give the Dark Faction another chance to threaten Orario!"
They crowded together, conferred in a rush, and split to act.
Takumi, meanwhile, had tipped his chin toward the far distance, a faint crease forming between his brows.
At that exact moment, a system prompt flickered across his mind:
[Ding! Randomly plundered Trait: Bloodlust Surge (Blue).]
[Bloodlust Surge (Blue): During slaughter and combat, all attributes increase in proportion to emotional intensity.]
"Oh? That one's handy. No wonder she managed to last a few minutes in my Nightmare."
His gaze skimmed the domain he'd left running. Valetta, inside, was a corpse now; but death wasn't the end. Her body was being swallowed by shadows of fear, and her soul was being drawn into the city that never slept. As Takumi's will turned, a new Valetta was rebuilt. When she opened her eyes, they wavered with confusion.
"I died, didn't I? What is this?"
"You didn't just die—you became my thrall. Soul and body, both are mine."
His voice reverberated through the false sky and slid into Valetta's ears. Her face blanched; rage flared.
"Don't give me that bullshit! I will never be your slave!"
She shrieked and thrashed and howled—but the domain's answer was silence. Takumi wasn't paying her any mind. Something in the world outside had seized his attention.
Far off, Orario—wrapped in firelight—shuddered to its bones. A blinding radiance swallowed the sky; a bestial bellow rolled through the vault of heaven and crashed across the land like a living tide. The sky and the earth resonated—then a column of light speared upward, straight to the firmament.
It was power beyond mortal comprehension. It was a sound that hammered every man, woman, and god in Orario—the death-cry of a deity.
Time tore and went slack under that colossal force.
Adventurers, Dark Faction, and gods alike froze where they stood when that light soared.
In the central plaza, gazing up at the pillar that reached the clouds, Loki's expression twisted in shock. "That's Divine Ascension!?"
In that heartbeat, the pallum at her side—Finn—understood the Dark Faction's real target. "The evil gods and Dark Faction are after the deities!"
He couldn't even begin to fathom the trauma and terror that would rake Orario if they succeeded. But that was only the start. A second beam ignited. Then a third, a fourth—
One shaft of light after another chased the ones before, knifing into the sky.
"Our damned god… got taken out?"
"If the blessing disappears—we… we'll—!"
"Help! Help me!"
Familia members who lost their main god would have their Falna severed; in that instant, they would be stripped of the power that let them live. The Dark Faction's soldiers waded in with blades as the panic spread, eager to carve a second harvest.
This time, Takumi didn't blanket the city in another Restore. He was not everyone's nursemaid—nor did he have the spare focus to cradle all of Orario at once.
"Let's see if I can use this ruckus to take a couple gods off the board."
He made his calculation and went—no speeches, no delay. But the enemy's execution was brutally fast; they'd never intended to leave anyone time to react. One beam, then the next—nine pillars in short order.
Nine deities had already been forcibly sent back to Heaven…
....
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