At the top floor of the Tower of Babel.
Freya lay relaxed upon a sofa, gazing at the view beyond the massive window, which was now bathed in a dense, purple light. She wore a daring black dress; red jagged patterns resembling licking flames adorned the edges of the fabric, revealing the beautiful curves of her stomach, chest, and thighs. Between her slender fingers, she sipped red wine, showing absolutely no sign of anxiety toward the catastrophe that might vanish the city in an instant.
"Freya-sama. Should I move to stop him?"
Ottar stood tall behind the sofa. The strongest Level 7 adventurer, Orario's ultimate weapon, could not hide his surging combat instincts. He did not fear death, but the thought of Freya losing her mortal vessel and being forced back to Heaven was something he could not tolerate.
"There is no need, Ottar. Everything is fine." Freya said with a tone that sounded amused, her eyes glittering as she watched the purple glow on the horizon.
"But the power Solo Leveling is displaying right now... it is truly capable of destroying Orario."
Usually, Ottar obeyed without condition. But this time, the purple dome containing such devastating Mana pressure truly shook his heart. Freya glanced at him, her eyes radiating not anger, but understanding, for she knew Ottar was merely concerned for her safety.
"Calm down. Charlie is only bluffing."
"...?"
Ottar wore a confused expression. As far as the eye could see, the horizon illuminated by the purple light radiated a terrifying aura that felt very real.
"The power he is showing is indeed authentic, Ottar. He truly possesses the destructive force to level this city in a single strike." Freya explained generously. "However, what I mean by bluffing is his intent. He does not actually intend to unleash that attack upon Orario."
Freya took another sip of her wine, her eyes sharp with observation.
"This is more like a display of power—a warning to the world to think twice before looking for trouble with him."
"Do not forget, Charlie has a very good relationship with Astraea. As long as the Goddess of Justice is still within this city, it is impossible for him to destroy Orario."
Her gaze locked onto the figure of Charlie standing gallantly holding the Sacred Sword in the distance. Given that the distance between the Empyrean Citadel and Babel was not far, Freya began to reflect in silence, questioning whether her decision to prefer Bell over Charlie was the right move or a massive mistake.
"I see... A deterrent."
Since his goddess had said so, Ottar withdrew his intent to intervene.
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
In the temple deep beneath the Guild.
"Such a horrific amount of Mana... Does this even make sense for a human? Even the Elf race, famous for their affinity with magic, couldn't possibly possess a magic capacity like this!" Fels muttered in horror. In his long life, he had never encountered an entity of Charlie's caliber in terms of Mana quantity.
"Ouranos! Will you not act? If Solo Leveling is left unchecked, he will destroy Orario!"
Sitting upon his throne, Ouranos slowly opened his eyes at that urgent question.
"Orario will not be destroyed."
"But—"
"From the future I have glimpsed, Charlie Avalon will not commit any act that harms this city."
Unlike other gods, Ouranos still possessed access to a portion of his true power to suppress the will of the Dungeon. Using his omniscience, he had seen the final result. To him, this storm was merely a small ripple that would soon subside.
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
Meanwhile, at Twilight Manor, the atmosphere was far from calm.
Unlike Freya who knew Charlie's character, or Ouranos who was able to see the future, Loki was not so composed.
"Ahhhh!!! We're doomed! It's really over!" Loki ran back and forth while clutching her head with an expression of extreme panic. "Which bastard dared to release their seal?! How dare he try to flip the game table in Orario!"
Loki misunderstood completely, thinking the anomaly of the purple dome was caused by an Evil God who had decided to "flip the game table." Loki's fear spread throughout her entire Familia.
"So this is the true power of the gods? Incredible..."
Riveria, who had long been known as the strongest Mage, gazed at the sky with a deep sense of inferiority. In the face of such a scale of magic, the magic she had been proud of all this time felt like nothing more than a tiny spark.
"Loki, is there nothing we can do?" Finn asked in a tone forced to remain calm, though cold sweat soaked his forehead.
Loki shook her head violently, her always-squinted eyes now wide open. "Unless there's another god crazy enough to also release their Arcanum and deflect it, nothing can stop this destruction! But who would want to do that?"
She understood the mentality of her peers perfectly. Once the Arcanum seal was broken, they were guaranteed to be sent straight back to Heaven. Since they still wanted to play in the lower world, no god would be willing to do such a thing.
"Oh right! Astraea has returned! She is the Goddess of Justice, she surely won't stand idly by and watch innocents be killed by an Evil God!" Loki exclaimed with a glimmer of hope.
Given Astraea's noble personality, Loki was nearly a hundred percent certain that the Goddess of Justice would act, even if it meant sacrificing herself to stop the mad plan of the 'Evil God' currently threatening Orario.
Hearing that argument, Finn, Riveria, Gareth, and the other members of the Loki Familia began to breathe a sigh of relief. Astraea's reputation was indeed untarnished; if there was any god willing to throw away their mortal vessel for the sake of justice, it was her.
However, what Loki and all the city's inhabitants did not realize was the reality that this apocalyptic anomaly was not caused by an Evil God out of control, but by a human.
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
At the center of the event, the atmosphere became surreal. The gods, who were usually reckless, now appeared busy trying to persuade Charlie from a distance.
"Solo Leveling! Stop this! I will give you rare items from the Middle Floors!"
"Cancel your magic, Solo Leveling! I will give you the most beautiful woman in my Familia!"
The gods offered various benefits just so Charlie would agree to lower his sword.
Meanwhile, in the face of the absolute power pressing down from all directions, the remnants of the Evilus members' fighting intent extinguished instantly. One by one, they dropped their weapons to the ground with hollow clangs, those ferocious faces now replaced by expressions of despair.
Escape?
Where would they run?
The scope of this purple magic had sealed all of Orario without a gap. There was no hiding hole deep enough to hide from this wrath.
Banshee, Ein, and the three remaining Creatures were forced to halt their attacks. The gravitational pressure from Charlie's magic essence was so heavy that their bones felt as if they were being crushed, making them unable to move even a fingertip.
"Damn it! Who exactly is the monster here? You are the true monster!"
Ein stared at Charlie with eyes reddened by hatred and helplessness.
Unlike Ein, Banshee displayed a strangely relaxed expression. A faint smile appeared on her face, as if with death already before her eyes, the heavy burden she had carried all this time would vanish with her into nothingness.
SRING!
The density of magic essence upon the blade of Terminus Est radiated an increasingly bright light. The light reached a blinding saturation point as Charlie began to recite the name of his technique.
"I am..."
The blade of the sword vibrated violently, releasing waves of pressure that made the air seem to freeze.
"—Atomic."
Instantly, the world seemed to disappear. A pure and incredibly bright white light exploded, filling every corner of Orario down to the deepest crevices. The light was so blinding that anyone, whether human or god, was unable to open their eyes and was forced to shut their vision as the energy began to swallow everything.
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